029: Bob the Builder

What a girly thing to do... she turned to give him a look as he pulled the small dressing table chair out and opened his manicure box expertly. And here she had just been thinking he was very masculine.

"Sit, sit, sit." he commanded and she obediently sat on the floor. Kell quirked an ironic smile at her and waited till she gave him her hand.

"You should have Bob the Builder nails to go with your Bob the Builder outfit today." he said matte-of-factly. "Who does your nails normally?"

"A manicurist" she said.

He examined her nails. "These are real." he scolded, and checked her eyes briefly, and then went back to a closer examination of her fingernails.

"So?" she replied.

"Why no design? No Paint?"

"I had a gig today, if you recall, no color allowed."

His eyebrows flashed upward sardonically and then he got out the several colors of paint be wanted and an hour later all her nails sported identical blue backgrounds with Bob the Builder tools and hats on them. She had to admit, he was good. Very good. His hands were steady, and gentle, relaxing her completely. When he was finished, she was sitting between his legs, her wet hand still resting on his thigh, and her head fallen to her chest, and she was asleep, or dozing.

Kell stroked her braids a bit, feeling the dampness against his carpenter pants, and the heaviness of her head against his hand as he tried to move her, while she dozed off. He pulled a braid off her neck and let one finger trail to the soft spot behind her ear. His finger tingled with remembered awareness. He sighed and then gently lifted her head and watched her eyes come into focus. He smiled.

"'You want a nap?" he asked.

She stretched and then looked at the expert job he'd done on her nails. "Where did you learn to do that?"

He shrugged. "Got certified, put myself through college. Had my own shop for a while. Lost interest." He got up and put his things away and she heaved herself up after him.

"Did you do hair too?"

"In the group home." he conceded. "I liked to mess with the girl's hair there. They didn't have anyone to do for them, see, and there was a crop of young ones... they just grew their hair long, very long, and no one to cut it or style it. So it was my job."

"How long were you in the home?" "Long." he said.

She could tell when a subject was touchy and she dropped it

Kell was dressed identically to her, except his pants were longer, came to the floor. His sneakers were actually running shoes, and his white ribbed tank top, was guy cut. He put the ratty over shirt on and she stared. For Pete's sake, had he actually made the shirts identical? The paint smears were in the same places, the missing button too.

She turned inquisitive eyes on him and Kell shrugged. "Spent several years in costuming as well." He explained and she nodded, not knowing much about costuming herself, but assuming that making identical ratty plaid over shirts was part of it.

"Let's go." he said and they went outside, but when Maille would have gotten into the red sports car, Kell gave her an incredulous look. ''Bob the Builder doesn't drive a sports car."

"He does in New York." Maille shot back.

Kell clucked his tongue at her. "Right. They make more than I do there!"

"So what does Bob drive in Salt Lake?" she asked.

"Out west, he drives his pick up." he stopped walking before a separate shop type building which as she now saw housed his dark green 4x4. "Get in Get in." he called to her as he jumped in on the driver's side and revved the engine.

In seconds they were heading down the freeway and listening to tunes. Kell seemed very lighthearted and Maille sang along, and laughed at his witty comments about other drivers. He loved to point out things about people. He was never mean, but always very astute. One was watching herself more in the rearview mirror than she was the road. One was scratching his leg on the driver's side passionately... and Kell came up with a reason why... a mouse stuck in his work boots had now crawled up his pant leg on the inside.

Maille's uninhibited giggle rang out and Kell was secretly very pleased.

Then he began naming people. That one was a boxer, named, of course, Joe. This other was a model named Sabrina, not French, but German with a French name. Over there was a grocery store clerk named Wanda, who liked to sneak Twinkies when no one was looking. As if on cue, Wanda popped something small into her mouth as she drove by. Maille giggled.

They pulled into the children's care facility and Kell hopped out. In the back of the pickup was a rather large box. He opened it after setting it on the ground and showed Maille the contents. Inside were stuffed Bob the Builder's with a stack of Bob books with tapes, and little play tools. There was another box as well. He wanted her to carry the big one, but when she protested he showed her that the other held tape recorders and was heavier. Maille complied.

An hour later, Kell/Bob had distributed all his loot to the children in the facility, he had built and played and listened to tapes, and finally found Maille in with Myndee, coloring a felt board with markers, intently.

He stood in the doorway, admiring the way Maille's behind swayed back and forth as she knelt beside Myndee's bed and hummed with Myndee, as they colored. Neither girl spoke, both were intent.

Occasionally they reached for the same marker and politely gave it to the other. Two peas in a pod. He swaggered into the room. Myndee saw him first. Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen, her nose pinched white, and she was thinner than when he'd seen her two days ago. She lay back against her pillows.

Kell came and sat on the other side of the bed. Maille looked up and smiled, but the wrinkles at the comers of her eyes told him that she had seen the change in Myndee also.

"Why are you not listening to Bob?"

''It reminds me of my little brother." Myndee excused herself and went back to coloring.

Kell frowned and Maille looked up at him and flashed a warning look and slight shake of her head. He inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement and then lay full out on the side of the bed next to Myndee.

All the markers fell toward him, both the felt boards slipped away, and Maille protested vehemently, pretending to be really annoyed. Myndee scooted over weakly to make room for him. Kell snuggled his face into her blanket clad stomach which was no bigger than a small travel pillow. He blew a raspberry and then said, "Whew, Myndee, was that you?"

"Kell!" she screeched. "That was you!"

"You did it... phewie!"

"Kell!" she protested again, and he burrowed her stomach and blew another nasty sounding raspberry.

"Myndee ..." Maille got in on the action.

Myndee turned shocked eyes on her new protectress, and then grabbed Kell 's dreadlocked hair. "That's disgusting." she said.

"Yep, it sure is... you should do that in the bathroom." Kell admonished.

"Ewwww!" Maille groaned and reached across the bed to poke Kell's ribs. He squirmed. She poked again. He squirmed again. Pretty soon both the girls were poking him and he was squirming all around, until he had knocked all the markers on the floor, knocked the blankets on the floor, ripped the felt board, and exposed Myndee's thin little legs to the warm air.

"Toothpicks ..." Kell called her legs and she tried in vain to cover herself.

The nurse came in right then. She favored them all with a skeptical look and Myndee's face showed her consternation at being caught like that, but Kell wrapped her in his arms, and kissed her stomach. "Meet my new girlfriend," he said to the nurse. He burrowed into her neck and smothered her with loud smooches. Myndee squealed in delight. The nurse shook her head.

"Kell, you amaze us all." she said, and came into the room to help Maille pick up the mess.

"I'm an amazing guy." he agreed from Myndee's armpit, and she tried to push him away, but he had completely enfolded her in his wiry arms, his skin so darkly tan next to her paleness it made her look like a ghost.

"Let me get the camera..." The nurse declared, and Maille nodded agreement. This should be on film. Kell pulled Myndee's head onto his shoulder and whispered something to her and she looked over at Maille briefly. When the nurse came back she took several pictures.

"Now, " Kell said easily. "Just for Myn... my agent would have a field day if he found out, okay? Here take one of my other girlfriend, too." Maille went to the other side of the bed and knelt next to Myndee's head. Kell pulled her arm up and tucked it securely in the fold of his and Myndee's. The flash went off.

"Okay... now we have to go." he said. Myndee's eyes got big. "I will bring you a new felt board tomorrow, can you wait that long?" At her nod be bent and kissed her lips gently. "That's my sweet girl."

*****