Chance Of A Lifetime

Tonight I'm Bobby Flay

March 2020:

      "Fucking hell, this shit itches!" Ashley grumbled to himself as he shut off his car, then reached around to brush at the back of his shirt, which was liberally coated in tiny pink fibers. "I always hate this part. Putting the new stuff in is fine, since we have the foamboard now, but pulling out all of this.. cotton candy from hell , is a gigantic pain in the ass!"

      After getting out of the vehicle, he pulled out the large sheet of plastic he had been sitting on and stuffed it into the trash bin, then closed the garage door and walked to the large utility sink that stood in the far corner. He dropped his work boots in the corner, then stripped down to his underwear, tossed the insulation-covered clothes into the sink, and turned on the water. Once that was done, he let himself into the kitchen and started toward his room, noting the sound of dramatic music from the living room, which meant that Aerin was probably watching one of the paranormal shows that she enjoyed. He thought about calling out to let her know that he was home early, but then reconsidered, knowing that he'd catch all sorts of hell if she decided to hug him, and acquired some of the fiberglas he was festooned with before he could warn her.

      "Besides, that would take too long," he told himself. "The quicker I get into the shower, the quicker I can stop feeling like I'm covered in chiggers."

      He hurried to the shower and scrubbed himself until the itching subsided, wrapped a towel around his head as he dried himself , and then wrapped that towel around his waist and padded barefoot toward the front of the house. As he reached the archway between the breakfast nook and the living room, he heard an unfamiliar voice saying, "You would honestly not believe how bad that smelled! It was like someone opened up every single bottle of bleach in Wal Mart, then dumped them over a litterbox the size of Kaufman Stadium that hadn't been cleaned in a month. Even standing on the far edge of the parking lot my eyes were watering!"

      He moved into the room to see Aerin sitting on the floor, with her laptop on the coffee table, Skyping with a woman who appeared to be around her own age, or perhaps slightly older, with short auburn hair and a slightly rounded face. Her expression showed a significant degree of frustration as she took a sip of her drink, then continued speaking. "Then, when it got to the point where we couldn't keep from coughing even when we went all the way across the street, it finally occurred to the jack-wagons to send us around the block to go sit in the breakroom on the other side of the building. They even had to unlock the soda machines and call the grocery store and have them deliver some deli trays, because none of us could get to our lunches. So we just sat there bored off our asses for about five hours before they..."

      Her voice trailed off, and her face took on a bewildered expression as she stared blankly at her computer screen. Aerin gave her laptop a puzzled look and inquired, "You okay there, hon?"

      "Is that supposed to be a trick question?"

      "No, pretty sure that wasn't what I had in mind," Aerin responded. "Why do you ask?"

      "Because if it's not, then there are only two other possibilities," the redhead declared. "Either I sucked in more of those fumes than I thought and need to go to the ER, because I'm hallucinating big-time, or you've been a bit less than forthcoming about your... living situation." 

      This reply was what led them both to realize that she wasn't looking at Aerin, but past her, and they both flushed with embarrassment: Aerin because she realized that her friend was now aware of the secret she had been keeping, and Ashley because he belatedly remembered that he was wearing nothing but a towel loosely wrapped around his waist.

      "Umm, I think I should probably go get dressed," he informed his roommate. "So I'll get out of your hair and let you continue your conversation."