Will find another place for this below. It’s too long and not sure if I want to use it at all, but you can read it. It was the beginning of the story, but I changed my mind. Enjoy anyway:
It was Friday and for a nice spring day it was already hot as Haites. Gus quit a perfectly good office job five months ago to work in the heat with on a construction job to make more money. With about 400 men. Somewhere in here has to be Mr. Right, is what she thought most mornings on the walk into the mill.
The first week out there Gus thought a couple of times she had no business there. This is a man's world. Can't find a good man but I need a man's salary. So hey, why not work like a man? Then get paid like a man! I’m just as good bending pipe as anyone else. It’s not heavy work and it’s interesting to me. This is hell’ve lot better than a day job in an office and working part-time Wal-mart at night. If Manny’s willing to teach me, why not?
Manny taught Gus all kinds of stuff. How to use a pipe bender, sander, drills, a vice, how to handle and bend pipe and angle iron; and how to work them on the bench too. Some things still make her smile. He asked Gus one day,
”Gus, you never heard of that? “Righty tighty, lefty loosy”, for screwing together bolts and such together. Oh now, come on girl.”
“No.” She hadn’t
“Did you know that you can get more leverage with a longer handle on your pipe bender than one with a shorter handle? Yep, sure can.”
Gus sill smiles when she thinks about him asking her that. Gus used the longer pipe bender, which was almost longer than her. Gus had to drag it around to wherever she was working at the mill. Having longer handles and being easier doesn’t make a lot of sense unless you see it done. It works nicely, even with bolt cutters. Don’t ask me how I know this, but I do!
Gus had a little problem using the worktables and vices. The tables were too tall for her. She couldn't get the leverage she needed to use the drill or vices properly. So, it was difficult using a drill, grinders or a saw.
Her foreman, Jake, asked the carpenters to build her a box to use at the tables. They jumped right on it. Three feet by three feet and eight inches off the ground, it was a perfect fit for Gus and passed all the safety codes. It made work go smoother for her and it gave Gus the leverage she needed to cut pipe and use the grinders with ease. They put handles on it and kept it under the table she used the most. She was thrilled that they would do this for her. Drills, sanders, vices, I can really handle the tools now! Nothing can stop me now! Five years from now I’ll be teaching someone else what Manny’s teaching me. That’s so sweet of Jake. Think I’m gonna paint it pink!
Unknown to Gus, her crew and Toker watched her like mother hawks. Everyone was welcomed to speak to her, but no one could even speak to her unless they had her crew's nod of approval.
Gus wasn’t aware of this for a week or so because she was trying to learn her new job. She didn’t care about dating: she knew she couldn’t date any of them. Gus knew the day she applied for the job that relationships at work makes “things” too messy at work. She was a pretty friendly person and most guys took her wrong. She’s just being nice, not flirting. If it’s someone I like, I cain’t talk at all…cain’t say a word. Besides that, I bet some of them have a bet on who can get me in the sack first. I know how men are. I just want to get paid, not laid.
Toker knew how Gus was and he’d try to stear her right. Give her “datin’ add-vise” about men. He’d say,
“Oh-my-God girl, you’re too nice!”
Then he’d say “all men lie”, then he said,
“Not all men are do.” Or maybe…
“He’s a no good sonna’ beech, ya’ stay away from him.” Or… “Yeah, he beat his ex-old-lady pretty regular.”
Anything to scare Gus. Or he’d be an ass to them in front of her. That was enough to let her know they weren’t her type if Toker didn’t like them. After a few weeks Toker’s boss started keeping him busy. It was usually away from where her crew worked, so he couldn’t always be with her until lunch.
That’s when the crew took over the watch. Anyone that looked at her longer than three seconds would get a go-to-Hell look from which ever crew member she was standing next to. One Thursday morning she was cutting pipe for Manny, while he went to the tool shed for a drill. Todd, one of the pipe fitters noticed she was unattended and thought he’d try his luck. Bud watched him walk her way. Todd strolled over like a big shot, which he wasn’t.
“Watcha’ got there?” Todd asked.
“Some pipe.” Gus said being a smart ass.
“Yeah…I see that.”
“Yeah?”
“Hey look here, I’ve been watching and this is the first time no one’s been on guard.” Guard? Mmmmm.
“Really?” Acting surprised.
“Yep. You know, your crew.”
“Oh them?” She looked back at Luther grinding a weld clean. And watching her too. With a smile on her face she said low,
“Well, not for long.” She saw Jake walking around the stairwell and he was coming toward them at a fast trot.
"Look here Casanova", Jake interrupted and pointing his finger at Todd and then over to Gus, “This little lady has some things to do for me and I don't wanna to see your fat ass over here again today, next week, or anytime this year messin’ with her. Understand? Ca-pesh?"
Good. Stopped you dead in you tracks.
"Yea, I gotcha.” Todd said as he walked away, tail between his legs.
"Can't stand the way that sona' bitch smells. He ain't got no business
mess’in with you”, Jake said. Then he looked down at Gus and asked her with a wink,
“Unless you want him to?” He looked down to see her reaction.
She looked up into his baby blues, smiled and said to him,
“Nay, I ain’t interested”, and started laughing, “I was just seeing how far ya’ll’d let him get to me.”
Jake kind of laughed and answered back,
“Didn’t think so babe.”
With that Jake went on into the air-conditioned time room and Gus went back to work. She was glad that she had guardians. Wish they’d go everywhere with me.
After a few weeks the guys let her wing it out on her own. Gus began to make friends outside of their nest/crew. Only a select group of men were allowed to talk to her. Her crew was screening them for her. Weren’t they sweet? Then Gus noticed mostly it was older guys they trusted and thought she’d be safe with. That’s O.K. with me. Never told them I like older guys. She was in a candy shop! There’s a saying in the south, it goes like this, “Rather be an old man’s sweat heart than a young man’s slave.” That was the kind of man she wanted and needed.
It’s Saturday morning. Boone and Little Hank were gonna spend the night at Bryan’s house. Boone was going on a “fishing” trip. They were going to put some trot lines out, on the creek. Boone had been packing and planning for days. He’s not a Boy Scout, but he is a true woodsman. Know what I mean? He’s better. He’s Gus’ great white hunter. He’s always been in the woods with his grandfather and uncles, so she trusted him and his two friends to be safe. It was their first time to go without an adult! Zach and Elizabeth watched him with real interest and lots of questions. Zach couldn’t wait until he was old enough to go.
All three boys were tuned up. Rearing to go! Gus didn’t want to say much to them. You know how mothers can be. So, Gus played it cool and didn’t say much to him ‘bout it. Besides, his grandfather, Big Hank and his brother Dwight were gonna drop in on’em. They had two four-wheelers. So if something happened or someone got hurt they could have got outta’ the’ woods pretty fast.
They are good boys, her two boys, she thought. She knew that they’ll be drinking, spitting, cussing and doing what teenage boys do when they are away from adults. But they are good boys. Sounds like a Mafia mother, but I do trust them to be safe. Didn’t say good. Just said safe. They had left for the woods yesterday evening around 5:30. Laughing out loud to herself, Gus thought, they were all piled up in that little ‘Yoda. They looked like the Jethro Clampet and two of his cousins from back home!
Clover was going to her friend, Grace’s parent’s place at the beach for the weekend. She was Gus’ oldest child. Very quiet, good girl, good grades. But she’s a typical seventeen-year-old girl. Boys, boys & more boys. Gus is a little worried about that, but she had a good head on her shoulders. To Clover’s credit she plans on going to college. It’s a big relief to Gus. Hopefully Clover’s life will be easier than her mother’s.
Sweet Tommy
A couple weeks later, on a Monday morning, Sweet Tommy’s helper, Luther, didn’t make it to work. Seemed he went four wheeling and broke his arm, so Jake had no choice but to ask Manny if he could spare Gus for a couple of days. Gus was walking toward them when she heard Manny ask Jake,
“Sure, but do you wanna do that to her?”
“Do what?” Gus asked.
With a doubtful look Manny answered her, “Work with Sweet Tommy”.
Jake continued, “I’m thinking seriously about it. I don’t think he’ll be an ass around her. He’s a little a worse than most welders, I agree. He just doesn’t like to be around men that are candy- asses or still-wet-behind-the-ears. Gus’s not a man, that’ll be a plus for her.”
“Oh, I’ll be O.K.”, Gus answered back, “He’s never cussed around me like ya’ll say he does. He’s always nice to me.”
“That’s what I’m counting on. She’ll be fine; I gotta good feelin’ bout this.” Jake said. Manny wasn’t as sure as they were, but he let her go for a couple of days on the condition than she “don’t take any ugliness from Sweet Tommy, you hear me?” Gus re-assured him she’d be fine and walked over to Mr. Sunshine’s work bench.
Sweet Tommy and Gus made fast friends and co-workers. He surprised everyone but Gus. She knew he was a sweetie under all that meanness. But he didn’t let up on the rest of the crew.
“What the Hell you lookin’ at?” Tommy would yell if anyone noticed them talking quietly to each other. Toker thought Tommy was smiling a little more “and cursed only half as much as normal lately and Manny said he heard him whistling on the way to the gate one evening after work. Tommy was more than polite, he was nothing but a gentleman to her all three days. Even offered Gus his prize mid-morning snack, a banana.
He held up the banana to Gus and said, “You know, it’s the most complete fruit. It has every vitamin your body needs in it: totally complete.” And then he got another out of his bag for himself. Apparently, Tommy brought an extra one for her. Turned out Sweet Tommy was a health nut, but no one would know that cause of all the hell he raised, no one wanted to eat with him much less cared to pay attention to his eating habits.
Back in the day sweet Tommy lived several hard lives and the mileage was starting to affect his health. The doctor bluntly told him that if he kept up the lifestyle he lived, he wouldn’t’ live another five years. Being the-man he was determined not to let anything beat him. He stopped the drugs, drinking and the smoking. He was healthy and fit now, period.
“That was six years ago.” He said with a smile. Gus was eating her banana and listening to Tommy like her life depended on it. He didn’t talk much about his personal life and this was the most he’d talked to anyone at work in a couple of months. Other people were watching them talk. Gus could tell they seem to watch with amazement. She just smiled back at them.
Later that day she had been thinking about everything Tommy said earlier
“I’m glad you did listened to the doctor, ‘cause I’ve enjoyed working with you the last couple of days.”
He smiled back at her and whispered,
“Yeah? Well, don’t tell anyone you enjoyed working with me. ‘Gotta’ a rep to keep up, you know?”
She acknowledged him with a nod and simple smile, then said her normal good bye to him. “See you in the morning Sweet Tommy. B‘ careful driving home.”