The Carpenter

I was sitting at home the other night watching an episode of Sex and the City, and it happened to be the episode that introduces John Corbett's character Aiden, who I had completely forgotten was a carpenter. In a sudden flash, I recalled a dream I had aaaaaaages ago, whereby my current crush was a carpenter and he made me a chair. Only I didn't know he'd made it for me, and after a busy day selling his furniture, I fell asleep in the chair and awoke to overhear him telling a prospective buyer that he'd made the chair for me. Anyway, I figured that could definitely be turned into a short and sweet story, so here it is...

The Carpenter

"Do you need anything else or are we done for the day?" I wound my head around the door frame into my boss' office. He was sitting at his desk looking completely exasperated, which was usual these days. His glasses had slid down his nose, which he wrinkled upon seeing a particular piece of paper. 

"Uh, no, I think we're good. Thanks Leah." I could see that he was being genuine, those big blue eyes could never lie to me, but I could also see the piles of paper in his hands and all over his desk, something he definitely needed help with. He was good with his hands, he had me for the paperwork.

"You sure?" I nodded at his desk and he shoo'd me away.

"I'm sure, get out of here before I change my mind." He smiled and let out a raspy chuckle. That sound made my insides clench and my spine tingle.

"I'll see you in the morning then." I called as I headed out.

"Oh Leah," I turned as I reached the door and saw my boss leaning out of his office, one big hand holding onto the door frame. "Thanks for all your help today. Well not just today. I couldn't have done all this without you." 

I tried to sound nonchalant and also tried not to swoon. "I know. See you tomorrow. Don't stay too late." He nodded and headed back in. I half expected to find him asleep amongst the papers in the morning, with some important invoice stuck to his cheek. 

~

My boss - Jeremy - had tried his hand at most jobs. He'd worked in a mall as fragrance model, moving onto the make up counter to improve his game with the ladies (his words), he'd then acted for a while, small off broadway productions and a few commercials, never quite hitting the big time. His college buddy Chris had started a house renovation company and he had joined him as a general handyman (remember me saying he was good with his hands?). His father had been in and out of the army when Jeremy was little, holding down a myriad of jobs when he wasn't overseas. He'd been a plumber, mechanic and electrician, so Jeremy had picked up certain things from going with him on jobs. The more he worked with Chris on renovations, the more he got to know, and the more money he made allowed him to invest in the business.

In his spare time, Jeremy started to restore old furniture and even build a few pieces of his own design, which they used to furnish the houses when they were renovated. Whoever bought their properties really got a fantastic deal. Anyway, one day Chris suggested to Jeremy that he open a store and sell his furniture there. His one off pieces were stunning and unique, and in a city like New York, would sell like hot cakes. So he took the plunge, and bought a small shop space with a workshop in the back, and he hired me to handle all of his administration and enquiries. And from the day he interviewed me I'd been hopelessly in love with him.

Of course he had no idea. He was exactly the kind of guy I always fell for, a little on the short side (he claimed to be 5,10" but I was sure he was more 5,8", or less), dirty blond hair and blue eyes, and just the right amount of arrogance that made him seem confident rather than a jerk. I on the other hand, was probably not the kind of girl he normally went for. Bookish, glasses, long brown hair and not exactly thin. Not fat, not by normal standards anyway, but certainly by New York standards I was definitely not a size zero. I could see him with a long legged, skinny blonde with no boobs. He wouldn't be put off by her height, in fact I have no doubt that he was Tom Cruise in that respect, he probably went out of his way to go out with taller women to show how much it didn't intimidate him. This was all just 'probablys' and 'maybes' as I'd never actually seen him with a woman. Maybe he was gay. He did spend a lot of time with Chris...

Anyway, tomorrow was opening day and we'd spent all day today putting everything in it's place. As I left for the night I took one last look at my favourite piece that I had placed in the window, a high backed chair that you could just curl up on with a cup of tea and a good book. He'd started building it after my first week with the company. I saw it's bare bones in the warehouse and he'd caught me running my hands over the freshly carved and sanded arches and admiring the beautifully crafted legs. I was embarrassed as I'd never been so awed by a piece of furniture before. He moved it to his house after that, to the workshop he had there. He told me it was a passion project and that he'd moved it out of the warehouse so that he could work on it in his spare time. A small part of me wondered if he'd moved it so I couldn't touch it again. I kept asking for progress reports until he finally brought it in and asked me to sit on it. I was so surprised he'd picked me as his test subject but I supposed it was just out of respect for my curiosity about the piece. He'd ended up dressing it in this soft, dusky pink fabric that sounds hideous but it worked so well with the dark wood, and it was so soft you just felt wrapped up in it as soon as you sat down. I loved that chair but it was so far out of my price range that I'd put it in the window hoping it would be the first item to go. I didn't want it to tease me by staying in the shop more than a day. I blew a goodnight kiss to the chair, and to Jeremy, and headed home.

~

The next day was hectic from the word go. I picked up coffee on my way to the store, White Americano for Jeremy and a Pumpkin Spiced Latte for me, and I practically skipped along the busy streets until I reached the trade entrance to the store. I tentatively stepped inside and was greeted by Jeremy's tired smile.

"What time d'you call this?" He asked with a chuckle, holding his watch up for effect. There was more than an hour before opening but I imagined he'd been there a while. He was wearing a navy blue suit jacket and pants and a white button down with no tie. I hoped he'd remembered a tie but hadn't put it on yet, as there was going to be a lot of press here today. I handed him his coffee and clinked the paper cup with my own.

"Here's to the best opening day ever." I said before taking a sip.

"And to continued business!" He added with a look that said "eek" rather than the confidence I'd been expecting. 

We added our finishing touches to the layout and dressing of the store, and gathered outside for the unveiling. Jeremy's mother and sisters had come over from California for the occasion and I recognised Chris and a few of his other friends in the crowd of people outside the store. The photographers gathered for the cutting of the ribbon that announced the store 'open' and then before we knew it people were inside and snapping up the items in the store and in the catalogue, as well as making orders for their own custom pieces to be made. The day was a great success.

At the end of the day Jeremy offered to get us both a celebratory drink and told me to go into the workshop and take the weight off my feet for a moment. It was then I noticed my chair. Well, not my chair obviously, but the chair I loved. I wondered if it had been bought and was sitting there waiting to be delivered, but when I walked up to it there was no 'reserved' or 'sold' sign present. Then my heart sank as I wondered if it had been damaged in the hustle and bustle of the day and was sitting here in need of repair. I was checking it for damage when Jeremy re-appeared with two champagne flutes.

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking at me curiously.

"Is it broken?" I asked, with more concern than I should have.

"Nah, just not for sale." he handed me a flute and held his own aloft. "To great partnerships." he announced and clinked my glass. I didn't quite know to what he was toasting so I just nodded and took a sip of my champagne. "I couldn't have done this without you." I almost choked on my drink.

"Are you kidding? You did do all this without me. All I did was come in and balance your books."

"Now you're the one who's kidding right? Leah, you organised me. Me! Do you know how big a job that was? And you put so much into the layout of the store, the window display, everything. This is all you." he motioned around him, which was ironic as we were in the workshop, which I had nothing to do with. I quickly changed the subject.

"So who bought the chair?" I couldn't bear to sit on it now I knew it had a home.

"No-one."

"But you said it's not for sale?"

"Yep."

"So, what? You just decided not to sell it?" I was completely confused. It was a masterpiece of craftsmanship. It would be a travesty if he didn't sell it.

"Something like that. I decided that it should belong to the person who inspired me to make it," when I continued to stand there with a look of confusion etched on my face, Jeremy continued. "Are you going to sit in your chair or what?"

"My chair?"

"Your chair." He sat down on the bench that was opposite me and took another sip from his flute.

"MY CHAIR?!" I said again, a little louder this time.

"Don't you like it?" I think he wondered for a moment that he'd been wrong and that I didn't love that chair as much as he'd thought I did.

"I love this chair. Are you serious? Jeremy you have to let me pay you for it? I mean, it will have to be in installments but I will pay." I still hadn't sat down.

"Shut up and sit down. It's yours already."

I did as instructed and sat down in the chair. My chair. Now he'd said it was made for me I could actually feel as though it was sculpted to my measurements. The seat was big enough that I could curl my legs under me, which was how I always sat (or tried to sit) on everything. I kicked off my pumps and tucked my legs onto the seat next to me, half expecting him to flinch and say 'no feet on the chair' but he just smiled and relaxed against the table behind him.

"You like?" He asked, suddenly nervous.

"I love it. I mean I already loved it but now it's mine, I mean - thank you. Thank you so much." I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck. It was the most awkward hug with him still seated but he soon rose to his feet and hugged me back.

"You're welcome." He said into my neck. He held onto me a beat longer than he should have, and when I pulled back he closed the space between us and kissed me. I was so caught up in the moment I kissed him back, his tongue slipping between my lips to deepen the kiss. He tasted of champagne, and despite myself, I soon lost myself to that kiss. When we parted for air I suddenly had a flash of concern over what we'd just done. Surely it was not a good idea to kiss your boss.

"We shouldn't do this." I told him firmly, although my resolve felt anything but firm. The champagne and my feelings for him were hazing my judgement.

"Why not? We're consenting adults, we clearly get along and would like to take things further?" He had a point.

"But you're my boss!"

"I could fire you if that would help?" He joked but I felt a pang of uncertainty that he might be serious.

"It would not help for me to lose my job no." I pulled away from him and sat back in my chair.

"C'mon, I was kidding. What are you worried about?" He crouched in front of me and took my hands in his.

"Oh only about a million things!"

"Start with number one."

"That we do this and things turn out bad, or you only want one night and then we have to keep working together and it's awkward."

"Okay well I don't do one night stands so that's one down. Why would things turn out bad? We're both adults, if it doesn't work out we can still be friends, colleagues, there's no reason we couldn't."

"Seeing each other naked isn't a reason for things to be weird?"

"We'll do it with the lights off?" He smiled and I couldn't help laughing, which in turn made him laugh that raspy chuckle of his that drove me crazy. "What else?"

"I don't know." In that moment, listening to his laugh, feeling his warm hands around mine, I couldn't think of a single reason why we shouldn't. And so we did.

Image from blog http://blog.hsssales.com/how-to/everything-you-need-to-know-about-becoming-a-carpenter/ found on google images.