(From A Suggestion By MordMorgan)

            

*Light Male-female content.*

               Alexandra Mays was a wanderer.  Like in
the song of old, she roamed from town to town, 
never staying in one place for very long, never
setting down roots.  After finishing her first year
of college, Alex as she liked to be called, came to
the realization that she needed something more in
her life than three more years of academia. So she
packed up what there was of her personal
possessions, tossed them in the van that her Uncle
had bought her, and hit the road.
               

Her Uncle John had raised Alex after the
death of her parents when she was seven.  John
Mays was a life long bachelor, ill prepared for the
needs of a growing girl.  Still, the master
contractor did what he could, giving her all the
love in his heart and teaching her all that he knew. 
By the time Alex had graduated high school, she
had learned every aspect of her Uncle's business. 
Starting at the bottom of the ladder, she'd worked
as a  carpenter, a painter, a landscaper, plumber,
and an electrician. 

               Two months before the end of that first
year of college, John Mays suffered a heart attack.
It had been the fifty-nine year olds third and had
been followed a few weeks later by a fourth and
final coronary.  Alex lost any interest in school
after that, deciding to hit the road for a while and
find herself.  Her inheritance from her Uncle's
estate, coupled with what she made working as a
Jill of all trades was enough for her to get by. 
There would be plenty of time to go back and get
the education her Uncle wanted her to get, she
told herself.  That had been five years ago.    

       The sign off the county road had said the
town was called Danversville.  Named no doubt,
the twenty-four year old brunette thought, after
some long ago founding family. At first glance, it
seemed no different than any of the half dozen
towns she'd already visited this year.  A sleepy
Main Street with a pharmacy, movie theater, a
small library and other assorted infrastructure.
There was no particular reason why she picked
this town to drive through. There never was.  Life
was more of an adventure that way.

               Halfway down Main Street just before the
Police Station and Courthouse that dominated the
small town square, Alex spotted what she was
looking for.  Past experience had taught her that
the local hardware store was usually the best place
to get a line on any possible jobs in the area.  Sure
enough, there was a large cork bulletin board near
the counter, upon which were a small number of
help wanted notes.

              Alex moved up to the counter where the
clerk was busy doing her nails.  It took her a few
tries to get the bleached blonde's attention.  She
finally looked up from the magazine she was
reading at the same time and asked if she could
help the brunette.

               "I was wondering if you knew of any
contractor jobs in the area?"  Alex said with a
smile as she leaned over and took note of the
magazine the girl had been reading.  She wasn't
surprised to find it was the usual tabloid trash.

               "Contractor jobs?"  the girl in the low cut
sun dress repeated.

               "You know, electrical work, carpentry,
painting, that sort of thing."  Alex went on to
explain. 

               "Well I don't know,"  she said as she
looked over Alex, her face making no secret of
her disapproval of Alex's short haircut and unisex
dress. 

                The older girl just shrugged it off.  When
you spent as much time traveling as  she did, you
learned to dress as comfortably as possible.

                "You have to look and see what's up on
the board.  I think that Mike...  I mean Mr.
Zalman put up something new there yesterday. 
Not sure what it was about, but I think I saw old
lady Crawford's name on it.  She bought the old
Gallagher place last year and that always needs
some kind of work done on it."

               "Thanks, you've been a big help."  Alex
said with a touch of sarcasm as she turned her
attention to the board. She was sure it was lost on
the girl who was already back at her magazine.

               With only a half dozen notices, Alex
quickly found the one in question. She had just
finished reading it when she felt someone
approach behind her.  She turned to find a slightly
overweight man in his late forties standing behind
her.   

               "Hello, I'm Mitchell Zalman."  he said as
he also took stock of the young woman.  "My
wife and I own this store.  Wendy, that's our
cashier over there, said that you were interested in
any contractor work hereabouts."

               "That's right." Alex said, all too aware of
his eyes on her breasts.  "She said something
about a Ms. Crawford need some help."

               "Don't get many women in these parts
doing that sort of work."  Mr. Zalman said, trying
to get a better look down her blouse.

               "Well I'm not exactly from these parts, Mr.
Zalman."  Alex said as she reached back and
pulled the notice off the wall.  "And trust me,
there are few contracting jobs that I can't handle."

               She went on to list a few of her
qualifications and references.  The store owner
couldn't help but be impressed. 

               "Please call me Mike,"  he said with a
friendly smile.  "Everyone does.  I can't really tell
you what the job would cover.  Marilyn Crawford
is a pretty private person.  Way I reckon, she
really wasn't too happy about posting the ad to
begin with."

               Noting that there wasn't any number or
address on the notice, Alex asked if Mr. Zalman
had the information.  A little reluctantly, he pulled
a small piece of paper from out of his wallet.  Ms. 
Crawford had asked him to give it to any qualified
respondents.

               Holding the address and phone with the
original ad, Alex asked for directions to the old
Gallagher place.  She thanked the hardware man,
and started to leave.  Alex was almost out the
door when Mike called out after her.

               "If you don't get the job, you just come
back and see old Mike here." he said.  "I'm sure I
could find a place for someone of your skills."    

              Alex smiled and again thanked Mr.
Zalman.  From the furious glances from the
helpful girl behind the counter, she could imagine
the kind of skills Mike Zalman looked for in the
hired help.  She imagined that Mrs. Zalman didn't
come down to the store much.   

               Climbing back into her ten year old land
rover, Alex smiled at the little episode back in the
store.  The twenty four year old was used to being
the object of attention of both men and women. 
She stood just a shade under five six and her
chosen profession the last half decade had left her
with a trim, muscular build.  Coupled with her
short sun-streaked brown hair, it produced a
striking look.  

               As she drove through town, following the
directions she'd been given, Alex wondered what
this prospective job might entail.  Also what her
prospective employer might be like as well.  From
what had been painted so far by Mike and Wendy,
Ms. Crawford was undoubtedly some eccentric
little old lady who valued her privacy.  Every town
seemed to have at least one.  Living in an old
house, she must have at least a half dozen little
jobs that needed doing.  At least Alex hoped so.

               Turning down the street, she spotted the
house at the end of the block.  It reminded her of
a similar one she'd worked on a few years back. 
That had belonged to a married couple in their
sixties.  Nice people she remembered, she had
worked for them for almost a month.    

               When she pulled up front, Alex saw that
the house was larger than it had first appeared.
Larger, and a lot older.  If she had to guess, she
would put it as early 1900's.  One thing did
seem out of place on the Victorian era house
were the two satellite dishes mounted on the roof.
There also seemed to be some additional power
lines run into the second floor as well.

               "I guess some people just can't live
without their HBO." Alex mused as she started
up the long walk.

               She pressed the doorbell and waited.
After getting no response, she tried the old door
knocker instead.  It made a loud booming
sound.

               "Guess the doorbell is one of the things
that needs fixing." she thought as she waited.

               A few moments later, the sound of
footsteps behind the door became loud enough
to hear.

               When the door swung open, Alex found
that her assumptions about Ms. Crawford were
way off the mark.  Assuming of course that this
was the owner of the house standing in the
doorway.  A full figured woman who stood half a
head taller than Alex, she had a bust that drew
immediate attention.   Raven black hair with just a
trace of gray streamed down her back.  Alex
would put her age in her mid thirties but would
later be surprised that Ms. Crawford was two
months shy of forty-three. Even in the plain
sweatsuit she was wearing, the woman
exuded a sense of poise and elegance.

               "Good morning,"  the older woman said
with a smile that if anything, made her seem
even younger.  "Can I help you?"