Sunday morning, after a breakfast with the girls, I rode the Tomos to the park. I sat looking at either the marina or the river I wished there was somewhere I could use to piggyback with my wireless connection. It would have been nice to give ebay a look, just in case I saw something I could use.

I read the Sunday paper twice before Lucy showed up. "Mike, you want to take a look at your apartment now, or take us to lunch."

"Which would you rather do; eat while you can enjoy it, or wait to see if you are going to be embarrassed by the decorating job?"

Lucy laughed then said, "Let's go take a look first." She waited for me to leave the park before she drove off. It was a short ride to the apartment. I put the bike inside the garage before I climbed the stairs. Becky met me on the mini deck landing.

"Close your eyes," she said. When I balked she added. "Come on just like on TV play along."

Lucy pushed me into the apartment. I did close my eyes at the last second. "It's our welcome home gift to you," Becky stated enthusiastically.

I was pleasantly surprised. I tried to show more emotion but pleasantly surprised summed it up. They had a steel and wood workbench sitting on the right of the sink. It was supposed to be my counter. One of them had stained and poly coated the top of the workbench. It actually did look very nice. The gunmetal gray frame with the three cherry stained 2x8s on top make a nice cabinet with a sleek industrial feel to it. On the one shelf under the workbench they had placed my small tabletop appliances.

Beside the work bench a tall metal cabinet with full doors had been added. It was one of those steel storage things you might find in the workshop of a plant somewhere. I could tell it too well made to have been cheap. There was even a little unit made from a large metal toolbox on wheels. Someone had added a removable piece of plywood on top. Since the tool box was on wheels, I could roll it around to use as a kitchen bar or a dinette table. It was the most functional piece in the room I expected. They had even bought a couple of metal bar stools.

In what turned out to the be the living room/bedroom area I found the most changes. All my old junked out furniture was gone. Everything was new and matched. It was certainly a different look and feel to the place.

There was a sofa with a removable cover. The sofa was over four feet wide and it was three feet deep. The depth would have been a problem but for the big bolsters. It would be comfortable, I thought. What made it unique, was a second piece which pulled from under it. When it rolled out the sofa could be lowered to create a low bed which was four feet by six feet. The way it was set up the joint would run side to side not top to bottom. It would be much more comfortable for two people to sleep on it.

I had a new comfortable chair which was a nice height. I sat down to try it out. I suppose it was some kind of cue for Lucy. Because she instantly removed the top of the workbench table and rolled it to me. Once it was in front of me she opened one of the drawers. Some one have fitted a top inside the drawer so that it made a desk top. The tool box had become a small desk. Since the casters locked in place, it was a genius solution to a small space multipurpose piece of furniture.

There were a couple of cube tables with lamps beside the sofa. I had no idea what I would do with those. I suppose the overhead light was annoying to the girls. I liked it because it was bright. It wasn't just the lighting that caused the room to be a little less bright.

They had painted the white side walls a pearl color. Each end wall was painted with a flat charcoal colored paint. It was beautiful but a little dark for my taste. I did not say a word though.

"So what do you think," Lucy asked.

"It is beautiful. I am shocked but it's really wonderful. Thank you both." I went for a hug but wound up kissing them both. That whole kissing thing was going to be a problem I feared. I had to see Lucy every day. Becky would probably grow tired of the game and move on, but Lucy might turn out to be a problem.

Lucy handed me a wad of money. "Since Becky insisted you wanted a shop look to the place, the furniture was less expensive than I thought."

"Well you did great. So let's go celebrate. Lunch is on me anywhere you want to go. Anywhere I can wear jeans that is."