Surprise

Alex casually strolled up to his home as the setting sun blurred his vision. For a moment, he wasn't sure he arrived at the right property, because someone seemed to be ripping the roof off.

'What is going on here?' he thought while inspecting the scene.

Alex ran toward the house to figure out what was going on when he noticed a familiar face walking toward him.

"Cynthia, what's the deal?" Alex shouted toward Vikki's assistant the moment he recognized her, looking for an explanation.

Contrary to her submissive attitude when dealing with her employer, the woman didn't alter her stride hearing the young man's voice.

"What's the deal? You should ask Ms. Vikki," she stated matter-of-factly. "The improvements are being done at her request."

Alex placed his palm on his forehead and allowed his temper to cool for a moment. "Could you at least explain what is going on? I haven't spoken to Vikki since this morning."

"Of course, young Alexander." The woman turned her back and started walking toward his house.

"That's my house, you shouldn't just stroll around like that! Come on, Cynthia!" He attempted to grab her shoulder but she was agile enough to avoid his grasp.

Giving up on the matter, he simply followed the woman into his home.

As he walked up the once beautiful lawn, he gazed at the black tarps strewn across the property. The roofers chucked the debris off the top of his building directly on to the ground below—seemingly uncaring of their target. Chunks of the black asphalt shingles crunched under his feet as he diligently searched for nails in his path while approaching the house.

In his scans, he noticed that they didn't stop at just the shingles! A pink cotton-candy-like substance filled the surroundings; tufts of fiberglass clung to his pants like burrs. He knew that they must have torn out the insulation below the roof. Various sizes of water-stained lumber stacked on one side of the lawn explained how they got access to the puffy substance.

'At least they kept the inside protected,' He thought as he followed the assistant through the front door.

He stepped onto a piece of clear plastic placed inside his front door. A wiry boot scraper with a hole for a foot was placed on the floor and thick brushes hung from a stand near the entrance. Cynthia offered him a brush as she removed the fine particles from her dress pants and slipped a paper shoe cover onto her high heels.

"So, now can you tell me what's happening with my house?" Alex was growing impatient as he heard clanging from inside the home.

"Just sit at the dinner table, I'll show you the designs." Cynthia refused to be caught in his pace.

Alex glanced down the hall and noticed even more workers in his living room. He had no idea what was happening down there, but the commotion sounded like they were tearing the house apart!

Cynthia took two large tubes off the kitchen counter and carried them to the kitchen table, where she opened one and placed it down. Unfurling the papers inside, pictures of steel roofing and brass gutters covered the page.

"Vikki noticed that the roof was damaged, so she requested that we repair it." She said as she moved the design choices toward Alex. "No one was here, so I selected the most aesthetically pleasing and efficient roofing available.

Looking over the papers, he admitted that the blue color that was chosen to replace the shingles would look decent, but that wasn't why he was upset.

"And to replace the shingles they had to pull out the insulation?" Alex questioned, not knowing much more than he learned in class in high school.

"Not at all! I took it upon myself to have them repair any damaged surfaces. Upon inspection, they noticed slight leaking, which would cause the insulation to be less efficient, so I upgraded that as well. I assume you're pleased," Cynthia explained.

"And what is going on in the living room?" Remembering the second slip, he couldn't help but ask.

She unrolled another paper that depicted an ornate fireplace mantle only surpassed by the one's he had seen in the Copperland mansion.

Hand carved marble columns spiraled upward on each side, supporting a smooth ledge across the top. Gold Leaflets adorned the pillars as if they were vines climbing the trunk of a tree. The marbling resembled rain clouds scattered through a calm sky on an overcast spring day.

Inside was pitch black, accented by an intricate carving of a tree, encircled with runes and a dull rusted tone. Alex couldn't help but gaze at the centerpiece of the mantle though.

In emboldened golden letters "Jackson" stood. It appeared to be added to the photo as an alteration to the original piece, but the lettering wasn't any less extravagant.

"Are you kidding me? How can I put this in my living room?" He asked as soon as he took in the full image.

"Relax, it is much cheaper than it appears," She explained, "It's a second-hand piece and the gold is actually an alloy called ormolu, not solid gold!"

"Relax? That doesn't make it any better you know!" Alex raised his voice, frustrated with the assistant. "I don't care how nice it looks, this is a normal house. I can't have something like this!"

"Miss Copperland noticed that your previous mantle was damaged and wanted to fix it for y-"

"What if I didn't want it fixed?" He interrupted. "What if that's where I stored my hammer?"

The assistant just stared at the pissed off young man without making a sound. She was unsure of how to handle the situation without upsetting Vikki further.

As she contemplated how to respond, she heard yelling from the front door of the house, "Cynthia, what the Hell is this?! I said one day!"

Vikki had returned.

"Miss Copperland, I'm in the kitchen, I'll explain everything." Cynthia called out from the kitchen.

Vikki stormed into the kitchen, with her brow furrowed and anger visible on her face, until she saw Alex.

Seeing her boyfriend, her mood changed completely and she ran toward him. "Alex, you're back early! I wanted to surprise you!"

Alex accepted her hug, but didn't return it as he asked, "Vik, what the Hell is going on here? Where am I supposed to sleep?"