on top of the world

Ellie couldn't believe her eyes. She looked up and there was Lon, high up on Olivia's roof cleaning out the gutters.

She smiled, looking at him barefooted, just in his jeans, digging through the muck in the gutters.

"I thought you were going to mow the lawn?" Ellie said.

"Yeah, I will, but I thought I'd start here first." He looked out at the mess in the yard of twigs and leaves. "Might as well make the most of it, before I start cleaning." He tumbled down some leaves then, but not near her. "You want to come up?"

"What?" He had to be teasing her. Wasn't he?

"Its easy, just come around to the back of the house." He went over the roof top then and showed her where to get on the roof. Actually, it was rather simple the way the house had been built into the ground. The roof came down low. He helped her up. It felt so strange to be on the hot roof.

He held her hand and pulled her up to the top of the roof. They could see the campus from there and more of the downtown area too. It took Ellie's breath away. She looked down then where the gutters were and felt a bit woozy. Now they were so high up. It didn't' seem possible that it was a two story house.

"I won't let you fall." He promised. Ellie believed him. Somehow she didn't really fear it. She felt safe with Lon as if they could do just about anything together.

"I may have to come back tomorrow," he told her.

"Really?" She kept smiling, hoping not to look down, but kept looking at Lon. He was fun to watch. Otherwise if she did look down, she'd be dizzy and she might fall.

"Lydia won't mind." He flushed the leaves out of the gutter with a water hose. It looked as if they hadn't been taken care of in ages.

"I don't think so." She shrugged.

"I still need underwear," he reminded her.

Was he not wearing underwear? Ellie almost laughed.