I sat and we sipped our coffee for a bit. Mom asked Catherine about the schedule at her school. I knew my mom would start setting up her classroom in two weeks. I was paying attention, it just wasn't that interesting. Then Catherine cleared her throat.
"Oh, I wondered if I could ask a favor," she said, looking at my mother. "I told you how I wanted to do some work on the house—especially Melissa's room—while she is away at her father's. Do you think I could borrow Greg to help me with some of that work? I didn't know if you had plans."
Mom gave a thoughtful little frown as she thought about it. Then she smiled and shook her head. "No," she sighed. "We hadn't made any plans." She turned to me. "Greg, would you mind helping Catherine?"
I was concerned I might look too eager, so I chewed m
