Julia stepped out, too. “They say they’ll be done by the end of the week.” “The hard part is done.” Workers had sunk the posts in concrete that already seemed to have set. Some of the crosspieces were in place. Pallets of six-foot cedar boards lay ready. There would be a gate on each side of the duplex. “We need to do some landscaping.” “We could at least get trees and a few shrubs in and established before the cold weather hits,” Julia agreed, looking around. “I can’t believe no one ever planted so much as a tree back here.” “If the landlord didn’t, why would a renter bother?” Somehow the fencing emphasized the starkness of grass turned brown from summer heat. “We could either enlarge these patios or have decks built, too.” She smiled at him. “Not a do-it-yourself guy, huh?” “I could do it in theory. Josh and I helped Dad build that deck off the back of my parents’ house.
