[Kitsumi]

Callie leaned against the back of the truck, catching her breath. "Well, now the hard part is going to be getting the stuff into the building," she said. "I'm kind of dreading that part."

"Don't you worry about that," Jack said. "I can ask a friend to come over and help me carry everything."

[Kitsumi]

The woman hesitated. She hated letting other people do what she considered to be her own work. But she really didn't know if she had the perseverance to carry the dresser all the way up the stairs. So finally, after a moment of thinking, she gave in. "Okay, but you have to let me buy food for you and whoever comes over to help."

[Kitsumi]

"Chinese takeout?" Jack asked, hopefully. "I have a menu at home."

Callie laughed. "Of course. As long as your friend is okay with that, it sounds good to me."

With that decided, the two climbed into the truck and began heading home. On the way, the male called a friend and confirmed that he would have some help moving the furniture.

[Kitsumi]

By the time they arrived at their destination, Jack's friend had already arrived. He was someone that Callie didn't recognize, meaning that the two had probably become friends during the time that she had been too busy with her ex.

The man smiled, holding out a hand towards Callie. "Hey, I'm Matt."

[Kitsumi]

Taking the offered hand, Callie shook it and smiled back. "Nice to meet you, I'm Callie. I really appreciate the fact that you're willing to come and help carry my furniture."

"It's no problem," the man replied. "Besides, when Jack mentioned that food was involved, you know I had to come running over!"

[Kitsumi]

The three of them laughed, with Jack slapping his hand on Matt's shoulder in a friendly way. "Yup, Callie here is gonna thank us with some Chinese takeout!"

"Only if you like Chinese," Callie said quickly. "If you want something different, I'm more than happy to order it. After all, you're the guest."

[Kitsumi]

Matt elbowed Jack playfully. "Hey, it looks like this place finally has someone who knows how to be a proper host!" He chuckled to show that he was just joking. "Chinese is fine with me."

"This guy will eat anything," Jack added. "I'm pretty sure he inhales his food without even tasting it."

[Kitsumi]

"Well, that should certainly make it easy for me to order something you like," Callie said, laughing. "But just in case, if there's anything specific you want, go ahead and tell me now so that I can go and order the food." She waited long enough to take both of their orders, before heading for the building.

[Kitsumi]

While the two men struggled with getting the furniture up the stairs into the home, Callie had the easy job of ordering food. She made the call, gave the restaurant the address, and then hung up just as the men reached her with the bookshelf.

"Where do you want this?" Jack asked.

[Kitsumi]

"Oh here, let me show you," Callie lead the men into her room. She pointed out where each piece of furniture should go. As they turned to head back downstairs, she stopped them. "Are you sure you don't need my help?" she asked. "I can at least carry the bedside table."

[Kitsumi]

"Nope," Jack said. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about any of this. Matt and I need to prove that we're big, strong men every now and then, right, Matty?"

The other man shrugged. "Hey, I know my own strength. But if you have something to prove, you go right on ahead."

[Kitsumi]

"Here," Jack grabbed Callie's hands, leading her towards the couch. He sat her down, and then placed the remote controller for the television in her hands. "Sit here and relax, the two of us will do all the work. All you have to do is pay the delivery person when they get here."

[Kitsumi]

It didn't feel right for Callie to simply sit around while Jack and Matt carried her furniture for her. But she had a feeling that arguing wasn't going to help anything at all. So she did as she was told, putting her feet up and idly switching through channels for something to watch.

[Kitsumi]

Eventually, she settled on watching some sort of game show. It wasn't one that she had seen before, but it seemed interesting enough. If nothing else, it would occupy her mind while the men did all of the heavy lifting that she should have been helping with. Or at least, she hoped it would.

[Kitsumi]

The dresser was the next piece of furniture that the men carried up. Callie could hear them huffing and puffing as they slowly brought it up the stairs. They had to stop to reposition it three times, before finally getting it upstairs. Both of them were sweating by the time they had finished.