Getting Organised. Carolyn Caterer
which exhausted her as she watched him and his young assistant transform the gravel and old paving slabs, whilst consigning the weeds to history, all in the space of 3 days.
Mabel had been great at showing her how to prepare the ground, even getting Roger to bring over a wheelbarrow full of her best manure and had helped plan out her vegetable beds, along with an area for strawberries and tomatoes (with the compost heap hidden at the back just behind the shed). She had also ensured that the border of flowers immediately beyond the patio outside the back door had been lovingly relieved of its weeds and was now showing off the flowers that would soon be blooming as spring arrived.
Mabel had enough seedlings in her greenhouse to ensure that Abi didn’t have to start from scratch and, in return, she had offered to do some of the more manual digging work in the garden whenever Mabel required help. She knew that Mabel was proud and wouldn’t accept money for her advice or her plants, but she wanted to contribute in some way as a thank you and so she had suggested she helped out saying that the extra physical work was good for her. If truth be told, she would have to admit it had firmed up her arms, legs and stomach in a way she wouldn’t have thought possible in such a short space of time. As Abi was a serial gym hater she was more than happy to do some physical work outside and reap the benefits that way. It also felt as if she were thumbing her nose at David who had insisted on regular gym visits for her during their marriage (she noted this rule didn’t apply to him, and his steadily growing paunch rather proved her point) which she saw more as a form of punishment than a reward, as he seemed to think it was.
As her eyes ran across the patio, which had been jet washed so that it looked as good as new and a rather nice colour now that the dirt had been removed, she realised that it was missing something and that was some tubs of plants. As her cottage was over a hundred years old she decided she needed some classy planters and so decided to go over to the village of Studfold to look around the local pottery, which Mabel had recommended to her.
She decided to go while she was feeling inspired and motivated, which was now. Taking into account her post marriage resolution to do things spontaneously, she immediately jumped into her rather battered Fiesta. Abi saw cars as purely a way of getting her from one place to another and wasn’t remotely interested in any of their other functions, or for that matter, doing dull things such as washing them. Hence she had gone for a silver colour, convinced that this was the least likely to show the dust and the dirt accumulated from living in the countryside.
As she pulled up outside the pottery in the picturesque village she could practically hear the curtains twitching and the neighbours tutting at the car which was so out of keeping with the BMWs, Jaguars and 4X4’s that littered the drives, but Abi was totally oblivious to the display of wealth that was all around her. As she parked she had been totally mesmerised by some sky blue pots that stood outside and was heading towards them with delight.
Unfortunately her delight turned to disappointment when she saw the prices; at least double what she had anticipated spending. She looked around hoping to spot something more in her price range, but looking through the entire collection in the main pottery just demonstrated that these prices were way out of her league.
As she turned to head back to her car she noticed, across the other side of the small car park, an outbuilding with a sign outside saying ‘seconds’. Holding her breath Abi headed over to see if there was anything there more suitable for her purse.
As she walked into the room her eyes had to adjust to the subdued lighting which seemed to be preventing her from making out any shapes or forms, but as she took another step forward she started as the room automatically lit up before her. Immediately she spotted a number of the blue planters in the corner with a hand written sign enticingly saying ‘60% off’. Hardly able to believe her luck Abi started looking through them wondering if they were cracked or the wrong shape, but they seemed to be just as good as the ones outside. She chose three and then her eye was taken by some jugs on the table above them. Again, these jugs were a lovely deep blue with white spots on them and perfect for milk or cream. She picked one up and held it to the light, still trying to spot the imperfection that made it a second and yet to her untrained eye it looked perfect. She stared at it intently willing it to show her its secret flaw.
‘It’s got a slight mark on one of the spots in case you were wondering.’ A voice blurted out from the doorway and caught Abi completely off guard. She spun around and tripped over one of the planters that she had moved in preparation for purchasing it. Not wishing to drop the jug and break it, she stumbled forward and fell flat on her knees and then on to her front, ending up prostrate on the floor with her hands out in front of her, the jug two inches off the ground.
‘Well caught. Here let me help you up.’ Abi had been taken by surprise at his appearance that she was totally unaware of his face and, now she was face down on the floor all she could see was an old pair of trainers and some well-worn jeans in front of her, but worst of all she could hear the amusement in his voice and she felt instantly humiliated. However, what was worse than lying on the floor in front of a total stranger was that she suddenly realised she hadn’t changed out of her gardening clothes and so her t-shirt and trousers were stained with all sorts of things from her garden and she was in no fit state to be seen by anyone. Deciding that this whole spontaneity thing was very overrated Abi decided the only way to keep her pride or what was left of it, was to get up from the floor in as ladylike a manner as possible in order to spare her further humiliation.
As the man held out his hand to assist her, Abi couldn’t help but wish he would just go away and leave her alone. She took hold of his hand, grateful to get out of this embarrassing predicament as soon as possible and, as he brought her to her feet, glanced quickly up at his face and found a pair of bright blue eyes reflecting the amusement in his voice, in a kindly way and, she had to admit, a very attractive face, which was probably just what she didn’t want to see when she was feeling inadequate enough already.
Sensing her discomfort he immediately stood back from her as she got up on her feet and turning away he walked out of the outhouse with no further comments or any eye contact whatsoever. In fact it had all happened so fast she was only just able to make out some basic features, including a clean shaven chin and dark blonde hair which fell across his face in a rather appealing manner.
In different circumstances Abi would have been more than happy to find out more about this man, but today she felt distracted, disorganised and most certainly not ready to make polite conversation with a total stranger, who for some reason she could not fathom had rather set her heart aflutter, despite her barely having more than a glance at him. She dusted herself down, put the jug back on the shelf, picked up the planters and walked across the car park back to the main shop where a young woman in her twenties took her money in virtual silence and made it quite clear that this job was both boring and beneath her. So much for customer service, thought Abi and left as soon as possible, with a couple of furtive glances to see if the man was around, but he had disappeared as quickly as he had arrived.
Placing the planters in the boot she drove home via a local nursery and purchased a number of winter pansies to keep her going until the spring flowers could be planted.
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Adam Henderson watched from his workshop in the corner of the yard as the woman put her planters in the back of her car. He was intrigued by her and her complete lack of attention to her looks. She had obviously been working hard outside from the state of her; maybe she was a gardener or garden designer as they seemed to like being called these days? He could see that, when she pulled up and got out of her car, she was oblivious to both how she looked and how much her looks clashed with the rather perfect village in which his business was located. He was almost waiting for one of the neighbours to come rushing out and tell her to go away and not come back until she was more presentable (he wouldn’t put it past old Mrs Evans to do just that), but fortunately they all stayed in their houses. Unaware that she was being watched he could tell that she was perfectly at ease with herself and had probably not even noticed that she was wearing stained trousers and a top that had seen better days. Adam found this both intriguing and endearing as he was used to the Sunday brigade who came in their expensive cars and designer clothes, with children who almost always managed