Chapter 25

Sue got out her project plan and we marked off a few jobs that needed to be done today. They were the jobs that needed two people. I washed up as Sue got into her work gear. We walked over to the tool shed and loaded the wheelbarrow with the tools and stuff we would need for the day.

We had a productive morning; we changed the hinges on one of the gates that led to the main paddock. Then we tightened up some of the stalls in one of the stable blocks. We had just finished that when two girls and their mothers turned up and asked about riding lessons. While Sue showed them around, I went and changed the tools, there was some strimming to do around the paddocks.

I pulled on the safety gear and ensured the fuel tank was full. I put the loppers and a rake in the barrow and pushed it around to the start point, there was a stile that led out onto a public footpath.

I fired up the strimmer, pulled on my goggles and started to work along the bottom of the hedge, it had not been done for some time and it took me a while to make any headway. After half an hour I had to stop and use the loppers to cut back a huge patch of brambles. It was a hit day and I stripped off my t-shirt.

It was nearly two hours later when Sue came across the paddock toward me. She waved at me.

“Sorry love, I had just signed those girls up for some lessons when a sales rep turned up to talk to me!”

“No worries, I had not got that far!” I said and looked at the debris behind me.

“It looking better already!” Sue smiled, “but it will look better when I get my arse into gear and clean up the mess!”

“Okay I will do another hour and then we will stop for lunch!” I said.

“That sounds like a plan to me!” Sue said and picked up the rake.

I fired up the strimmer and started to move down the hedge row. I saw Sue raking up the debris and filling the wheelbarrow. I had to stop twice more to cut back some patches of brambles.

The sun was beating down and I was sweating like a pig after another hour. Sue had taken two barrows full around to the fire pit.

I laid the strimmer down and slipped off the goggles and gloves. I rubbed the sweat out of my eyes.

“Wow, you have done a great job!” I heard someone say. I turned around to see a lady watching me.

She was older than Sue, I am crap at judging ages.

“I take it you are Zak?” She said in a plummy voice.

“Yes, that’s me!” I said.

“I am Mrs Green!” she said with a smile and she offered me her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Mrs Green!” I said and returned the smile.

“Sue said you might be able to help me with some bags of feed!” she said and looked me up and down.

“Yes, no worries I will just put the strimmer away,” I said.

We walked over to the tool shed. The wheelbarrow was outside the shop. I put the strimmer away and locked the tool shed. Then I walked over to the shop. Mrs Green had bought six bags of feed; I knew that would make Sue happy as she told me there was a tidy markup on the food.

Sue was coming out of the shop.

“Hey, I was just coming to see you, Mrs Green,” she said with a smile, “I see you found Zak.”

“I did and he is going to help me with the feed bags,” Mrs Green smiled,

“Right Zak, I will start preparing lunch,” she smiled, “I will see you in ten minutes,”

“Sounds good to me!” I said.

It took three trips with the barrow to get the feed to the stable block that Mrs Green rented. I thought I had done the job when she asked if I could put it in the loft area.

That took longer as I could only carry one bag up at a time. It was a real struggle but I got it done and Mrs Green tipped me with a tenner.

I walked over to the farmhouse. Sue was on the phone and she put her finger to her lips, the international sigh for me to be quiet. I went up to the bathroom and used the toilet before washing.

The strimmer kicked up a lot of dust. By the time I got back downstairs, Sue was making a pot of tea.

“Sorry love that was your mom on the phone, I was worried you might say something to give us away!” she said and poured me a cup of tea.

“No worries, “I said and took a sip of my tea, “is she okay?”

“Yes, she is fine, I said I would get you to ring her tonight” Sue said.

Then she got a platter of sandwiches out of the fridge, there were some cheese and onion and some ham sandwiches as well as a pork pie cut into quarters. We sat and at lunch. we chatted about this, that, and nothing. I poured us more tea from the pot as Sue cut us some slices of fruit cake.

After we had eaten, we headed back over to the tool shed. I refilled the strimmer’s fuel tank, then I loaded it onto the wheelbarrow. We then walked to the spot along the hedge where I had finished.

I fired up the strimmer and Sue went back to cleaning up the debris the strimmer left behind. I got to the end of the hedge, where it met the lane that led toward town. I switched the engine off and laid the strimmer on the grass. My back and shoulders were aching, the strimmer was heavy and it had been an afternoon of hard work. I walked back to where Sue was racking.

“Have you had enough for today?” she asked and dropped the rake to the floor.

“No, I have strimmed all the way to the lane!” I said.

“Bloody hell that’s good,” Sue said and looked around her, “I feel bad I have fallen so far behind you!”

“Well, if we work together, we can get this finished before it gets dark!” I said and picked up the rake.

We worked well as a team and soon has all the crap left by the strimming cleared up and on the fire.

Then we put the tools back in the shed. Sue wanted to check how the shop had done that day. we wandered in and she got us cans of coke from the fridge. I sat outside as Sue helped to cash up the till.

I sat there and did some people watching. Some nice-looking ladies were wandering around. I got a few looks coming my way. Sue came out of the shop with a load of envelopes and the cash bag.

“Come on, I am starving!” she said with a wink. As we walked over to the house, we got stopped a few times. Sometimes to just say hello, sometimes to be asked questions.

Once we got into the house Sue told me she was going to shower then she would cook. I said I would make coffee. As I waited for the kettle to boil the phone rang and when I picked It up it was my mom.

We chatted for around fifteen minutes, she asked if I was behaving and if I had done any prep for my upcoming exams and told me about her work. She rang off after asking me to get Aunty Sue to call her.

Sue came downstairs as I finished making the coffee. I told her my mom had called and asked her to call her back. I had a nice long shower and put on a T-shirt and some boxers before heading downstairs.