Ember Flowers (9 page)

“You seem far
away Jo, something on your mind?” A question from the long haired
brunette, her dimples showing below her kettle nose.

“Oh? No, not
far away.” She frowned, throwing the chew toy out onto the grass,
it was pounced on by two pounds of energised puppy.

“Well something
has you thinking? I can see the cogs whirring away in there.”

Jo sighed,
looking at her. “The usual, Owen, the divorce, work.”

A frown from
the cheerful woman. “It’s always Owen, isn’t it? Man gives you no
end of trouble.”

Jo studied her
hands. She didn’t like to talk about it. Kerry could see it as she
looked away. Her neighbour changed the subject.

“So still
thinking of selling Jo?”

“Yes. Waiting
for the agent to get back to me. Slack.”

“I know what
you mean, Kevin and I jumped through all kinds of hoops. Is that
why that landscaper’s ute was here before? Getting the yard
redone?”

She felt her
chest tighten. “Ah. Yes, she was just giving me a quote.”

“You should
give me her card?, I’d love to get my yard spruced up too.” They
watched the kids get progressively covered in grass, giggling
away.

Jo reached for
her purse, a short rummage. She gave the card to Kerry, passing it
off as nothing at all.

The card was
pocketed, she’d send Jean a text to let her know. “So anything else
new Jo? I haven’t seen you much lately?”

A shy smile
crept onto her face. “I went camping on the weekend.”

Her friend
threw the toy to the dog. “Oh? That’s great. Kevin and I used to do
that sometimes when he came home. Where abouts did you go?”

Jo bit her lip
as she chose her words. “A property out in the ranges, horse
riding.”

Kerry was
nodding at her. “Sounds nice, friend take you?”

Grey eyes
glanced at her fleetingly. “Well, no, actually I met someone.”

She hadn’t
expected her shoulder to be pummelled with excitement. She raised a
hand to protect herself as she grinned at the reaction, a little
taken aback. Her neighbour was happy for her. Kerry called Owen all
kinds of names behind his back, and was happy Jo seemed to be
getting over him.

“Oh Jo! That’s
great. I’m happy for you. So how did you meet? Is he cute?”

The grit of her
jaw was almost imperceptible. Something else that worried her,
conducting a conversation with someone who knew her well, without
using ‘she’ or ‘he’ was difficult.

“Funny story..”
She coughed softly. “You remember how my car looked last
month?”

Kerry scoffed,
leaning back on the worn wood. “Oh Jo..Don’t tell me you rear ended
the poor guy?”

She smiled
guiltily. It was
mostly
the truth.

Kerry laughed.
Once she got over that she continued with her follow up question.
“You didn’t answer my question? Cute?”

Jo shifted
uncomfortably. She thought about it. “...Yes. Older. Gentle.”

A pat on her
shoulder. “Aw, that’s great. Sounds like just what you need.” Kerry
was probably imagining some studly older guy with a pony farm out
in the hills, ready to take her horseback riding while she gazed at
his well oiled chest.

She sighed.
“Yeah maybe.”

The brunette
nudged her with her elbow. “So have you two..y’know?” An impish
grin. Kerry was forward, and cheeky, she used to host movie nights
at her house. Jo tended to keep to herself, politely declining,
ignoring the soccer mom types that she could overhear cackling
drunk over the fence.

“Kerry? Do you
think I’m some kind of trailer trash?” A brow twitched with a hint
of annoyance.

Her friend’s
face blanched. “Oh..no no. Of course not. I was just..you know?
Curious. You’ve seemed happy. I thought maybe you got laid?”

Joanne blushed.
Nothing made her blush.
It was followed by a frown. “No,
haven’t yet.” She realised what she’d said and it made her cringe
internally.
Yet. Would there even be a yet?
She hadn’t
allowed herself to think about it. Every time her mind wandered
there she shut herself down and thought about something else.
Sports. Work.
Hell, she’d even take a stuffy dinner at her
mother’s house to avoid it.

Chapter
14

Jean pulled up
in the suburban driveway. She remembered Jo’s house from dropping
her off that time. The Sailing Day Jo had to attend. By comparison
Kerry’s yard looked like it had been watered. Both neighbours had
single storey homes that sat fence to fence in the quiet unassuming
street.

She’d texted
the blonde a few days ago, she hadn’t heard from her since their
camping trip, no doubt she had a lot to think about. A contact,
however slight and nonintrusive would at least show she cared.

Jo had
responded, assuring her she was fine, that she had a good time. A
follow up text later in the day mentioned that Jean might receive a
call from an interested customer. It asked her not to mention to
Kerry a few specific details, and why. It was signed with a kiss. A
single x at the end of a message. At least that was promising.

Jo’s neighbour
was quick to answer to door. Jean looked presentable, her usual
company shirt on top of cargos, work boots scuffed at the toe.

A face looked
back at her through the fly screen door. A dog ran toward her with
a clack of claws down the hall. The puppy from the photo, with a
gruff warning bark.

“Oh Winston!
Shut up would you?”

The screen door
opened, revealing a short brunette stay at home mother and a
scampering dog. “Jean right?” She held out her hand as the older
woman clasped it.

“That’s right.
Joanne mentioned you might call.”

She was let in
and offered coffee, the dog wuffled around her feet. She sat down
at the rectangular glass table in the open plan living area. A
kitchen adjoined to dining. Jean put her clipboard down and pulled
out a pen.

Kerry joined
her at the table, bringing two mugs.

“So you quoted
Jo not long ago?” The brunette looked at her with interest.

“Yes, she
mentioned you two had been neighbours a while?”

Kerry smiled at
her. “Almost three years. Yeah, she’s a tough nut to crack, keeps
to herself a lot. But we chat when we bump into each other.”

Jean smiled and
nodded. Silently pleased that Joanne’s troublesome ex hadn’t been
mentioned.
He must have moved out? No longer lived there?
Somehow, she sensed Kerry was the protective type.

“So you
mentioned you wanted the yard..’tizzied up’ as you put it?”

***

She dragged the
last ornamental cherry tree off the drive, sliding it onto a
trolley and walking it over to her pre-dug hole.

Kerry had been
surprised that Jean considered this to be a small project, that she
could turn it over in less than a day, alone. Jean roughed out a
quote and the housewife had signed there and then. Jean kept her
pricing reasonable, her experience dictated it would be a little
higher than the next guy, but not exorbitantly so.

Consequently,
she’d asked when Kerry wanted this done. The eager response was
“How’s today for you?”

Jean had
groaned a little inwardly, it was hot out, and she’d be walking
around a nursery, then digging holes and the like for a few hours.
However, at the end of the day, Jo might come home next door. So
she accepted.

By two p.m.
she’d drawn up a plan, and been out to the local garden centre to
scout out some flora. Over the next few hours, the yard comprised
mainly of grit and shaggy lawn had become a lush multi-layered
array of colours and shapes. Pale variegated grasses that worked
well with flowering shrubs and a few small feature trees. It was
friendly to kids and the dog, wouldn’t break and bank and looked
lovely, instantly adding value to the otherwise dated home.

Around four
p.m. she’d stripped off her polo, working in just her much loved
and somewhat abused beige tank underneath. The customer would
understand, Jean could hear her air conditioning system cranking at
full notch. Now an hour later, and somewhat exhausted, she tipped
the last of her water down her throat and crouched down, pulling
the last tree into the hole.

She patted down
the mulch and scattered it with her shovel, before standing and
doing one last walk around. Making sure she hadn’t missed anything.
At the turn of her heel she heard the fly wire door creak open, the
puppy bound out and the housewife exclaiming loudly. Kerry fawned
over the yard, walking around the thumbing the leaves and
flowers.

“Oh Jean! It’s
perfect!”


A grin as she
crossed her arms, dying for a cold glass of just about anything.
She picked up her discarded polo and used it to wipe her
forehead.

“I’m glad you
like it. I’ll email you instructions for care and maintenance.”

Another nod as
the house wife smiled. The dachshund puppy bounced around her feet.
A crunch of bitumen under tyres. A white Ford pulled in next door.
Jean smiled.

Kerry remarked,
watching the car. “Oh, Jo’s home, good, I can show off my yard.” A
nudge to her ribs. Jean smiled at the amusing woman.

After a moment,
a blonde head poked out of the car door. A greeting from across the
yard. Jo came over to have a look, smiling as she walked across the
grass. She was still in uniform, hair tied up as it usually
was.

For a second
Jean felt embarrassed. She probably looked like she’d been dragged
through the jungle. Covered in sweat, grass stains darkened her
knees with moisture, leaves stuck to her leg. No time to
prepare.

Jo’s eyes
flitted over her, smiling in amusement. Jean smiled back. If she
knew Jo was due back, she would have at least attempted to wash up
in Kerry’s bathroom.

“Hi Joanne,
nice to see you again.” Cordially enough, and she meant it too.

A nod from the
policewoman. She was looking down at Winston snuffling over her
boots. “And you. Nice work.”

“Thanks.”
Another wipe of her forehead. She probably looked like crap, and
there was Jo, who didn’t have a hair out of place.

The Sergeant
was lead around the yard by her exuberant neighbour, who pointed to
different trees and with a happy squeal. Jo looked over at Jean and
smiled, a shake of her pony tailed head.

The older woman
decided it was a good opportunity to pack up her tools. She loaded
them into the tray while the blonde was taken hostage. She turned
to see Jo walking back toward her house. Kerry was already standing
by the drive.

As much as she
wanted to follow her, Kerry was her customer, and it would have
looked suspicious.

“Jean, thanks
so much! I’m taking pics! You’ll be inundated soon.”

She smiled as
she shook the housewife’s hand. “Thanks, I’m glad you like it, let
me know what your little boy makes of it when he gets home from day
care.”

Joanne’s voice
from the yard got her attention. “Jean? You wanna come over and
discuss that quote with me? You look like you could use some
water?”

She smiled,
how could she refuse an offer like that?
Jean down played
her enthusiasm. “Sure Joanne, just a minute OK? I’ll just move my
car so Kerry can get out.” A nod and the blonde disappeared next
door.

Kerry elbowed
her in the ribs again. “See? More business already.”

Chapter
15

Jean stood in
the hall as Jo closed the door behind them.

Glorious
air-conditioning, it made her instantly feel cooler with the
lightest waft against her heated skin. Jean looked around for a
moment as Jo walked ahead into the kitchen. It was nice, eclectic,
but she got the feeling Jo didn’t spend too much time here. They
walked down the tiled hall toward the promised respite of a cold
beverage. A modern no fuss affair with white wooden cupboards,
finished with frosted glass. An L shaped counter top in faux
granite, the usual white goods and silver appliances.

Jean looked
down the hallway with a lean around the door. “Little one not
here?”

Jo shook her
head as she opened the refrigerator. She somehow managed to make
the lurid high visibility vest over her powder blue shirt look
attractive. The polished boots made her look taller, her legs were
long enough already.

“No, she’s with
my mother, she usually has her on Mondays. I sometimes finish
late.” Jo pulled out a square glass bottle of lemonade, and dropped
a few cold cubes into a tumbler, topping them over with the summery
liquid.

She passed it
to her guest, who promptly put the cold glass against her forehead,
in an effort to cool herself down. “Thanks.”

A sip as they
regarded each other. Jo leant against the counter. A wry smile, she
turned to click on the kettle.

“You know, I
can’t quite figure you out Jean.”

Her roguish
grin lightened her face. “Not a lot to figure out Jo.”

The policewoman
watched her guest before smiling to herself. “Forgive me, in my
line of work people don’t do anything for nothing, but you seem so
nice? Maybe I’m just jaded?” A dunk of a tea bag into her usual
mug, a contemplative look.

The tumbler to
her lips, the gardener wiped her brow with the back of her hand. Jo
was watching her, awaiting an answer, but there was something else.
The tall woman’s eyes were glued to the glass, to the slow meander
of a droplet as it made it’s way down the frosted surface, skirted
the rounded vessel, and dripped onto Jean’s chest. The blonde
blinked momentarily. Jo wasn’t used to this attraction, little
things like that took her by surprise.

Her ice clinked
in the glass. “Like I said, not a lot to figure out. I don’t make
promises I know I can’t keep, I try not to lie, even if it hurts,
and I put my pants on one leg at a time like everyone else.”