That’s four weeks away. It’s an almost-impossible challenge, but I’m nothing if not good at impossible challenges. What better way to bounce back, to fall upwards, to get over Osian?
Before I can change my mind, I whip out my phone and text Evan.
ME:Can I do my presentation to the partners this coming Saturday? I have a proposal for everyone.
Chapter Thirty
The secret to fast garden regeneration is planning an overall look.
I stand at the edge of the terrace and scan the ten acres of North Park, my Hope Gardens. The fans, all five of them, the pond and even the rose arcade are about halfway up, in the middle of the land. So there’s a lot of ‘empty’ land in between. Only a few lone trees dot the flat field. Leaving it empty is not only an eyesore but an invitation for more weeds to fill it up again. It needs to be planted.
I might have ten helpers, but not even with fifty morePerllanscan I plant all that.
So there’s only one solution. Turf. Not any old boring green grass. This is, after all, my dream garden. Then my eyes focus on the trees and do that thing of unfocusing, letting my imagination do the looking.
Even before my thought is finished, my phone is in my hand and I’m scrolling fast, tapping and putting in several urgent enquiries.
Next job is the planting. I might have bulbs, but not enough, and none of them would be ready in time.
Normally most bulbs need to winter in the ground before they can bloom. You can, if you’re willing to spend money, buy pre-wintered bulbs. You need the right connections, and I have the right connections. The benefits of ten years in the profession. Having at least some colour by Easter is worth spending the money on pre-wintered or pre-sprouted daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, anemones and crocuses.
By 8am when thePerllansjoin me, I’ve already spent £9,500.
“Good morning.” I grin at them. “We have an exciting plan.”
Something in my excitement must communicate itself, because a few faces grin back at me.
“We’re going to receive a delivery of bulbs and plugs this afternoon, but until then I have a couple of new jobs.”
Osian has just arrived and his eyes register surprise to find us still on the terrace.
“Hi, Osian. I need you to take a few people and make a start on the rose arcade.”
I don’t give him time to talk. “Ashe, Jo and Moira, can you find Evan or Alex and ask for balls of twine? We need lots and lots of string. The rest of you, come with me – we’re going shopping.”
Osian looks nonplussed, his face full of questions. Sorry, but I am avoiding him; the last thing I can afford to do is talk to him. From now on, we’re never going to be alone. So with fivePerllansstanding between us, I explain that I want them to make a start on pruning the climbing roses.
Then, I drive with the last threePerllansto Brecon to buy pegs to mark the sections of land where the turf will be laid.A small city like Brecon doesn’t have much in the way of landscaping suppliers, but we do chance to walk past a children’s party shop. Amani, my youngestPerllan,points to a small Welsh flag. The kind on a short stick so you can wave it around. Or stick it into the soil.
“Amani, you’re a genius,” I tell her as we pile in and buy every last flag they have. Welsh, British and even a few European Union flags leftover from God knows when.
By the time we get back to Kendric House, the first of my deliveries is already there. Osian stands over the crates, frowning. He doesn’t understand why I’m spending so much money on pre-sprouted crocuses. The crates show the expected colours: white, blue, purple and yellow. He might look baffled but thePerllansare very excited and can’t wait to start planting.
And so it goes for the rest of the day and the next. We section the land to be turfed and mark strips of it with the small flags, connected by lengths of string. When the official working day is finished, I do the things only I can do. Ordering trellises for the roses to climb and making plans for what should go where.
Most of this work can be done from my apartment on my laptop, but then Osian can find me and talk to me. And I can’t… I just… can’t. Why else am I keeping myself so busy, not giving myself a moment to think, to remember? The way his hands felt on my face, the melting groan in his voice when he called my name.
No.
No.
I need to apply for a second mortgage because all this expenditure is going to clean me out. And I am going to work inthe Hub where Llewellyn will be, so I’m never alone for Osian to find me.
That’s how, late on that second evening, I am there when the drama happens.
Even though officially the Hub closes at 7pm, Llewellyn lets me stay late because he himself works late. “The only time I get any peace and quiet,” is how he puts it.
So we’re both there, he at his desk near the door, me in a far corner behind a bank of large monitors, when there’s a loud and over-cheerful, “Baby!”
