6
The cool water was wonderful running through his fingers, clean and crystal clear. There was nothing like reaching the end of the day and washing off the grime and filth of a hard day’s work. Ben had toiled since just after dawn, determined to make an impact on the remainder of the garden, and it was now approaching late afternoon and every muscle felt the effect of a long day’s labour. He surveyed the results of his effort with a satisfied smile. The hedges, previously an overgrown tangle, were now tall and straight. The newly planted garden beds were ready to burst forth with growth. With a lot of clients, he kept costs down by using seedlings and less well-established plants, but Mrs Jones said at her age she couldn’t afford to wait, so he had used more mature specimens. It would eat into his profits, because there was no way he was charging his elderly client full price, but the result was impressive. Lush green shrubs—lilacs, grevilleas, star jasmine—and specially selected roses. Today, he had mulched all the beds, and all that remained was to lay the turf before doing the final hook-up of the water feature.
Mrs Jones came out of the house to admire the garden, and Ben couldn’t help the surge of pride as he saw the look of happiness that lit up her face.
She stopped at the small outdoor seating area and called him. “Ben, get over here, young man. I’ve brought us a nice cold drink. Come and sit in the shade.”
He took a seat on the bench beside her, and they both sipped the icy-cold lemonade while they stared at the garden in silence. It was nice to take a load off and just sit and take in the late afternoon sunshine. It wasn’t often that Ben got to enjoy the environment he created for his clients. A bee buzzed around a potted geranium, the road traffic a distant hum, a backdrop to the sounds of nature.
Finally, Mrs Jones put down her glass and spoke, her voice wistful. “My Carl and I used to sit out here in the evenings and watch the birds. It didn’t matter what time of year, there were always birds.”
“The birds are why I chose some of the plants.” Ben explained the various plants and the birds that they would attract—a combination of birds seeking safe haven in the higher branches and others seeking the sweet nectar of the flowers when in bloom. He was sure the garden would be a bird haven yet again.
Mrs Jones smiled, eyes crinkling as she placed a hand on Ben’s knee. “It gives me so much happiness, Ben, that you have given Carl’s garden new life. I can almost imagine him here with me.”
“You must miss him a lot.”
“Oh yes, dear,” she answered, removing her hand and played with her wedding ring, turning the gold circle around on her finger. “He was my everything.”
“Tell me about him.” Ben didn’t get the feeling she would mind. In fact, he thought she would enjoy the opportunity to talk about Carl.
She sighed. “We met at school. Childhood sweethearts, we were. He asked me to the school dance, and that was that, we never looked back. You know, we had forty-two wonderful years together before he was taken from me, and I feel blessed for each and every one.” She reached across and gripped Ben’s hand. “Do you want to know the secret to our happiness?”
“Of course,” Ben answered, partly to humour the lady, but partly because he really hoped she did know the true secret. She smiled at him.
“Friendship. That’s the key.” Ben nodded, encouraging her to continue. “You can have hearts and flowers. You can find good looks. You can find the person who is ideal on paper—the right job, the right social circle, the right financial situation—but none of that matters. You need to find that one person who can be the true friend to your heart. The person who will always put you first and love you unconditionally. No expectations, Ben. Carl never expected me to be anything other than who I am, and his only concern was that I was happy in my heart.” She sighed again. “You know, his parents didn’t want us to be together. They didn’t think I was the right girl for him, wrong side of the tracks or something like that. But that didn’t stop my Carl. He loved me and I him, and he was my best friend right up until the end.”
She gave his hand another squeeze and took the now empty glass from his other hand before standing. “You know there’s someone just like that waiting for you.”
She didn’t wait for a response, turning and walking back to the house, leaving Ben to contemplate her story.God, if only I could have a love like that. What an amazing-sounding life.
He sat there for what seemed like an hour, mulling over her words before finally acknowledging something he had known all along—he couldn’t sacrifice his heart to Suzie when it already belonged to Spencer.
* * *
As promised,Cameron came over to Ben’s apartment to give him a hand with the lighting in the bedrooms. The walls had been stripped of the outdated wallpaper and were prepped and ready for painting. The carpet had been lifted, revealing original wide timber boards that would have a wonderful golden glow once sanded and polished. The plan was to remove the revolting light fixtures that currently adorned the ceiling and walls. The brass sconces above the bed were definitely past their use-by date and so decrepit they couldn’t even be called retro.
Ben helped carry in the tools and the boxes with the new lights, and Cameron got to work, placing huge drop sheets on the floor. He intended to cut round holes in the ceiling, which would make a mess, not to mention the dust and crap that often fell through from the ceiling itself. They worked side by side for a while, Ben helping Cameron mark the places for the lights and passing him the tools and equipment as he needed it. Finally, Cameron had to climb into the roof space and install new wiring to each of the new locations.
It was a dirty and tedious job, and Ben was glad he wasn’t the one to have to climb the ladder—fuck knew what was in the roof cavity—and busied himself cleaning up while he waited. He then threw together some sandwiches that he and Cameron inhaled before resuming the wiring job.
“Cameron, can I ask you something?” Ben asked as he held out the dustpan.
“Sure. Can’t promise I’ll give the right answer, but I’ll try.” Cameron grinned and took the pan from him.
“How’d you know that Mel was the one?”
Cameron paused and sat on the drop sheet where he’d been working. “Now that’s a hard one.Andit’s an easy one.”
Ben sat opposite and fiddled with the frayed edge of the cloth. “Huh?”
“There was never any doubt. I know it sounds sappy, and you’ve got to promise not to a repeat a word of this ’cause I’d never live it down.” Cameron winked, then grew serious. “It’s always been Mel and me. It was like there was no decision to be made. Fate chose us, I guess. She’s just my other half.”
Ben looked at him, not sure what to say—Cameron was usually a logical guy, not given to fanciful ideas of destiny. “You believe you were always meant to be?”
“Iknowso.” Cameron was emphatic. “We met, we became friends, and within the blink of an eye it was more. I think I always loved her from day one. You know what? I’m not even sure I asked her to go out with me, you know, to go steady. It was just assumed. We were—are—so right together, there was no question involved. We were simply meant to be together.”
“I’m glad you found that.”
