‘Yeah, course.’
The two men heaved the heavy cast iron bath up the stairs to the bathroom, leaving them out of breath.
‘Blimey, it weighs a ton,’ huffed Jack as they straightened it up against the wall.
‘This job certainly keeps us fit,’ Robin said, laughing. ‘Just think of the money it’s going to make us.’
‘Speaking of, Adrian must be making some money. Just seen his brand spanking new van. That must have set him back a bit.’
‘Adrian Hall?’ repeated Robin.
‘Yeah, that’s who’s hiring out the Bobcat.’
‘But… he couldn’t do it when Jasmine contacted him.’ Robin’s brow puckered in confusion.
‘Well, maybe he’s busy, but could still hire out the digger?’ suggested Jack. ‘He’s the most obvious choice, being local.’
Robin paused, thinking it was still a little strange. Why didn’t Adrian offer the hire of his Bobcat to Jasmine in the first place?
Once the cast iron bath was situated in the right position, Robin left for Jasmine’s. He tapped on the back door.
‘Come in!’ she called. She was cooking a hearty breakfast after her morning swim, making enough for two.
‘Something smells good.’ Robin’s mouth watered at the bacon, sausage and eggs in the frying pan.
She grinned. ‘Fancy a full English?’
‘Absolutely.’ He rubbed his hands together.
They sat at the kitchen table enjoying the fry up.
‘I could get used to this,’ Robin said, tucking into his breakfast, then stopped, realising how that could be misconstrued.
‘Us breakfasting together?’ ribbed Jasmine. She could tell by the slight blush that he knew how clumsy he’d sounded. Robin looked into her warm, brown eyes, which held a twinkle of mischief, then slowly broke into a grin.
‘I meant you cooking for me.’ He laughed at hearing his own words. That sounded even worse!
‘Not just breakfast then?’ Jasmine arched a playful eyebrow.
‘Never mind out there,’ he pointed towards the garden, ‘I’m already digging a big enough hole in here,’ he joked.
Jasmine threw her head back and chuckled. ‘Listen, if I can cook then it’s the least I can do for all your help, seriously,’ she said with sincerity.
Their eyes locked. Time stood still. Jasmine reached up to touch the heart pendant around her neck and Robin noticed the action. He also noted that she had done that before. It seemed to be a gut reaction of hers and it didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to deduce the necklace was acting as some kind of talisman, presumably a gift from her late husband. He looked down, all the light-hearted banter suddenly lost. They were interrupted by the sound of Jasmine’s mobile phone.
‘Sorry, it’s my mum,’ she said, reaching to answer it.
‘I’ll make a start,’ mouthed Robin, clearing the plates away before he headed out to the garden.
Within a couple of hours, a huge pile of earth had mounted up. Robin looked around the garden, thinking some of it could be used to make a rockery, if not for Jasmine’s garden then maybe his next door. He suggested as much when he completed the job late in the afternoon. They were sat on deck chairs having a well-earned cup of tea. Whilst Robin had been scraping and digging the earth, Jasmine had been sanding down the hallway banister, ready for a fresh lick of varnish. She had decided to get the floorboards sanded down too, wanting them to be varnished also, rather than carpeted.
‘A rockery?’ she said in response to Robin’s proposal.
‘Yes, I think it’d be a good focal point for the garden,’ he replied taking a sip of tea.
‘Hmm, I think I’d prefer raised vegetable beds.’ That was something she and Tom had missed, living on a canal boat, not being able to grow their own vegetables. It was something she’d always fancied doing.
‘Good idea,’ nodded Robin, liking her thinking.
