Mornington-By-Mere – (33) For the Love of Gardening

 

Mornington-By-Mere is a small country village lying in the Finchbottom Vale nestled between the Ancient Dancingdean Forest and the rolling Pepperstock Hills.

It is a quaint picturesque village, a proper chocolate box picturesque idyll, with a Manor House, 12^th Century Church, a Coaching Inn, Windmills, an Old Forge, a Schoolhouse, a River and a Mere.

But Mornington-By-Mere is not just a quaint chocolate box English Village it is the beating heart of the Finchbottom Vale and there were a number of cottages and small houses on the Purplemere road and Dulcets Lane which formed the part of Mornington Village known as Manorside and George Harding lived at number 1 Dulcet Mill Lane in the house he was raised in along with his sister Mariana by his Aunt Julia.

 

George had just settled himself down in his armchair when he heard the sound of the front doorbell.

“Oh Bollocks” he said in response and struggled to his feet to answer it.

He grabbed his crutches and headed slowly towards the door just as it rang again

“Alright, I’m coming” he said

When he opened the door he found a man and woman in their early thirties, standing the other side of it.

“I’m Zachary” the man said proudly thrusting his chest out “I do the garden”

“Oh” he responded

The attractive woman who was standing just behind him said

“What he means is that he is a very good gardener and he’s looking for work”

Zachary, he ascertained had a learning disability of some sort and the woman with him he presumed was his care giver.

George wondered how many houses they had visited in Mornington before his and how many times she had had to explain.

“Well” He said and he saw her shoulders slump as she anticipated another rejection.

“I am sorely in need of a gardener”

And she straightened up and the broadest smile crossed her face and Zachary looked at her and smiled

“Thank you” she said and squeezed Zachary’s arm proudly

“Thank you” Zachary said and held out his hand for George to shake

“I can’t afford to pay you a lot” George said

“That’s not a problem” she replied for him

“And you may not want the job when you see the state of garden, it’s a real mess” George added

“I will do it” Zachary said holding his head high “I don’t mind hard work”

“Ok then go through the side gate and I will meet you out the back” he said

He closed the door and made his way slowly to the back door which he had just opened, when Zachary and his carer walked through the side gate.

“Oh dear” she said as the young woman saw the overgrown jungle that was George Harding’s garden

“Lots of work for me” Zachary said enthusiastically and went exploring in the undergrowth.

“Thank you” she said

“What for?” George asked

“For giving my brother a chance” she replied

“Nonsense I should be thanking you” he said and winced

“Are you ok?” She asked

“Yes, it’s just that I’m not supposed to be putting my weight on it” he replied

“Then you need to go in and sit” she said with authority

“I’ll be find” George replied

“Sit” she insisted “We don’t tell patients to keep their weight off for no reason”

“We?” George queried

“I’m a nurse” Jeanne said and wouldn’t take no for an answer so she encouraged him inside and then she settled him in his chair

“Now stay there and rest your leg”

“Yes nurse” he responded

“Jeanne” she corrected him

“I’m George”

“Can I make you a drink?” she asked

“Only if you’re going to join me” George replied

“I thought you’d never ask” she said “We’ve been walking around all morning and people have been very nice but….”

“Great” he replied “Black coffee for me please” 

Jeanne nodded and went into the kitchen.

 

Jeanne Swann went to the kitchen in George Harding’s house and returned a few minutes later with the drinks which she set down on the small table and then she sat in the vacant chair.

“So what happened?” she asked indicating his leg

“Car versus lorry” he said “guess which one I was driving”

“How long ago?”

“Two years” George replied “and several operations”

“Any more planned?” Asked Jeanne

“No they have done everything they can so whatever I have when this has healed I will have to live with” He said soberly

“Is that why the garden is so overgrown?” she asked

“Only partly” he replied “My Aunt Julia was the gardener of the family, who sadly spent the last three years of her life in a home, and as neither my sister Mariana or I have green fingers so it was already fairly overgrown when she died, but it was only two months after that when I had the accident, so it’s at least six years since anything meaningful has been done out there, however I don’t know how much better it would be if I hadn’t had the accident”

“Nor me” she said “but Zachary is a whizz”

George looked at her and saw the pride in her pretty smile as she mentioned Zachary.

“Zachary loves gardening, when he lived with mum he was always out there pottering about or working in the greenhouse”

Jeanne almost cried at the thought of a happier time in their lives George could see her eyes begin to moisten.

Just at that moment through the French window he saw Zachary reappeared from the wilderness and he was grinning broadly.

“He looks so happy” Jeanne said and she almost cried again.

George edged forward on his seat in readiness to stand.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Jeanne said sternly “You need to stay seated”

“Yes nurse” he said obediently and he watched Jeanne with an appraising eye as she walked to the French doors and opened them.

Zachary immediately stepped forward and hugged his sister

“Well what do you think?” George asked while still admiring Jeanne’s figure.

“It’s big Jeanne” he said laughing

“Can you help me with then?” George asked

“Oh yes” Zachary replied eagerly

“Then come and shake on it” George said and Zachary strode forward and shook Georges hand as Jeanne looked on proudly. 

“The only snag is that I don’t have much in the way of tools” George admitted

“I have tools” Zachary said proudly

“Ok then, when would you like to start?” George asked

“Now” he replied “I can start now”

“I think tomorrow would be better as we have disturbed Mr...”

“Harding” George said “But please call me George”

“We have disturbed Mr. Harding enough for today” she continued

“Ok Jeanne” Zachary agreed

“Tomorrow then” George said

“Tomorrow then” Zachary echoed

“We will see you Tomorrow then, we’ll let ourselves out” Jeanne said and steered Zachary out the door “because George needs to rest his leg” She directed her eyes in George’s direction as she said it and George said

“Yes nurse”

 

On Saturday morning George got himself going much earlier than usual and showered and shaved and put on a smart shirt as he wanted to give a better impression of himself than he had the day before if Jeanne was going to be coming with Zachary again.

He was sure he remembered her say “We will see you tomorrow” but then by the time nine o’clock came and went he began to think he had imagined it.

But at 9.15 he heard the side gate rattle so he got up and opened the French doors.

And with the aid of his crutches he stepped ungracefully onto the patio just as the lovely Jeanne walked through the gate.

She was wearing a bright floral summer dress presumably as it was going to be a nice day. 

Whatever the reason he was pleased with the outcome.

She stepped to one side and held the gate open as the front wheel of a wheel barrow appeared followed by the wheel barrow itself, full of tools, and Zachary, who was pushing it.

“My word you are well equipped” George said and blushed as he realized he was looking at Jeanne as he said it.

 “Yes I am” replied Zachary with pride

“We’re not too early are we?” Jeanne asked “He’s been ready since 7 o’clock”

“No not at all” George replied

“Did you have to wheel those tools far?”

“No, only from Dulcets Road Cottages” Jeanne replied

“Really?” he said with surprise

“Yes, we’ve not been in the village long” she replied.

Zachary was wearing work boots and overalls and was raring to go, Jeanne on the other hand, dressed in her summer frock and sandals was clearly not and George hoped desperately that she was staying.

“So are you gardening or cheering him on from the sidelines?” George asked hopefully

“I’m definitely cheering him on” she replied with a giggle.

“Well we can sit out here if you’d like I’ve got chairs and stuff in the garage” George suggested

“That would be lovely but let me and Zachary get the chairs” she said

“Ok I’ll put the kettle on” he said

“If you must” she said disapprovingly

 

The kettle had just boiled when Jeanne came in to the kitchen

“Ok, you can leave that to me now” she said and ushered him out onto the patio again where he found Zachary had just finished dusting down the chairs.

George found himself unable to fathom out the best way to seat himself in the chair, it was one of those chairs that when seated you lifted the arm rests and the back went down and the foot rest came up.

But he couldn’t get the chair to stand still while he lowered himself into it.

“Haven’t you sat down yet?” Jeanne asked

“No but it’s not for the want of trying” George replied and she laughed as he tried again and failed.

“Zachary will help” she said “Give me your crutches”

He complied with the nurses instruction and then Zachary scooped him up in his arms like he was a child, he was immensely strong, and lowered him gently into the chair.

 

Jeanne and George sat on the patio and chatted as Zachary toiled in the jungle, they knew he was there even though they couldn’t see him, as there were tell-tale sounds of a man at work.

In truth George initially listened more than conversed as his mind wandered and he ended up just looking at her.

He thought she had a pretty face and he loved her bobbed soft brown hair and the way it framed her face perfectly.

He also looked at her eyes and pronounced them internally to be hazel.

“So you’re a nurse” he said as she caught him watching her

“Yes” she replied taking a sip of her tea.

“I’m a nurse at Oak Dale”

Oak Dale was a Retirement Village and Nursing home in Dulcets Green.

“That was where Aunt Julia spent her last few years” he responded “Is Alexandra Barrileau still in charge?”

“Yes she is”

“I liked her very much” he said “She really cares for the patients”

“She’s very dedicated” Jeanne agreed

“So have you been there long?” he asked

“Only about six months” she replied “I was in the Emergency Department at the Winston Churchill for five years, dealing with the same people time and time again having done the same thing that got them in there the previous time and knowing that after you patched them up they would be back again the next month for the same reason, it was very disheartening”

“So what prompted the change?” George asked

“It was when my mum was in The Hedgerley Court Hospice in Applesford and I saw the dignified way they dealt with the poor souls who were on the edge of the abyss and the comfort they bestowed upon them as they slipped away, and I thought that a much more important role than patching up the drunks and addicts, and that’s my role at Oak Dale”

“And when you’re not working you help your brother” George said

“I try to” she said

“He has a real passion for gardening and he’s good at it, really good, but you’re the first person to give him a chance, I can’t tell you how grateful I am”  

“I’ll be honest with you Jeanne when I said yes it was because I could see how your spirits sank when you thought I was going to say no, but also I thought that well the garden is such a mess, what harm could he do, not a particularly noble reason”

“Being honest is noble” she said

After a few moments of silence George asked

“So how did he come to be living with you?”

“Well my dad worked all his adult life for the St George family, in Highfinch, as a chauffeur, amongst other things and when he died mum stay on in the tied house until her death”

Jeanne paused to take another sip of her tea.

“When Mum died Zachary had to leave, but the St Georges weren’t prepared to put him out on the street so they offered him a cottage in Mornington and so I moved in with him and got the job at Oak Dale”

“Well that sounds almost perfect” George said

“Almost, the only downside is that the cottage only has a very small garden and Zachary is used to something a lot bigger to keep him occupied”

“Do you have any other family?”

“Yes I have an older brother, Danny, but he’s a real waster, I wouldn’t have let Zachary go to him even if Danny had suggested it, which he didn’t” she said frankly

“What about you? Any family”

“Yes I have a younger sister, Marianna” he said “But she’s in New Zealand and I haven’t seen her since Aunt Julia’s funeral”

“I’m sorry to hear that” she said

“I really miss her” he confessed “But we skype every week and email in between”

 

“Aunt Julia loved her garden and she would hate to see it like this” George said

“But here we are, about to restore it to its former glory” She said positively

Just then he looked at his watch and realized it was time for lunch

“Oh look at the time let me go and make some lunch” George suggested

“Nonsense you need to stay off the leg, I’ll go and get something”

She offered

George opened his mouth to protest but Jeanne gave him a look that said her mind was made up, then she leant towards him and whispered

“Zachary will want a meat pie anyway”

“Oh” George said

“What do you want for lunch Zack?” she shouted

“Meat Pie” he replied instantly

“Well that’s settled then” George said “I’ll get my wallet”

Jeanne gave him another look so he settled back into his chair and she walked into the village to Addison’s Bakers to pick up lunch.

 

After lunch Zachary went back to work and Jeanne and George resumed their conversation.

“What about an allotment” George suggested “For Zachary I mean”

“We tried that” Jeanne said “The nearest ones are in Shallowfield but they said they were full, but I know they were lying”

George raised an eyebrow and gave her a doubtful look.

“They are still advertising for new members on the internet, they just didn’t want a retard in their society”

She almost cried but she managed to compose herself.

“So what do you do?” she asked

“I’m a web design consultant” George said

“And who do you work for” she asked having no idea what a web design consultant was.

“I’m a freelance” he said “so fortunately I can work from home”

“Well that’s handy” she said encouragingly

“Yes but I’ve lost a lot of work because of this” he said patting his leg “with operation’s or hospital appointment and physio”

“That’s not so good” Jeanne said

“No, but I’m lucky really” George said “I have some regular clients who have been very understanding and of course I’m even luckier not to be dead”

 

By the end of the afternoon Zachary had made significant progress cutting back the shrubbery but there was still a long way to go.

It was a big garden as you would expect with a Victorian detached house, it was 60 feet wide and more than treble that in length

George’s Aunt Julia always had it in very good order and it was her pride and joy.

Zachary was loading his tools back into his wheelbarrow

“Put your tools in the garage Zachary” George said

“Then you won’t need to bring them with you every day”

“That’s a good idea isn’t it Zachary?” Jeanne said

“Yes it is” he agreed

“Will I see you both again tomorrow?” George asked hopefully

George was quite sad to see her go at the end of the day it had been such a pleasant day, it had been quite a while since he had had any meaningful conversation and even longer with such lovely company.

“Yes if that ok” Jeanne said

“I’ll see you both tomorrow then” he said and smiled

 

The next day was Sunday and was spent in the same pleasant fashion as the first one was with Jeanne and George relaxing and poor Zachary doing all the work and all three of them loving every minute of it.

 

Jeanne didn’t go with Zachary every day, she still had to work and if she was on nights then she would be sleeping during the day.

Then there were days when she had housework to do or errands to run, shopping, paying bills etc. and those were the days George came to dislike intently.

Some days of course George wouldn’t be at the house to see her if she were there because he had errands to run himself or hospital appointments or physio.

But they both secretly loved it when they were both there together.

 

After a few weeks Zachary had cleared the garden right down to the end and cut all the weeds bramble and nettles down to ground level and was left with two enormous piles of garden rubbish one of them being the decapitated shrubbery.

“What now?” Jeanne asked

“Well I suppose we can compost the green stuff” he said “In the bottom corner”

Zachary nodded enthusiastically

“What about the rest? Can we burn it?” Jeanne asked

“Well we could but I think we’ll hire a chipper” George replied

“A what?” she queried

“A wood chipper” he said

“What’s that?”

“Well it’s a machine that you stick the woody stuff in at one end and it mashes it all up into chips which come out the other” George said

“Zack likes chips” Zachary said and laughed and George and Jeanne joined in.

“So it’s a big boy’s toy” Jeanne said when they had stopped laughing

“Yes pretty much” George admitted “but you can have a go”

“Ok, where do we get one?” she said

 

As the weeks had gone by George had grown more and more fond of Jeanne and at the same time his mobility had improved to the point that he was able to ditch the crutches in favour of a single walking stick and it was when he was at that stage when he was at his least gimpy that he chose to ask Jeanne out.

 

It was a very hot day in the middle of July and he was sweating, but it wasn’t the heat that was responsible for him sweating it was because he had decided that he would ask her that day, Zachary was way down the end of the garden sorting the compost and George was pacing up and down the patio, she had phoned earlier to say she was coming straight round from work.

 

So when Jeanne arrived she was still wearing her uniform, not one of the sexy “Carry on Nurse” type uniforms but it was still very nice, which merely made him sweat even more.

“Would you like a drink Jeanne?” he asked “There’s wine in the fridge”

“I’d love one” she said and plonked herself down in a chair.

George got the wine from the fridge and poured two glasses instantly drained one and filled it again.

He took the drinks outside and they sat on the patio in the evening sunshine drinking their wine

“Jeanne I was wondering” he began

“Wondering what?” she replied and took a long sip on her wine.

“Well I was wondering if, and feel free to say no, but um I thought that well um, if you were erm, not on nights or busy or anything, that maybe, if you were free then perhaps um, we might um, well you know, go out for dinner, maybe on Friday”

She had been staring at him for every tortuous second of his inept babbling, looking at him like he was a gibbering idiot, which of course wasn’t far from the truth and then she smiled.

“I’d love to” Jeanne replied putting him out of his misery

“I thought you were never going to ask”

“Well I’ve been meaning to for a while” George explained

“What made you ask me now?” she asked “Was it the uniform?”

 

George and Jeanne made love for the first time after their second date which didn’t altogether go as planned, because at a crucial point in the preceding’s George’s bad leg suddenly cramped up and he fell out of bed.

When Jeanne had stopped laughing and George’s leg had returned to some semblance of normality they tried again.

“I’ll go on top this time” Jeanne suggested

“Good idea” George agreed “then if you get cramp, you can fall out of bed, and I can laugh at you”

They finally completed the act an hour later.

 

It was after they had been going out together for a couple of months, when summer had given way to autumn, when there was a ring on the doorbell.

George was working on his laptop in the lounge while Zachary was laying turf in the garden.

George got up from his seat and paused briefly to marvel at what a great job Zachary had done before heading towards the front door.

He opened it to find a short emaciated man standing there, he was pretty sure he didn’t know him but there was something familiar about him.

“Yes” George said

“My name is Danny Swann” he said “Can I come in”

George realised why there was something familiar about the man he was Jeanne’s older brother.

“No I don’t think so” George said

“Ok I’ll say what I have to say on the door step” Danny said

“Go on then” George said

“I hear you’re exploiting my brother Zachary” he said “Using him like a slave”

“Well not that it’s any of your business” George said “But I pay Zachary to do my garden”

“You can’t give him money he’s not responsible enough to have money” he said

“Is that right?” George asked

“Yes so you can pay it to me in future” he said “and I will look after it for him”

“I don’t think so” George replied

Danny Swann leant in towards George and whispered

“You will pay the money to me, unless you want all your neighbours to know you’re taking advantage of a mong”

“A mong?” George said with disgust “you have no idea who or what your brother is, do you? Now get lost”

George slammed the door shut and immediately phoned Jeanne.

 

They didn’t hear from Danny anymore after that day and they assumed that was the end of the matter until two months later.

It was Jeanne’s day off and she and George were looking forward to spending the day together, in truth George was just contemplating a cosy siesta with the lovely Miss Swann when the doorbell rang.

George opened the door and was greeted by a rather rotund middle aged woman with ridiculous hair.

“Maureen Dunne” she said holding up an ID badge “Social services, can I come in”

George invited her in and when Jeanne had made drinks they all sat in the lounge.

“We have had a report that you are using a vulnerable person as slave labour” Mrs Dunne stated

“I can guess who that was” Jeanne said with disgust “my brother Danny”

“I can’t divulge the name of the complainant” she said

“Bloody nerve” George said “He was here demanding that I pay Zachary’s wages to him, and I refused which is why he’s made a complaint”

“So Zachary Swann hasn’t done work for you?” Mrs Dunne asked

“Oh yes he has worked for me, but I pay him” George said

“And how much do you pay him?” she asked

“He gets minimum wage” Jeanne interjected

“Can you prove that?” She asked

“As a matter of fact I can” George said and stood up “I am a bit OCD when it comes to records, so yes I can”

George reached up to the top shelf and took down an A5 note book.

“This shows everything” George said “This lists all his hours, how much he earned and at the back are the receipts for the deposits into his account”

“As you can see at the beginning” Jeanne said “He did a lot more hours but they have tailed off now because he is only doing maintenance”

“We have before and after pictures which shows how much he has achieved” George said

“What are these figures in red?” Mrs Dunne asked

Jeanne and George both laughed

“Do you see that jar on the sideboard” George said indicating a China fruit jar

“That contains the money I overpay him, if I pay him for more hours than he has worked, he puts it in the jar”

“And those are the figures in red” Jeanne said “he is no fool and he only wants to be paid for the work he has done”

Mrs Dunne was silent for a moment as she studied the rest of the book and then she asked

“And how many hours is he working today?”

“Oh he’s not working for me today” George said

“But isn’t that him in the garden?” Mrs Dunne asked

“Yes that’s Zachary” Jeanne said

“And he’s gardening” Mrs Dunne persisted

“Oh yes always” George replied

“For you” She said

“No” George replied “Today he’s gardening for himself”

“I don’t understand” said Mrs Dunne   

“Jeanne and Zachary live in a cottage and have a very small garden, the local Shallowfield allotment society won’t rent him a plot because he has learning difficult so I have given him half of the garden to work for himself, in fact its Zachary’s garden now, not mine”

“As you can see he loves gardening” Jeanne said proudly

“I can see that, but you must appreciate how it looks, a man giving half of his garden to a virtual stranger” Mrs Dunne said with eyebrows raised

“What if he was going to be my brother in law?” George said looking at Jeanne

“What?” Mrs Dunne asked a little confused

“Are you proposing to me?” Jeanne asked

“What?” Mrs Dunne asked again even more confused

“Yes” George said

“Not the most romantic way to be asked” Jeanne added

“Well I’ve been trying to ask all week and couldn’t get it out” George said

“You know what I’m like”

“Well in that case” she said “I will have to marry you”

“You will?” George said and they stood in the middle of the room and kissed

“Case closed then” Mrs Dunne said

 

There only remained one obstacle to Jeanne and George’s engagement.

If Zachary wasn’t happy then Jeanne couldn’t marry him and she was adamant about that.

So it was on a crisp autumn morning that George and Jeanne chose to ask Zachary a question and when they were all sitting in the lounge, Zachary was a little fidgety as he wanted to get back to the garden and his eyes kept wandering to the window

“Would you like to live here Zachary?” George asked

“No” he replied very definitely

“Why not?” he asked

“Jeanne will be lonely without me” Zachary said “I don’t want her to be lonely”

“I don’t want her to be lonely either Zachary” George said

“Which is why I thought it would be nice if we all lived here together”

“Ok then” he said and went back to his garden

George turned to Jeanne and said “Ok then”

“Ok then” Jeanne said “Let’s get married”