On the west side of
Downshire is Eastchapel, a quiet medieval village living in the shadow of its
noisy neighbour, the Industrial powerhouse of Northchapel and it is also the
home of the Cripps family and had been for century’s.
The
house, named Twelve Trees, had once been a row of labourers’ cottages, was now
home to brothers Aaron and Grant, and their father
Roland although he had been in hospital for some time.
However,
as he had been told they could do no more for him than palliative care he told
his sons he wanted to die in his own home.
The
brothers were happy to accommodate him, but some adjustments needed to be made
first, such as the front path which needed to be widened to accommodate a
wheelchair, the front door was already wide enough as was the hallway.
They
could clear the dining room and there would be plenty of space to accommodate a
hospital bed with enough chairs for the visitors and there was a downstairs
bathroom across the hall, it was just a case pf getting it cleared and ready
for the bed and other medical equipment which was arriving in just over a week.
On Monday morning Cath Hopkins knocked on Aaron’s
door, she and her sister Julie had their own Landscape Gardening business, and
in response to his phone call, was there to quote on a new path and removal of
the step.
Cath said she would phone him with a price but said
that they were quite busy and wasn’t
sure when they would be able to fit him in.
However, after he explained why he needed it doing
sooner she said not to worry and that she would rearrange the diary.
They shared a coffee, and she asked after Grant and
was he going to be homed that week, and Aaron thought he detected an air of
disappointment when he said he would be away until after the weekend.
After she was gone, he made a start packing away the
contents of the dining room.
The next morning Cath phoned him to say that she and
Julie would start work on the new path on Thursday but that the materials would
be delivered sometime Wednesday afternoon, and would he be at home to receive
it, and he confirmed that he would.
In fact, he was going to be home all week as he had
taken two weeks leave to prepare for his dad’s arrival.
34-year-old Aaron was the eldest son by two years and
was having to deal with everything on his own because his brother Grant was in
Frankfurt for the book fair and as an independent publisher it was not
something he could miss at short notice.
In the afternoon a couple of friends arrived with a
van to help move the larger pieces of furniture out of the dining room, which
were loaded on the van, and they took them to a storage unit.
The problem was with the furniture gone it was
apparent that he would need to redecorate the room, so added that to his list.
On Wednesday he continued his endeavours in the house
interrupted only by occasional pangs of hunger and the promised delivery of
building supplies Cath had forewarned him about being deposited on his drive.
Bright and early Thursday morning Cath knocked on the
door.
“Hi Aaron” she said brightly “Julie’s on her
way”.
“Cath!! You’re early” he replied.
“Yes, I know, but it’s the only way” she said, “is the
kettle on?”
“It’s not but come in anyway” he said.
After making a drink they sat at the kitchen table and
chatted for the first time for ages
“Are you going to Julie’s birthday party” She asked.
“No, I don’t think so” he replied, “I’m not sure I’ll
have the energy, and I’m not much of a party person to be honest”.
“That’s a shame, it’s her 30th”.
“I still have a lot to do in the house ready for next
week” he added.
“But its Julie’s birthday” she insisted, “You have to
come, she’ll be very disappointed if you don’t”.
“Well, we’ll see,” he said, “if I get finished in
time”.
“That means no, then,” she said suspiciously.
“It means if I get finished in time” he said.
“Hmmm” she exclaimed and then added.
“Please come you’ll enjoy it”.
“We’ll see,” He reiterated.
There was no more mention of the party after Julie
arrived.
After coffee the girls set about laying the new front
path and he made a start on the decorating and stayed at it for the best part
of the day, only stopping to feed and water the girls.
The weather couldn’t have been better for the job and
by the end of the day Cath and Julie had done really well and had got all the
foundation work done.
Because the old, stepped path was being replaced by
one all on the same level, much of the first day was spent building up the
level confined within retaining walls, they worked on until 7.30pm to make sure
they completed stage one, and as they stayed so late, he ordered an Indian
Takeaway, and they sat in his lounge eating off trays on their laps.
Friday began dull and overcast but the sun soon burst
through and was perfect for Cath and Julie to lay the pavers.
While they toiled outside, he continued with the
decorating and apart from providing a regular supply of hot drinks and giving
them a hot lunch, he worked on it all day while the girls pressed on outside.
When he stopped at four o’clock all the pavers were
down, and Julie was just hosing off the drive.
He was up early on Saturday, which was just as well,
because at 8 o’clock Julie arrived at the house dressed in work clothes.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, “on your
birthday”.
“Happy Birthday by the way” he added and kissed her
cheek and made her blush.
“Just checking on the path and there are one or two
finishing touches to deal with”.
“Why so early?” he asked.
“Because when I’m done, I’m going to give you some
help”.
she said.
“Help with what?” he asked puzzled.
“The stuff that’s preventing you from coming to my
birthday party” she said.
“I did say I’d come if I was finished,” he said.
“Well, the sooner we get started the sooner we’ll be
finished” Julie said cheerily.
So, after she had finished outside, they set to work,
Julie set about dusting and hoovering while he started carrying things out to
the garage, and by twelve o’clock they were all but finished, there was just
one small sofa to take out and then they were done.
It wasn’t anything to do with clearing the dining
room, it was just an old two-seater Cottage sofa that lived in the hall, and
he’d been meaning to move it out to the garage for ages and hadn’t got around
to it, so he decided while he had Julie’s help, he would finally move it into
the garage.
So, the two of them set about the task and having man
handled it out through front door from the hall they carried it across the
drive and into the garage.
“Ok we’ll put it down here” he said, “I’ll decide what
to do with it later”?
“So, all done then” Julie said.
“Thanks Julie, I couldn’t have done this without you”.
“So, no reason for you not to come to my party tonight
then” she said.
He wanted to say yes but he was a quiet studious man
who wasn’t good at social gatherings, so he replied.
“No, you don’t want me there”.
Julie was stood behind the sofa with her hands resting
on the back and he was on the other side and turned away as he spoke.
Julie pushed the sofa sharply, so the edge of the seat
pads caught him behind his knees.
“What the…” he exclaimed as he fell backwards, ending
up sitting on the sofa and by the time he’d worked out what had happened Julie
plopped down on his lap and her arm were around his neck.
“You are the only one I want there” she said softly
and kissed him.
