There was a cottage next to Jack's family home; it was an elderly gentleman that owned it. When Jack was at school, he cut the grass and did general tidying in the garden for Mr George, the owner. He was a pleasant and generous older man, he never forgot Jack's birthday or Christmas. Every week during the gardening season, he would give Jack a few pounds, which was a fortune to Jack. He had sadly died in early spring, Jack and his mother went to the funeral. Jack's dad had died in his first year of University three years ago. Jack's father and mother were both accountants; mum now ran the family firm. Jack was also studying accountancy; he would join the family firm when he graduated.
There was a big surprise at the funeral, Mr George's sister, Mrs Cumberland, had been Jack's teacher at primary school, over the funeral purvey, she had explained to Jack's mum, Dot, that she had inherited her brother's house. Her husband had died six years ago; she was going to downsize, sell her own home and hopefully move in during the Easter school holidays. Mrs Cumberland was known at school as Mrs C; she was a buxom middle-aged lady; she was also a good teacher. It was arranged that Jack would continue to look after the garden until Mrs C started to live in the cottage. Mrs C said, "I've now a new smartphone, if you need to contact me then WhatsApp me, if it's nothing important then I'll try and be down one day at the weekend."
Jack wondered if Mrs C would be as generous as her brother, he would still do it for her as her garden was mostly grass, he used his family's sit on mower and could cut her grass in ten minutes. The following day Jack got a message from Mrs C, it read, "Jack, it wasn't the time or place yesterday to discuss how I'll pay you, but I plan to discuss this with you over the weekend. I intend to stay over from Friday evening then return first thing on Monday morning. I cleared the fridge of all perishable things shortly after my brother died; I changed his bed. I know that you have a spare set of keys, would it be possible to check the bedroom to make sure everything is alright and also to put on the hot water boiler on Friday lunchtime? If you notice anything that you feel I should know about, then please let me know, Regards Mrs C."
On Thursday morning, Jack checked the cottage, there was a musty smell, but he opened all the windows and let the cottage air for five hours. The fridge was empty and switched off with the door open; Jack thought this could be where the musty smell was originating from. He got a bucket of hot soapy water and cleaned the inside of the fridge. The interior was now sparkling; Jack took a picture.
Later that evening he sent Mrs C a message, it read, "Dear Mrs C, I checked that cottage today, I had to air the whole cottage, there was a musty smell coming from the fridge which was switched off with the door open. I've cleaned the inside of the fridge, please see the attached picture, I will open the windows again tomorrow morning to make sure everything is fresh for you. If there's anything that you would like me to do for you, then please let me know. I have left the fridge on for you. Kind regards, Jack."
Twenty minutes later Mrs C replied, "Dear Jack, please call me May, thank you so much. I emptied the fridge and switched it off. I should have cleaned it properly then. Since my husband died and I went online, I've had many pictures from men; you are the first to send me a picture of a fridge, it gave me more enjoyment than the dirty pictures they were sending me. I wasn't planning on cooking tomorrow night; there are still some pizzas in the freezer. It will be good if the fridge is on then I can put some wine in it when I arrive. Do you drink beer? If you do, I'll get you some so you can quench your thirst after working. I'll be there around five tomorrow afternoon. Looking forward to seeing you, May."
Jack replied, "Dear May, I never drink beer; I prefer wine. Mum leaves for a Congress tomorrow morning; she'll be back on Sunday evening. She will leave me a large pot of Chilli con Carne; it's delicious, I would be happy to share some with you tomorrow night, that would save you worrying about cooking. Looking forward to seeing you too. Regards, Jack."
May replied, "Jack, I love Chilli con Carne, you have a date tomorrow night, I'll cook on Saturday for you. What type of wine do you like? I love dry white, if you like the same then leave the wine to me. Remember to put the boiler on so I can have a shower when I get there. One last question, what's the strength of the Internet signal there? Regards May."
Jack replied, "May, it's excellent, we have Fiber Optic in the village, you will have no problems with Internet speed. Regards, Jack."