Benny's Paper Round
When I returned from touring interstate in my campervan, the garden had welcomed me home by showing off its weeds and over-growth of grass where flowers and vegetables could normally have been seen from the back door leading to the yard.
I thought the garden could wait a little longer. There were plenty of other things I had to occupy my limited leisure time. To begin, there was wear and tear on my campervan to attend to and my bills and laundry seemed to be a little higher in terms of priority. So I left it to get worse over the next three months.
I became busy over the following weeks and the garden naturally deteriorated even more. Having a cup of coffee outside, I took a detailed look at the details of garden neglect and tried to imagine what sort of approach would clear the mess up and dispose of it, and what space in my daily timetable would be best to begin making a difference.
As more procrastination time passed, my daily routine became filled and I could not for the life of me, find which part of my daily routine could be changed during daylight hours, so I could begin to attend to the growing jungle in my back yard.
I was up early one morning and out on my front lawn to collect my daily newspaper. The bulletin came flying over the front fence and Benny Mitchell, the boy living four houses further along Neville Street was pushing an old pram full of newspapers along the path.
'Hello Benny,' I said to him.
'G'day Mrs Weston.'
'I had no idea you were doing the newspaper delivery on this round.'
'It's a bit of pocket money while I'm studying. I enjoy the early mornings.'
'Have fun Benny.'
He smiled and gave a polite wave and continued along the street. I watched him continue along the path and was surprised at how he had grown. Benny had turned into a strapping young man of 19 with the almost black/brown eyes and a shock of thick black hair.
I returned inside to my kitchen and decided to take breakfast out into the back yard to enjoy while I read the paper on such a sunny morning.
After breakfast, I set to work examining the internet for any new customers that might be able to use my services. I was running two small businesses and as a sole proprietor, there was never enough time, never enough market research done and always never enough paying customers. To think I was solving other peoples' problems and adding to my own was one of the absurd situations many self-employed find themselves in. That I was scrabbling a decent living was down more to luck than anything else.
Over the next few weeks, I found myself on the front lawn as Benny walked past with his homemade trolley. I would greet him each morning making polite conversation for a short moment. It was during breakfast that the idea occurred to me to offer him a chance to earn some more money if he had time and would agree to tidy my back yard over a two-week span. I thought it would take about 24 hours labour.
I asked him the next day if he had spare time to earn some extra money. His lecture timetable meant he could do between 4 and 8 hours a week depending on his work load at college.
'I would appreciate that Mrs. Weston. Can I call back after my deliveries this morning and try and sort something out?' he asked as he was preparing to deliver his next paper.
'Sure Benny. I'll leave the front door open so you can just come in when you're free.'
'See you soon Mrs Weston'
About 45 minutes later, there was a polite knock at the door and Benny stood there.
'Hello, Benny. Come in.'
I led him through the house and out into the yard where I had some cold drinks waiting and we sat at the outside furniture.
'Look around the yard for a minute Benny. The place looks like Tarzan lives here somewhere. For all I know he does.'
Benny looked around at the mess that was my formerly manageable garden. He noticed a few flowers trying to display themselves through the overgrown grass and a bewildering array of growth hiding whatever else might be struggling to get sustenance from the soil. We talked for a few minutes about his study and some of his interests before he returned to the reason for his visit
'You want the weeds removed. Is there anything I need to know about what you want left Mrs Weston?'
'There is. When I first started growing garlic and spring onions, I didn't know what the growing plant looked like and I removed them as weeds. So there is a little plant recognition needed. So far I have used them as companion plants, so when you see one, there is something else planted within 20 - 30 centimetres of it. I can help you with that when we start. I'm assuming you're available for this. What do you think Benny?'
'It looks fairly straight forward to me. Is there anything else you need done out here?'
'Once the yard is cleaned up and recognisable for what I originally intended and any jungle creatures returned to the zoo, I want the weeds eradicated on an overgrown brick path. I want to build a low barrier along either side to separate the walkway from the garden. I'm open to ideas on that one.'
'When would you like me to start? I have three hours available three times a week between study commitments. I'm available on Tuesday Wednesday and Friday. There is occasionally time at weekends depending on time partying and recovering.'
'That sounds good Benny. Would you like to start on Tuesday next week?'
'Thanks, Mrs Weston. I'm free at half past nine in the morning. '
'Perfect. I'll see you then.'
WE began our work on a chilly morning with spring approaching. Benny was a diligent worker and our first job was to clear a spot in the middle of the yard for a picnic area or somewhere to lie out in the sunshine when weather permitted. I rolled out the mower and Benny was able to start it with a few adjustments. It was a relief to me as I never seemed to get it right and spent more time trying to start it than I spent using it.
I watched him through the kitchen window as he began mowing the thick overgrown grass and he appeared to push the machine through, overcoming the resistance of the grass with ease. It had always been a struggle for me, even with the lawn only a little overgrown.
Six square metres were created in a short time and while I prepared drinks and some cookies, bringing them out as Benny placed the cuttings in a compost bin. We sat at the outdoor table and talked about his study course and the demands it put on his time.
'I'm fairly well organised,' he explained. 'Some of the others seem to be in party mode the whole time but I wouldn't be able to keep pace if I didn't work to a timetable.'
He smiled at me and I could feel something, which I dismissed looking away quickly. My telephone rang at that moment cutting short what was quickly becoming a moment of fascination. Reluctantly, I answered my phone, walking away from the table and returning two minutes later. Benny restarted the mower and tidied up the edges while I removed the tray of glasses, taking them back into the house.
As I returned to the yard, Benny was wheeling the mower along the path towards the shed it was kept in.
'Show me these plants to make sure I know what to leave in the ground Mrs Weston,' he said.
It took me a moment to find one and a growing lump of thick bright green grass.
'Look here, Benny. This is garlic. I use it as a companion plant so there will be another different plant somewhere close. If you're not sure, rub the blade between your fingers and you can smell this beautiful faint garlic smell. Pull the weeds around this and look here, there's a tomato plant nearby.'
'Got it. I might start the clearing by isolating them first.'
He smiled at me as he found the next one. This time I smiled back at him. Why was such a thrill going through me?
'While we're at it, you might like to see what spring onions look like when they start growing,' I said.
Somehow emboldened, I took his hand and led him to a corner of the garden where some mature plants were growing with some of the younger ones amongst them.
'It looks like grass, Mrs Weston.'
'If we lose some, they start themselves up without any help once the seeds start dropping. I'll be harvesting the mature ones soon for my own cooking. Why don't we use them for part of a slap up dinner to celebrate the job when we finish Benny?'
'Sounds like a plan.'
I had just asked this boy less than half my age for a date. I startled myself with the realisation. I hoped he wouldn't laugh at me but I would laugh back if he did.
In the past, I have mistaken shyness for snobbishness, feeling judged, implied criticism, and other things that were in the end, part of my own insecurity, so some time ago, I resolved to leave that kind of projection submerged until I got to know a person better. Benny sounded non-committal with his reply, so I left it as a possibility.
Over the next few visits, he always greeted me the same way with a cheerful, 'Hi Mrs Weston,' when I answered the door to his knock.
I walked ahead of him through the house to the back door. Each time he called to continue his work, I wore something slightly more revealing. The weather was getting warmer as spring progressed.
I began by wearing a pair of skin-tight leotards with a loose top that I wore for Pilates and yoga. The next week I greeted him at the door in a short yellow dress with black stockings and suspenders that would be seen if the dress was twirled around or was caught by a breeze. I was on my way out when he arrived and returned when he was ready to leave.
Then I wore a light lemon polo top and a pair of white short shorts where the swell of my buttocks were showing but more-so when I bent down, which I was doing in the yard when I was hanging out washing. I bent down to reach for clothes from the laundry basket, and again when I needed pegs.