Sylvia straightened from planting her border and gently massaged the small of her back. At sixty, she was finding it harder and harder to keep up with her garden. She still planted and weeded the flower beds, but mowing the lawn and the heavy digging had become just too much for her. She had been at a loss for a solution, until she had mentioned her difficulty to Peter and Joan, who had the house next door. They had listened to her explaining that she would have to advertise in the local paper for a handyman and sympathised with her. The next day, Robert, their son had knocked on her door.
âMom and Dad said you needed a hand in your garden, Mrs Greene.â Robert said, looking down at his feet, âI donât know much about plants and stuff, but I can use a spade and push a mower.â
âRobert,â she answered him, âI could use the help, but I canât afford to pay you much, if at all, and Iâm sure you have better things to do than help an old woman.â
âYouâre not old, Mrs Greene, I meanâŠâ Robert was almost stammering.
Sylvia had laughed at his confusion and said âRobert, Iâm sixty, older than your Mom. How old are you now? Twenty, Twenty-one?â
âTwenty-one, Mrs Greene. But itâs no trouble to help you out and I donât want paying.â Robert blurted out.
At first Sylvia had been reluctant, wary of becoming reliant on him, in case he realised that there were better things to do with his time and just stopped coming over. Gradually, though over months they had struck up a friendship. It had become a comforting routine and they had moved from âMrs Greeneâ and âRobertâ to âSylviaâ and âRobâ. One or other of the days of most weekends would find them working in the garden, Robert doing the heavy work and Sylvia planting or pruning. After a mornings work, they would adjourn to her kitchen for lemonade and homemade cookies, or hot chocolate and marshmallows, depending on the weather.
Robert looked around from his digging, noting the last of the empty pots in the carrier and began to clean the blade of his spade. Sylvia picked up her trowel and kneeler and carried them back to the shed, setting them onto the bench, while Robert hung the spade on the pegs, fastened to the back wall. They left their muddy boots by the kitchen door and she opened the refrigerator, taking a jug of lemonade from the shelf inside and putting it on the kitchen table. Robert washed his hands at the sink, carefully scrubbing the earth from under his fingernails. Drying his hands on the towel he moved aside, so that Sylvia could wash hers.
Despite her age and the stiffness in her joints, Sylvia had kept a slender figure, her breasts still high and firm; although they hung lower than in her twenties. Her hair ash blonde, rather than grey was still shiny and her grey eyes still clear and penetrating. Robert suddenly found his mouth drying, as he watched her at the sink, and he stepped closer to her. She turned to find him very close and, before she could protest, or even speak, he had grabbed her roughly and kissed her mouth, circling her with his arms and pressing himself against her. Gasping, Sylvia pulled away and looked at him in shock and a little fear. She only now realised how well-built Robert was, his youthful vigour now becoming menacing. She pushed him away and looked into his eyes, seeing a complex maelstrom of emotions boiling there.
âRobert! What do you think youâre doing?â she demanded, trying to keep her voice calm and controlled.
âI-I-Iâm sorry, Mrs Greene.â Robert stammered, âI donât know what I was thinking of. You just looked so â so hot. I guess I wasnât thinking.â
He seemed to have become the tongue tied boy who had first tapped on her door and Sylvia felt her fear subsiding. Sliding past him she moved towards the door to the lounge. She could sense his confusion and, now that she had overcome her surprise and fear, wanted to help him.
âRobert, we should talk. Come into the loungeâ Sylvia told him.
Robert followed mutely and sat on the edge of the large sofa. Sylvia stood for a moment and then sat on the smaller sofa, opposite. She leaned forward a little and fixed her with her clear gaze, waiting for him to look up at her. He was shaking, although without seeing the expression on his face, Sylvia could not guess why. Eventually he lifted his head and, blushing crimson, he opened his mouth to speak.
âI-I donât know what came over me.â Robert said, apologetically, âItâs as though something just went inside my head and I had to do it.â
âI donât know what you were thinking of Robert. Youâre a very sweet boy and I thought we were good friends but what made you do it?â Sylvia asked, gently.