SETTLING IN... or down, or something (Part 116c)
The
first chore I had that morning was to build and set Elle's clothes
line. She wanted to be able to use it right away but I’d set the posts
in concrete and it needed to set. Being the middle of April the grass
had already started to grow. It was obvious that the previous owner,
being a farmer, had put lots of fertilizer on the lawn. I walked the
property imagining what it was going to be like when I mowed it. I was
actually concerned with the slope of the hill where the cut for the
driveway was. To be truthful, I wasn’t looking forward to it. As I did
my walk I noticed someone on the neighbors property. I’d still not seen
the man and only seen his wife, from a distance, a few times. I walked
over to the hedge, which was way overgrown, to get a better look. There
were some parts of it that had died and if I stood in one of those empty
spots I could see a fair amount of their property. When I first peered
through the opening I didn’t see anyone. I wondered how whoever it was
had managed to disappear so quickly. For the first time since I’d bought
the place I stepped through the hedge and saw a young woman hanging
clothes on on a rather unique clothes line. I’m not sure I wasn’t as
interested in the design of it as much as I was in the person.
It
was attached to the side of the garage and had no vertical poles to
hold it up. From where I was standing it looked like there were
extensions to a couple of the roof rafters which were attached to two
boards that protruded and were attached to the side of the garage. The
lines were attached to them. I don’t know why it caught my attention. In
any case the female didn’t see me as I peered at her. I knew they had a
daughter that had some mental/intelligence problems and assumed that it
was her. As she finished up I stepped back so that the hedge shielded
me. As she walked back towards the house I took a close look at her. In
spite of what I’d been told she looked normal to me. She was wearing
what appeared to be a cotton dress and an oversized wrap around sweater.
Once she was inside I stepped back through the hedge to peer at the
clothes on the line. There wasn’t much, mostly sheets. I was hoping to
see some panties but there didn’t appear to be any. Back on my own
property I got the idea to walk along my side of the hedge back to where
their garage was. Because it hadn’t been trimmed in such a long time
the lower part didn’t have much in the way of greenery. It was mostly on
top. I found a place where I could see the clothes line and, although
the angle was poor, I could see some smallish white things hanging
behind the sheets. Unfortunately, there weren’t any dead areas that
would let me through. However, I was really curious so walked all the
way to the back of my property and around the end of the hedge. From
there I couldn’t see the neighbors house as the garage was in the way.
So I slowly walked towards it. I had a bit of a problem with the junk
piled up behind it but finally got to where I could see the clothes.
Those closest to me were mens T shirts and I wasn’t sure what was next
to them. At first I was afraid to come out from behind the garage but I
was so close I decided to take a few steps. There was a bit of wind so
the things were waving back and forth which made it a bit difficult to
get an exact read on what was hanging further on down the line. Then I
saw something lying on the ground. I hesitated for a second and then
took the necessary step to be able to reach it. Wet, I stuffed it in my
jacket pocket anyway and made it back to my property as quickly as I
could.
Even though it was probably only 50 something
degrees out, by the time I made the turn at the end of the hedge I was
perspiring profusely. Before I could calm down Elle appeared from behind
our garage looking for me. The kids were still at her parents house and
she wanted me to go get them. She was in the process of doing cleaning
and didn’t like to leave it once she started. Elle had actually startled
me which added to my discomfort. She handed me the keys to the station
wagon which told me she wanted it done now. That upset me a bit and,
believe it or not, I completely forgot about what was in my pocket.
As
I mentioned I was perspiring so when I got in the wagon I took off my
coat. By the time I’d gotten the kids, all their stuff and back home it
was lunch time. It had warmed up considerably and I never gave a thought
to my jacket. After lunch I went to purchase the power lawn mower. I’d
done research and knew exactly what I wanted. Because of the slopes on
the hill I’d decided on a fairly small mower so I took my car to get it.
I’d forgotten all about my jacket still in the station wagon... and
what was in the pocket.
Returning home, I put the mower
together and was set to start mowing. Then I remembered... I needed
both oil and gas... and a can to put the gas in. Aside from being upset
for forgetting about that stuff I was also upset that I had to go spend
more money. It just didn’t seem to end... a dollar or two here and a
dollar or two there. It was mid afternoon before I finally started to
mow. I remember it like it was yesterday. The slopes were brutal and by
the time I was done I was exhausted. I think if Elle had been in just
her panties and bra when I walked in it wouldn’t have revived me. I
headed for the recliner and took a nap.
To be continued...
1 comment:
I have a bad feeling.
Post a Comment