It's time for the WEP+ IWSG bi-monthly writing challenge.
http://writeeditpublishnow.blogspot.com
Here is my story.
Laura hadn’t slept a wink last
night knowing today they were moving in to their new home. Kevin snored most of the night, nothing
worried him, nothing fazed him, he just ‘went with the flow.’ She couldn’t wait to get out of this flat and
into a house with a garden. A garden no
less. She’d been looking online as to
what plants she could grow but frustratingly moving in November was not really
conducive to producing many plants.
The
promised mown lawn didn’t happen, not unexpected, the bonus was their flat had
sold in record time and there was no chain for the new house so the exchange of
contracts was plain sailing.
She shut the 6.00 a.m. alarm off
and prodded Kevin. He jumped straight
out of bed and started talking nineteen-to-the dozen about the tight schedule
they had to keep today. Laura smiled to
herself, she’d arranged it all, marked all the boxes and had a plan for where
each item of furniture was to go. She’d
give the removal men copies of that plan and hoped they would keep to it.
Christmas came and went, New Year
they toasted each other in front of the brand-new log-burning fire which was
their home-warming/Christmas present to each other. It was so lovely being in this house. There was such a nice vibe to it. They planned and plotted and set out their
goals for the following year, a major one being to sort out the garden and deal
with the shed at the bottom of the garden.
The key to the padlock had been lost many years ago by the previous
owner. Kevin was going to break the lock
and ‘find’ the treasures that were held inside the shed. Laura was certain all he would find would be
rotted floor planks, spider’s webs and probably nests of mice.
Laura was weeding the garden
during a lovely spring Saturday morning when she heard Kevin shouting for her from
the end of the garden. She made her way
through the uneven path (they really must get estimates from a paving company)
to see Kevin grinning like a madman.
‘Ta-da!’
A rusty wheelbarrow with a flat
tyre balanced precariously before him.
Kevin’s expression was one of utter happiness. Laura’s mouth gaped open in
astonishment. A rusty wheelbarrow,
whatever next?
‘Can’t you see it, Laura
love? This would make a fine feature in
our garden. You could do all sorts of
things with it.’
Dubious Laura walked around the
galvanised metal container, her finger nails picking at the flaking rust
patches. Her imagination started
working. Rub down the rust, paint it
with anti-rust stuff – Google here she came ‘cos she’d need help. Perhaps she could paint it. A vibrant red with a profusion of colourful
flowers, some trailing over the edges. There
would be odds and end in there every time you looked you saw something
different. A fairy garden. A dragon haven. An exotic paradise. Oh, the sky was the limit.
Kevin received a promotion at
work. He worked long hours travelling
away for a couple of days. Laura didn’t
mind so much now her barrow project was nearly finished. She’d scrubbed, scraped, sanded, smoothed and
painted her wheelbarrow. A new tyre and
rubber grip handles had been fixed to it.
She wanted it ready for the August Bank Holiday so she could unveil it at
a family get-together she had arranged.
The garden was neat and tidy, the walkway had been paved and they’d even
splashed out and had decking built along the back of the house.
Laura and Kevin stood at the
doorway welcoming family, drinks were poured, seats taken in the garden,
whispering started, what was under that tarpaulin? Who did they think they were? Somebody famous who was going to do a great
unveiling?
Laura heard some of those
remarks, she hid her tears as she put the finishing touches to the food. They
made sure everybody had food and waited until the plates were cleared and
people’s glasses were refilled.
Kevin stood one side of the cover
with Laura on the other side. Kevin made
a little speech. He said how much he
loved their new home; how hard they had worked to make it their own little
paradise. He said how much he loved
Laura and how he appreciated all the time and effort she had put in to making
their home a loving one. Now he wanted
to show his family and hers what a creative person she was.
Together they lifted the
tarpaulin and stood aside waiting for – well they thought maybe they would get
a few oohs and aahs or maybe even some applause. That didn’t happen. As one their families started to laugh, first
trying to smother their giggles behind their hands as they pointed and mocked
and started shaking their heads in disbelief.
They always knew this couple were
strange but really, a red wheelbarrow with yellow flowers and a full skeleton
inside it, they needed to be locked up. It
wasn’t a normal thing to do, no way.
First the cousins looked at their watches, is that the time, we really
must be going. Then the older generation
decided they needed to go and get things done and finally everybody left, no
goodbyes, no thank you’s, no good wishes, they just left.
Kevin and Laura held each other
tightly, murmuring to each other that they weren’t strange. Not strange, not odd, not mad, not crazy,
just artistic, creative, perhaps a little ‘out there.’
The family hadn’t stayed for the
best bit. The announcement that Laura had been booked for an exhibition in New
York. Her wheelbarrow had won first prize in a gardening competition and would
be transported to the USA, included in the competition was a two-week luxury
stay in a prime hotel in the centre of the city.
Now the sky really was the
limit. Laura was on her way no matter
what her family thought.
999 words
