Chapter 266

• Since I had been working inside I was wearing one of my old pairs of denim shorts, and one of Simon’s old white work shirts. My feet were bare, and I stopped at the back door to slip on my sandals, before we walked out into the humid heat of the back garden. I pointed out to her where we had put out some wooden stakes in the ground on Sunday evening, to mark the various locations for the new trees and bushes. She looked around the garden, checking the locations, making some alternative suggestions, and making sure that access would be sufficient for their workers. Eventually we wondered back over to the paved patio as we talked about gardening. When I mentioned to her that I had always wanted a vegetable garden, she said that she'd be happy to get me started.
• She seemed like a genuinely pleasant girl, and as we chatted some more, I learned that she had been working in the garden centre, which was the family business, in some form or another, since she was twelve years old. She told me that she was about to start her final year at college in the coming September, and that one day she hoped to take over the business from her parents. As we talked she tilted her head back to drain the final mouthful of water from her bottle. As she did this some of the liquid escaped from her lips, trickling down over her chin and onto her neck, running down onto her chest underneath the polo shirt, soaking into the dark material. She giggled with embarrassment, and lifted her hand to rub the water into the sweaty skin on her neck and chest.
• "God! It has been so hot these past few days, hasn't it?" she moaned.