A Dozen Dates (6 page)

That suggestion made Michael grin even harder, and he chuckled slightly and turned to Nathan and mentioned, “I quite like the great outdoors...”

“
For
the garden...” Her urgency to resurrect her humiliating predicament was amusing to the brothers and the two of them laughed at her affectionately.

Gemma swung her knapsack into Michael’s stomach, and declared, “I’m going to go measure your yard now...” She placed her laptop on the table and hurriedly put on her apron, placing her notepad and pen, tape measure and bottle of water into the spare pockets, and then lastly put on her gloves.

“Hey! Now I know why you became a Landscaper...” Michael called after her.

“Why’s that?” she called back at him while still walking away, although she just
knew
she shouldn’t tempt him.

“Because you have a huge shovel and you’re good at digging holes for yourself!” Michael claimed, but Gemma just made a rude hand gesture at him which she emphasised with her spade.

“Oooh..!” Michael winced, and then he offered, “Do you need a hand?”

“No, I’m fine...” she assured him, rolling her eyes.

Gemma walked around the yard and took into account the existing plant life and features. Really, it looked as though the previous owners had no real knowledge of scaping, and rather just sporadically planted random vegetation that they personally liked. There was a Native out the front aside a climbing rose – which had nothing to climb on. She dug up a little of the soil with her spade and squashed it to dust between her fingers – it was a bit dry. She would need to supplement it if they hoped to have any chance of a healthy garden. Over at the first side fence was a Bird of Paradise alongside a conifer... The soil in the back yard seemed to be in not too bad a condition... There was that mangy looking palm in the corner of the back yard and the Eucalypt which was cut into an abomination, and some overgrown mint around the other side under the tap. The whole yard was just mishmash. Gemma took all the measurements she could, and then decided that she really needed to take the boys for a walk around the yard and talk to them about some issues which were presenting themselves.

“What’s happening with the driveway?” Gemma asked, looking at the tyre tracks through the sparse gravel.

“Well, we thought we would get exposed aggregate put down...” Michael told her.

“And are you planning on having a path to the front door?” Gemma continued.

“Yes,” Michael answered.

“When are you looking at that happening? I need to know so I can plan my schedule around it.”

“Probably in about two weeks,” Nathan said.

“That would be good... That still leaves me time to build the gardens and get the plants established...” Gemma told them confidently. “And are the fences staying where they are?” she asked, looking at the rickety structure.

“Well, no, we were actually going to remove the front fence all together and put in a couple of side fences level with the front of the house.” Michael informed her.

“Also, I’m going to need to topsoil this whole front before we fix the lawn, and the garden will need new soil as well,” Gemma said.

They walked around the side, and Gemma continued with her assault on the brothers’ minds. “This would be a good spot for the clothesline...” she stated and they looked at her confused. “Well, you weren’t going to keep that rusted out Hills Hoist that’s in the back were you?”

“I guess not,” confirmed Nathan. They were both taken aback by the authority in her voice – in her profession she was confident and they could tell she would fare well when dealing with future clients.

“This tree, here, has been abused and lopped in all the wrong places,” said Gemma, patting the tired looking Eucalypt along the back fence line. It has to go... Actually, most of these plants have to go, but I will need help with this one. You will have to either call in a professional; else you can attempt it yourselves, but being that it is next to a fence...”

“We’ll do it!” the brothers answered together, smiling.

“Okay...” Gemma conceded, smiling at their adventurous enthusiasm.

“Now the back patio..?” Gemma asked.

“Exposed aggregate like the driveway...” claimed Michael.

“Okay... Well, I’m just going to take a few more measurements... of the drive way, and clothes line area, etcetera... Then I will start working on a design.” Gemma smiled, “Tropical is okay, isn’t it? I thought, with having the pool and being so close to the beach... And it’s low maintenance.”

“Tropical is perfect,” Michael assured her.

“Yep,” agreed Nathan.

“Good,” said Gemma and she grinned and looked down shyly, pleased they were happy with her decision and very excited in general about her new assignment – her first assignment!

Gemma finished her measuring mission and went and washed her hands, sat in the cool on the patio where the boys had erected a large beach umbrella over the table and opened her laptop. She opened her landscaping program and began drawing their yard, including the house and the fences. She started adding the drive-way and the rectangle for the clothes line and was adding in the back patio when Michael came out.

“Time for lunch..!” he declared, “Whatcha working on?”

“Just adding in the patio...”

Gemma told him. Michael looked over her shoulder, “Interesting program...”

“Yeah, it’s great! Of course at college we usually do it all with pencil and paper, but we are taught to use this too. This program was one of the first things I purchased...” Gemma explained proudly.

Michael placed his own laptop on the table, but moved his chair around and sat down beside Gemma so he could watch her work. He gazed mesmerised as she recreated the bean shape of the swimming pool in its correct position.

Gemma could feel the warmth emanating from him and she couldn’t help but look out from the corner of her eye and check out his bare chest. Even covered in plaster dust he was hot. She wanted to touch him – sponge-bath his dusty physique even... Gemma’s chest began to rise and fall as she became restless in his proximal presence. Just then Nathan came out with three coffees before departing again and returning with three plates of chicken, coleslaw and potato salad.

“Oh, thank you...” said Gemma, “I wasn’t expect... You didn’t have to...” She closed her laptop and Michael placed it towards the back of the table near his.

“I didn’t...” Nathan grinned at her, “My fiancé did – I just put it on the plates!”

“What is her name?” Gemma asked, grateful for the lunch and the distraction from Michael.

“Miranda...” Nathan told her, “You met her at the party!”

“Oh, did I?” Gemma asked, perilously concerned about which of her incredible conversations she shared with Nathan’s fiancé.

Nathan chuckled lightly at her expression and offered, “Don’t fret... She liked you!”

“Oh,” Gemma said as she smiled, “That’s a relief.” She and Michael chuckled too.

“You will see her here one day, I’m sure. Just depends what days she has off... She does shift work in an aged care facility and her hours vary from fortnight to fortnight,” Nathan informed her.

The three of them sat and ate lunch and talked. Gemma thoroughly enjoyed their company – they were bright and cheerful, yet hardworking and competent; and then after lunch, she insisted on cleaning up, while Michael made them all a second cup of coffee.

“I’m going to take mine inside, I want to get that other doorway finished,” Nathan asserted, adamant about getting the front of the house secure before nightfall.

“Okay, I will be in shortly – after my coffee,” Michael told him.

“Take your time...” Nathan said.

Michael opened his lap-top and logged into his messenger account? “Do you have messenger?” he asked Gemma.

“Yes, I do...” she replied.

“What is your address?” he inquired and Gemma gave it to him. He was silent for a minute and then informed her, “Okay, I’ve sent you an invite.” Michael paused, “You want to hop on and accept it..?”

Gemma logged into her messenger account and accepted Michael as a contact and then Michael began chatting with her, and like she was swept away, she began chatting back.

“Would you like to see a movie tonight?” Michael suddenly threw into the conversation.

“You took me out only just last night...” Gemma wrote back.

“Yes, but it is Tuesday. Movies are cheap today!” Michael pointed out.

“Are you saying I’m cheap?” Gemma flirted and Michael grinned.

“Only if you date me tonight on cheap Tuesday,” Michael flirted back.

“I don’t know what to say to that.”

“Say yes.”

“I’m right here you know,” Gemma said out loud, but Michael just continued typing, and then she had her attention demanded by a buzzing sound coming from her laptop.

“Shhhhhhhhh! You’re hurting my ears,” Michael wrote her.

Gemma typed back, “I can’t believe you buzzed me.”

“Is that a yes?” Michael typed.

“You’re an idiot,” Gemma wrote back.

“Well, I don’t do chick flicks. Sorry. So would you prefer Action or Comedy???”

Gemma replied, “I like Action!”

“Excellent choice,” Michael affirmed and he went on to list the names of the movies screening in the Action genre.

“You pick.”

“Ok,” Michael agreed and he chose a movie. “I will pick you up at six o’clock.”

“Ok.”

“It’s a cheap date then!” Michael suggested in text and Gemma made a scoffing noise aloud. Michael looked up at her and was grinning when suddenly he was alerted by a buzzing noise resonating from his laptop.

“Look at me while I’m talking to you,” demanded Gemma as she pretended that Michael was ignoring her when he looked away from his laptop. They were both grinning.

“I can’t believe you buzzed me,” Michael wrote back to her.

“C U 2night. GTG,” Gemma concluded before logging out of her account. “Great... Another date...” she thought to herself, “How did that happen?”

Gemma continued working on her plan until afternoon tea time when Michael brought her another coffee.

“How’s it going out here?”

“Good! I’ve finished the plan... I’ve worked out a schedule. Now I’m listing contacts for businesses I need to get quotes from,” she turned to him and asked “Would you like to see the plan?”

“Yeah, I’d love to!” Michael replied and he took a seat next to Gemma and leant in and, both to her pleasure and distraction, invaded her personal space.

Gemma brought up her completed plan and ran through it with Michael. “Wow, that’s really good. We had no idea what to do in the yard... We probably would have ended up just laying lawn...”

“Well, I should have the final costing after I contact the suppliers and negotiate the best prices... I will have to visit the nurseries so I can see what they have and get some quotes. But I will be within budget!” Gemma reassured him.

“Well, make those calls from here...” Michael insisted and then he stood up and called inside for Nathan. “Do you want to show Nathan the plan..?”

Nathan came out and Gemma proudly went through her plan again. “Wow! That’s a lot better than what we had planned... And you can do this within budget?”

“Yes, I will get started immediately – I will be back on Thursday, then I can save money by planting smaller plants and they will have time to grow and establish. In fact, I will get all the plants as soon as possible, and those which are for along the edges of the areas you are having concreted in the exposed aggregate, I can just look after in pots for a couple of weeks.”

“Well, you better knock off shortly... I hear you’ve got a hot date tonight,” Michael claimed, raising his eyebrows and trying to look sophisticated.

Gemma laughed at him, “You really are an idiot...” Michael smirked at her flirtatiously as she packed her knapsack and gardening belt, ready to go.

“Why don’t you leave your tools here... Unless you need them for college..?”

“No, I don’t need them – that is a good Idea,” Gemma said as she got up and collected only her laptop and knapsack.

“Hey! Do you want to go for a swim before you leave?” Michael asked her.

“I’d love to, but I don’t have my swimmers with me...” Gemma replied.

“Well, from now on bring them...” Michael said before removing his boots and socks, walking the few paces to the pool’s edge and making a clownish splash into the water, submerging and coming up clean of dust.

“I will!” Gemma agreed, trying not to stare at him as the sunlight sparkled on the trickles of water as they left glistening trails down his face and upper chest, the vision rendering her moderately breathless. Oh, this was going to be a long night... “I have to go now.”

“Pick you up at six!” he called after her, smiling and pleased with himself for securing another night out with this captivating young woman.

“Okay,” she agreed; her trepidation evident in her voice.

Gemma decided to wear jeans and a feminine, seventies look, bone-coloured, flowing cotton blouse with brightly coloured embroidery and smocking on the upper parts of the bodice. She looked in the mirror – she was really starting not to like that ebony under-section of hair – it didn’t go with most of her clothes... and she decided that she was going to have to do something about it! She put on some dangly tribal looking earrings, a similarly styled choker and finally her brown leather sandals. Michael honked for her at six o’clock and they drove to the cinemas.