Ding dong, ding dong.
The woman went out to the gate. A short, muscular man greeted her.
“Hello. Any work for me to do? I can throw rubbish, cut grass, prune plants, or do any handyman work.”
“Can you clear the weeds and plants growing in the front garden?”
“Yes, $150”
“How long will it take?”
“Two days of work. I come to clear on Saturday and Sunday.”
After clearing, I want the lawn to be re-turfed. Can you prepare the soil for planting of new grass?”
“Yes. I can do that.”
“What’s your price for turning the soil, levelling it and planting the new grass?”
“$50.”
“Okay. First you clear the weeds and remove the plants. I’ll call you when the grass is delivered. Give me your cell number.”
“Okay, its xxxxxxxxxx.”
“Got it. You can start clearing now.”
“Yes.”
He starts pulling the tall, wild plants up. He pulls the weeds too. When the front lawn was cleared, he went to his truck to fetch his hoe. He welded it to break up the lumps of soil. After a while, he completed digging and turning the soil. The woman gave him a bottle of mineral water and paid him.
“Can I leave my hoe here? My friend has driven away our truck and I can’t carry my hoe back home. Its very far away. I’ll come back to fetch my hoe another day.” The woman nodded. He left.
Days passed. The woman saw the hoe sitting in her garden every day. She felt uneasy and regretted allowing that man’s equipment to be a reminder of him. She realized it was a trick to get her to call the owner of the hoe, and he’ll get more work to do.
She didn’t call the man to do any more odd jobs around the house. His hoe remained unclaimed. And this is the story of how that hoe got left behind in the woman’s house. Well, not actually her house, but in her garden.
The End.
This story was written for a photo prompt #8 at https://artmater.com/photo-prompts-for-writing-no-expiry-date/