Page 161 of Rough Around the Hedges

I tilted my head, thinking about it. “I’ve changed my mind. I’ll pass.”

He laughed and handed me a little packet. “Here. Found this in the shed. Give it to the cat, would ya?”

I took it from him and flipped it over. “George, this Lick-e-lix is two years out of date.”

“Is it? Crikey. What’s it been doing in the shed for two years, then?”

“Haven’t the foggiest,” I replied, putting it back in his hand. “I’ll leave that to you. God only knows what I’ll find in mine when I start clearing it out.”

“Probably some cornflakes from your ol’ grandpa.” He chuckled.

He wasn’t wrong.

It wasn’t as if I ever gutted the place, and my grandfather had been rather partial to cornflakes.

“Good morning, dear!” Susan practically bounced out of her shed. “Oh, Hades, you’re on my gloves again, you little tyke.”

“He’s a cat,” I replied. “If he fits, he sits. And if he doesn’t fits, he’s gonna try to sits anyway.”

She laughed brightly, scooting her gloves out from under him. “At least they’re nice and warm.”

I held my hand up to shelter my eyes from the hot sun. “Yes, because that’s exactly what you want in this weather. Hot gloves.”

She shuddered as she put her hand in. “Oh, dear. You’re right. And they’re covered in his fur.”

“That’s just his glitter,” George said.

“Why don’t you take this glitter for me, then?”

“Get rid of it yourself, woman. I’m not your slave.”

“I’m glad we’re on the same page. By the way, I still want that pre-nup.”

I looked between the two of them. “Pre-nup? What do you want a pre-nup for? Is George secretly a millionaire?”

Susan blinked at me. “I know he fancies my Shirley Temple. I must retain custody of my plants.”

“Oh, perfectly understandable.” I unlocked my shed from the key on my spare set and opened the door, a waft of heat washing over me. “George, give the woman her pre-nup.”

“I only want a cutting of it,” he muttered.

“You can’t make peonies flower to save your life,” Susan retorted. “I am not letting you desecrate Shirley just to see her child never bloom.”

“But you’ll be there, Susie. You can do it for me.”

Susie?

Susie?

“Remember when I said I’d miss your flirting? I take it back.” I put the keys on the side and stepped out, giving my gloves a shake. “Do you reckon I’ll get these tomatoes in time?”

The two of them shared a look, and something I didn’t quite catch passed between them.

“Stop flirting like that,” I said, bending down to check them. “There are children present.”

“You’re not a child,” Isadora said, jingling my keys as she appeared at my gate. “Here. Where’s mine?”

I caught the keys she tossed at me and nodded towards the shed. “In there.”

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