Page 51 of Convincing Him
Chapter Ten
Thursday, two days before the wedding.
Two days later and Gabe was desperate. There was progress on the house. A couple of walls had been moved. The new ensuite bath was perfect by Britney standards, keeping in the traditional feel of the house. Paint was drying, wallpaper had been hung. Furniture was moved in and covered with dust cloths to keep it clean. A cleaning crew was wiping down everything so the final touches could happen. Gabe was waiting on an entire order of deluxe kitchen countertop appliances in matching red because it would fit with Britney’s stand mixer.
However, nothing had happened in the backyard. Flowers, small trees, sod, and a jumble of wood for the new playset had been delivered and sat abandoned beside a stack of paving stones. A sprinkler system and lighting system waited in boxes.
The wedding was coming ever closer and this might be his last chance to convince her to marry him. The house had to be done and perfect for when she finally had a look at it.
So today was the day Gabe showed up in his gym clothes. He had no idea what he was doing but apparently all the landscaping companies were too busy to take his money, no matter how high he bid the job. It was a joke on him. He couldn’t buy his way out of this situation.
The local hardware store had helpfully delivered a bunch of tools he might need. Gabe was now the proud owner of a bunch of guy’s items he had never even remotely handled before. Some of the tools he didn’t even know what they were for. Too bad he had never elected to take shop.
Grabbing a shovel, Gabe reasoned he could take the old patchy grass off the yard first and throw it in the dumpster. It was as good of a place to start as any. Then he could set to pulling out any plants in the way of his new flowerbed scheme. After that, he would put out all those bags of potting mix he had bought. Then plant the sod, the plants, read the directions on the lighting, sprinklers, and playset. Somehow, he would get it done.
With a plan in mind, Gabe set to working up a sweat. Hours later in the hot sun, Gabe looked at his empty water bottle with regret. The cleaners had been through the house and there was no way he could go inside to refill the container being covered in dirt from head to toe like he was. Gabe eyed the outdoor tap and garden hose attached.
Thousands of kids drank from the garden hose every year and they didn’t die, he reasoned. Taking the lid off his water bottle, Gabe opened the tap, listening to the water course through the hose. Using the nozzle on the end, he sprayed a generous amount into the container before taking a big thirsty gulp and spitting it back out.
“Hot!” he choked in shock, touching his aching lips with dirty fingers.
“You have to run it for a little while to cool it down,” a man advised. “The hose heats up in the sun.”
“Thanks,” Gabe looked around to see a blond man peering over the fence.
“I’m Tom,” the man cheerfully supplied. “I guess we’re neighbors.”
“Nice to meet you Tom,” replied Gabe as he ran the hose, testing it with his finger before refilling the water container. “I’m Gabe.”
“Looks like you’re doing a little yard work,” Tom observed the obvious. “I noticed there has been a lot of activity around the house for the past couple of days.”
“I’m trying to get it ready by the weekend,” replied Gabe, taking a swig from his water bottle. He wondered if all his new neighbors were going to be as nosy as this one. “I want it to be perfect for Britney.”
“Don’t you have any help?” wondered Tom. “Looks like a big job.”
“It is,” admitted Gabe. He looked at the lumps of dirt of uneven soil where he had dug out the grass. He would have to fix it before laying down the sod, otherwise the entire yard would be lumpy. Gabe frowned at the amount of work before him. “I don’t really have a choice. The first landscaper bailed because he was double booked. I can’t find another one to take over in time to get the job done so I have to do it myself.”
Gabe looked around but it appeared Tom had left. Or at least the tuft of blond hair, pink forehead and eyeballs that had been looking over the fence had left. Gabe shook his head. He had another good drink of water and started digging again, tossing clumps of grass and dirt into the wheelbarrow. He was going to get this done today even if it killed him.
“I thought you could use a hand,” said Tom from behind him, causing Gabe to jump in surprise. “I’ll need you to tell me what to do since I have no experience at this. I’m an accountant during the day. I mostly work from home and it’s a little slow right now so I can help you out for a few hours if you’d like.”
“Thanks, I would appreciate it. I run a chain of hospitals,” Gabe grimaced at his mistake. “Actually, I just resigned from running a chain of hospitals. It’s recent.”
“I guess the real question is, do you golf?” asked Tom in mock seriousness. “A lot of the guys on the block golf. You should join us sometime.”
“I would like that,” Gabe set the shovel into the ground and held out a hand in greeting. He winced as Tom gave his blistered hand a hearty shake.
“Boy those are big blisters,” commented Tom. “You should wear some work gloves. Here, I have got an extra pair.”
Gabe gratefully took the extended pair. “Truth is, I have no idea what I’m doing trying to landscape this. I just know I have to get it done.”
“Well then, put me to work,” Tom volunteered.
Hours later and some handy advice from the contractor, Gabe and Tom had made significant headway. Taking a break, the pair sat in a set of folding lawn chairs Tom had dug out of his garage since they didn’t want to get the new patio set dirty. Eating Chinese food from a local restaurant out of containers with a couple of beers, the men contemplated their work.
“I’ll call someone in to repair the sprinkler system on Monday,” mentioned Gabe.
“I’m sorry about that,” apologized Tom. “I really didn’t see the line when I dug the hole.”
