by S R Silcox
“Poor thing was probably having a good old snooze,” Nick said, pulling away debris.
Zoe started pulling bits of timber away from the snake and said to Nick, “Go get a couple of shovels and the bin from inside.”
Nick hurried off back into the house.
“You’re not going to kill it, are you?” Georgia called from the ute.
“Of course not,” Zoe replied. “We’re going to relocate it to somewhere much safer.”
“Thank you,” Georgia said.
“I meant for it, not for you,” Zoe sniped.
Nick returned and handed Zoe a shovel and together they proceeded to probe and prod the python until it decided the bin was the safest place for it.
They popped the lid on top and then together, carried it to the back of the shed, where they upended it and stepped back, watching the snake slither away into the grass.
Zoe had no doubt it would be back soon enough, but she wouldn’t tell Georgia that. She sent Nick back into the house with the bin and told him to finish pulling down the kitchen.
She walked back to the front of the shed and found Georgia sitting on a folding chair, looking sheepish.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Zoe asked. “If you can’t stay out of trouble, I’m taking you back into town.”
“I didn’t realise it would come down like that,” Georgia replied.
“That’s why I’m the builder,” Zoe said. “Leave the building to me.”
Georgia stood up. “And what am I meant to do? Be your damn lunch lady?”
“I told you you didn’t have to be here for the demo but no, you just had to come. There’s nothing for you to do today,” Zoe said.
“I’m quite capable of helping,” Georgia replied. She crossed her arms across her chest, defiant.
Zoe glanced across to the old outdoor toilet, now a crumpled mess on the ground. She shook her head. “Just stay out of my way.” She stomped off back toward the house.
“Don’t treat me like an idiot,” Georgia yelled to her back.
“Then stop acting like one,” Zoe yelled over her shoulder.
Damn clients, she thought. She knew it would be a bad idea to have Georgia on site for the first few days but Jack had to insist. As soon as they broke for lunch, Nick was taking Georgia back into town, and she could stay there where she wouldn’t cause any more trouble.
TWELVE
Demolishing the old outdoor toilet and inadvertently discovering a snake was probably not the smartest thing Georgia had ever done, and it had almost been enough to make her want to go back to town, but she was determined to show Zoe she wasn’t a wuss.
She could’ve called Ren to have a whinge but decided to wait until she got back to the motel later that night to complain about Zoe. She was sure the lunch lady/demolishing the toilet events wouldn’t be the only things she’d be telling Ren that night. The day was still young. Instead, Georgia contented herself with arranging the coffee mugs onto the fold-up table, and mumbling to herself about Zoe being a pain in the arse.
Nick’s voice startled her. “Excuse me, Mrs Ballantyne?”
Georgia spun around. “I’m not married.”
“Oh, sorry,” Nick replied, looking down at his feet.
“It’s okay. Georgia’s fine, anyway,” Georgia replied, feeling immediately sorry for being grumpy with Nick. Her beef with Zoe had nothing to do with him.
“Okay, thanks,” Nick replied. “I just came to tell you that Zoe wants you to come back into town with me.”
Georgia huffed out a breath. “She’s sending me home like a naughty school girl?”
“I have to grab a few things from the shed, and then we have to do the lunch run,” Nick replied apologetically.
“What about all the stuff I just set up?” Georgia asked. “I thought that was for lunch.”
“Simmo and his boys bring their own so it’s mostly for them,” Nick said. “The boss buys lunch on the first day of a job. It’s tradition.”
“Isn’t she generous,” Georgia muttered under her breath.
“She also said I need to drop you off at Leroy’s to get some boots,” Nick said.
As Georgia followed Nick to the ute, she asked, “So am I allowed back after you get lunch?”
Nick looked at her over the tray. “She didn’t say you weren’t.” He got into the driver’s side and started the car.
Georgia glanced back at the cottage where the banging had gotten noticeably louder. Fine. She’d go into town with Nick and order her damn boots. And while she was there, she’d ring Ren and see if there was any way they could get another builder. There was no way Georgia was going to put up with Zoe Jennings for the next four weeks.
After trying on eight pairs of steel capped work boots, all of them uncomfortable in their own way, Georgia finally settled on a pair and ordered them. She was assured they’d get more comfortable the more they were worn in, but Georgia doubted that, especially since she’d only be wearing them for a few weeks.
After an hour wandering the main street waiting for Nick to finish at the work shed, Georgia met him at the local takeaway to order lunch.
Nick insisted on paying for Georgia’s lunch on the work account, telling her it was what they normally did on a build, so Georgia didn’t argue.
She wanted to tell Nick that technically, since she was paying the bills, she was the one paying for lunch, but that was semantics and she was sure it would go over Nick’s head.
She listened to Nick’s advice about lunch though, and took a chance on what he called the best steak burger in town, and watched as he piled burgers, chips and a bag of battered fish and Chiko rolls into a thermal lunch box.
Just as they were heading off, Nick’s phone rang. “Hey Boss,” he said when he answered. “On our way now.” He glanced over at Georgia. “Yep, got them all sorted.”
Georgia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She couldn’t believe Zoe was checking up on her.
“No lettuce and double cheese,” Nick said, and he did roll his eyes.
Georgia couldn’t resist a chuckle. Sounds like Zoe drove Nick nuts too.
Nick hung up from the call and shoved the phone onto the dash.
Georgia said, “Has Zoe always been so…”
“Blunt?” Nick finished.
“I was going to say painful,” Georgia replied.
Nick snorted. “She says what she means which is good, you know. Especially for a boss.”
“If you say so,” Georgia mumbled and looked out the window as they drove back to the cottage.
THIRTEEN
Nick and Georgia still hadn’t returned with lunch by the time Zoe had finished the demo inside the cottage. She was waiting on Nick to help her demolish the back wall ready for the extension, so she decided to take a break and have a chat to Simmo while she had a coffee.
When she went to put hot water in her mug, Simmo said, “It’s not hot yet. I had to fill it up so it hasn’t had time to heat up.”
Zoe thumped her mug down on the table. If this was the way Georgia intended to help, by not doing what she was told, she could go right back off to the city where she came from.
As she sat and waited for the urn to heat up and chatted to Simmo about the build, her phone rang. It was Jack.
“You’re causing me some bloody grief, Zoe,” Jack said when she answered.
“What else is new?” Zoe joked, leaning back into the camp chair.
“I got another call from Rick Wheeler—“
Zoe rolled her eyes. “What the hell am I supposed to have done now?”
“Apparently, you asked Georgia to make the coffees,” Jack said, and before Zoe could cut in he added, “Now look, it’s your work site, I know that, and that’s what I said to Rick. But come on, Zo, you have to stop treating Georgia like she’s a prickle in your thong.”
“Well that’s exactly what she is,” Zoe replied. “And anyway, she demoed the outback dunny.”
“Really?”
>
“Yep. Didn’t even wait to be asked to,” Zoe said and she hoped Jack could hear the sarcasm through the phone.
Jack let out a breath and Zoe could take a guess that he was doing that thing where he squished his face like he looked like he was in pain. “Where is she now?”
“In town getting the lunches with Nick,” Zoe replied.
“You sent her to get the lunch? No wonder she got upset.”
“I sent her back into town to get some boots,” Zoe replied. The fact that she got two good hours without Georgia Pain-in-the-arse was a bonus. She didn’t say that to Jack.
“Look, can you just find her something to do there? Expanding this business depends on you doing a bloody good job on that cottage.”
Zoe saw the tell-tale dust plumes from an approaching vehicle. A truck pulled up in front of the house and Nick’s ute drove around behind and pulled up near the shed. “Nick’s back with lunch and the load of chamfer’s just arrived. I have to go.”
“Just promise me I won’t be getting any more angry phone calls from Rick Wheeler,” Jack said.
“You know I hate to make promises, Jack. I’ll see you later.”
She hung up the phone, and as the driver got out of the truck carrying the reclaimed chamfer board that would be used on the exterior of the extension, she knew exactly what she could get Georgia to do to keep her out of trouble.
“I wonder how helpful she’ll want to be when she’s pulling nails out of timber all day,” Zoe muttered to herself as she headed over to the ute to get her lunch.
FOURTEEN
Georgia could’ve sworn the pile of wood was getting bigger. She double checked the board she was working on was free of nails and then placed it onto the pile to her right. She picked up another one from the pile on her left, put it down on the saw horses and got to work pulling out the nails.
She’d been at this job for nearly three hours, and she’d only seen Zoe once in that time, which was fine by her.
As much as the work was repetitive and boring, she wasn’t going to let a builder on a power trip get the better of her. Besides, it was a good way to work out her frustrations, and to get her hands dirty. It had been way too long since she’d done anything remotely like physical labour, and she was surprised to find that she was enjoying the feeling of accomplishment at seeing the pile on her left grow smaller as the pile on her right grew bigger.
Getting a client a good deal on a mortgage just didn’t hold the same sort of sense of accomplishment, she realised.
She tossed another newly nail-less board onto the pile and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.
Simmo appeared in the doorway to the shed. “You might want to come and see this. The back of the old house is going down.”
“Thanks,” Georgia replied and stood up, stretching out her hands. She put her hammer down and walked outside. She squinted into the sunshine until her eyes adjusted and then walked over and stood beside Simmo, far enough away from the house to not be in the way. She pulled off her gloves and took her phone from her pocket ready to take some photos.
Simmo pointed to the house. “They’ve cut right through the brick and posts all the way ‘round, so they’ll just push it over.”
“Won’t the roof come down?” Georgia asked, her phone poised, ready.
“The brick’s not load-bearing,” Simmo explained. “And they’ve shored it up inside. It’ll be fine.”
There was a yell from inside the house and then the brick wall began rocking back and forth before it finally came down with a massive crash, throwing dust and debris into the air. When the dust cleared, Zoe and Nick were standing at the back of the house, now open to the elements, grinning. They high-fived each other and then Zoe slapped Nick on the back. Georgia found it hard to not grin herself. Seeing the back wall come down like that was oddly satisfying. She locked eyes with Zoe and for a second they held each other’s gaze before Zoe broke it off and turned and walked back into what remained of the cottage.
Nick and the other builders started removing the debris and tossing it into wheelbarrows and carting it to the skip bin at the front of the house.
Simmo headed to the pile of rubble. “Come on. Last job for the day. Sooner we get this in the bin, the sooner we knock off.”
Georgia shoved her phone into her pocket, pulled her gloves back on and started picking up bricks and other debris and tossing them into wheelbarrows. At least it would be a break from pulling nails.
After a couple of hours, Nick and Georgia finally tossed the last of what remained of the back wall into the skip, and Zoe decided to call time for the day. Georgia walked back over to the shed and began packing up the eskies, mugs and plates.
“Just the eskies,” Nick said, appearing beside her, clipping the lid down on one of them before picking it up and carrying it to his ute. “We’re all coming back tomorrow so all that other stuff can stay here.”
“You might be coming back tomorrow,” Georgia replied. “But I’m not so sure your boss will let me back.”
Nick waved his hand like he was swatting at a fly. “Nah, it’s all good. She’s just antsy on the first day of a job. She’ll be better tomorrow.”
Georgia very much doubted that. She helped Nick lift another esky onto the back of his ute.
“Are you coming to the pub later?” he asked.
“I think I’ll just head back to the motel and grab a takeaway or something,” Georgia replied.
“That’s a bit boring. Plus,” Nick said, nodding over to where Zoe was talking to Simmo. “The boss shouts the first round of drinks after the first day on a new job. Can’t say no to a free beer, can ya?”
“Are you sure she won’t mind? I’m not exactly one of the workers,” Georgia said, glancing at Zoe. She wasn’t sure she wanted to spend any more time together after the day they’d had.
“She’ll be right,” Nick said. “Besides, where else are you going to eat on a Monday night? There’s not much to choose from outside of the weekends.”
“Fair enough,” Georgia replied. “I guess I’ll eat at the pub.”
Nick closed the side of the ute tray and flipped the lock. “See you there,” he said with a grin.
Georgia looked over to where Zoe was gesticulating to Simmo, probably going over the next day’s plans. “Actually, Nick, do you mind if I go back into town with you? I want to have a shower and get changed before I get dinner. It looks like Zoe might not be ready to go just yet.”
“Yep, sure,” Nick replied. “Jump in.”
He reversed the ute around closer to Zoe. “Hey boss. I’m off. Georgia’s coming back to town with me.”
Zoe glanced at Georgia and nodded at Nick. “Righto.”
“Your shout at the pub?” Nick asked.
Zoe shook her head but smiled. “Only if you’ve cleaned out the eskies and got everything ready to go for tomorrow by time I get back to the shed.”
Nick mock-saluted his boss and drove off.
“Hey, ah, you mind giving me a hand back at the shed?” Nick asked. “It’ll get us to the pub sooner.”
Georgia smiled and nodded. “Sure. Why not?” It wasn’t like she had anything better to do. And at least Nick asked nicely, unlike a certain someone who was disappearing in Georgia’s side mirror as they drove off.
FIFTEEN
Nick sunk the eight ball on the pool table and blew the tip of the pool cue. “Two all,” he said. “Next one wins?”
Bloody show off, Zoe thought, shaking her head. “Rack’em up again,” she said, chalking up her cue. “And this time, if you bump the table, I’m taking two shots.”
Nick grinned and drank his beer. “You still won’t beat me.”
“Whatever you say, lightweight,” Zoe replied. After a trying day, she was onto her second beer, and she finally felt relaxed. The first day on a job like the cottage renovation was always the worst for Zoe. No matter how well everything was planned, something always popped up to derail the schedule. This time, tho
ugh, the demolition hadn’t thrown up anything unexpected, which was a nice change.
The only spanner in the works had been Georgia Ballantyne. Zoe shook her head at the thought of having to spend another three and a half weeks with her.
She was glad she’d found Georgia a job that kept her busy and out of her hair for the afternoon. There was enough timber to keep her busy pulling nails for the next couple of days, especially if she got her to sand them back too.
She wondered whether she should tell Georgia about the sanding tomorrow, or wait until she finished pulling the nails. Maybe she should wait until she finished the nails. That was the painful job, and Nick would be glad to not have to finish that one. Zoe was certain that once Georgia found out she’d be sanding all those pieces of timber too, she’d give up and stay in town and let the rest of them get on with the job.
Zoe leaned in low over the pool table, lining up her shot to break in the next game against Nick. As she played her shot, there was a low whistle from someone sitting nearby. Zoe stood up and looked over to the door where everyone’s gaze seemed to be centred.
Georgia Ballantyne stood in the doorway in tight-fitting jeans and a loose button down shirt, her hair looking freshly done. Those jeans were definitely unsuitable for the work site. No room for anything in those pockets.
“What’s she doing here?” Zoe grumbled.
“I asked her,” Nick said, shoving Zoe out of the way so he could have his shot. He potted a ball and then had a second shot. When he was finished, he waved at Georgia to get her attention.
Georgia smiled and waved back and walked over and placed her purse on their table.
“Have I missed the first round shout?” Georgia asked.
“Yeah but I’m sure the boss won’t mind getting you one anyway,” Nick replied. “Hey boss?”
Zoe wanted to clip him over the ear for his audacity, but instead said, “Go grab a drink and tell Robbo it’s on me.”
“Thanks,” Georgia replied and turned and walked over to the bar.