Ember Flowers

by April Worth

  “Oh? No, not far away.” She frowned, throwing the chew toy out onto the grass, it was pounced on by two pounds of energised puppy.

  “Well something has you thinking? I can see the cogs whirring away in there.”

  Jo sighed, looking at her. “The usual, Owen, the divorce, work.”

  A frown from the cheerful woman. “It’s always Owen, isn’t it? Man gives you no end of trouble.”

  Jo studied her hands. She didn’t like to talk about it. Kerry could see it as she looked away. Her neighbour changed the subject.

  “So still thinking of selling Jo?”

  “Yes. Waiting for the agent to get back to me. Slack.”

  “I know what you mean, Kevin and I jumped through all kinds of hoops. Is that why that landscaper’s ute was here before? Getting the yard redone?”

  She felt her chest tighten. “Ah. Yes, she was just giving me a quote.”

  “You should give me her card?, I’d love to get my yard spruced up too.” They watched the kids get progressively covered in grass, giggling away.

  Jo reached for her purse, a short rummage. She gave the card to Kerry, passing it off as nothing at all.

  The card was pocketed, she’d send Jean a text to let her know. “So anything else new Jo? I haven’t seen you much lately?”

  A shy smile crept onto her face. “I went camping on the weekend.”

  Her friend threw the toy to the dog. “Oh? That’s great. Kevin and I used to do that sometimes when he came home. Where abouts did you go?”

  Jo bit her lip as she chose her words. “A property out in the ranges, horse riding.”

  Kerry was nodding at her. “Sounds nice, friend take you?”

  Grey eyes glanced at her fleetingly. “Well, no, actually I met someone.”

  She hadn’t expected her shoulder to be pummelled with excitement. She raised a hand to protect herself as she grinned at the reaction, a little taken aback. Her neighbour was happy for her. Kerry called Owen all kinds of names behind his back, and was happy Jo seemed to be getting over him.

  “Oh Jo! That’s great. I’m happy for you. So how did you meet? Is he cute?”

  The grit of her jaw was almost imperceptible. Something else that worried her, conducting a conversation with someone who knew her well, without using ‘she’ or ‘he’ was difficult.

  “Funny story..” She coughed softly. “You remember how my car looked last month?”

  Kerry scoffed, leaning back on the worn wood. “Oh Jo..Don’t tell me you rear ended the poor guy?”

  She smiled guiltily. It was mostly the truth.

  Kerry laughed. Once she got over that she continued with her follow up question. “You didn’t answer my question? Cute?”

  Jo shifted uncomfortably. She thought about it. “...Yes. Older. Gentle.”

  A pat on her shoulder. “Aw, that’s great. Sounds like just what you need.” Kerry was probably imagining some studly older guy with a pony farm out in the hills, ready to take her horseback riding while she gazed at his well oiled chest.

  She sighed. “Yeah maybe.”

  The brunette nudged her with her elbow. “So have you two..y’know?” An impish grin. Kerry was forward, and cheeky, she used to host movie nights at her house. Jo tended to keep to herself, politely declining, ignoring the soccer mom types that she could overhear cackling drunk over the fence.

  “Kerry? Do you think I’m some kind of trailer trash?” A brow twitched with a hint of annoyance.

  Her friend’s face blanched. “Oh..no no. Of course not. I was just..you know? Curious. You’ve seemed happy. I thought maybe you got laid?”

  Joanne blushed. Nothing made her blush. It was followed by a frown. “No, haven’t yet.” She realised what she’d said and it made her cringe internally. Yet. Would there even be a yet? She hadn’t allowed herself to think about it. Every time her mind wandered there she shut herself down and thought about something else. Sports. Work. Hell, she’d even take a stuffy dinner at her mother’s house to avoid it.

  Chapter 14

  Jean pulled up in the suburban driveway. She remembered Jo’s house from dropping her off that time. The Sailing Day Jo had to attend. By comparison Kerry’s yard looked like it had been watered. Both neighbours had single storey homes that sat fence to fence in the quiet unassuming street.

  She’d texted the blonde a few days ago, she hadn’t heard from her since their camping trip, no doubt she had a lot to think about. A contact, however slight and nonintrusive would at least show she cared.

  Jo had responded, assuring her she was fine, that she had a good time. A follow up text later in the day mentioned that Jean might receive a call from an interested customer. It asked her not to mention to Kerry a few specific details, and why. It was signed with a kiss. A single x at the end of a message. At least that was promising.

  Jo’s neighbour was quick to answer to door. Jean looked presentable, her usual company shirt on top of cargos, work boots scuffed at the toe.

  A face looked back at her through the fly screen door. A dog ran toward her with a clack of claws down the hall. The puppy from the photo, with a gruff warning bark.

  “Oh Winston! Shut up would you?”

  The screen door opened, revealing a short brunette stay at home mother and a scampering dog. “Jean right?” She held out her hand as the older woman clasped it.

  “That’s right. Joanne mentioned you might call.”

  She was let in and offered coffee, the dog wuffled around her feet. She sat down at the rectangular glass table in the open plan living area. A kitchen adjoined to dining. Jean put her clipboard down and pulled out a pen.

  Kerry joined her at the table, bringing two mugs.

  “So you quoted Jo not long ago?” The brunette looked at her with interest.

  “Yes, she mentioned you two had been neighbours a while?”

  Kerry smiled at her. “Almost three years. Yeah, she’s a tough nut to crack, keeps to herself a lot. But we chat when we bump into each other.”

  Jean smiled and nodded. Silently pleased that Joanne’s troublesome ex hadn’t been mentioned. He must have moved out? No longer lived there? Somehow, she sensed Kerry was the protective type.

  “So you mentioned you wanted the yard..’tizzied up’ as you put it?”

  ***

  She dragged the last ornamental cherry tree off the drive, sliding it onto a trolley and walking it over to her pre-dug hole.

  Kerry had been surprised that Jean considered this to be a small project, that she could turn it over in less than a day, alone. Jean roughed out a quote and the housewife had signed there and then. Jean kept her pricing reasonable, her experience dictated it would be a little higher than the next guy, but not exorbitantly so.

  Consequently, she’d asked when Kerry wanted this done. The eager response was “How’s today for you?”

  Jean had groaned a little inwardly, it was hot out, and she’d be walking around a nursery, then digging holes and the like for a few hours. However, at the end of the day, Jo might come home next door. So she accepted.

  By two p.m. she’d drawn up a plan, and been out to the local garden centre to scout out some flora. Over the next few hours, the yard comprised mainly of grit and shaggy lawn had become a lush multi-layered array of colours and shapes. Pale variegated grasses that worked well with flowering shrubs and a few small feature trees. It was friendly to kids and the dog, wouldn’t break and bank and looked lovely, instantly adding value to the otherwise dated home.

  Around four p.m. she’d stripped off her polo, working in just her much loved and somewhat abused beige tank underneath. The customer would understand, Jean could hear her air conditioning system cranking at full notch. Now an hour later, and somewhat exhausted, she tipped the last of her water down her throat and crouched down, pulling the last tree into the hole.

  She patted down the mulch and scattered it with her shovel, before standing and doing one last walk around. Making sure she hadn’t missed anything. At th
e turn of her heel she heard the fly wire door creak open, the puppy bound out and the housewife exclaiming loudly. Kerry fawned over the yard, walking around the thumbing the leaves and flowers.

  “Oh Jean! It’s perfect!”

  A grin as she crossed her arms, dying for a cold glass of just about anything. She picked up her discarded polo and used it to wipe her forehead.

  “I’m glad you like it. I’ll email you instructions for care and maintenance.”

  Another nod as the house wife smiled. The dachshund puppy bounced around her feet. A crunch of bitumen under tyres. A white Ford pulled in next door. Jean smiled.

  Kerry remarked, watching the car. “Oh, Jo’s home, good, I can show off my yard.” A nudge to her ribs. Jean smiled at the amusing woman.

  After a moment, a blonde head poked out of the car door. A greeting from across the yard. Jo came over to have a look, smiling as she walked across the grass. She was still in uniform, hair tied up as it usually was.

  For a second Jean felt embarrassed. She probably looked like she’d been dragged through the jungle. Covered in sweat, grass stains darkened her knees with moisture, leaves stuck to her leg. No time to prepare.

  Jo’s eyes flitted over her, smiling in amusement. Jean smiled back. If she knew Jo was due back, she would have at least attempted to wash up in Kerry’s bathroom.

  “Hi Joanne, nice to see you again.” Cordially enough, and she meant it too.

  A nod from the policewoman. She was looking down at Winston snuffling over her boots. “And you. Nice work.”

  “Thanks.” Another wipe of her forehead. She probably looked like crap, and there was Jo, who didn’t have a hair out of place.

  The Sergeant was lead around the yard by her exuberant neighbour, who pointed to different trees and with a happy squeal. Jo looked over at Jean and smiled, a shake of her pony tailed head.

  The older woman decided it was a good opportunity to pack up her tools. She loaded them into the tray while the blonde was taken hostage. She turned to see Jo walking back toward her house. Kerry was already standing by the drive.

  As much as she wanted to follow her, Kerry was her customer, and it would have looked suspicious.

  “Jean, thanks so much! I’m taking pics! You’ll be inundated soon.”

  She smiled as she shook the housewife’s hand. “Thanks, I’m glad you like it, let me know what your little boy makes of it when he gets home from day care.”

  Joanne’s voice from the yard got her attention. “Jean? You wanna come over and discuss that quote with me? You look like you could use some water?”

  She smiled, how could she refuse an offer like that? Jean down played her enthusiasm. “Sure Joanne, just a minute OK? I’ll just move my car so Kerry can get out.” A nod and the blonde disappeared next door.

  Kerry elbowed her in the ribs again. “See? More business already.”

  Chapter 15

  Jean stood in the hall as Jo closed the door behind them.

  Glorious air-conditioning, it made her instantly feel cooler with the lightest waft against her heated skin. Jean looked around for a moment as Jo walked ahead into the kitchen. It was nice, eclectic, but she got the feeling Jo didn’t spend too much time here. They walked down the tiled hall toward the promised respite of a cold beverage. A modern no fuss affair with white wooden cupboards, finished with frosted glass. An L shaped counter top in faux granite, the usual white goods and silver appliances.

  Jean looked down the hallway with a lean around the door. “Little one not here?”

  Jo shook her head as she opened the refrigerator. She somehow managed to make the lurid high visibility vest over her powder blue shirt look attractive. The polished boots made her look taller, her legs were long enough already.

  “No, she’s with my mother, she usually has her on Mondays. I sometimes finish late.” Jo pulled out a square glass bottle of lemonade, and dropped a few cold cubes into a tumbler, topping them over with the summery liquid.

  She passed it to her guest, who promptly put the cold glass against her forehead, in an effort to cool herself down. “Thanks.”

  A sip as they regarded each other. Jo leant against the counter. A wry smile, she turned to click on the kettle.

  “You know, I can’t quite figure you out Jean.”

  Her roguish grin lightened her face. “Not a lot to figure out Jo.”

  The policewoman watched her guest before smiling to herself. “Forgive me, in my line of work people don’t do anything for nothing, but you seem so nice? Maybe I’m just jaded?” A dunk of a tea bag into her usual mug, a contemplative look.

  The tumbler to her lips, the gardener wiped her brow with the back of her hand. Jo was watching her, awaiting an answer, but there was something else. The tall woman’s eyes were glued to the glass, to the slow meander of a droplet as it made it’s way down the frosted surface, skirted the rounded vessel, and dripped onto Jean’s chest. The blonde blinked momentarily. Jo wasn’t used to this attraction, little things like that took her by surprise.

  Her ice clinked in the glass. “Like I said, not a lot to figure out. I don’t make promises I know I can’t keep, I try not to lie, even if it hurts, and I put my pants on one leg at a time like everyone else.”

  A nod of acceptance from the policewoman, she gestured Jean toward the living area. “Would you like to sit for a while?, I just wanna get changed, I won’t be long.”

  “Sure.” She followed Jo’s directions, heading around the bend toward a carpeted room. Leather sofas, a wooden coffee table, store bought pictures on the wall. The room had been child proofed. She sat down across from the TV, silently glad she had invested in a sports strength roll on deodorant. She may have been working all day in the heat, but fortunately she wouldn’t smell like it. A look down at her legs and stomach. Her beige tank was in a sorry state. A smear of dirt across the flank like a sword swipe, from brushing against something. Her cargo pants had a leaf stuck to the pocket.

  Jean heard the shower running. Her mind wandered somewhere it shouldn’t have, they were no where near that familiar. She could imagine Jo in one of those shampoo commercials, the lather sliding over her satiny skin, suds in her hair, glossy blonde tresses and perfect teeth. For her it would be effortless, anyone else would look like a wet dog. Jean chastised herself with a slap on her own wrist.

  A couple of minutes later a fresher, slightly damp Jo emerged from down the hall wearing a black Adidas zip up and running pants. Some of her makeup had washed off, but she still looked stunning, at least to Jean.

  The bright flash of teeth as she sat beside the gardener. “Sorry about that, I’ve been standing on the side of the road half the day pulling people over, I felt like a walking dust trap.”

  Jean highlighted the mess of her clothes with hands that moved like a game show model. “I have most of your neighbour’s lawn in my pockets.”

  Laughing softly, Jo picked the leaf off her leg. “I suppose I shouldn’t complain.”

  The gardener rattled the ice and the dregs in her glass, somehow it had disappeared. “You look pretty good to me.”

  Softly smiling, it still alarmed her how warm the older woman made her feel. Fingertips brushed her friend’s tanned forearm. “How do you soak up so much sun without burning?”

  Jean turned her forearm over, Jo lifted Jean’s wristwatch slightly, looking for a tan line.

  Her words stuck in her throat, her tingling skin overriding her sense of speech. “It’s the Santiago showing through. I don’t burn. My father is from there.”

  Jo smiled smugly to herself.

  Jean saw the curl of her lip. “What?”

  The cop looked back at the dark eyes and raised brow. “When I first met you I was trying to guess nationality. I just do it out of habit. I had guessed there was some South American in there.”

  She caught Jo’s tracing fingertips and kissed them, sensing it was all right to do so. “Wondering about me even then huh?”

  The blonde felt a flush
colour her cheek. “No. No of course not. I was still getting over what your car did to mine.”

  “My car? Do I need to remind you who hit who?” Grinning cheekily.

  “You got off lightly, you should’ve seen the bill.” Jo grumbled, her face nested in her hand.

  “Well, you could hardly claim it back I suppose. Not like a high speed chase..my foot hadn’t left the clutch..”

  Jo slapped her arm with faux annoyance. Jean chuckled, drinking the last snifter remaining between melted ice and condensation. She placed her glass on the table, using a magazine as a coaster. A long arm reached over Jean for the remote. A couple of clicks and on came the evening news.

  The light of the screen cast a white and blue glow over her friend’s face. “Want to stay for a little while? Traffic might thin out after six?”

  Jean had no one waiting on her, the horses had feed, and Jo was right, peak hour traffic would be at a standstill. “OK, but then I should head out. Got a couple reports I need to do.”

  “That’s fine.”

  Her larger hand was still resting on Jean’s forearm. The hazelnut eyes looked down, a check of the blonde’s smile and she laced the fingers between her own and rested it on her side.

  “Jean?” A dull hum of the news presenter in the background.

  “Mmm?”

  “This is all..well..confusing for me. Thanks for giving me time to work things out.”

  A brush of a thumb over her fair knuckles. “I think you’re worth it Jo. I mean that.” Glancing at her face. “Besides, if I made any moves on you, you’d probably shoot me.”

  A roll of her friend’s eyes. “That’s what tazers are for Jean. I wouldn’t want to kill you.”

  The tanned woman scoffed. “Tazer? Christ. Well, warning heeded, no sudden movements, no unwanted heavy petting.”

  The hand between hers stroked the inside of her wrist. “I suppose I could handle a little heavy petting?..”

  Jean’s brow hiked up faster than an inchworm on crystal meth. “Oh?”