Unexpected Visitor

The car pulled up outside the stone cottage. The driver got out and stretched, it had been a long drive from Sydney, even with the break halfway up the coast. Leaving Sydney in the dead of night had been a good idea as once out of the city limits, the roads were pretty much empty apart from the overnight trucks, and they were mostly heading down into Sydney, and not out of it.

Leaning on the roof of the car, the driver looked at the house with interest, nodding with a satisfied smile. Walking up to the front door and finding no bell, the driver grabbed the carved driftwood knocker and rapped on the door, waiting patiently for an answer.

Steve entered the kitchen and grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat from his face and the dirt from his hands. Heading for the fridge to get a couple of bottles of icy cold water he stopped…was that the door? He stood still for a moment and waited. There was another knock and he walked through the hallway to find out who was there. He wasn’t expecting anyone, and was enjoying his day off.

Opening the door slightly, the scowl that had appeared on his face vanished in an instant. He threw the door open wide beaming at the unexpected visitor standing on his porch.

“Mum!” he exclaimed, standing back to let his mother enter his home.

“Don’t I even get a hug?” She pouted playfully.

“Aw, mum, I’m all sweaty and dirty. I’ve been working on my veggie plot.”

“Goodness, my boy is becoming all domesticated. Don’t be silly, luv, I’ve hugged you in a worst state over the years…come here.” She held her arms open and Stevo stepped into his mum’s warm embrace.

“I’m glad you decided to call in before you went back up the top end,” Steve told his mother, dragging her into the lounge room. “You need to have a look at the palace you designed for me.”

Merinda Bindi looked around the room and smiled. The people she’d hired to get the house ready for her son had worked wonders, and it was just as she imagined it would be. There was only one thing that didn’t look right…it was too tidy.

“Does work keep you too busy to be at home too much, darling?”

“Not really, mum. Why do you ask?”

“It’s too bloody tidy, luv,” she laughed.

Just then the sound of boots on the stone kitchen floor could be heard.

“C’mon, Stevo. How long does it take ya to get a couple of bottles out the fridge? If you’re in there skiving there’ll be…”

Jeff stopped in mid sentence seeing Stevo hand in hand with a strange lady, a very lovely one at that.

Merinda smiled at the young man in front of her. He was wearing some dusty Blundstone work boots, a pair of shorts, and dust and sweat.

“Jeff, this is my mum,” Steve said, smiling.

“Oh, G’Day Mrs. Bindi,” Jeff replied, trying to find something to wipe his hands in. “Excuse me appearance, we’ve been…”

“Working the veggie plot,” Merinda finished for him. “Steven told me. Don’t apologise for your appearance, Jeff, you’re quite easy on the eyes.”

“Mum!” Steve protested as he watched Jeff go bright red. “Leave off, please.”

“Sorry, Jeff, I’m just joking. You’ll soon get used to me, and please, call me Merri, or mum. Mrs. Bindi makes me feel a bit old,” she smiled.

“Okay, this is as good a reason to down tools for the day as any other I can think of, mum. Jeff, you want to get a shower first while I show mum around?”

“Good idea, mate. Won’t be long. It’s good to meet you…Merri,” Jeff smiled as he headed off to the guest bathroom.

“Steven, you have two bathrooms, you could have taken your shower now as well.”

“Hey, you brought me up with manners, mum. It would be more than a bit ruse to leave a guest on her own, especially on her first visit.”

Merinda smiled as she kissed her son on the cheek, and allowed him to show her around the house. They were sitting in the kitchen when Jeff came back from his shower. Steve found it difficult to take his eyes off him, he loved seeing Jeff fresh from the shower.

“Alrighty, I’ll go get cleaned up. Can you look after mum for ten minutes, Jeff?”

“It’ll be my pleasure, mate.” Jeff replied.

“Have you had the grand tour, Merri? Stevo loves this place and never tires of telling people that you designed it all for him; he’s so proud of you.”

“As I am of him, Jeff. Shall we sit in the lounge room? I wouldn’t let Steven until he was all cleaned up.”

They walked through and got comfortable on one of the sofas. Jeff found himself completely at ease with Merri, even though he’d been dreading meeting her for the first time. Perhaps it was because she turned up out of the blue, giving him no time to start panicking.

“So, Jeff, how long have you known Steven?”

“Not too long really. We first met when I tried out for the footy team in Coffs. Some man mountain jumped me and dislocated my shoulder, Stevo and Tom took me to the hozzie. We met again when I was doing some work for Tom before he and Tori moved into their new place, he’d roped Stevo into helping him decorate. I seem to remember that they were having a paint fight,” Jeff smiled recalling that day.

“Can I ask you something personal, Jeff?”

“Yes…we ARE seeing each other,” a voice from the hall replied.

Merinda smiled. She’d hoped as much. From the little she’d seen of Jeff, he seemed a lovely young man, and they looked well together.

“Ah, that would explain why the place is so tidy then.”

“Jeff doesn’t live here, mum. He has a nice little house at the edge of town. You must have passed it on your way in; it’s pink with blue framework.”

“And that wonderful landscaped garden? No wonder you’ve got him helping out the back, it’s wonderful.”

“Confession time,” Jeff grinned, “I had it done for me. I saw the house for sale in Coffs, and for a consideration, the realtor agreed to ship it here. They even recreated the garden for me.”

“It’s beautiful, Jeff. You must love it.”

“Yeah, it’s my first home alone. I lived with Harry, me dad, until I lost him last year, then I felt I had to get out of Sydney, so I drove up the coast and heard about the new community. I guessed that I might be able to find some work, everyone needs a plumber don’t they.”

“Indeed they do,” Merri agreed. “So, you want to show me what you’ve been doing out the back?”

The boys showed her the way out to where they’d been working hard. True to tell, she wasn’t expecting too much as it didn’t sound as though either of them knew much about gardening. She was shocked when she saw how organised everything seemed to be.

“Wow, this look great. You did this all yourselves?”

“Yeah, all the hard graft. We got a lot of advice for Joimus, she owns The Greenhouse, the other side of town. We’ll take you over there if you like; maybe you can get something to make us a nice flower arrangement.”

“I’d like that, but first things first, would you like me to make you two boys a nice meal?”

“No way, you’ve been on the road for hours, we’ll take you to Andy’s restaurant, you’ll love it. And while we’re talking of food, I need to ask you a question, mum.”

“What’s that? Luv?”

“Why did you have all the frozen stuff pack in double portions when you had the freezer loaded up for me?”

Merri blushed a bit before speaking. “I was hoping that you might find someone to share them with, and I think you have,” she said softly taking both boys by the hand. “Right, take me to this fantastic restaurant, I’m so hungry I could eat a horse and chase the jockey!”

They all headed out for Merri’s car and were soon on their way into town, laughing and joking along the way. This was going to be a happy visit.