LONG LOST

There was nothing quite as glorious as the early spring sunshine Leigh thought as she stripped off her jacket and slung it over the wheelbarrow. The warmth of the breeze brushed her skin and she could almost smell summer waiting over the horizon. She could certainly feel it in the softening earth.

‘Are you ready for a cup of tea?’ Janice called from the back door. ‘You’ve been working so hard.’

‘I’d love one,’ Leigh said, and she plunged her spade into the ground she’d been preparing and headed to the house.

Sometimes she had to pinch herself because she couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She had a home, a beautiful daughter and she was doing a job she loved. And, she thought, as she kicked off her boots and stepped into Janice Cooper’s warm kitchen, she’d made some wonderful friends over the past five years.

‘You’re very rosy-cheeked,’ Janice said. ‘Sit down. I’ll open a packet of biscuits.’

Janice was only in her early 60s, but she’d suffered ill health for years and, five years ago, following the death of her husband, she took Leigh on to help maintain her large garden.

Leigh had just been starting out then, but having a regular gig like this had been a lifesaver.

Leigh took her baby daughter, Mollie, with her to jobs back then and Janice always insisted on looking after her while Leigh worked.