Sowing The Seeds

New beginnings, new friends and a new perspective – could Mike be the key to a happier future?

- Betty Peters

As Laura waited for the kettle to boil, she gazed out of the kitchen window at the garden beyond. It was a bright morning and the flowers she and Mike had planted last autumn were now dancing beside the old brick path he’d painstakingly uncovered, while bright sparks of green leaf had suddenly appeared on the skeletal branches of the many trees. At the bottom of the garden, she could see two figures working on what was to be the new vegetable patch, and she smiled.

Tea made, she carefully carried the tray holding two mugs, an orange juice and thick slices of lemon drizzle cake – Mike’s favourite – across the lawn as Molly rushed towards her.

‘Mum, we’re sowing more seeds next week, and Mike says I can help!’ she yelped with excitement.

‘That’s great sweetheart, but only if you don’t get under his feet,’ Laura cautioned as Mike leant on his spade, and nodded towards the tray. ‘Lovely! Molly and I are parched, aren’t we, love?’

‘Yes, we’re extremely busy,’ said her daughter in a serious voice that belied her seven years. ‘We’ve got a lot of digging to do and I’ve got all the tomato seeds in the greenhouse to sort out as well.’

Laura and Mike met each other’s gaze and burst out laughing. Since he’d started helping out in her garden late last year, they’d developed an easy rapport. She found she looked forward to his visits, not least because he was helping her to see that the overgrown plot she’d ignored for so long could be made into something very special. For the first time in many years, she’d begun to see the garden as a blessing, not a burden.