A Yogi in the GARDEN

The hunky stranger had put Jess in a very awkward position

- Matthew Batham

What on earth is he doing?’ Jess stared in disbelief at the man, currently standing on his head, in the back garden of her new house.

‘I think it’s a headstand,’ said her best friend Bella, who stood next to her by the large window, still holding the box of kitchen utensils she’d carried in from the van Jess had hired to move her things.

‘Well, I can see that! But why is he doing it in my garden?’

Bella looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook her head. ‘No, I can’t answer that one. Oh look! He’s doing the downward-facing dog now.’

Jess sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead onto the arm of her pullover. ‘This is all I need. I came here to get away from one annoying man and now I have one doing…’

‘The downward-facing dog,’ said Bella.

‘…in my back garden.’

Bella cocked her head to one side. ‘He’s very good.’

‘I don’t care how good he is. He’s trespassing!’

Jess caught sight of her own angry face reflected in the window. She’d aged 10 years in the past week. She was sure there was a touch more grey in her otherwise chestnut-coloured hair.

Leaving Charlie had definitely been the right thing to do. The relationship hadn’t been going well for a long time, but breaking up was always stressful, especially when you’d shared a home.

Now, here she was, aged 46 and single again, moving into a new house further out of the city than she’d ever intended to live, and there was a strange man doing yoga in her back garden.