Mending Fences

Could Sophie help to rebuild the friendship between her gran and her neighbour?

HEY! What are you doing in our garden?" Sophia called from the bedroom window.

OK, so it wasn't strictly speaking "theirs", given that she haven't lived here in years, but the intruder didn't know that.

She leaned a little further out, glad of the solid brick wall between herself and him.

He eased upright and eyed the colour of her blue sweater hanging on the washing line beside him, then gazed up at her.

"Good morning. Sorry about this, but I did put a note through your door saying I'd be doing it today."

Sophia thought back to last night.

The journey down had been a worry-filled nightmare, made worse by a flat tyre and miles-long tailbacks that had left the car so low on petrol it was running on fumes by the time she'd pulled on to Gran's driveway.

Thankfully, a call from Mum en route, saying the crisis was past and Gran was comfortable on a ward, had reassured her.

They'd agreed that Sophia should delay visiting until the morning.

So after tending to Gran's cat Liquorice and putting her travel-stained clothes on to wash, Sophia had put on her pyjamas and settled down with a much-needed cuppa to watch TV.

No sooner was the washing pegged out than she'd taken herself off to bed.

Whatever note the man might have left was sitting unread on the hall table, along with the rest of Gran's mail.

His voice cut across her thoughts.

"These two posts are rotten. They have to be replaced, or the next big storm will have the whole lot down."

She noticed that a panel had been lifted out between Gran's garden and old Mr Burrows's adjoining semi, revealing the heap of broken junk that had been the cause of the recent tension between Gran and her neighbour.

"Hold on," Sophia called.

"I'm coming down."

Pulling on a cardi against the nippy January weather, she hurried downstairs.