The Gardens of Digby Green: Helicopter Pad
Digby eased the delivery truck through the yard gate, backing it toward the area marked by stakes and string. He stopped within a foot of the target. The shorter the distance he had to distribute the massive load of pavers, the better.
He stepped down, and shook his head at the expansive rectangle. “What’s this supposed to be? An outdoor dance floor, or a helicopter landing pad?”
He’d said it aloud, and shouldn’t have.
Tim hopped out of the truck and rolled up the rear door.
“Remember, Digby,” he said, while propelling the first dolly-load down the ramp, “no patterns. Mr. Albinoni wants them laid randomly. He’ll be home with his teens to help after their basketball game.”
Great. The only thing worse than Tim’s criticism of his work, would be the homeowner and his teenagers’ supervision on this job. He sighed and loaded the second dolly with stacks of pavers, deliberately taking an odd number of each color slabs.
He’d bet his last two weeks’ pay here, and one week’s from the next place, that someone would establish a pattern. That’s what people did. It’d serve Albinoni right.
Tim was already aligning a first row with the taut boundary string. Digby rolled his load of stones past the other man, picked a spot at random, and unloaded. Sneering, he went back to the truck, loaded up, and repeated the sequence.
Thirty-seven stacks of pavers cast shadows in the space when Albinoni and his kids showed up.
Digby’s shirt was soaked, and he’d laid out two intersecting lines from Tim’s established edge, not quite half way across the area.
“No patterns,” he muttered, and reached for the top stone on the next stack. Yellow, black, rust, yellow, green. If that wasn’t random enough, he’d leave Tim to it. The next paver cracked.
Digby cussed, and flung the chunks away with all his strength. From across the work area, Albinoni yelled. Tim charged Digby.
“Watch what you’re doing, you jerk!” Tussling, and crab-walking, they staggered out of the work area until they reached concealment behind the delivery truck.
The Gardens of Digby Green is a serialized story that posts on Fridays.
Next week, part forty-seven, Tall Coke.
Find a link to purchase Heartland Treasures anthology here.
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