Finally, Marcus caught his breath and stood up straight. He looked past Jake.
Jake followed his gaze to Marty. ‘You remember Marty?’ he said to Marcus.
The look on Marcus’s face said he didn’t.
Jake said, ‘Remember the gardener? He retired a while back.’
‘Yeah, sure. Sometimes he used to bring along a fat kid.’
Jake groaned. Looking wide-eyed at Marty, he said, ‘Please excuse Marcus. I don’t know if he behaves like this on purpose or if it comes naturally.’
Marty sniggered.
Marcus shot Jake a black look. ‘What did you just say?’
Jake rolled his eyes at Marcus. ‘That fat kid is standing right in front of you.’
‘Oh.’ Marcus looked him over. ‘Well, you’ve certainly changed. Last time I saw you, you were, like, this tall.’ Marcus’s shaky hand hovered in thin air around chest height. ‘How old were you back then – nine, ten?’
‘Fourteen.’ Marty’s cheeks coloured. ‘I was small for my age.’
‘Well, you’ve certainly made up for it now,’ said Marcus, sounding way too cheerful.
Jake gave him a sideways glance.
‘So, how long has it been?’ inquired Marcus. ‘You must have finished school – right?’
Marty nodded. ‘I’m in college now, studying horticulture. My parents retired to Edinburgh.’
Marcus nodded. ‘Lovely city.’
Jake was surprised at the genuine interest Marcus was taking in Marty, because lately Marcus seemed to have his head lodged so far up his own backside that he didn’t seem at all concerned by the effect he was having on those around him. Lydia came to mind.
Jake wondered in passing whether he had even told his fiancée that he was in Scotland. Jake imagined he had, otherwise he would have got a call from Lydia. He guessed that Marcus would not have told Lydia the specifics of his trip, notably regarding his recent sojourn in a prison cell. Jake did wonder how long Lydia would put up with Marcus’s behaviour before she chucked in the towel and left him.
‘Well, we’d better get going.’
In the car, Jake wound his window down. ‘Marty, if there’s anything you need, just let me know.’
‘I will.’
‘Oh, and I’ll be waiting for that housewarming party invite.’
Marty grinned.
Jake started to wind his window up when Marty tapped on it. ‘I wanted to ask you something.’
‘Go ahead.’ Jake prompted.
He seemed uncomfortable and shifted nervously from one foot to the other. Jake could see his hand tensing around the rake. ‘It’s about the garden.’ He lifted his eyes in the direction of the hidden garden.
‘Go on.’
‘You like the flowers I planted?’
‘Sure, they’re …’ Jake glanced at Marcus who just shrugged his shoulders, ‘very colourful.’
‘Good,’ he said, although his face didn’t register that he was pleased with Jake’s response. ‘I was worried you wouldn’t like how I changed the garden.’
