Chapter 8


    We reached the shed; Teddy lowered himself to the ground to let Luna pounce out of his arms to


    scamper towards the front of his shed. I fidgeted with the key shyly, knowing that most of his attention


    would turn to me. Teddy exceeded my expectations, examining my profile as we walked side by side. I


    reached out for the doorknob, letting the key gently slip inside of the lock. His voice broke the silence


    as he inquired: “What do you think of my house?”


    “I like it.”


    “Yes, but could you borate on it a little?” He watched me turn the key to utch the door. “I think it


    deserves a little more than that.”


    “It is beautiful. How could you not like it?” He tilted his head questionably. “It is located by the sea.” I


    propped the shed door and moved backwards to let it swing open. Teddy watched me step through,


    taking on a vow of silence for some unknown reason. I turned on a light switch, noticing how it flickered


    on and off. I did my best to find thewnmower, keenly aware that Teddy was standing just outside the


    door.


    There was rubbing of flesh against a hard surface, and when I turned my head it was to see him


    standing there with his arms outstretched to rest his hands over the sides of the door-frame. “And is


    that all?”


    “I’m sorry.” I rubbed the back of my hand against my nose since it was so dusty in here. “What do you


    mean?”


    The light flickered off just as Teddy stated: “Your opinion on my house.”


    “Well… what am I supposed to say?”


    “My grandfather fell in love with this ce the second he saw it. The former tenants had been living


    here for generations, only selling it when they suffered through financial hard times. They told my


    grandfather it was built by blood and sweat alone.” He raised his chin up proudly. “But perhaps I put too


    much thought into it.”


    “There is nothing wrong with being proud of it.”


    He stepped forward, and then flickered on the light switch a few times until it came back on. “I must fix


    this,” he muttered. “Add it to my list.”


    I had my back to him, not liking how we were trapped in this tightly enclosed space. The light flickered


    on, creating a strange yellow halo just over my head. I blocked the light a bit with my hand, so I could


    see the very back of the shed. “Thewnmower must be here.”


    “Here let me,” he insisted. I felt his arm brush over mine as he passed by, and then he knelt downwards


    to have a better look. “I should have a shlight or something here.”


    “It would be safer.”


    “Yes, add that to my list as well,” he drawled out softly. “Do you see it?”


    “There are boxes in the way.”


    “Yes, but I haven’t cut thewn myself in quite some time.” He scratched the top of his head, brushing


    up his short brown hair. “I guess we can’t call her?”


    “I triedst night, but she wasn’t home.”


    “Call Daphne?” he said with a note of sarcasm. “Whatever for?”


    I chose to avoid eye contact with him as I lied: “Ask her about the garden.”


    “If you have any questions on the design of the garden then it would be better to ask me.” He let his


    hand rest at the back of his head. “A change in lighting and now I can see it. Rather small, isn’t it?” He


    pushed a cardboard box aside to take a hold of the heavy machinery. “I think I will do it.”


    “Teddy,” I scolded, hardly believing a word of it.


    “No, I will cut the grass!” he argued back. “Take a step back, my dear. You are in the way.”


    I had to backpedal until I was out of the shed, seeing him cart it out with certain ease. He brought it


    down onto the grass, letting out a shrill whistle to Luna that had softly padded over to us. “Luna is in the


    way.”


    “Carry her back to the house,” he quietly instructed. “No! Let her be. This machine is quiet, and it has a


    manual handle. She won’t be in the way.” He left me to retrieve something else in the shed. I crouched


    onto my knees to pet Luna, liking the soft purring noise that escaped her as I stroked my hand over the


    side of her. Teddy returned to my side with sturdy gardening gloves in hand. “I see there are some


    weeds along the side of the hut. Would you remove them for me please?”


    “Certainly.”


    “Try and keep Luna near you.”


    I left his side to retrieve gardening gloves as well and a small bag to put in the yard waste. Teddy


    returned to the shed to speak to me, trapping me inpletely. “Everything alright?”


    “I’m fine.”


    “Do you have any food allergies?”


    “What?” I nearlyughed since I was so caught off-guard by his inquiry.


    “Once I am done with this, I hope to prepare lunch.”


    “Oh! No, I am not allergic to anything.”


    “Thanks.” He left the shed after that, intent on mowing thewn near the front of the house. We would


    be separated for quite some time, but luckily, I had little Luna as a friendlypanion. The wind was


    brisk, although it was not intolerable. As a matter of fact, it was very peaceful out here today, almost


    making me forget the urrence of strange incidents around this household. Teddy didn’t seem to be


    in any trouble, and I saw no signs of him speaking to anyone aloud. He appeared quite content as he


    rolled thewn mower over the grass. I watched his tall figure, the way his long legs outstretched


    themselves as he moved forward. I did not find him a handsome man at first, but he did have some


    qualities that made him attractive.


    I went to the side of the shed and began to pull out the prickly weeds, knowing the feisty dandelions


    were the next to go. If we weren’t careful it would take over the wholewn. Luna was out on the field,


    chasing after a moth that captured her attention. Iughed at the spectacle and then continued with my


    work.


    I thought it was ambitious for Teddy to want to mow the entirewn in one day, mainly because his


    property was so extensive. It was sorge that he didn’t need a fence to divide his property, there was


    nothing but wide open fields. In the distance of his backyard I could see a line of trees, tightly clustered


    together to give a natural shelter to the outskirts of his yard. It was nice to see him take pride in his


    home. I lived in a small t, barely enough room to move around, so it was a sharp contrast to see the


    enormous house belonging to Teddy. He appeared to be proud of this ancestral house, but I did notice


    he had not spoken much about his family. He was an only child, yes, but shouldn’t Teddy have been


    close to his parents? He mentioned his mother died. Did she pass away recently or when he was a


    child? He hadn’t made one mention about his father yet. As a matter of fact, Teddy did say he was


    taught how to y the piano by his guardian. Did that mean he was an orphan?


    So many questions.


    I looked over, seeing the current homeowner was cutting the grass with a peaceful air about him.


    And so little answers.


    ***


    I hade to the realization that I had felt far toofortable around Teddy. He was seated in front of


    me, quietly cutting up his grilled asparagus. Luna was settled over hisp, fast asleep the minute she


    leapt over thatfortable spot. Silence had descended over the table the moment we sat down, but it


    was not an ufortable one. His salmon was delicious, dripping with vours of lemon zest and


    healthy herbs that made it rather difficult to suppress a smile.


    “Your food is delicious,” I piped up merrily. “You’re a good cook.”


    Teddy swallowed his food thickly, apparently startled by my words.


    “You seem to excel at everything.”


    He lowered his right eyebrow as he quietly answered me: “No, not everything.”


    “Well, it is quite delicious,” I assured him. “Thank you.”


    He straightened his back against the chair once he realized he was unable to answer me. Perhaps,


    Teddy Woven was not the type of person that tookpliments well.


    His answer was dyed, though it was full of politeness as he gently replied: “I am delighted to hear


    that.” He watched me nod my head in understanding as I chewed on the salmon. His stare lingered for


    a little too long as if something had captivated his attention. “Do you know I can’t remember thest


    time I shared a meal with someone?”


    “You take it alone?” I asked with disbelief.


    “I believe so.” He let his gaze fall away from me, half tempted to look over his shoulder. “Or at least at


    times it feels that way.”


    Soft pelts of rain pattered against the ss window, which quickly captured our attention. Teddy had


    assured me that it would not rain this afternoon, but it seemed he was wrong in this case. I watched


    him look over his shoulder, taking in the sight of the tall green ferns leaning over to the side. The


    breeze was harsh, warning of aing storm. He did not appear to be disturbed by the sight of it,


    rather it held his attention for some time.


    “Are you not hungry, Teddy?” I asked of him, hoping he would not take offense to my question.


    He turned his gaze to me, arching up an eyebrow in surprise. “I am,” he spoke inly. “But I became


    distracted. It seems that I was wrong.”


    N?velDrama.Org content.


    “Yes, it is raining,’ I practically giggled. “You are not a fortune teller.”


    His smirk was unmistakable as he replied: “I try to be.”


    A strange smile was shared between us. Embarrassment overtook me, and soon I was letting my eyes


    fall downwards to my te of food. It was clear Teddy was taking a liking to me, nevertheless he was


    my employer and I had to behave in a respectable manner.


    “We got a lot of work done this morning,” he spoke up in a confident voice. “I look forward to continuing


    it tomorrow.”


    “You were out of the house the whole time,” I agreed with him. “I promise it will not be a habit.”


    He waved his fork around nonchntly. “There was work to be done.”


    “Yes, but it is not your job.”


    He let his fork stick up, pointing it towards the ceiling. “This is my house,” he stated with a slight tilt of


    his head. “I must take care of the grounds, otherwise…” He let the lids of his eyes close a small


    fraction. “It will start to look like something of a wilderness out there.”


    “As untamed as the sea.”


    “Yes,” he drawled out with interest. “You should see it sometime. Maybe… maybe sometime this week I


    will let you take a little break. Oh, we can’t go out sunbathing…” The corner of his lip suspiciously


    quirked upwards. “But we could find something to do.”


    I swallowed hard with nerves, feeling like Teddy was making a sly invitation to have a date with me. “I


    thought…”


    “Yes?”


    “I don’t think…” I let my fork and knife settle down on the edge of the te gently. “Teddy,” I began. “I


    am being paid to take care of your grounds. I feel as though I would be taking advantage of you, if we


    should do that during work hours. I hope that makes sense. It is rather hard to exin.” I let out a


    nervousughter afterwards, letting it fade away once I caught a certain look that crossed the


    sharpness of his dark brown eyes.


    “The only solution would be doing it after hours,” he proposed, which startled mepletely. “Then


    none of that would be an issue.” He ate thest piece of his salmon with satisfaction, as if the vour


    had been suddenly intensified.


    “I think it would,” I whispered, but it was low enough for Teddy to overhear it.


    He stopped chewing his food, letting it linger over his tongue as he stared at me. He watched me pick


    up my utensils, and once I began to eat my food he forced himself to look away. I knew that he felt my


    rejection quite keenly, but I felt that I was overstepping a boundary.


    The rest of our meal was eaten in silence, a painful one at that. Teddy was the first to finish his meal,


    and soon Luna was lifted up into the air so she could sleep on hisp no longer.


    “Teddy, I never meant to upset you,” I apologized. “I only thought it wouldn’t be a good idea.”


    “I…” Heid Luna down on the kitchen floor with extra care. “I was getting ahead of myself.”


    “It would be nice,” I ventured forward, which immediately made him turn his head in my direction. “But


    you are my employer.”


    “Absolutely right,” he answered me in a faint tone of voice. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” He let out


    a nervous chuckle, while bringing his cloth napkin upwards to wipe at his mouth. “I am going upstairs to


    fetch my raincoat. It looks like it will be a downpour soon enough.”


    Teddy unexpectedly got up from his chair and sped out of the kitchen. I made him feel self-conscious,


    perhaps even embarrassed for trying to ask me out. I was ttered he showed a romantic interest in


    me, but I did not want things to be overlyplicated.


    Rain pattered against the window harder, peppering it enough for me to know a storm was nearly here.


    The howl of the wind was vaguely heard throughout the house; faint creaking of the ceiling overhead


    showed that Teddy was walking around upstairs to retrieve his coat. His house was peaceful, more


    than I had ever expected. I turned in my seat to simply watch the raindrops stter against the clear


    ss window, noticing how blurry my vision was when staring past the wet sheet of ss. Luna must


    have left the room, for when I looked around for her in the kitchen she was nowhere to be found. I


    wanted to make myself useful so I gathered up our tes and brought it next to the kitchen sink. His


    yellow sponge was lifted upwards, and I applied a small amount of dish detergent to let it soak into the


    material. It felt strange how natural I fitted into the surroundings. I watched the cold water fall from the


    spout of the tap, sshing against the dishes to wash the soap suds away. There was a stillness to this


    house. I looked over my shoulder to see that Teddy had not entered the kitchen yet, and then looked at


    the calendar that was next to his fridge to find itpletely nk. There was a stock photo of a garden


    in the photograph above it, reflecting Teddy’s own love of nature. Once the dishes had been washed I


    dried them gently, letting the towel wipe over the smooth surface with a calm air about me. I could hear


    the distinctive footsteps of Teddying down the stairs. By the time I looked over he was standing in


    front of the doorway with his hand frozen over his coat zipper. He simply stared at me, as if stunned by


    my presence.


    “I thought I could wash and dry your dishes,” I softly exined. “I hope you don’t mind.”


    “Not at all,” he said in a strangled voice.


    “I don’t know where to put them.”


    He zipped up the front of his long ck jacket. His eyes shifted to the right, ncing at the cupboard


    that was not far from me. “I will put them away,” he suggested.


    Soon we were standing side by side, putting away the dishes. Teddy was pursing his lips the whole


    time, and I could not help but notice he was most determined to not look in my direction.


    “The storm is picking up,” I sighed aloud. “Will you be fine driving in this weather?”


    “I would never let you stand out in a storm.”


    “Yes, I know that but-”


    “S,” he cut in with sudden sharpness. “You mustn’t feel bad when I try to take care of you.”


    “Okay.”


    “I know you can take care of yourself,” he added. “After all, you are an independent woman.”


    My smile was sorge I was sure he could see it from the corner of his eye.


    “You must understand I only have a cat to care for. Luna is a sweet creature, but she is only a cat.” He


    paused his efforts and let his hands fall downwards. “If I have a privilege of taking care of someone


    else, I will dly take up the offer. You are a hard worker, S. I think you deserve a little something


    extra for your efforts. If that means driving you to the station, or making you lunch… I will do that.” After


    this speech he turned his entire body in my direction, having no qualms to stare deeply in my eyes.


    “Please allow me that at least.”


    “I will, Teddy.”


    “Thank you.” He blinked slowly with a tiny sigh of relief. Teddy then turned away from me and walked


    over to his chair. Heid his hands upon the top of it, squeezing it tightly as he tried to regain his


    composure. I pretended not to notice this subtle gesture and simply put away thest of his dishes.