minutes, Sam stands alone in the middle of the room. Unsure of where to even start, she's almost paralyzed by indecision. This time yesterday, she had nowhere to live, nowhere to work, and nothing to do. Now she lives in a cottage in a cemetery, she has a full-time job, and her list of tasks is building by the second. It's not only the cemetery that needs to be fixed up: the cottage is a complete mess, and Sam has never, ever felt so completely out of her element. Finally, realizing that she has to get on with something , she walks over to the bed and sits down, sending up a thick cloud of dust in the process.
"Brilliant," she mutters, putting her head in her hands. "A great big stinking metaphor for my whole life."
Chapter Six
"Mayor Winters!" the old lady calls out, as she hurries across the town square. "I want a word with you! Mayor Winters!"
Stopping at the door to the town hall, Mayor Winters turns to see Ethel Mayberry making her way straight toward him. Now that he has a bad leg and relies on a cane to walk, the mayor struggles to outrun even the oldest of his constituents, which means that he has to discuss local matters much more frequently than he'd prefer. He's learning to put a brave face on the experience, but in truth he'd rather avoid direct confrontation wherever possible.
"Mrs Mayberry," he says, forcing his lips to contort into a not-altogether-convincing smile. "What can I do for you on this fine afternoon?"
"I want to talk to you about the state of the cemetery," Mrs. Mayberry says as she reaches him. "I was just there an hour ago, and the place is a disgrace. Have you seen how the grass has grown? When was the last time you actually took a look and saw the terrible state of the place?"
"I was there just ten minutes ago," the mayor replies, "showing the new gardener around."
"New gardener?"
"Absolutely. It has taken quite some time, but I feel I have finally found someone to take the job on a permanent basis. As we speak, this new employee is undoubtedly getting a feel for the area and deciding what part of the task to tack first." He pauses for a moment, having expended considerable mental dexterity in avoiding the use of words such as 'she' and 'her' when describing Sam Marker. Having been in Rippon all his life, the mayor is fully aware that many of the local residents are rather old-fashioned and would take a dim view of a girl being given such a position.
"I didn't know anything about a new gardener," Mrs. Mayberry says. "Why wasn't it mentioned at the last town hall meeting?"
"The appointment was only made this week," the mayor continues. "I was planning to mention it at the next opportunity, now that the finer details have been worked out."
"And this new man's going to return the cemetery to its former standing, is he?"
"The new gardener is undoubtedly the best person for the job."
"He'd better be," Mrs. Mayberry says with a sigh. "It's absolutely disgraceful to see hallowed ground being left in such a decrepit state. It's an offense to everyone who has ever been buried there, and to the relatives who have to put up with such misery when they go to visit the graves."
"I'm sure the new gardener will be very pleased to have your input," the mayor replies.
"I also want to ask him about moving that confounded statue from by the gate," she continues. "The thing gives me the creeps." Turning, she starts walking slowly away, heading for the shops on the other side of the town square.
Letting out a sigh, the mayor looks up at the gray sky and imagines the reactions of people at the following week's town hall meeting when they discover that the cemetery's new gardener is a young girl from Leeds. Already able to hear the gasps and mocking laughter of the townspeople, the mayor makes a silent prayer, begging God to ensure that this Sam Marker girl at least does a passable job and doesn't bring the whole town into disrepute. Still, he figures he'll have to start looking for her replacement
"Brilliant," she mutters, putting her head in her hands. "A great big stinking metaphor for my whole life."
Chapter Six
"Mayor Winters!" the old lady calls out, as she hurries across the town square. "I want a word with you! Mayor Winters!"
Stopping at the door to the town hall, Mayor Winters turns to see Ethel Mayberry making her way straight toward him. Now that he has a bad leg and relies on a cane to walk, the mayor struggles to outrun even the oldest of his constituents, which means that he has to discuss local matters much more frequently than he'd prefer. He's learning to put a brave face on the experience, but in truth he'd rather avoid direct confrontation wherever possible.
"Mrs Mayberry," he says, forcing his lips to contort into a not-altogether-convincing smile. "What can I do for you on this fine afternoon?"
"I want to talk to you about the state of the cemetery," Mrs. Mayberry says as she reaches him. "I was just there an hour ago, and the place is a disgrace. Have you seen how the grass has grown? When was the last time you actually took a look and saw the terrible state of the place?"
"I was there just ten minutes ago," the mayor replies, "showing the new gardener around."
"New gardener?"
"Absolutely. It has taken quite some time, but I feel I have finally found someone to take the job on a permanent basis. As we speak, this new employee is undoubtedly getting a feel for the area and deciding what part of the task to tack first." He pauses for a moment, having expended considerable mental dexterity in avoiding the use of words such as 'she' and 'her' when describing Sam Marker. Having been in Rippon all his life, the mayor is fully aware that many of the local residents are rather old-fashioned and would take a dim view of a girl being given such a position.
"I didn't know anything about a new gardener," Mrs. Mayberry says. "Why wasn't it mentioned at the last town hall meeting?"
"The appointment was only made this week," the mayor continues. "I was planning to mention it at the next opportunity, now that the finer details have been worked out."
"And this new man's going to return the cemetery to its former standing, is he?"
"The new gardener is undoubtedly the best person for the job."
"He'd better be," Mrs. Mayberry says with a sigh. "It's absolutely disgraceful to see hallowed ground being left in such a decrepit state. It's an offense to everyone who has ever been buried there, and to the relatives who have to put up with such misery when they go to visit the graves."
"I'm sure the new gardener will be very pleased to have your input," the mayor replies.
"I also want to ask him about moving that confounded statue from by the gate," she continues. "The thing gives me the creeps." Turning, she starts walking slowly away, heading for the shops on the other side of the town square.
Letting out a sigh, the mayor looks up at the gray sky and imagines the reactions of people at the following week's town hall meeting when they discover that the cemetery's new gardener is a young girl from Leeds. Already able to hear the gasps and mocking laughter of the townspeople, the mayor makes a silent prayer, begging God to ensure that this Sam Marker girl at least does a passable job and doesn't bring the whole town into disrepute. Still, he figures he'll have to start looking for her replacement
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