Chapter 7 #3
Newt went onto River’s account to get his full address, then texted it to his probation officer.
I’ve got a job as a live-in carer. Now he just had to hope that his PO didn’t decide to pay him an unexpected visit.
Newt set up an account for himself and ordered face masks, jeans, a couple of T-shirts and a hoodie along with a beanie, gloves and a jacket.
That just about wiped out his money until Max paid him.
He wasn’t going to use the contingency fund for anything unless it was for River.
Once Newt had put the washing on, he went out into the garden for a look around. A heavy frost had turned almost everything monochrome, so the odd little bursts of colour made it look like a painting. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and set off walking.
There was a lot of lawn. It had been his job to cut the grass when he’d lived at home.
He’d preferred that to washing cars or watching them being repaired.
The lawn wouldn’t need touching until around Easter when the weather picked up.
But there were leaves everywhere. He could rake them into a pile and find somewhere to put them.
Maybe River could help. He spotted a few empty bird feeders and made a mental note to check if there was something to refill them.
If not, he’d use River’s account or maybe add bird food to the supermarket order.
He kept walking by the side of the stone wall until he came to where it joined a six-foot wooden fence.
Either could be climbed but he guessed River’s best defence was that no one knew he lived here.
He turned and followed the fence down to the bottom of the garden, which was bordered by a much less substantial wire fence.
From the house, it looked as though the garden blended into the fields beyond. Maybe River owned those too.
Newt didn’t feel comfortable staying outside for too long in case River needed him, so he made his way back to the house by heading towards the pool building.
A sensation of being watched made him turn and when he looked up, he saw River standing at an upstairs window.
Newt smiled and waved. River moved out of sight.
Now what was wrong? Newt carried on walking and came to a sudden halt.
If River could see him from his window, then maybe he’d been able to see him when he’d gone skinny dipping. Which he’d done several times. Shit.
He checked the postbox and found one letter addressed by hand to River Lawson and one brown envelope for Leo Miller and shoved them in his pocket.
By the time Newt was back inside, River was downstairs.
“Your garden is lovely. Little jewelled spiders’ webs everywhere. Is there any bird food?”
River limped to the utility and opened a cupboard.
“Great. I’ll just fill the feeders and then we can do some work. If you’re making coffee, could you make me one too, please? Black.”
Newt didn’t wait to see his reaction. He’d asked nicely, so… He’d see.
When he returned, there was a coffee waiting for him. “Thank you.” He wrote ‘coffee’ on a piece of paper, pointed in his mug, and said, “Coffee.”
River pointed to Newt’s groin and said, “Cock.”
“Funny guy. Coffee. Try and say it. Same sound at the start as cock, then add fee.”
“Co…fee.”
“There you go. Coffee. Easy.”
River looked shocked he’d managed it.
“Smile,” Newt said. “Celebrate when you get something right. Look for something else in here that starts with the same sound as coffee and cock. Check the labels.”
River picked up a cup. “C…” He gave Newt a desperate look.
“Cup.” Newt exaggerated the sound. “Cup.”
“Cup.”
“Well done.”
Newt sat on the couch and River sat next to him close enough that their thighs touched. Newt’s heart did a little loop-the-loop. Right until River shifted so they weren’t touching.
“Think you can try and name the things that have labels?”
River looked at the coffee table and pointed to the book. “Puk.”
“Nearly. Book. Look at my lips. We did it yesterday. Buh and puh. Book. Puck.”
“B…Book.” His eyes widened.
“Yes! You got it. You’re on a roll.”
He saw River’s face fall and gently patted his arm. “It’s not going to take anywhere near as long as you think. You’re also learning to read when you’re doing this. We’ll just do a few more until you get fed up or your head starts hurting.”
River’s concentration lasted longer than Newt thought it would. His memory was good. His reading not so good. When Newt removed some of the labels and muddled them up, River could only put a few labels back on the right things, but Newt stayed upbeat.
“I’m really impressed.” He had to strike a balance between being encouraging and patronising but he was impressed with River’s progress.
“Hey. Want some good news?” Newt asked.
River nodded.
“Yes. Try to say it. Yes.”
“Yuuu…Yesss.”
Newt gave him a thumbs up. “You don’t have to see Jorge anymore. Max has sacked him. Until he finds someone new, I’ll try and help you through your exercises.”
River’s eyes widened, then his face fell along with Newt’s stomach. Shit. Why was that bad news?
“You don’t want me to?” Newt asked.
River shook his head.
Why not? But that wasn’t a question he could ask because River couldn’t tell him. Newt thought the worst. River didn’t want a gay guy touching him, which made him angry, then sad, but what was the point in getting bent out of shape when he couldn’t be sure what the problem was?
“Back in a moment. Just need the loo.” Newt left the room to get himself back under control.