The Tragic Tale of Teddy Woven novel 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 elaborate on it a little?” He watched me turn the key to unlatch 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 the lawnmower, 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 place 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. “The lawnmower 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 flashlight 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 the lawn 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 tried last 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 in completely. “Everything alright?”

“I’m fine.”

“Do you have any food allergies?”

“What?” I nearly laughed 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 the lawn near the front of the house. We would be separated for quite some time, but luckily, I had little Luna as a friendly companion. 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 occurrence 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 the lawn 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 whole lawn. Luna was out on the field, chasing after a moth that captured her attention. I laughed at the spectacle and then continued with my work.

I thought it was ambitious for Teddy to want to mow the entire lawn in one day, mainly because his property was so extensive. It was so large 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 flat, 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 play 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 had come to the realization that I had felt far too comfortable around Teddy. He was seated in front of me, quietly cutting up his grilled asparagus. Luna was settled over his lap, fast asleep the minute she leapt over that comfortable spot. Silence had descended over the table the moment we sat down, but it was not an uncomfortable one. His salmon was delicious, dripping with flavours 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.”