I Don't Care Anymore!

Chapter 14

Throwing the last load of carpet trimmings into the dumpster on the driveway, Seth felt a real sense of accomplishment. Barring some finishing touches to decoration and cleaning, Bayllins Property Developers were ready to put their first project on the market for rent. Seth had spent the morning with Bayley, working on laying carpets in the two smaller bedrooms. It had been the final task on the very long list which had seen them take house from a shell of building with very little worth saving, to a home that any young family would hopefully want to live in.

A lot of time, blood and sweat had been put into the house, Seth thought with a smile. There had been no tears. He and Bayley had greatly enjoyed working together on the project. As they had gone along, Bayley had learned even more about DIY, and about gardening as well. The latter had been self-taught as Seth had worked inside the house while she had transformed the front and rear gardens from being an overgrown shambles to real showpieces with picturesque lawns and flowerbeds. Looking around the front garden, Seth felt proud of his fiancée and lucky to be with her. She was loving, beautiful, talented, hard-working and such a quick learner. What more could any man want from his partner?

Seth heard a car pull onto the driveway of the house next to theirs. Looking in that direction, he saw the one downside they had experienced during the renovations – Mrs Chandler, the miserable old battle axe who lived next door.

Since early on in the project, Mrs Chandler had made a point of complaining about as many things as she could, as often as should, particularly noise. How exactly a house was supposed to be renovated in silence and without occasionally making a bit of a mess, Seth wasn't sure. He couldn't help being amused as he thought back to how personally Bayley had taken the irritating interventions and complaints from the old woman. The ongoing altercations had revealed a new side of his girl, showing that if she was pushed, she wouldn't stand idly by and take shit; she would fire back and give as good as she got.

Laughing to himself, he recalled Bayley going through the overgrown rear garden with a chainsaw, and making sure that when she drilled holes in walls inside the house she had done it as loudly as possible.

"What are you laughing at?" Bayley asked happily as she walked out of the house behind him. Following his line of sight, she saw their neighbour getting out of her car.

"Just thinking about you and your best friend over there," Seth said, a smile on his face.

"Oh, hey, Mrs Chandler!" Bayley called out with a wave, using a friendly tone that had no sincerity behind it.

The old woman scowled back at them, not returning the greeting in any way.

"We're ready to put the house on the market," Bayley called out. "We'll do our best to find some noisy neighbours for you!"

"Bay!" Seth said, laughing at her.

Bayley shrugged. "It's not true, but hopefully it gives the miserable old crone something to worry about."

Seth put an arm around her shoulders and ushered her back into the house. "Come on, inside before you cause any more trouble."

"Me? Cause trouble?" Bayley asked innocently. "I would never."

"A likely story," Seth chuckled. "Right, I'm going to finishing tidying up upstairs."

"I'll do the kitchen," Bayley said. Since they had been using the kitchen to cook meals on the days they had worked on the house, it needed a once over before the house was fit to be viewed by potential renters.

Exchanging a quick peck on the lips, they parted ways. Seth headed upstairs to finish tidying and presenting the bedrooms they had been working on that morning, while Bayley went through to the kitchen.