“Oh thank you so much Daniel… please, let me make you a cup of tea.”

“Oh no I’d best er…” he paused and cast his eyes toward the window and the torrential rain beyond.

“You can’t go out in this… you’ll catch your death,” she said. “Come in… I’ve already put the kettle on.”

“Thank you.” he shyly smiled as he stepped inside and removed his shoes.

“Do you take milk and sugar?” Mrs Haverthwaite asked.

“Just milk, thank you,” Daniel replied as he glanced around her large dated kitchen. She pulled out a chair at the small dining table. “Thank you.” Daniel smiled as he sat.

“I must say you’ve folded my laundry very neatly.” Mrs Haverthwaite commented as she peered into the basket.

Daniel smiled an appreciative smile but didn’t reply. Mrs Haverthwaite placed two mugs of hot tea on the table and slid one to him. “Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” she said, sitting herself opposite. “So tell me, what odd jobs do you tend to do?”

“Anything I can get really.” Daniel replied, listing weeding, hedge trimming, sweeping leaves, window cleaning, clearing gutters, “…and fetching in the laundry.” he smiled as the rain slammed against the window.

“It seems fortuitous that you turned up when you did.” Mrs Haverthwaite said as she glanced at the rain. “I’d have got soaked to the skin.”

“Another minute out there and I’d have got soaked too.” Daniel smiled before sipping his tea. “Thank you for this,” he said. “I doubt the rain will last too long.”

“It seldom does when it’s torrential,” she said. “Do you live locally?”

“Not in Plushton… in town,” Daniel told her but didn’t reveal that he’s from the run-down Foundry Estate. “I’ve been trying to find full-time work closer to home but these days you need a stack of A levels or a degree before they’ll even consider a job application.”

“So what kind of jobs have you been looking for?”

“Anything I can get really… laboring, factory work, shelf stacking…”

“Would you consider a cleaning job?” she asked.

“Yeah I guess,” he replied. “I did do one day cleaning in the Old Mill shopping center… but they didn’t ask me back and the agency hasn’t offered me anything since.” he apathetically added.

“So cleaning isn’t one of your strong points?”

“I did my best but didn’t really get a chance to prove myself, or get to grips with the floor buffer,” he told her. “That was driving me more than me driving it.” he smiled. “But I think they didn’t ask me back for personal reasons… some of the other cleaners just stood around talking rather than actually working.”

“I ask because I had a regular cleaning girl until a few days ago and whilst I hold some hope that she’ll come back… I might be looking for a new cleaner.”

“You mean here?” Daniel enquired.

“Yes… it’d only be two half-days a week; Tuesday and Friday from ten ’til one,” she informed him, before listing some tasks including hoovering, dusting, and ironing.

“I can certainly iron,” he told her.

“Really?” Mrs Haverthwaite quizzed. “I was under the impression that most youngsters avoid ironing like the plague.”

“I worked in the laundry when I was er…” he paused and gulped, then frowned. Mrs Haverthwaite looked upon him with an expectant gaze, waiting for him to continue. “I’ll be honest with you Mrs Haverthwaite… this is usually the point when any offer of a job is withdrawn,” he told her, before revealing that he’s spent several months in prison.

“I see.” he cautiously responded. “Not for burgling old ladies I hope,” she added in a stern yet jovial tone.

“No… nothing like that,” he replied.

“Are you currently on probation?” she asked. Daniel nodded. “So that explains why you’re struggling to find employment,” she said. Daniel nodded and gulped. “Well I believe people deserve a second chance, but I would like to speak with your probation officer,” she said. “…not to find out what you’ve done but to make sure that I’m not putting me or my possessions at risk.”

“That’s fine Mrs Haverthwaite… and I don’t mind telling you what I did,” he told her, before beginning to tell his story, only to be cut short.

“Please, I don’t want to pry into your past or personal life,” she said, before asking for the probation officer’s name and number and said she’d try to contact them later that day.

“Err… OK.” Daniel said, retrieving his phone from his pocket.

“I’ll need your number too,” she said.

“Course.” Daniel smiled. She jotted the details down on a post-it note. Having long since finished his cup of tea, Daniel said he’d best get going. Mrs Haverthwaite grabbed her handbag and removed her purse. “Oh, no… honestly Mrs Haverthwaite… I only did a couple of minutes work,” he said as she removed a five-pound note.

“You saved both myself and my laundry from getting soaked Daniel… that’s got to be worth something,” she said as she handed him the note.

Daniel took it from her. “Normally I’d charge a fiver for half an hour so if there’s anything else you need doing…”

“That’s very kind of you, but no, not today.” she smiled.

Daniel left with a warm feeling in his heart, but the pessimist inside him felt he’d never hear about the offer of her cleaning job again. He spent the rest of the afternoon getting doors slammed in his face before sauntering in a homeward direction.