"Psst!"
She had been enduring another long-winded speech from Manaois before she heard that sound.
Half contemplating what the consequence would be this time if she knocked the man over the head with the rake in her hand, the sound jolted her out of her fantasy.
She looked over towards the mesh-wire fence and saw the hooded figure.
She was sure that the half-deaf, ex-soldier did not hear anything.
Why would he? He was too caught up in his memories.
She saw part of the familiar face before the figure ducked beyond the cemented part of the wraparound wall surrounding the facility.
Her blood quickened as she wondered if her eyes were deceiving her.
It had been so long.
It was much too long, and she only wanted to run over there and confirm her thoughts.
But there was one problem left.
A problem named Manaois!
The fucking old dog was still rambling on about some bullshit regarding his dead comrades and how their blood on his conscience had pushed him towards d***s.
She was sure she would probably know every word of his stories now if she had bothered to pay attention to his deadbeat words since they had been paired as partners.
Or maybe she wouldn't.
The man was full of so much shit that she just wanted to put him out of his misery already.
But then she was stuck with him.
In fact, she had been the one who requested that they pair them together every time.
The silly fool never had any objections to her requests.
After all, who else would listen to his ramblings without complaining like sweet Susan?
As he bent down to gather the leaves they had raked into a sack, she knew she needed to get rid of him.
She needed to do it fast.
"Mr. Manaois, did you hear that?"
"What? What is it?" the man asked in confusion as he rose and looked around.
"I said, did you hear that?" Susan Rohan said in a raised tone so that the man could hear.
She smiled kindly at him as she gently touched the man's arm. "I think I hear the supervisor calling you. Here, bring the dustpan. I can finish up here."
"Oh, that is so kind of you," Mr. Manaois smiled back with his widely-gapped teeth, displaying many missing teeth. "Should I get you some lemonade from Bri?"
"No, no. It is fine. I am fine. Now, go already; you don't want to keep the supervisor waiting."
"Right. Right. She can be grumpy," he said with a conspiratorial wink at Susan.
Susan smiled back when she felt like giving him a kick on his rump so he could get a move on.
Her smile morphed into a distasteful grimace as she bent down, scooped some of the crinkly leaves, and wiped the hand she touched the man with.
It had been someone's genius idea to plant maple and elm trees right in the yard of the rehabilitation centre, but of course, she had to be the one selected to get rid of the mess caused by the goddamn trees in autumn.
Accompanied by smelly old men!
She waited anxiously as the man finally entered the facility and quickly looked around to be certain she was truly alone.
This wasn't her first rodeo, but she didn't get to where she got to by being a fool.
Once she was certain that she was alone, she quickly ran in the direction where she had seen him hide.
If he had left, she was going to kill Manaois!
She didn't want to prick her hand on the roughened wire mesh fencing, so she stayed as close as possible to it, looked back to be sure no one was watching, and bent her head sideways to see as far as possible towards the part where the brick wall started.
Her heart sank when she didn't see anyone there.
He left?
"Are you there?!" she asked anxiously.
She didn't hear anything at first, then heard the sound of a movement.
"Is he gone?" he asked urgently as he pushed back the hood of his sweater.
She was too shocked to do anything but nod as she took in his look.
An unpleasant smell tickled her nose as he moved closer.
She couldn't believe her eyes as she looked at him from head to toe.
"What happened to you?" she asked anxiously.
"That is not of importance right now. Has your brother been here to see you lately?"
"Max?" she asked in confusion. Then anger coloured her bright eyes as she said, "Of course not. Why would he be here? The bastard made sure they kept me in here and he washed his hands off me! He did not check up on me and I don't even want him to! In two months, I will be out, and I..."
"Okay, okay, okay. I get it," he said testily and she shut her mouth as she looked at him again.
There was an edginess to him.
He had been anxious when he came the last time to tell her what that bitch did to him but this time was different.
"What…?"
"I only came to see you so you wouldn't have to worry, or think I abandoned you."
"It's a fine time for you to say that. When was the last time you..."
"I said enough. I don't have time for all these. Your brother will come to see you. Tell him nothing about this visit. I am working on some things, okay? By the time you get out; everything will be ready for you and me to leave this city."
Nothing could gladden Susan's heart more than that statement at that moment.
He did not abandon her!
In the past few days, she thought he had finally given up on her and had crawled back to his wife!
Right after she went out of her way for him!
He had come ranting to her the other day that the b*tch had taken everything from him and given him a divorce.
He wished her the worst, and she could see that he hoped the woman would regret it.
Of course, by the time he left, he was already talking about what he would do to survive.
That was how he had always been.
Hot one moment and a ninny in the next.
Susan was sure he would never have come this far without her.
She had done what she always did.
She had cleared up the mess.
Too bad that the deed was not completed.
Yet she was glad that her man was back with her.
He was supposed to be a toy of the season for her, but somehow his energy matched hers.
So yeah, he was her man, the father of her children, and she would always have his back.
Even when he looked like a bum.