The two bags of fruit were heavy but still manageable. I was lagging behind the rest of the group as I was walking slowly with the heavy load.
It had rained, so the road was muddy and wet. My shoes were caked with mud, making the walk a slippery affair, full of near misses. I planned to take a rest after crossing this muddy stretch, as my arms were almost breaking under the weight of these heavy bags of fruit.
Unfortunately, all of a sudden, I slipped and sat right into a pool of mud.
Slosh! The mud splashed onto the fruit I was carrying as well.
Oh my god! Where am I going to find clothes to change into?
I was tired and frustrated, so I just sat in the mud pool, stoned.
“Throwing in the towel?” I heard a voice mocking me.
I looked up to see Ashton. He was standing a distance away, looking amused. I instinctively wanted to get up from the ground.
On second thought, I gave up and just sat there. “It’s none of your business,” I retorted. He had already seen my embarrassing fall, so who cares?
“It is not about you. I am worried about the fruit. It was hard work harvesting them. You are not going to waste them like that, are you?” he mocked as he walked towards me.
I held out the muddied fruit to him and pouted, “There you go. Are you happy now?”
He looked at me with a tickled expression, seemingly trying to suppress a good laugh.
He did not take the muddied fruit from me. “Get up. Mr. Oberick is still waiting for the fruit.”
With that, he turned to walk away, not showing any intention to help me up. Apparently, he came by to ridicule me. How maddening!
I was a complete mess when I reach the base. Leedon was resting on the steps when I approached. When he saw me, he gaped. “Ms. Stovall, did you fall into a trench?”
“Sort of.” I could not bother to go into details.
He suppressed his laugh and took the muddied fruit from me to wash. “There are shower facilities at the base. You don’t have any extra items of clothing with you, do you? If you don’t mind, you can use mine.” It was kind of him.
“Sorry to trouble you. Thank you very much.” I did not have other options and was thankful for his offer.
“No trouble at all. Hurry on,” he urged.
Everywhere I went, people turned to gawk at me. I don’t blame them. I looked like I rolled in the mud.
Finally, I made my way to the bathroom. Joseph was there waiting for me, with a set of clothing in hand. “Mr. Fuller gave instructions to bring this to you, Ms. Stovall.”
I saw him trying to hide his amusement.
“You tell Ashton Fuller that I would not thank him for sending me clothing. It was his fault that I got into this state.” I vented my frustration on him.
“Yes, Ms. Stovall. You go clean up. I will guard the entrance for you,” he said. Joseph was trying his best to hold in his laughter.
I was thankful for Joseph’s offer to stand guard. This base had no bathroom for ladies as all the staff was men. Luckily they had standalone shower rooms that I could use.
Leedon came by with some clean clothes for me. “Thank you Leedon, but I already have a set here with me.”
“That is great! I will get back to my work then.” He left and I went in for a shower.
After washing up, I rinsed my dirty clothes and packed them into the bag. When I came out of the shower, Joseph had composed himself. I thanked him for his help.
“Ms. Stovall, I’ll get going then.” Seeing I was done with cleaning up, he excused himself and left.
It had been a long day. I was on my way home when I met Leedon. “Mr. Campbell came by and invite us for lunch, so please stay a little longer, Ms. Stovall.”
“We just had breakfast together this morning, isn’t it?” I was puzzled.
Leedon laughed, “Mr. Oberick is an old man who lives alone. Only his granddaughter would visit him occasionally. I guess Mr. Fuller wanted to invite more people to keep him company. It is livelier with everyone gathered.”
I could not disagree with that. “Sure! Lunch is at the visitor centre?” I asked.
Leedon nodded, “I will be transporting some goods there, so my vehicle will be full. Mr. Fuller will be driving there. You can join them.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, Mr. Oberick heard you are the one who harvested the fruits. He asked for you to join them. You’d better move along,” Leedon urged.
“I harvested much fruit. Did you keep some for the staff?” I asked.
