A Woman's Work

She raked the garden as she did every autumn, while her son was with his friends and her husband was at his computer with a fresh mug of coffee. She would start in the back corner moving the rake out and back until each patch of grass was clear. She went clockwise round the garden, pulling every last leaf into the middle to sweep up into a bin bag. She heard a tap on the kitchen window. Her husband was standing there, pointing at a stray leaf behind her. She collected it and put it with the others. He watched as she turned in a slow circle to see if she had missed any others. She had. She strode towards it and scooped it up in her hands. The damp leaf made her fingers dirty, but she didn’t mind. He liked their garden to be neat. - WR