[ilikeoldchangke]

15th December 2014.

11am


I was checking off a list of plants I needed to do up a small garden when I saw 3 cars pulled up in front of the nursery.

They did not park, they stopped and a dozen men got out. The cars drove off, leaving the men at the entrance.


Jackson : oh fuck…


At the back of my head, I knew they were here for me.



I tried to remember who was my last client that had extras and remembered it was a 29 year old mistress of a developer who was neglecting her.



She came out to the garden in sports bra and her panty. I shit you not, a cotton panty. Then she offered to help me when she was just trying to reveal more of her body to me.



My snapping point was when she straddled my spade and held it up like she was riding a broom stick.


29 year old mistress : do you like Harry Potter….? This is me riding Nimbus 2000…..hur hur….


She yanked at my spade a few times and asked she wondered if Jackson would make a better ride than her Nimbus.


We fucked for 2 hours straight and she was trying to cover her mouth with her hand as we plastered our bodies against the full height windows overlooking an expressway.


She wanted to keep in contact but I told her I will be done with the garden in a couple of hours. I would prefer for the project to end if you get my drift.


The men were talking loudly up front.

This is it, I’m so dead.

I slowly backed away to the yard behind the nursery.



I can climb out through an opening at the back. Maybe I’ll drive straight to my grandpa’s nursing home and lay low for a couple of weeks.



Mr Keng : Jackson !!! JACKSON!!! …



Jackson : huh…. Yes… yes…



Mr Keng : come… come !!! hahaha… come !!! there are people I want to introduce to you….



Keng literally held my arm as he dragged me behind him. He was never this eager before.

I reluctantly followed my boss into the office. I was trying to think of an appropriate excuse but my mind could not work fast enough.


The men in the office all turned and looked at me.


I could tell the 3 up front are the ones in charge, the rest hanging around the back are the henchmen.



There’s a bald guy with huge eyes glaring at me.



His head is not straight but slightly angled to his right. He was in berms and t-shirt and he’s wearing an expensive pair of sneakers.



There are multiple visible scars on both his legs.



He was the one closet to me. He came closer and eyeballed me. I looked at him and gave an uncomfortable smile. He’s looking at me as if he was short sighted and forgot his glasses.





Declan : Seven …. Back off ….



Seven, that bald guy is called seven ? “



It suddenly struck me why he was called Seven.




He looked like the guy who acted as ‘ghost leg seven’ in the classic Huang Fei Hong show. The guy who’s good with his legs.



Declan : Hi Jackson….. My name is Declan…. My friend Keng….says you are a good gardener…..




I looked at my boss who was wiping perspiration from his face.



His expression and body language did not tally with Declan’s claims that they are friends. He’s looked nervous as fuck.


Declan is probably the oldest in the room. I would put him to be at least early to mid sixties. He’s fit, well dressed. He was in pants, shirt and a chic black vest.

His moustache gave him an air of authority and he looked like some old Marshal in a Chinese civil war movie.


Jackson : err… hi…. What can I do for you…. ?

Hong : WE NEED A GARDENER LA….. WHY ELSE WE COME HERE !!!!



I jumped when he shouted almost point blank into my face.



What the fuck is his problem.



Declan : Hong…… Hong…. can you…. Lower your voice…. You’ve going to make me deaf….


Hong : MY VOICE IS ALWAYS LIKE THAT ONE !!!



Hong looked like someone who skipped legs days even though he visits the gym regularly. He’s big, broad shoulders and arms, his blonde hair is dry and messy, gives off a vide that he belongs in another era.



He wore a black top with the words ‘ I tea dance at Sparks’



His eyes is small compared to Seven but his presence nevertheless is felt not only visually, my eardrums are on the verge of being damaged.



Declan : Jackson … I apologise for my…..



He was waving his hands in the air trying to search for a word to use for the group of men around him.


Jackson : colleagues….



Declan snapped his fingers and lit up with a smile.


Declan : yes… yes… colleagues… you see… erm….. my…. My…… my…..


He looked around him and I could see him trying to think of something.


He had the word but he didn’t want to use it.



I looked at the gathering of men inside my boss’s office.


These guys are thugs.



Definitely gang affiliated. Keng looked like he was on the verge of shitting himself. I saw him shoo the other workers away when they were approaching the office.


He even waved for his wife to go away when she came back with coffee from the nearby hawker centre.


I looked at the needle marks on one guy’s arms and he rolled down his sleeve as he blew his nose onto the floor of Keng’s office.


I swallowed a gulp of saliva.



I don’t remember fucking the wife of a gang leader or triad.



Declan : I can’t think of a nice word….. to describe…. Ermm…


I looked at Declan and offered one.


Jackson : organisation….



Declan snapped his finger at me excitedly.



Declan : yes… yes…. Organisation !!!... hahah… organisation…. You are brilliant…hahaha….


He told me that they needed someone to maintain and build a new garden for their employer. They have went through a few but none have made the mark and their employer is very disappointed.


Declan : When my employer is disappointed….. she gets angry…. When she gets angry…. We… as employees…. Suffer…. You know what I mean…. ?? we have heard very good reviews about your work…. And we like the fact that you operate as a one man outfit….


Jackson :errr… ok….


Declan : because you see… my employer… takes security very seriously….and the lesser ….. err….. strangers we let in…. the better it is for all of us….



Jackson : errrr… I see…. Ok….can I know… what is unsatisfactory…. About your past gardeners….



Hong : YOU ASK SO MUCH FOR WHAT !!! GIVE YOU JOB YOU KNOW….


Declan : Hong please… my ears….., please wait outside with the rest of your men….. Seven can stay….



Turning to me, Declan added at Seven can’t speak, so there’s no risk of him damaging our eardrums.


Hong did a weird chomping motion with his jaw at me as he gestured with his men to head outside.


Declan : well… the past gardeners we got…. They have a bit of a checkered past… you know… they stole stuff… they don’t really perform and the garden is in terrible shape….and we have such a nice piece of land……it’s a very big property of course….a lot of potential…



I looked at my boss and his eyes were literally pleading for me to say yes. It was not hard to put two and two together. He owes them something, probably money.



There is that guilty look on his face, as if he was ashamed that he had to use me to get out of this fix.


Jackson : ok sure… I mean… if you…. Can give me some pictures…. Drawings…. I can work out a proposal…. And send you a quotation…. ?


Declan leaned back on the chair and looked at Keng.

Declan : You didn’t tell him… ?



Keng : I… I was going to….i didn’t expect you to come first thing this morning….



Jackson : tell me what ?


Declan : that you are going to be my full time employee…..



Jackson :what ?


I turned to my boss who was at a lost for words.


Jackson : I… I can’t… I love my work here, besides, I can’t just….


Seven : arGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! aRGHH!!!! ARGHHH!!!



I jumped again as I watched Seven flew into a rage. He went to this large tree trunk that was reserved for another client. He started kicking it with his legs.


His rapid and continuous kicks reinforced the rationale behind his name.


He kicked it so hard that the bark chips off and I could see the sturdy timber being damaged. He just kept stomping on it aggressively with both legs as I sucked in a deep breath and back myself closer to Keng.


Declan : Seven… please stop !!.... oh god…. I swear… one day I would get a heart attack…. sigh….. I apologise….. I apologise……. He has anger management issues…


Seven stopped kicking and shouting as he stormed out of the office 3 seconds before the whole trunk toppled onto the floor.



Keng : I’m sorry Jackson…. I wanted to talk to you about it tonight…. i… I didn’t expect….


Declan : it’s fine… it’s fine…. It’s fine…. Keng….


Declan tapped his own chest and said he will do it.


Declan : Jackson…. I want you to understand that….this is no different from what you are already doing…. We really need a good gardener…..we will pay you…. Reasonably well…. Give you the creative freedom to design….don’t worry… we’re not gangsters…. Or anything… you are free to leave if you don’t like the job….


Jackson : oh….ok..



Declan : don’t mind my colleagues… they are actually very nice people once you get to know them….


We heard some shouting outside and I turned to see Hong jumping in the middle of the nursery.


Hong : ARGHHHHHH… HAHAHAHAHAHA…..



I saw Hong head butt a hanging orchid, shattering the pot and spilling charcoal all over the floor as his men clapped. His head was bleeding a little but he was still laughing.


There was another smash as Seven leapt up and swipe 2 pots with a spinning kick.


Turning back to Declan, he continued to appeal sincerely to me.



Declan : I am certain you would enjoy yourself with us…. And I am proud to say we have zero attrition rates for the past few years….


Jackson : what about the…. Gardeners… who ermm.. didn’t quite make the mark… ?


Declan: oh them… they were redeployed… into other roles more suited to their areas of expertise….



Jackson : I see….


The door to the office open and a Indian man spoke directly to Declan in Hokkien dialect.



Kamal : Declan !!!. EH SAI BO ? WU DAI JI BO ? ( Declan, is everything ok ? is there a situation ? )



He was skinny but tall. He had large eyes like that of a praying mantis, I say that because it looked like they were about to pop out of it’s sockets. He wore construction boots, and he had a measuring tape on his waist.



Kamal : dee ji kor is Jackson ?? ( Who is Jackson ? ) why so long !!



Declan : everything is fine… thank you Kamal…. And please… get Hong and Seven out before they destroy the place….


I watch as Kamal head out, a string of Hokkien expletives left his mouth as his middle fingered and shove his friends out of the nursery as they traded curses n broad daylight.



Declan turned back to me and in a very serious tone, continued to sell his organisation.



Declan : so….what do you think…



I looked at Keng before turning to Declan.


Jackson : I… ermm… do I get to think about it… before I reply…. ?



Declan press his lips together before nodding his head.


Declan : of course… of course….. can I leave the contact of either of my 3 associates earlier… they will follow up with you regarding your decision…. And please….. let them know why if you are not interested in taking up the job…… they need to let our employer know…..Which one do you think you can click better with….….. Hong…. Seven …….or Kamal….


You got to be shitting me.



I don’t even want to go near those crazy fuckers.


Jackson : how about I get back to you directly…. ?



I said with a smile.



Declan smiled too.


Declan : well… then all you have to tell me is whether you will be starting today………. Or tomorrow….



Declan handed me a card with his name and contact number on it.



I accepted it and looked at the plain white card. It’s thick, good quality paper, textured. Declan’s name and number embossed in black with a copper outline.


I would have thought it’s from some design firm.



Well, it’s just a garden.



I’ve done so many. Even if it’s a big plot, it shouldn’t take long. I will double up my speed, finish it and get the fuck out.


Jackson : Ok…… ok…. I’ll start tomorrow……where is the property ?


Declan : alright !... hahah

Declan rubbed his hands in glee as he added and finally got up off the chair.



Declan : It’s a house….. A house in Bukit Timah…



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