1. Deasil
Street
1.3

2. Warren was not doing well
following the death of his wife.
Even the self-obsessed Pablo, as
the closest friend in terms of
proximity, found himself drawn
to try and help.

3. But after the nth visit to the
cemetery, Pablo was bored. He
decided that mourning was all
very well, but Warren needed
to get a grip.

4. Pablo decided on tough
love. He told Warren he was
dirty, his son was isolated,
and he needed to get a grip.
And he, Pablo, had the
answer.

5. Pablo introduced Warren to Teresa Marshall. He
doesn’t explain how he knows her, only that she
would make the best housekeeper. She would give
him the spare time to sort himself out.

6. Warren asked Teresa some pretty personal
questions, and some pretty odd ones too.
Did it really matter whether or not she dyed
her hair, or what her shoe size was?!

7. But she fell for little
James in an instant.
She would put up
with the grief ridden
idiosyncrasies of his
father to help this
little guy out.

8. Warren had tried to put her off, but
to no avail. He wasn’t sure if he
could stand another woman in the
house after Miranda, even it he was
just paying her to clean and watch
James. His heart was still broken.

9. So Teresa became a
regular fixture in the
Bailey household, she
cooked and cleaned
and looked after James.

10. Over time, Warren became
accustomed to her
presence as well. She
worked long hours, even
though he paid her a flat
rate and not by the hour. It
was almost like she cared.

11. But she was no
Miranda, Warren still clung
to the memory of his dead
wife. He shouldn’t have days
when he forgot to miserable.

12. But her influence worked. Warren got
cleaned up and began to entertain again.
He started small, dinner with friends.

13. Pablo got stuck into what
Warren was going to do
next. Did he want him to find
him a job with his people?
Jen gently suggested he try a
bit of gardening to ease
himself back into actually
doing something every day.

14. He took Jen’s advice over Pablo’s offer. He
started small, just a couple of plants in the
garden. But, they did need plenty of care. It
was something else to think about.

15. With something else to think about and
spend his time on, Warren was able to
make the time he did spend with James of a
better quality. He was happier, James was
happier – and Teresa had even more to do.

16. In fact, Teresa was becoming a crucial part of his
household. One evening, Warren just could not get
James to stop crying. This was unusual given that
since his birth Warren had been the parent who was
closest to him and was usually able to help.

17. Warren decided to call
her, even though it was
her night off.

18. In truth, Warren was amazed that Teresa
came at all, especially as it seemed she
had been on a night out.

19. As Teresa took over more and more of the care of James and
housework, Warrens garden grew. He was thinking about making it a paying
hobby. But not yet. Miranda’s life insurance meant he could afford to put it off
awhile. Plus, it kept his mind off his beautiful housekeeper.

20. He asked Teresa what she
thought of his ambitions, and
she was keen. She thought he
would need to get it a bit bigger
though, even now while his
produce wasn’t being sold.

21. To his surprise, she helped him do
just that. Turned out that she
loved a bit of gardening in her ever
dwindling spare time.

22. He invited her to share the first
dinner made form the fruits and
vegetables of the garden. Sitting
there together, with James asleep
and the candle flickering – Warren
realised he was thinking of her as a
woman. And not thinking about
Miranda at all.

23. He felt like seeing Teresa, an
employee, in that way was a
complete betrayal of
Miranda’s memory.

24. He tried not to give his
moments lapse a second
thought, and got on with
organising a party. He felt he
owed the Martinez’ something
for all the parties they’d
thrown, and for all the help
they’d given him.

25. He invited a few other
people, made it a formal-ish
atmosphere and provided
the music and nibbles. But
being an accomplished host…
he was happy to let his
guests get on with things
under Teresa’s watchful and
more attentive eye.

26. Warren
was, again, very
impressed with his
housekeeper. She was
– he struggled for
words – something
special.

27. Teresa is pleased to meet Pablo
again, grateful to have been given the
tip off to this job that she now loved.
She knew Warren was a better man than
Pablo, but she was still surprised by the
new suggestion for her future Pablo made
that night.

28. In fact, it made her feel ill. Pablo had
intimated she should cosy up to her
employer romantically. Warren needed a
new woman, as he phrased it, and she
would benefit materially. He could make
sure Warren was receptive.

29. All Jen saw was Teresa having
a very spirited conversation
with her husband. She was
just out of earshot, but it
looked like the younger
woman was refusing to do
something quite vehemently.
All Jen knew of her was that
she was once an intern in the
same company as Pablo, but
for whom further
employment was rejected.
Why she had not continued
with another company and
become a domestic worker
was a mystery to her.

30. Warren was luckily unaware of the subtext of the
evening. The guests went home, and he relaxed
with his son and the woman who was now almost
a part of the family.

31. They watched James play
in silence. There was a
vibe between them that
hadn’t been there before.
They’d been friends for a
while… but both of them
had now separately
realised there was
potential for more,
without any machinations
on her part.

32. Deasil Street
No. 1 No. 3
Under Offer For Sale
No. 2 No. 5
Warren and James Bailey For Sale
No. 5 No. 6
Empty Lot Pablo and Jennifer Martinez
No. 7
Harry and Ariette Vickers
Next
Time… Will Teresa stick around now Pablo’s made her
job seem seedy?
Will Warren admit his feelings to himself?
Find out next time on Deasil Street!