Coagulate

As Frank pulled himself up and turned to seat himself on the edge, the heel of his jeans caught on corner of the ladder and toppled it into the rhododendrons. The wife was at work, the neighbours too and he'd even left his tools on the grass as he'd just come up for an initial inspection. On the up side, the gutters weren't leaking, merely blocked up, leading to seepage over the top. He cleaned them out with his hand, dumping the rank, sodden clumps right down onto the freshly turned soil near the kitchen window at the back of the house. He was going to plant peas there next week, now that the rain seemed to have let up. The rotten leaves would be good for them. He inspected each handful curiously. It was amazing that each leaf, each twig, each grain of muck, would pass through unnoticed if it were alone but somehow, at some unspecified point, they team up and  coagulate in the heavy plastic pipes.

He'd done all he could within an hour so he sat on the peak of the roof, facing down into the back garden. The grass needs cutting, he thought. Perhaps it was time he got a new mower too, now that he thought about it, the wife had just got a new hoover so she could hardly kick up a fuss. Besides, that money they were going to spend on Danny's new brakes wasn't needed any more, since the sister had given him that battered Golf. He'd better check the books anyway. How much was left on the mortgage? Not sure. Credit Cards? Not a clue. Funny how things are allowed to get this far unchecked. Look at those paving stones leading down the side of the house. When did all those weeds appear? And was that a crack across the two by the back door? That tree had spread; it was almost touching the upstairs bathroom window. One blustery night and it might well come right into the house

The wife returned a little early and put the ladder back up. He kissed her quickly on the cheek before trotting towards the house.

"Need a pen and paper, love. There's a list that needs writing"

It rained for an hour that evening. When it had stopped, two slimy leaves remained papered to the newly cleaned gutter.