The new path through the community garden ended three metres short of the gate. The volunteers had run out of paving slabs. On the opening morning, a ribbon hung across the entrance, but beyond it lay a strip of muddy soil.
“We could put the pots there,” suggested Alex. “Then nobody would notice.”
Tessa pictured a visitor pushing a wheelchair or a pram. Hiding the gap would not help them cross it. She walked the other route round the garden. It was longer, but its firm surface reached the gate without a break.
They moved the ribbon to that entrance and placed clear arrows beside the unfinished path. Alex wrote a sign explaining that more slabs were needed. Tessa added the date of the next volunteer morning.
During the opening, a visitor stopped to read the sign. He had spare slabs from an old patio and offered to bring them for the group to inspect.
The gap was still there when everyone went home. Tessa had not solved the whole problem, but visitors had been able to use the garden. Alex put away the empty pots. “Next time,” he said, “we’ll finish the path before we cut the ribbon.”