Let's Play in the Garden (11 page)

Simon looked up and closed his book for a moment. He took out his trusty pocket watch and checked the time. He then looked up at Gladys. “Well, Mother,” he started, “the summer is over. Things will now be changing. As a matter of fact, they’ll be a little easier now. The garden will start to sleep once more. I can cut the watering down to once a week. That saves more of the precious formula. I think I’ll water it for the week tomorrow.”

Merydith and Tobey looked up at one another and smiled.

“Well, that will be nice for a while,” Gladys said.

“Yep,” Simon answered. “Not much to do until springtime.”

###

Simon was right. The mystical garden would now sleep and require little attention. That was good for Merydith and Tobey. It gave them a better chance to get into it. The flowers had already begun to fold and tuck in to slumber for several months.

The leaves of some of the trees were already beginning to fade, and subtle shades of brown and gold began to form. The animals became less frequent as they prepared for winter.

The garden would go through a drastic change, winter animals and winter plants would soon take over. One thing would remain unchanged, however, never sleeping, always watching…always waiting. It would remain there all winter. Inhumanly patient. Living in the deepest regions of the garden, stirring among the plants, growling with frustration, wailing with rage. It waited.

10. The birth of Merydith’s Plan

Merydith woke early the next morning to find out whether or not Simon planned on watering the garden this morning or after the school day was over. If he did it while they were in school, she would lose the chance to sneak the formula to her room.

She prayed that he would wait and do it when she and Tobey were around and could set their plan in motion.

After having prepared herself for school, she placed a piece into her puzzle and gathered her books to scoot downstairs.

Surprisingly, Marion remained asleep but Gladys had made some hot old-fashioned oatmeal for the children. “My, you’re early, Merydith,” Gladys commented. “Well, sit down and have some good, hot oatmeal. It will do you good for school. Give you lots of energy. Tobey must still be asleep?”

“He sure is. I just can’t wait to be up and ready for school. I enjoy it so much.”

“That’s good, dear.”

On her way to the table, Merydith played another bell, a black one with gold trim. It was rather stunning.

Gladys wandered over to Simon’s workshop chain and pulled it. He had been down there way before anyone had awakened.

Merydith listened, heard the workshop doors snap open and then shut with a heavy thud. Simon strolled through the front door.

“Good morning, you two,” he said as cheerfully as could be and planted himself in his chair, where he started to wolf down oatmeal.

Gladys set the rest of the oatmeal on the stove and joined the others at the table. It was just the three of them, and a strange, uncomfortable silence permeated the room.

Merydith put a stop to that with her first investigative question. “Grandpa?”

He looked up from his bowl, his usual casual look on his face.

“Do you plan on watering the garden after you drop us off at school?”

Simon’s curiosity was stirred. He thought it was an odd question. “Why, I didn’t really think about it. Not that it matters. I’m the only one allowed in the garden anyway. It really makes no difference. Why?”

She stared at him with a smile, attempting to make the question seem unimportant.
Please, please let him water when I’m around, please.
“No reason, I just remembered you mentioning it last night.” She lowered her gaze into her oatmeal and force-fed herself.

“Well, I suppose I’ll water it later, before it gets dark. That way it’ll all be watered enough to make it through the entire night. You know the nights are getting longer now. Besides, I have some work to do around the house and in the workshop.”

What a relief. Merydith knew her plans for discovering the truth were going to be extremely challenging and quite a strain on her. She hoped she was up to it.

I’m going to have to let Tobey know so we can pull this off. I’ll tell him after school. It will be easier that way. Right now, Grandfather and Grandma are more likely to listen in on our plans.

###

Marion got out of bed after the morning had gotten a little brighter and Tobey was finally fully dressed for school.

Once again, the green pickup carried the children off to their appropriate schools. Merydith flung her locker open, pulled out her books, and stuffed her coat in. Already she’d begun to dress warm to fight off the oncoming cold that would undoubtedly make her ill.

“Hi, Sally, Roxanne. Where’s Carol?” Merydith said as the girls grouped at Merydith’s locker.

“She’s sick today,” Roxanne answered.

“Personally, I think she’s faking. She hates high school and is afraid to come back,” Sally said with a smirk.

“That’s silly,” Merydith said with a chuckle. “I really like high school.”

“Say, Merydith,” Roxanne asked. “Do you want to come to a small party at my house tonight?”

Merydith frowned and looked into Roxanne’s eyes. “I’d like to but I can’t. Like I said, I’m not allowed to visit any of my friends. There’s no way for me to get away from my house. My grandfather has the only means of transportation. He would never in a million years take me anywhere. I’m sorry, Roxanne.”

“It’s okay, Merydith, I understand. Maybe someday you’ll be able to go. We better go to our homerooms before the late bell rings.”

“Goodbye, guys. See you at lunch.”

“Boy, I really feel bad for her,” Sally said under her breath to Roxanne.

“I know what you mean. That girl has the weirdest parents. I’ve always said that. The rules and things at that house are insane. Poor Merydith, she’s so nice, too.”

As they walked off, Merydith felt her heart shatter. Unfortunately, her hearing was one of her best assets and the two girls had not hid their comments well.

Great, just great
.
Now they feel sorry for me. I don’t need anyone’s
pity. Not only that, but they seem to be turning out to be like everyone else. They think my whole family is a bunch of freaks. It won’t be long before they think I’m a freak too. By God, I swear things are going to change. I’m going to see to that.

She stomped angrily to her homeroom as she wiped tears from her face.

###

“Mark Sabberton, James Sage, Lori Saills, Merydith Santaneen, Jill Sampson, Harold Seedman, Gloria Seller…” Mrs. McCormick rattled off the morning attendance and the students raised their hands accordingly. Not one student was absent from her homeroom today and she liked that. She guessed the kids like her, after all.

Merydith sat and went over last night’s math homework. It was her very first period today and she wanted to make a good impression on Mrs. McCormick.

Mrs. McCormick glanced over and noticed Merydith glaring hard at her math homework. Their eyes met and Mrs. McCormick gave her an approving smile.

The bell for first period rang and the students immediately filed out. Merydith remained in her seat, as did another boy and girl who shared the homeroom and math class with her. Within minutes, the entire room filled with kids who were not exactly thrilled at having math first period.

After Mrs. McCormick checked everyone’s homework, she stood in front of the chalkboard and began a new lesson. “Today class we will try some multiplication of fractions.”

There was a sigh in the room.

“Now, now, it can’t be all that bad,” Mrs. McCormick said with a smile. “Just give it a try. You may even grow to like it. It really isn’t that difficult.”

“Maybe for her, someone whose only life is numbers and fractions,” a voice snickered from the back.

“I heard that, Jack Claybourne,” Mrs. McCormick began. “It seems your life is just a little too exciting. We’ll have to change that by assigning you some extra homework for the rest of the week.”

The class roared with laughter.

As the hour dragged on, Merydith found herself daydreaming of how she was going to capture some of her grandfather’s precious formula after school. The thought of it excited her. It was like playing the part of a spy or secret agent. She and Tobey would have to be extra clever to outsmart Grandpa Simon. This would take some real skill and imagination. Something Merydith had a generous supply of.

“Merydith? Do you know the answer to the problem?”

“Huh?” Merydith looked up to see Mrs. McCormick staring at her from the chalkboard. She hadn’t been paying attention to anything for the last twenty minutes.

A hush fell over the classroom as Merydith fixed her eyes upon the math problem scrawled on the chalkboard. “Um, well…I…”

“Oh no, look out, the
freak
is about to
speak,
” someone mumbled from the back of the class.

Merydith turned to see who had said it but she couldn’t tell. Instead, she lowered her head and fell into a painful silence. Mrs. McCormick noticed the hurt expression on Merydith’s face and calmly moved on to another student.

“It’s okay. This problem is a tough one. Roy, how about you? Do you know?” Mrs. McCormick wished she knew who had made the remark, as well. That student would really get an earful.

The school day finally ended and Merydith managed to put what had happened in math class behind her. She was dying to get on with her plans. Without even saying goodbye to anyone, she rushed outside, arms loaded with books, and hopped into the waiting green truck. Nothing else mattered, only one thing remained on her mind—the formula, the precious formula.

###

“Home again, children,” Simon yelped as he always did when they arrived home. By the look in his eyes, this time he seemed to be trying to start some kind of conversation. The entire trip home had been in complete silence and now he was getting chatty.

“Yes, we’re home. Same as it always is,” Tobey answered.

“I’m going straight to my room. I have a lot of homework to do,” Merydith said as she climbed from the truck and scurried to the front porch.

“Well.” Simon rolled his eyes. “I suppose I’ll go and water the garden for the night. Easier to get it out of the way now. Then I can relax after supper.”

The children’s eyed each other with excitement. This was what they’d been waiting for. It was the last chance they would get.

“Tobey, will you help me bring these books to my room? They’re getting heavy and I do have to bring them upstairs,” Merydith said in order to get Tobey alone so they could go over their plan.

“Of course, Mery.” He took half her books and the two of them slipped up to her room to conspire against their grandfather.

###

“All right, Tobey,” Merydith began as she tossed her books on top of her bed, “it’s now or never. I’ve been thinking all day on how to go about doing this. Here’s my plan.”

Tobey sat on the edge of her bed, eagerly awaiting his sister’s instructions.

“Take your bow and arrow and set up the target close to the wall of the garden. Start shooting like you always do. When Grandpa gets in the middle of watering the garden, call him out to watch you.”

“What will I tell him when he comes?”

“Tobey, relax, I haven’t finished yet. Tell him you want to show him how great you are at firing the bow. Tell him you want him to see you hit the bull’s eye. Then tell him you want to be a marksman when you grow up. Keep him interested, keep him busy, keep talking. While you’re distracting him, I’ll slip into the garden with my watering can, fill it with the formula, and be out in no time. You got it?”

“Merydith, I’m scared, what if—?”

“What if, nothing! Don’t be scared. It’s the easiest plan in the world. It’ll be done in no time. Are you ready? This is it, we have no time to lose.”

“I’m ready.” He frowned.

“Great, it’s time for Operation Steal Formula. Let’s go.”

Tobey bolted from Merydith’s room and into his own to grab his bow and target. He quickly hurried downstairs to hurl himself outside to enact his part of the plan.

“Hold it right there, young man!” called Marion, catching Tobey by the arm.

“Huh? Oh, it’s you. What, Mother?”

“Do you have any homework? You know there’s no playing until all the homework is finished.”

Oh no!
Merydith watched from the top of the stairs, her stomach in knots, her heart racing.
Not now, Mother. What a time to get parental. Tobey, get out of it
somehow.
Her plan suddenly in jeopardy, she prayed Tobey knew what to do.

“No, Mother, of course I have no homework. That’s why I’m running out to play. If I had homework, I would be upstairs doing it right this very minute.”

Well, okay, then. You may go out and play.”

Merydith smiled with relief and watched as Tobey skipped outside.
Way to go,
Tobey!
He had just told his first lie to an adult. That was something he would probably never forget, and why not lie to them, since they were covering up for something and were lying about so many things. They deserved a dose of their own medicine. Merydith knew it would not be the first time.

###

Simon had just turned the irrigation pump on and his formula rained down upon the garden for the last time this week. When spring returned, the watering would once again return to normal. He stood and watched, mesmerized by the rhythm of the spray and soothing sounds of the sprinkling.

“Drink and sleep, my precious. I’ll miss you, but I’ll be back in a few months. I’ll continue to make your formula all winter long so you’ll have plenty for the spring. Fear not, I’ll guard you well.”

“Bull’s-eye!” Tobey called in sync with the sharp thump of the arrow smacking his target. Simon peaked out of the garden’s gate, noticing the red and blue target set up against the wall.

“Hi, Grandpa.”

“Hello, young fella. More target practice, I see.”

“Yep. Will you come and watch me? I bet I can hit a bull’s-eye every time I shoot. That’s what I want to do, you know. Be an archer.”