Let's Play in the Garden (5 page)

I’m going to get whipped good if I don’t get some sleep.

###

Within a few hours, morning was in full force and the house was again active. No one had forgotten what had happened during the night, yet there was an understanding between everyone not to talk about it.

Merydith lay awake in bed as Grandpa closely inspected the perimeter of the house. After that, the garden was next.

Marion set the table with breakfast dishes and glasses that twinkled in the curtains of morning sunlight. Grandma filled the house with the savory aroma of sizzling bacon and scrambled eggs. The boys occupied themselves out in the yard, playing with toy trucks and airplanes. They watched their grandfather inspect the house. Their eyes lit up as they watched him discover a considerable gouge in the side of the house.

The boys dropped their toys and walked up to their grandfather without getting in his way.

“Damn!” he howled as he ran his hands over the gouge. It was indeed something powerful that had made the gouge. The wood itself was completely bashed in. The paint was stripped off, and on the ground was a strange white substance.

Aaron made a face, his tongue protruding. Tobey hit him to make sure he’d be quiet.

Simon bent and felt the substance. It was sticky and clung to his fingers like glue. He took a piece of paper from his pocket and got a sample. “Something new to play with in my workshop,” he said to himself, seemingly unaware of the presence of his grandsons.

He looked up at the damage one last time and then glanced at the garden, his flourishing bounty yearning for another watering. “Later, my beauty, later.”

The boys stared at him oddly.

Folding the paper into his pocket, he gave them a wink and headed back inside the house.

Tobey and Aaron turned and picked up their forgotten toys to resume their play before breakfast.

###

Merydith stretched and felt weak. A sharp pain jabbed the center of her back and shot down her legs. She knew she hadn’t slept well. “Morning so soon, yuck!”

She rose from bed, rubbed her eyes, and peered in her mirror. “Ah, what a sight.” She didn’t bother to do anything more. Instead, she made a straight line to the bathroom and the shower. The bathroom glowed with the morning sun that would soon be afternoon sun. She really had overslept; she was not usually this late. The smell of bacon and eggs tempted her as she cranked the knob on the shower, letting the hot water slap against her body. It was wonderful.

###

“Tobey, Aaron, Merydith, breakfast!” Marion’s voice was the same as usual. She seemed unaffected by the events of last night. The boys came marching in, their stomachs more important than their toys, but Merydith was still absent.

“Merydith hasn’t come down for breakfast yet,” Marion remarked with some concern.

“Merydith isn’t even out of bed yet, Marion,” Gladys replied.

“It’s unlike her to be this late.”

“Let the child have her rest. Poor thing is always running here or there. She needs to slow down more.”

###

She dried herself off and began to brush and blow-dry her hair. The shower was the most wonderful invention by man. Each time she used it it made her tingle all over. It was a great sensation. It also made her feel taller every time she stepped out of it, as if it propelled her growth. Why, even now she felt an inch taller. After getting completely dry and sprinkling powders and deodorants, she returned to her closet to pick out her clothes for today.

“This one,” she said with a smile. She pulled a hanger from the closet that held a little sailor-style suit. It was blue and white, with a scarf and a white hat with a huge blue ribbon around it. “I love this one.” After slipping into the suit, she stood in front of the mirror to admire herself.
I have such pretty clothes.
I wonder why mother
doesn’t wear such pretty things?
She always wears dresses that look like uniforms in such boring colors…always black, gray, or navy blue. And she never shows her
legs.

Grandma and Grandpa are just as strange. They never seem to change their style, or their clothes, for that matter! Grandma in her bulky, fringed dresses. Grandpa with his painter’s pants and flannel shirts, and of course his trusty pocket watch. Why are they so different from everyone in town? Why don’t they ever wear more modern clothes?

Every time Merydith attended school or went to town, she noticed how different everyone looked from her family. It was as if her whole family and house were in a sort of time warp, one that they didn’t want to escape. No wonder they didn’t have many friends that came to visit. She put aside her thoughts for another time, and after slipping two pieces into her puzzle, went downstairs to eat.

“Well, it’s about time, girl, we were beginning to think you were going to spend this gorgeous day in your room,” Gladys’s voice was neither stern nor resilient. It was just her way of letting you know that next time you’d better move it.

“I’m sorry,” Merydith answered. “I just overslept. I had a really bad night. Couldn’t sleep at all.”

Gladys and Marion glanced at each other. Before sitting, Merydith walked over to the old hutch with its array of bells and daintily rang a subtle blue glass one. She listened with a keen ear, absorbing its gentle ring like someone smelling the cork of a fine wine.

When everyone was together at the table at last Gladys began to spoon out a helping on everyone’s plate. The servings were all equal so no one got more than anyone else. The eggs looked light and fluffy, the bacon lean and crisp, the toast perfectly brown with melted butter. All cooked to perfection. Before every plate was a full glass of freshly squeezed orange juice prepared by Gladys herself.

The family wasted no time in digging in, and the food had no time to cool off. The children were all taught to waste nothing. They always cleaned their plates. It was a strict rule they all lived by. Everything that came from the Earth had a purpose.

As with dinner, the two women began clearing the dishes from the table. Tobey and Aaron let their mother know they were vanishing outside and Simon said he would be down in his workshop and was not to be disturbed. Merydith decided to sit outside on the porch and watch her brothers. Perhaps she would join them in a game.

As the three children strolled outside to the porch, they were stopped abruptly by a request from Aaron. “Let’s play in the garden!”

Merydith looked down at him, toast crumbs still clinging to his face. “Now, Aaron, you know we’ll get a chance to enter the garden…at lunch!”

5. A Trip to Town

Afternoon came swift, breakfast was not even a memory yet, but it was almost time for lunch. Merydith entered the house to start a small pot of tea. Marion and Gladys had moved outdoors with two tall glasses of lemonade to soak up the sun. They sat in the front yard. They talked and gossiped about everything under the sun, including what was going on in town since the last time they were there. In fact, a trip to town was again needed.

Simon hadn’t once come up from the workshop all morning. He had been down there for hours.

Lunch was the only meal that they didn’t spend together. Everyone sort of did their own thing. The children, as usual, spent theirs in the garden, always having the same meal. It didn’t matter to them; they were happy.

“I know what Mery’s doing, I know what Mery’s doing!” Aaron cried as he twirled himself around, staring at the sky and making himself dizzy.

“Do not!” Tobey cried back, just to tease his younger brother.

“Do so!” Aaron replied with frustration.

“Do not!”

“Boys!” Marion added her contribution to the argument.

“She’s making lunch, so we can play in the garden. And I’m going to wait over there!” Aaron ran with all his might to the gate of the garden. Tobey just watched him and then decided to check up on his sister.

Merydith stood in the kitchen, fixing the sandwiches, her mind drifting
. Is it a smart idea to go into the garden after
last night?
This scares me. I don’t know if it’s safe, or
if the
intruder is still there or what? Should I…?

“Merydith.”

She started as Tobey’s voice surprised her and made her remember what she was doing.

“You almost cut your hand with that knife when you were trying to cut the sandwich,” Tobey said.

Merydith stared at the knife and then at Tobey. “Thank you, Tobey, you’re right. That was close.” The whistling of the teapot caught both their attentions. “Well, lunch is ready. Let’s go.”

Within moments, Tobey and Merydith were on their way to the garden. Passing Marion and Gladys, they went around the corner to the backyard. The spikes came into view first, then the great wall, and then…little Aaron. He waited with an impatient look on his face. “It’s about time,” he snapped. “I’ve been waiting here forever.”

“Oh, I doubt that,” Merydith said with a smile.

Finally, Tobey reached up, threw up the latch, and swung open the gate with full force. Once again, they entered the garden together.

A flock of blue jays scattered with their entrance as the garden flourished in peaceful silence. Merydith stood for a moment, hesitant. She did not want to go on. She looked around with caution and listened attentively.

Aaron ran off as quickly as he could and jumped up on and then off a stone bench with all his strength.

“Aaron…wait…I…” Merydith called, her voice almost feeble. Her calls were to no avail and she was still too lost in her own thoughts and fears.

“Mery, what’s wrong?” Tobey asked.

She shook her head, her white hat balancing atop her head, the blue ribbon wriggling in the breeze. “Nothing, I’m fine. Let’s eat.” She smiled as he joined her and they headed toward the gazebo.

###

Simon emerged from behind the door to his workshop. A stream of green smoke sailed behind him and vanished in the air. He quickly slapped the doors behind him and secured them. Wiping his hands with a red and white handkerchief, he reached in his pocket to check his watch. Putting the watch away, he spotted Gladys and Marion chatting away in the front yard. He approached them. “Well, how are things going, Mother?”

“As well as they can be expected, I guess,” she replied. “Would you go into town for me? I have a list here of the things we need at the market.”

“I don’t see why not,” he answered as Gladys handed him a folded piece of paper.

“How about taking the kids into town? It would be a refreshing change for them. Break up their day.”

He pondered it for a moment, rolled his eyes, and then nodded. “Okay, but they best behave while we’re up there.”

“Of course they will. They’re in the garden finishing lunch. They should be done by now,” Marion said.

Simon walked into the backyard and was in luck. They had just shut the gate and were preparing to go back into the house. “How would you kids like to take a ride into town with me?”

“Do you mean it?” Merydith said with joy.

Their three faces lit up like candles. They didn’t see the town often, being so far away from it. They only really got to see school.

“Hooray!” called Aaron, who jumped into the air.

“I guess that means yes,” Simon smiled.

“Right after I finish these dishes we’ll go.” With Merydith in the lead, they rushed into the kitchen to clean up and get ready to leave.

###

The four piled into Grandpa Simon’s old green pickup truck. The thing was nearly an antique. It had been around the yard for seemingly forever yet ran like brand new—even though it was in desperate need of a paint job. “Now this ride is a long one, kids, so if you gotta go, go now.”

They all shook their heads.

“All right, I don’t want to hear anything later.” He roared up the truck with a firm hand and with grace eased out of the driveway and onto the rocky dirt road.

The truck jumped and rocked the whole way. The kids were thrown around like they were inside a pinball machine. They found it utterly amusing, giggling the entire way.

Finally, the truck climbed onto the main road and the ride went smoother. They soared along comfortably as the kids watched lush woods pass by. Green trees on both sides flew by in patches. It seemed that there was nothing but woods and swamp for miles around.

Merydith stared and remembered traveling this route every time she had gone to school. It was always a long ride. She and Tobey would get into Grandpa’s truck when the sun was just about to rise. They had to leave extra early or they’d be late for school.

A car whizzed by, the first one to be seen. This road was not traveled much. Merydith only knew that it led to town and to school. She wasn’t sure where the other end of it took you. She wondered if it led anywhere. Maybe it just kept going and going.

A half hour passed and they rode in silence. Why waste the time talking when you could soak up the beautiful scenery around you? It was one of the few chances they had. This trip would have to last them until they returned to school, but for Aaron it would be even longer than that.

Actually, the ride was so peaceful that Aaron had fallen asleep, his head nestled snugly on Tobey’s shoulder.

Finding some way to pass the hour, they finally made it into town.

Tobey shook Aaron awake. Aaron grunted angrily and rubbed his eyes.

The truck slowed to check out all the shops and buildings as they drove through the center of town. The people stared. Some had surprised looks on their faces, and some whispered. Merydith stared right back. She wished to God that she could hear what they were whispering, and why. What did she ever do to them? What had anyone in her family ever done?

The truck continued on, screening each building and store carefully. The traffic was mild and the town was not extremely busy. It was a small southern town with plenty of gossip and old southern hospitality, but the Santaneens did not receive much of it.

Finally, they came upon a mid-sized store, the sign above reading
Hickley’s Food Mart.
A big dog slept out on the porch. It did not hear the truck pull up but the group of kids licking popsicles on the store porch certainly did.