Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Garden (09/07/06)
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TITLE: Lessons from the garden | Previous Challenge Entry
By Tiffanie Chezum
09/13/06 -
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“Honey, why are you up so early?” Corinne walked across the yard.
“Just thinking.” Keith stood up, looking across the underbrush. “I got a lot on my mind.”
“You need your sleep.” She stopped at the edge of the brier patch and tried to tap the damp grass from her pink, fuzzy slippers. “I’m worried about you.”
“Dad loved this place.” The young man heaved a sigh.
*******
The pungent aroma of dirt and fertilizer filled the air. Keith bounced through the garden in excitement. “Can we pick’em?”
“Not yet. You need to wait until they’re ripe.” Dan put his arm around his son. “You can’t hurry nature. You put in the work then wait for your rewards. It takes patience, that’s why I like gardening.”
“That’s stupid.” The young boy sat on a bench in the middle of the garden. “Why don’t you just go to the store?”
“You wouldn’t get the feeling of accomplishment, the satisfaction from a job well done.” He sat beside the boy. “You’re young yet, you’ll understand someday.”
*******
“I never knew you liked gardening.” Corinne walked onto the stepping-stones toward her husband.
“I don’t.” Keith grasped his wife’s hand. “Dad always wanted me to learn, I didn’t try. I always wanted the newest and best.”
*******
“Dad! All my friends have ‘em.” Keith stomped through the patio. “I’m the only kid in school stuck with that old game system.”
“Don’t you still enjoy it?” Dan picked up his garden gloves and hat.
“That’s not the point,” the boy huffed.
“What is the point?” He placed a hand on his son’s shoulder. “I don’t try to grow the biggest pumpkin, or the prettiest flower. I grow what I can use, and I’m satisfied.”
“You don’t get it, Dad.” He pulled away from his father. “Life isn’t like your garden.”
“There’s more lessons here than you know, son.” Dan placed his hat on his head. “It’s not whether you have a garden, it’s what you choose to grow in it.”
*******
“You never talk about your dad.” The young bride brushed her unkempt hair from her eyes.
“There isn’t much to talk about.” Keith turned back toward the overgrown patch of land, the bramble rubbing rough against his arms and legs. “He loved his garden and I didn’t.”
“You two didn’t get along?” She caressed his tense shoulders.
“Dad got along.” He kicked at a plant, dislodging the drops of condensation. “I had the issues.”
*******
Dan pushed his trowel deep into the soil. “It’s out of the question.” He pulled a small, unwanted plant from the earth and discarded it.
“It’s the biggest party of the year.” Keith flailed his arms in anger.
“There’s going to be alcohol, and who knows what else there. The answer is no.” He turned and looked at his son. “I can’t let you make that mistake.”
“I don’t believe it. I never get to do nothin’.” He sat on the bench in disgust.
“Son, a mind is much like tending this garden. I prepared the soil, planted the seeds and fed the sprouts. I try to keep the weeds out, they suck the life from what I’m trying to grow. When I see one, I make sure to pull it root and all. If I’m not careful, they’ll take hold and overrun the garden.” The elder man pushed himself to his feet. “You’re not going to the party. You don’t need to expose your mind to that sort of thing.”
“But if you keep a plant locked up it will suffocate and die.” Keith glared at his father.
“What good can come from you going?” Dan queried. “What will it help you grow?”
*******
“We didn’t talk much after that.” His eyelashes dampened.
“Is that what’s been bothering you?” Corinne stepped closer to her husband. “Him dying?”
“That. My job.” His voice quivered as he choked back tears. “Life in general. Everything’s just clogging my brain.”
“I’m here for you.” She placed her hand on his cheek. “I always will be. What can I do?”
Keith looked into his wife’s eyes. “You can help me get rid of these weeds.”
They embraced.
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