by Jeremy Asher
“Foolishness,” he said. “The doctor said that I should be getting some exercise. Said it would be good for me.” Another twisted interpretation of the doctor’s orders. It was something he had grown quite good at.
“Exercise, yes. But I don’t think he had building a fence in mind when he told you that.”
“When are they breaking ground on the greenhouse?” Subject change. Typical response every time his health was the topic of discussion.
“It should be soon. I’m just finishing up the plans with the contractors.” She hated lying, especially to her father, but she knew the truth would be more than he could bear right now. Besides, he had plenty on his plate—ignoring doctor’s orders was keeping him plenty occupied.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to have a talk with them? They don’t seem to be on the ball with things. And I doubt they’d have the slightest problem taking advantage of a young woman just out of college.”
In the twenty-two years that she’d grown up with him, she hadn’t heard him raise his voice more than four times. “I’m sure, Dad. I can handle it.”
“All right.”
She thought about him lifting large planks of wood and wished there was something she could say that would send him home where he could rest. “How’s Kevin?” he asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“He’s fine,” she said, walking outside to her patio. The air held a slight chill, but the morning sun felt good on her skin. If Kevin had been more like her father, he’d be there now, making sure her father didn’t get hurt. Of course, she’d yet to meet a man who was like her father. Strong, quiet, and into plants. “He’s been working a lot, but that’s nothing new.”
Her pause was met with silence on the other end, followed by another crashing sound. “Dad, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he grumbled. “I was just calling to see when they were going to break ground on the greenhouse. And to see how my little girl was doing.”
She hadn’t been his little girl for a long time now. Her mother leaving them when she was just twelve years old had robbed her of a childhood. But that didn’t matter to her father. She could be fifty-two and he’d still see her as his little girl with bouncing blond curls playing in the garden while he harvested vegetables. “Are you sure you’re okay, Dad? You sound—” she paused—“strange.”
“I’m fine. I’ll be better once I stop these animals from getting on our property.”
She walked over to her potted plants that hung from the balcony above. She spun the cap off the water bottle and took a sip. Then she shared it with her plants. Her gaze drifted to the wilting leaves of her lilies. “Damn it,” she said.
“What is it?”
“It’s my potted lilies. They’re still not doing well.”
“How’s the dirt? Dry?”
She pushed a finger into the earth. “No. Well, a little, but not enough to cause this. They’re dying and I can’t seem to save them.”
“Have you tried worms?”
“Worms?” Her eyebrows knitted together. “Dad, do you want me to stop by? I can go with you to see the doctor if you want me to.”
“Will you stop it with that?” he said gruffly. “I’m fine.”
“Okay. Okay. But you have to understand—”
“Sarah, sweetheart,” he interrupted, “You can’t do this every time I cough or sneeze or go a day without calling you. We both know the reality of my situation. But it’s my situation. Not yours.”
But you’re my father, she wanted to say. The one who taught her how to ride her first bike, who chased away the monsters from her closet, and who took her to buy her first prom dress. Instead, she ran a hand through her hair and let out a sigh. “I can’t help worrying about you.”
“You’re so stubborn,” he said. “You didn’t get that from me.” A moment of silence passed between them. “I didn’t mean that you should feed your lilies worms. Worms are good for the soil. They burrow and allow for oxygen to get to the roots.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling foolish. Had she not been so distracted by her father’s health she might have remembered that. “No, I haven’t tried that.”
“You should go to a pet store and get some.”
“All right,” she said. “I’m bringing you dinner later. Don’t forget.”
“Sounds good, sweetie. I’ll see you then.”
Sarah hung up the phone and sat back in her chair. A cooling wind breezed through her hair. The memory of the dreaded doctor’s appointment rushed over her like the cool breeze, bringing with it a chill that even the sun couldn’t soothe. A small dose of helplessness settled in, reminding her of her father and his last doctor’s appointment.
Tinseltown always depicted the scenes in the movies where doctors delivered bad news as devastating, but until you were actually there, you didn’t really understand what it meant. Sarah did. Another lesson in growing up she had received too soon in life.
She remembered the defeated look in Dr. Bradtmiller’s eyes as he laid a hand on her father’s shoulder. I’m sorry, old friend. It’s worse than we thought. Her father’s head sank.
It’s cancer.
The doctor’s news knocked the wind from Sarah. But her father didn’t blink. It was as if he had known before the doctor told him. Instead, he placed his hand on Sarah’s and told her how sorry he was. How sorry he was. Her father, Stanley Ramsey, the most selfless person she had ever known, had proven once again what a great father, what a great person, he was.
The wind turned into a gust and knocked over the bottled water. Sarah took one last look at the wilting lilies. “You poor babies. What on earth is going on with you?” The weight of helplessness felt like a thousand pounds resting on her shoulders, breaking her. The plants, her father, and the inability to fix either left her in a maze of uncertainty, wondering if the next call she’d receive would be the one that the doctor had warned her about when her father asked him his next question. So how much time are we looking at?
Tears welled in the doctor’s eyes, transforming him from physician to friend. Six months to a year.
*
A Google search gave her the address to a pet store in Old Town, which was just a few miles from where she lived. “Sam’s Pet Shop. Sounds cute.” She noted the address, grabbed her purse and headed outside. Kevin had offered to take her in his car, but she preferred her bicycle, especially on a sunny day like today.
The streets of Chicago bustled with pedestrians talking, cars honking, and construction crews hammering. Moving from New Haven, Indiana, to the big city required quite an adjustment for Sarah. It wasn’t until she was in high school that she started to feel like she was an actual Chicagoan.
Old Town quickly became one of Sarah’s favorite neighborhoods. It was like being in a completely different city. The recently remodeled buildings on Webster Street across from Oz Park were an architectural marvel. She often wondered what it must be like to come home here every day.
Miniature hedges lined the sidewalks, dividing the brown stone buildings and houses from the streets. Old fashioned lamp posts added to the ambiance, which the neighborhood loved to advertise. Each building had a tiny set of steps that led up to a large wooden door framed by a stone archway. This place felt real and solid, invincible even to time.
She parked her bicycle at the park and then crossed the busy street. Shoppers walked the sidewalks, walking from store to store carrying their purchases and enjoying the gorgeous day. Sarah moved along with the crowd, reading signs and looking for Sam’s Pet Shop.
She smiled at a couple who appeared to be in their seventies, holding hands and eating ice cream cones. She stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the walking signal.
Something furry brushed past the back of her legs. She turned to find a small Cairn Terrier sitting on the sidewalk, staring up at her with his tongue hanging out.
“Do you mind if I pet him?” Sarah asked his owner, a heavyset woman laden with at least seven bags.
&nb
sp; “Not at all,” the woman said with a welcoming smile. “He’d like that very much.”
Sarah knelt down and pulled her long blond hair to the side. “You are such a cutie. What’s his name?”
“Bailey.”
“Bailey, that’s perfect.” She rubbed the soft brown fur just behind his ears. “I hope they don’t have another one of you at the pet store. I have a feeling I’d walk out a dog owner.”
“Did you say that you’re going to a pet store?”
Sarah looked up at the woman, whose large white hat provided just enough shade from the sun to keep from blinding her. “Sam’s Pet Shop,” she replied. “Do you know the place?”
“Indeed, I do. Just keep heading down this street and you can’t miss it. The man working there is exceptionally competent. I think you’ll find him very helpful.”
“Thank you for the directions. It’s been a while since I’ve been out this way.” Sarah looked down at Bailey. He turned over, revealing his soft belly. Sarah laughed. “You be good, sweetie.” After a final pet to his stomach, she got up and resumed going on her way.
Sam’s Pet Shop was a corner store complete with a hanging wooden sign above its door and the shop name stenciled on the windows. Sarah liked it immediately.
A tiny brass bell rang when she opened the door, reminding her of the quaint shops she had frequented growing up in New Haven. Nice touch, she thought. The small shop had a few rows of supplies leading to the back of the store. A spiral staircase led to a balcony where Sarah saw a desk, a table, and small bookshelf.
Cages filled the windows and walls with playful puppies, fluffy kittens, and a few other lovable looking mammals. She strolled down the row of cages, letting the kittens and puppies lick the tips of her fingers. Then cages became aquariums filled with scaly reptiles. Snakes and lizards stared blankly. Crabs climbed a log in one aquarium; frogs perched on lily pads in another. Sarah shook her head when she saw a baby boa constrictor curled up beneath a piece of bark. Its dark and slimy body coiled into a perfect circle.
A plastic tank stood at the end of the line. No markings, no signs and no price tags. Just a bed of stones and a curved piece of wood in the center, which created a tiny cave. Sarah’s curiosity got the best of her as she leaned in closer to get a peek under the arched piece of wood, but nothing appeared to be hiding. She gave the aquarium a few taps with her finger and waited. Nothing happened. Just when she had decided that the tank was empty, a large hairy brown spider lunged out from beneath the arched wood and landed with its long creepy legs against the plastic tank. Sarah leaped back, slamming into a large shelf, sending something teetering over the opposite edge.
“Ouch!” yelled a voice from the other side of the shelf.
Sarah cupped her hand over her mouth, wishing she had the power to disappear. Good job, she thought. How are you going to explain getting kicked out of a pet shop to your friends? She shamefacedly walked around the corner to see what she had done and who she had injured.
A man was bent over, picking up the large bag of dog food she had apparently knocked over. Guilt replaced shame as she bent down to help the man lift the bag. “I am so sorry. I saw a spider and it leapt out at me and I just freaked out.”
“It’s okay. It was just an accident,” the man replied, looking up at her. His hair hung just below his eyes. He pushed it to the side, revealing the biggest blue eyes she had ever seen, at least in the past ten years. A rush of warmth, like a hot August’s breeze, came over her. Their eyes locked and the ability to speak escaped her. A thousand memories flooded to the front of her mind. The smell of summer. The sound of running water as it cooled her bare feet. Shade from the willow tree. Lips filled with electricity. Was that really him?
“Jesse?”
Chapter 2
Sarah
She couldn’t believe it. The long haired, scrawny little boy she knew as a child now stood a whole head taller than she. “Sarah?”
“Oh my gosh,” she said. “I can’t believe it’s you.”
He appeared just as stunned. “It’s been a long time.”
She nodded. “Ten years. You’re so much taller now.”
A crooked smile formed on his face, sending her a million miles back into the past. That smile hadn’t changed a bit. Not that she could say the same about the rest of him. His baby face had been replaced by a square jaw and chiseled cheek bones. Father Time had been good to Jesse.
“You’re much taller yourself.”
She looked down, realizing for the first time that she hadn’t done much in the way of getting ready before she left. She had gone out for worms. Running into Jesse Malone after all these years was the last thing she thought she’d be doing. “I just can’t believe it’s really you. What are you doing here in Chicago?”
He held out his arms and looked around the shop. “This is where I work.”
“This place is great,” she said, looking around. “It’s charming.”
“I think the charm is mostly due to my Aunt Sherry. That and the odor coming from the litter boxes.” He bent down and picked up the heavy bag of dog food, his biceps expanding to twice their size. “I just do the heavy lifting.”
“I can see that.” She tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. “About that—”
Jesse set the bag of dog food on the shelf and turned back to Sarah. “Don’t worry about it. I’ve been meaning to find a better location for this stuff anyways.” He smiled. “Consider us even now.”
“Even?”
“Don’t you remember the first time we met?”
Sarah thought back to the day he had showed up in her backyard. She remembered playing by the garden, digging a home for a toad. He showed up soaking wet from swimming across the creek, wearing nothing but a pair of cut-off jean shorts. “I don’t remember you hitting me over the head with a bag of dog food.”
“It was a stick.” He paused, waiting. “You don’t remember? I didn’t see you at first. I had this long stick and I poked one of the sunflowers in your garden and a spider jumped out on the stick, scaring the hell out of me. I threw the stick over the garden and hit you over the head with it.”
Sarah scratched her head and tried to get past the shock of running into him after all these years. Then it hit her. “Oh yeah. That was the stick that I used to dig a home for my toad.”
Jesse chuckled. “That’s right. You were such a strange little girl.”
“Me?” she asked. “What about you? What kind of a kid trespasses in someone’s backyard, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts?”
“I guess you got me there. So, do you live around here?”
“Yeah. I live just a few miles from here.”
“That’s cool. You go to school?”
Sarah shook her head. “I graduated last semester. You?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a semester left.”
She had a difficult time taking her eyes off of him. His smile, his messy hair, his broad shoulders leading down to a thin waist. He definitely had appeal. “I just can’t believe that you’re here, right in front of me.”
“I can’t believe it either,” he said. “Not that I’m here, but you know…that you’re here,” Jesse appeared to be just as taken aback by the moment as Sarah. He looked down at his Converse sneakers and ran a hand through his hair. “So what brings you to the store?”
“Well, I have some plants that aren’t doing so well. I was hoping that you had some earthworms.”
“Earthworms? You planning on feeding your plant worms?” He flashed that same crooked smile.
“Not exactly. They’re supposed to be beneficial to the root systems.”
“Are you some sort of a florist?”
Sarah smiled. “No. It’s a hobby. Sort of. My degree was in finance, but I’m opening my own plant nursery. The worms are for some plants that I have at home.”
“You graduated with a finance degree, and now you’re starting your own plant nursery?”
“It’s complicated.”
Jesse shifted weight to his other foot. “Actually, it makes sense.”
“It does?”
Jesse’s eyes locked onto Sarah’s and for a brief moment she could see the young Jesse again. “Your family had that large garden in the backyard. It would make sense that you’d grow up liking that kind of stuff, too.”
Their garden was large. Her father had spent just about every spare minute he had working on it. Two of the three acres had been used for growing vegetables. In fact, Sarah couldn’t remember a time when her family had ever purchased a vegetable. The third acre had consisted of an elaborate landscaping scene. Her father had brought in yards of dirt and stones and planted all sorts of shrubs and flowers. It had become a refuge from the stresses of life. “You have a good memory.”
Jesse responded with a smile. “Well, if you came here for worms, then you came to the right place. We happen to have the best earthworms in all of Chicago.” He turned and headed to the back of the store.
“Is that so?” As Sarah followed, she couldn’t help but take in the sight of him. His hair wasn’t as long in the back as she’d thought it would be given the length on top. It stopped just below his collar and had a slight messy wave to it.
“That’s right.” He stopped in front of a large aquarium filled with dirt, grabbed a plastic bowl and slowly sifted with a tiny shovel. “How many do you need?”
“I have no idea,” she answered honestly. Her father hadn’t said anything about that. “How many worms do you think it would take to make a plant healthy again?”
Jesse shrugged. “I’m not a plant doctor.”
“Just give me nine.” Hopefully these little guys are hungry and love to dig lots of tunnels.
As Jesse filled the bowl, Sarah couldn’t help but think about how different yet similar he looked. Time was a funny thing like that. She wondered what, if anything, he thought about her and the ways she had changed.
