August (The Year of The Change Book 2) (18 page)

I blushed. “A little, my grandparents always had a garden.” I missed their wonderland of life I used to chase rabbits out of and frogs and snakes into. My stomach twisted, I missed Gram and Gramps. I looked away. They had corn planted further down the row.

"I didn't know corn could grow this far north."

Emma smiled. "It's a sweet hybrid that has a shorter growing season."

"Where'd you get it?"

Our conversation reminded me of the discussions my grandparents had with other country folk they encountered at church or on the sidewalk in town on shopping day.

"I have a friend in Idaho that gets me what I want. If you would like some seeds next year I would be glad to share, I always have leftovers."

A momentary leap of hope clouded my mind, but my common sense reeled it in. "That would be great, but I don't think Sue would let me. It was really nice of you to offer, though."

Emma patted my arm. "If things change, my offer still stands."

"Thanks."

Things wouldn't change, things never did with Sue. She didn't like gardens of any kind—why was an unfathomable mystery to me. We would never have a vegetable garden. I would have to wait until I moved out to have my own.

Emma took my arm and continued my tour. She named off everything as we passed. I couldn’t resist stroking the leaves and touching the veggies and berries.

She had many varieties and every inch of ground was used to capacity. We came to the raspberry patch where Emma picked a handful and gave them to me.

“Try these. I think they are the best I have ever grown.”

The flavor exploded on my tongue and I ate as slowly as I could make myself. “These are the sweetest raspberries I’ve ever tasted.”

“I am quite pleased with this variety. Two years ago, I dug out the old ones and gave them away. A friend of mine in Michigan sent me a dozen plants and promised they would be sweet. As you can tell, he did not disappoint me.” She stroked some of the leaves as I did. “If you would like some plants to get started with I have some strays you may have.”

At the thought of having a garden I almost bounced, but once again common sense reminded me that Sue doesn’t like gardens. They were clutter to her.

My whole face fell, with a thunk and a sigh wheezed out. “Like I said, I doubt if Sue would allow me to have a garden.”

Emma put her arm around my waist. “Raspberries grow in a patch not a garden. I will talk to her if you promise to take care of anything I give you.”

My smile picked itself up. “Yes ma’am. I really enjoyed working in my Gram’s garden. I’ll never know as much as she did, but I’d sure like to learn what I can.”

Emma’s sweet smile of approval made me like her even more. “Well, then, I will do my best to convince Sue she cannot live without raspberries.”

We giggled as conspirators and she showed me the rest of the garden.

After dinner, Emma arrived so I went up to my room. She brought a large bowl of raspberries and my stomach was none too happy that I didn’t grab a handful. Emma was here on a mission and I didn't want my presence to discourage Sue from listening to her. I so much wanted a garden … or, er … a patch. I even knelt and prayed Sue would give in.

I dressed for bed even though it was early. I was so nervous I wasn't sure I could fall asleep, but as soon as I turned out the light, the drowses flowed over me.

It spread out as far as I could see. Rows and rows of gardens. Flowers of all kinds and colors popped up here and there amongst the vegetables and herbs. The aroma that blew over me was a rich mixture of sweet and heady. It was glorious to look at. I walked along the rows touching the leaves and vegetables, stopping to smell the flowers. This must be what heaven was like. Any minute my grandmother would show up dressed in white, her eyes twinkling with happiness.

To the right was a fence. Emma stood on the other side and waved. I waved and turned to go to her, but stopped when my name was called from behind me. Turning, I saw Eli stride towards me, smiling. Oh, he had such a wonderful smile. It warmed me through and through. He put his hands out. I stepped into his arms and he wrapped them around me, and spun us. When he stopped, I tipped my head back to look at him. He brought his handsome face down, his lips almost to mine before he closed his eyes.

I was going to get my first kiss.

Emma Did It

My eyes jerked open and Eli was gone. My beautiful garden was gone. The whole dream faded fast from my memory. All I saw was darkness. Disoriented, I reached for my lamp. It wasn't there. To one side was a wall. Under me was hard and wooden. I rolled over and got on my knees. My head encountered something and I ducked, afraid of what it might be. It was cloth I touched when I reached up. Where was I? On all fours I crawled until I came across a shoe. It was a pump with a one inch heel. In my mind I could see it, my good, practical black shoe for when I dressed up. I was in my closet again? If that was my good dress shoe then the door had to be — I thought a moment, still groggy from sleep — behind me.

Shuffling around, I could see a faint glow emanating at the bottom of the floor.

Halfway up, the knob was cold in my hand as I turned it. The door swung open and there was my room as I remembered it when I turned off my lamp last night, although the angle was all wrong to wake up to. I leaned against the door frame. There was no denying it, I was definitely sleepwalking.

Why? Was it because of The Change or just a normal phase I was going through? Normal? Yeah, right. I really needed to talk to my dad. He probably already left for work so maybe when he comes home I could get him alone. Sigh. Not likely, after work was Sue's time.

I put my head back and closed my eyes.
Grandma I need you!

Emma did convince Sue … well, perhaps it was more dad who bought into the idea … that a raspberry patch was a must have. The way Sue told it, one would think Emma wanted to dump garbage in her kitchen. Last night, Dad promised that after work today he would get right on it.

To my delight, Dad, Richard, Tim and I dug up a patch of sod in the corner to make way for a tiller and lots of manure.

Sue watched from the kitchen. The expression on her face shouted she had second thoughts. The sod we removed was rolled up and placed next to the garage. Sue wouldn’t let Dad offer it to a neighbor just yet. It was her safety net in case this crazy idea didn’t work out. I wanted to work faster so we could get done before she could completely change her mind and come stop us.

Richard expertly guided the large tiller through the designated area. He gave Dad a turn and the machine just about carried my father away. Richard stepped in and showed him a couple of tricks. By the time they were done, Dad, with a boyish grin across his face, wanted to buy one of his own. Maybe this could be the start of a garden paradise in our yard.

Whoa, Sylvia!
I couldn't let my hope go sprinting off. A garden was a big deal for Sue, so we would have to take this inch by inch. It was a start at least.

Sue would be an uphill battle. Hopefully, Dad had been bitten by the gardening bug and would lead the charge. With him excited, Sue was bound to give in, just like she did with our monster house.

It’s still unbelievable that she didn’t put her foot down the first day she saw the shambles. I looked up the perfectly painted backside of the monster, all the way to my fire escape. I guess I was glad she hadn’t refused to try. I was almost attached to the creature we now called home. I would probably never be as attached to it as I’d been to our small Oklahoma house, though.

Emma watched over every step of creating our patch, but didn’t hover. She explained to me why we did everything and what I needed to do to make sure next year we would have an overabundance of juicy sweet raspberries.

With the ground ready, Emma went home and brought back the eight runaways she’d dug up for us. She and Richard showed us how to plant and mulch around them. With the last one in place, we stood back and admired the green sticks protruding from the ground.

Emma put her arm around my waist “Just think, this time next year you will have your first crop from your very own patch.”

Dad put his arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “Yep, and the best part is, with all this slave labor, I won’t have to pull one weed.”

Richard chuckled “If you keep it well mulched, no one will have to pull weeds.” He picked up his tools. “Mr. Kennin, why don’t you come with me and I’ll show you those support structures I told you about?”

Dad shoved his work gloves into his back pocket. “Good idea. What do you use for the posts?”

With that, the two men left for the house next door and Emma followed them to clean up for dinner. I was left alone to admire the first of our many gardens, or so I hoped. It had been such a victory to get Sue to allow this one small infringement on
her
yard. Seated on the lawn, I breathed in the sweet smell of well-turned earth made even sweeter by the cool evening breeze. It had been a long time since I’d enjoyed such a sight in my grandparent’s backyard.

Chattering was the only warning just before something ran up my back and perch on my shoulder. The squirrel babbled in my ear as it told me all about its day and how it felt about the new garden. When there was no more to say it scurried down my chest and leapt into the loose soil. I watched as it checked out each plant.

I wondered if the squirrel was male or female. I had no idea how to tell the difference. Not that it mattered, but it would help me with choosing a name, something I still hadn’t come up with.

Sue called me to dinner and I left my friend to finish its inspection.

The outside exercise of building the garden had upped my appetite and I ate my way to another record, according to Tim. After dishes were done I went to my room and dug out my latest mystery novel and settled in for a good read. About the time the detective found the third body, my eyes closed and I floated away into the forest.

The trees were thick and I couldn't tell where I was. I didn't seem to care as I searched for something. I didn’t know what that something was, only that I must find it.

I looked behind trees with lots of birds in them. The birds silently watched my every move. It was kind of creepy and reminded me of the movie
The Birds
, even though the delicate creatures didn't seem hostile in any way. My squirrel friend came and went from my shoulder, always chattering in my ear before it would disappear.

As I searched, guys would pop out of nowhere with their arms out, beseeching me with their eyes. I didn't find in their loving, glazed stares what I looked for. I kept searching.

I climbed on top of a huge boulder. Near the top a large white wolf sat, where none had been a few moments before. It stared back at me, no emotion, no sound, and no movement. I reached the spot and studied the great wolf’s eyes.

The grey fur on his neck was soft and thick and I ran my finger through it while I stared deeper into his soul. I liked what I saw there. I leaned in and put my forehead on his as I wrapped my arms around his neck. In those deep brown pools of unspoken emotion, I found what I was looking for.

"Hey, no fair! I get a turn!"

No!
I blinked and the forest was gone.

"Go away, Danny, she picked me."

No!
My dream had slipped away. I blinked again.

"Hey, I saw her first."

My eyes fluttered several times in hopes this was a nightmare and it would end.

Cory shoved Danny away. "Quit crowding!"

Sigh. How'd they get in my bedroom? The wind gusted by and I shivered. Past the two fighting boys, the sidewalk and the asphalt were illuminated by the ever present northern light, though the sun had been down for hours. Where I stood, in the middle of the road, there was no traffic in either direction.

Danny threw a punch and the two boys went down in a mass of fists, rolling into the gutter.

How did I get here? Actually, where was here? My glasses weren’t on my nose so I couldn't make out the street sign half a block away. Where did I put my glasses? The boys were preoccupied so I slipped away to the corner to figure out where I was.

In the cool breeze I shivered. By my calculations I was a block from my street and two blocks east of my house. How did I get here? I turned toward my street and hoped to put as much distance between the boys and me, as I could.

The headlights of an oncoming car rushed up and I noticed I was still in my PJ bottoms and a t-shirt, with no bra. How embarrassing! With my arms over my chest, I hugged myself tightly against the cool night air. I stepped on a pebble and my cold feet protested.

The oncoming car pulled to my side of the road and my dad stuck his head out the window. "Sylv, get in the car, quickly!"

My head jerked up and relief flooded over me. I scrambled to the passenger side and climbed in. "Dad, I'm so glad to see you."

He pushed the master lock and all the doors clicked. "I'm glad I found you." His voice quivered as he swung the van around.

He hit the gutter on the other side of the road, but didn't stop. He just went up on the curb to finish his U-turn. The sudden jolt almost knocked me off the seat and I hastily snapped my seatbelt on.

"What's the big rush?"

"You attracted some boys."

"Yeah, I know. Danny and Cory must’ve found me walking around. They were fighting when I woke up."

Dad looked nervously in the rear view mirror as he gunned the engine. "It wasn't just Danny and Cory."

Out the back window, a crowd of guys ran after us. Dad left them in the dust as he rounded the corner. He hit the garage door opener on his visor and we zipped in before anyone could find us. With the door closed we both sat quietly for a moment with the engine off.

I was first to break the silence. "How did I get there, that other street I mean?"

"You were sleepwalking."

My heart double thumped. "Again?" I really didn't need to ask, I knew. I just didn't want to believe it.

Dad nodded. "I thought I heard something and I almost didn't go check." He shook his head as it dropped forward. "I almost wasn't there for you." He barely whispered. "The front door was wide open."

"But you
were
there for me. That's what counts." I wanted to reach out and comfort him, but didn't know how. It wasn’t like we’d been close all my life. My father was barely more than a stranger before this year started.

He brought his head up and pulled the keys out of the ignition. "Sure, Sylv, sure."

As he opened his door Sue appeared at the top of the stairs to the house, worry on her face.

"How'd you find her?" She put her arms around him and led him up the stairs.

As we walked through the shadowed house and up to the second floor, he told how he had driven around until he’d seen me in the distance, with the boys fighting at my feet. Then he explained how he almost had a heart attack when he saw all those guys emerge from the shadows, following me.

I didn't want to hear any more and turned for the attic. Strung together and placed neatly over the door knob was a tidy bunch of empty cans with the labels torn off.

"What's that for?" I pointed at the junk hanging there.

Tim came out of his room. "That's our new Sylvia alarm."

"Sylvia alarm?" How humiliating. I was too tired for this.

Dad chuckled. "That's a good idea. Did you think of that, Tim?"

My little brother smiled broadly. "Yep." He opened the door and all the cans clanked together. "It works really good, especially after I put marbles in each can."

Sigh
. "Goodnight."

Up the stairs I went to the sound of Tim demonstrating his nifty noise maker. Chilled and feeling like an outcast, where the others had to be warned when I came out of my prison, I stumbled to my bed. Intellectually I knew Tim's gizmo was a good idea, but emotionally it was one more reminder that I was different. But even more disturbing was why I was suddenly sleepwalking. Once was interesting, twice was worth thought. And how'd I get so far from home? I needed to know if this was part of The Change. I needed my grandmother here to answer my questions. I missed Gram.

I put on some socks and pulled my extra blanket up over the top of my bed and crawled in. I was so cold, I shivered for a while before I warmed up enough to go back to sleep. I was almost afraid to close my eyes, but soon slipped under.