'Leafy Greens'
By Brian
Dykeman
As
influenced by a roll of 'Rory's Story Cubes'
Heading out
to the garden for the picking of my morning flower, I was surprised to find
Ally from three doors down was already walking among the rows.
"It's
kind of pretty the way the early morning sun casts long shadows on the plants,
isn't it," I said.
"Did
you just say the word 'pretty,' she asked me, her breath escaping in tendrils
of fine, cold morning steam.
"Since
when can't a guy say the word 'pretty,' I asked her with a smile.
"You
didn't answer my question," she replied, turning her attention back to the
garden.
"Yeah,
but you didn't answer mine," I also accused, making my way to the garden
from my back door steps.
"I
think it's hard not to notice a certain amount of magic among the rows,"
she finally said, glancing over her shoulder at me, hiding a sliver of a smile.
"Me
too," I said, but not in reference to the plants.
"I
really love that you made this a communal garden," she said as she knelt down
to caress the dew from the flat, white petals of a flower I had never picked
for my morning flower, but now might just start.
"You're
welcome," I replied, even though in my brain it didn't really sound like
quite the right response. "You don't find it weird it's in my backyard do
you?"
"Not
really," she said, "but I do tend to wonder if it benefits from a
south westerly location. You know, the orbit of the sun and all that."
Making my
way to a violet flower I knelt down myself and picked the ripest flower I could
find.
"I
hadn't thought about that, actually," I confessed while wondering if
'ripe' was the right word to assign a flower ripe for picking.
"Most
guys don't," she said, rising from her position over the flowers, "I
know my boyfriend doesn't."
"He
doesn't," I asked in an attempt to feign a lack of disappointment I
imagined would otherwise be plastered all over my face like a tiny fake smile.
"Hey,"
she said suddenly, working her way to the cold frame. "If this is a
communal garden, why is there a lock on the cucumbers?"
"A
lock," I asked dumbly, working my way toward the box fixing the flower to
my lapel and putting my knife back into my pocket.
"You
do have a key don't you," Ally asked.
"No, I
don't," I replied staring at the lock and for three or four heartbeats,
mulling over the idea of looking for a rock to smash the thing and make a big
show of it for her, like in the movies.
"Are
you going to break it," she asked me.
"Actually,
I need to get to work," I replied after taking one look at my suit and
deciding I didn't need to do something that had me digging around in the soil,
destroying my white, French shirt cuffs.
"Come
on, roll the dice," she said, putting her hands on her flower clad,
sundress draped hips.
"If
you want something from out of there just ask Santori," I said, I'm sure
he'll let you have it. He just locked it becau-"
"I
don't want to ask Santori," she interrupted, "He doesn't get up until
after noon anyway."
"Besides,"
she said, taking off her bleach washed denim jacket and throwing it atop the
cold frame while looking at me with a devilish grin, "I don't like asking
permission."
"That's
a little counter intuitive to the whole idea of communal garden," I said,
watching her search for something to smash the lock with.
"What
do you mean," she asked, "If it's really 'communal' I'm supposed to
be able to take what I want."
"How
do you figure," I asked, looking at my watch.
"That's
communism, Dan. Everything here is as much mine as it is yours, regardless who
did the work," she said with that devilish smile as she bent over frame
and peered into its glass.
"I
don't think you have that right," I began to say.
"Can I
tell you a secret," she asked looking at me from her modified posture over
the box.
"A
secret," I asked, making sure to maintain eye contact with her, regardless
her advertising stance.
"Yes,"
she said, standing and approaching me with a cute, sheepish smile, inching
towards me like there was a crowd of people in the garden instead of just the
two of us "a secret just for you."
"Well...
I'm waiting," I said with a frustrated chuckle mixed with anticipation and
a overwhelming knowledge of the fact I was running late for work because of a
girl that apparently already had a boyfriend.
"But
you didn't say 'Yes,'" she said, turning away from me and approaching her
coat.
"Oh,
did you need something like a thought bubble with the word, 'Yes' inside
it," I asked.
"Maybe,"
she said, throwing her coat over her shoulder and once again closing the
distance between us, but this time walking up the length of my tie with her
fingers and tracing the outline of my tie clip.
"What's
the secret then," I asked.
"Well,
I don't know if I should tell you now," she said, obviously toying with
me.
"And
why is that," I asked.
"Well,
that's kind of a big, loaded question, now that I think about it,
Dan."
"Oh,
really," I asked, before saying her name back to her, "Why is that a
big, loaded question?"
"'Cause
now that I think about it, you might not respect me if I told you," she
said letting go of my tie clip and turning her back to me and her attention
back to the cold box.
"Well,
that's your decision," I said grabbing my keys from my pocket and began to
leave the garden, "Don't break into Santori's box without asking," I
said to her as I walked away and she had once again set to bending over the box
with no reservation to showcasing her meniscal fundament.
Starting my
car I looked down to admire the pedals of the flower I had picked for my lapel
when suddenly there she was knocking on the window and indicating to me she
wanted me to roll it down.
"I
really have to get going," I told her, "I'm already late as it
is."
"Well,
I just wanted to let you know I decided I will tell you the secret," she
confessed, "Even though you have been kind of 'disagreeable,'" I
believe was the word she used.
"Alright,"
I said, not agreeing with her but also not having time to bite at her playful
baiting, "What's the secret?"
"It's
kind of dumb, but it's the whole reason I wanted you to get into that box for
me."
"Which
is," I asked, subtly hitting the steering wheel but smiling in her ability
to elicit my amusement and not tell me the secret.
"It's
because I really like thick cucumbers," she said looking both ways, as if
pretending there might be others within earshot of the admission.
Not knowing
whether to shit or go blind I decided to cave in to her efforts at being
seductive and playfully cute.
"There
is a spare key to the cold box hidden in the hole in back yard elm tree,"
I admitted to her, "But be sure to leave a few behind," I added,
"Santori likes really thick cucumbers too."
"Don't
you, big guy" she asked with a wink and a toothy smile.
"Nope,"
I replied as I placed the car in reverse and poked my head out the window,
"Not since college."
