by Ina Williams
CHAPTER 4
Bixby’s Bulbs
Harry had spent an hour at Molly’s place, the inspection usually only took about fifteen minutes, but a little homemade lemonade goes a long way and before they knew it they were talking about Harry’s son, Michael, and his love of comics. He recognized her woodpecker’s name from one of his son’s stories. She admitted developing a love of her own after seeing her older brother’s obsession with the modern day myths.
After his glass of lemonade Harry looked the house over twice. He spotted some old mice droppings under the house. They looked old enough, but he didn’t want to chance it so he set some traps just in case. For the family of possums, he put several odor deterrents in the garage. Then came the bad news.
“We don’t really do the catch and release thing, Ms. Grasen. I could set a trap for him, but more than likely it would…well, I couldn’t release him.” Molly shrank. She couldn’t send Havoc off to certain death, no matter how annoying he was. He was her first friend in this new strange place.
“Isn’t there anything else you can do? I don’t want him pounding my door at five am but I definitely don’t want him executed.” Harry laughed at the thought of a bird being executed.
“Well there’s nothing else I can do, but maybe you could build him something to peck on instead.”
“You mean like a bird house?” she sang, eyes beaming.
“Sure,” he nodded, happy to have softened the initial blow.
Molly was inspired by Harry’s idea. She began to think not only about a bird house for Havoc but a little garden they could share. And then maybe other birds would come, it would be an oasis for all kinds of birds. Maybe one day there’d be a Mrs. Havoc and a bunch of baby Havocs. The jury was still out on her own love life but who was she to stand in the way of Havoc’s.
She was up all Friday night thinking about the garden, making sketches. She searched online to find a local plant nursery and discovered that her new town had no movie theater but two nurseries. She paused to question the town’s priorities, and then her own. The first nursery was one of those franchises. She saw the logo and instantly the annoying theme song sprung to mind—pass. The second was a locally owned shop, it looked sweet and the owners were a cute, young married couple. One look at their adorable picture on the “about us” section of their website and Molly was ready to buy everything in stock. She quickly jotted down the address, circled it with a heart, and switched off the light.
The next morning, she rose with the kind of brightness that only a woman on a mission can have. As Molly pulled into the parking lot of the nursery she noticed that the whole shop was housed in a greenhouse, a little oasis in the center of a gravel lot. She made her way up the narrow stone path to the door and the lush green plants around her made her feel as though she were venturing into a secret garden.
When she opened the door the smell of rich soil and deep green leaves wafted out like a cloud of perfume. She didn’t even know colors could have a smell. There was so much to see. The entire room was full of branches, petals, and leaves, but it didn’t feel overwhelming. It felt secluded and peaceful, despite the fifteen or so customers who apparently had the same thought she had that morning.
Molly bounded up to the counter and sang a sweet morning greeting. She recognized the man at the counter as the husband from the photo of the owners. He tried to match her energy, but Saturday morning was obviously a busy time for them and he was barely keeping his head above water. He offered a quick hello and politely excused himself to help another customer who had been waiting patiently.
“I’m sorry, we’re short staffed today,” he confessed after returning ten minutes later. “How can I help you?”
Molly, still wearing the same smile she came in with, reached into her purse and pulled out her sketch.
“No problem. I was hoping you could help me create this.” She handed the sketch to him and he stared at it for a moment smiling wider and wider, first to himself then at her.
“That depends. What is it?” She knew he hadn’t mean it to, but it stung like a paper cut.
“Geez is it that bad? Well, it’s supposed to be a garden.”
“Ah.” He said, nodding as if he saw something now that he hadn’t seen a moment earlier.
“Alright, alright I can take a hint. Anyway I have an idea of how I want it set up, but I have no idea what to grow. You see, the garden is for a woodpecker.” He was giving her a look, one that implied: Are you mentally unstable or really endearing? Cause I can’t really tell.
She gave him the cliffs notes version of her beloved woodpecker’s story.
He laughed, “You should really meet my wife, this is right up her alley. She’s not here right now, but if you want to leave your number I’ll have her call you as soon as she gets back. I’m Howard by the way, Howard Bixby.” He wiped his hand on his jeans before extending it.
“Molly Grasen.” She took his hand and shook it cheerfully before giving him her contact information. “Alright then Howard, talk to you soon.” She folded her sketch and put it back into her purse.
“You too Molly, have a great day.” He smiled to himself thinking how his wife would enjoy Molly’s whimsy.
CHAPTER 5
I Thought I Knew You
In the years following Percey’s death, Jim had grown older much faster. He was still kind and generous with his wisdom, but the light had gone out of his eyes. He seemed to have lost his purpose for living.
Time brought “The Lord’s Vengeance” as Eloise called it. Three years after Percey died, Tolson drank himself delirious and set his shop on fire while he was still inside.
After his eighteen-month sentence for involuntary manslaughter following Percey’s death, Tolson only seemed worse. He was angry all the time and even his family was having a tough time keeping him under control. A few minor incidents landed him back in jail and eventually a judge mandated that he go into rehab. Within days of his release he was back at his shop drinking himself numb to summon up his resolve. He flipped open his zippo and dropped it in a small pool of Jack Daniels he’d poured on a rug in the middle of the store. The flames were everywhere by the time two of his regulars pulled him out. His shop and several others on that block were burned down to the framework. To understand the silent smiles in the hearts of Hargro family when Tolson O’Donnell was hauled off to be committed to a local mental facility, you would have to understand that just six months after Percey’s death these same neighbors whose businesses burned had sat by quietly, claiming that there must have been a misunderstanding that caused Tolson to lash out at that “poor carpenter boy.” They hadn’t even had the decency to use his name, Percival Lawrence Hargro.
Percey had been two months shy of going to the same college Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. attended, and in a few short years he would have been the first man in his family to receive a college degree. So when Elijah sat in the courtroom watching the judge make a decision about the fate of the man who was responsible for stealing a son from Eloise and Jim, and a friend and brother from him, he felt for the first time what he had seen in Percey’s eyes that day in the store—hatred. It was that same hatred that numbed his heart the day he watched the men and women weep as flames engulfed their livelihoods. Until then, it never occurred to Elijah that God might actually exist and perhaps (now this seemed far-fetched, but) care about this world he had created. Broken as the world was that day in the midst of those flames, there seemed to be justice.
Seven years after Percey’s death and well into the construction of the second house he and Elijah built together, Jim died of a heart attack. Everyone, including Ms. Eloise, expected that the store would be left to Elijah. After all, he had worked at Willie’s for eight years. But when the lawyer read the will, all were shocked to find that Jim had left the store to his nephew, Earnest Jay. No one was more shocked than Earnest Jay himself. He had only worked in
the store two summers in his life and he spent those two summers reading in the back storage closet. He was scheduled to head back to Morehouse College to finish his law degree. He didn’t know the first thing about carpentry or running the shop, and he had no intention of learning.
“Look Elijah, everyone knows the shop should have been yours in the first place,” Earnest Jay was whispering to Elijah in the hallway of the Hargro house after the funeral. “Why don’t you stay here and run it for me? We can split the profits. I’ll use my part to pay for school and when you’ve saved up enough you can buy me out.”
Elijah was no business man, but that sounded like a square deal. He nodded and held his hand out to shake.
“Deal.”
“Great! I’ll have my contracts professor help me draft up the paperwork and get it to you as soon as possible.”
The paperwork came a few months later with a letter.
Dear Elijah,
I know this is a lot to process, but take some time with the paperwork before signing if you need. Jeff Johnson is a lawyer in town that Uncle Jim trusted. You can take it over to him and he can explain what everything means. Call me with any questions. I’m excited to do business with you.
Sincerely,
Earnest Jay Hargro
Earnest Jay Hargro
Elijah felt certain that he could trust Earnest, they’d known each other almost a decade, but a few months alone in the shop and one look at the paperwork, Elijah could see that he only knew half of what he needed to make the business work. He followed Earnest’s advice and took the paperwork to Jeff Johnson’s office.
Jeff was away on business but his leggy brown-haired niece, Katy, was more than happy to help him. She was currently in law school and would be interning at the office for the next few months. The office was quiet with her uncle gone, so Katy volunteered to translate what she could to Elijah. She was charming and funny, an excellent teacher and an even better flirt.
Katy was in the beginning stages of becoming one of those women who was way out of Elijah’s league. She was sexy and intelligent. She may not have been a lawyer yet, but she was already a shark. She saw what she wanted and she took it. Including Elijah.
“You know, my Uncle Jeff’s clients are usually much older,” Katy purred after taking down Elijah’s information for her uncle. She swung around in her chair at the receptionist’s desk revealing her very long, very beautiful crossed legs. Elijah grinned to himself and slowly pulled his eyes back up to hers.
“I’m not a client.” He said matter-of-factly. They both knew what she was doing.
“I just had a few quick questions about the contract,” Elijah finished.
She lifted her head to signify that she understood then took a business card from a small tray on the desk. She quickly wrote something on the back of the card and flipped her hair as she stood to hand the card to Elijah.
“Well I’m sure he will have excellent answers to any of your other questions,” she said, holding the card out in front of her between her index and middle finger. He took the card still smiling, she was much better at this than she needed to be.
“But I hope your questions won’t be too quick,” she said through a winning smile before turning back to her desk. He shook his head in nervous disbelief.
Was she serious?
Elijah left the office with a pretty good understanding of the legalese outlined in the paperwork, the names of the best business schools in the area, and Katy’s phone number. He laughed to himself when he spotted it on the back of her uncle’s business card.
He and Katy spent the next four months falling in love the good old fashioned way—making mischief, sneaking around, and helping each other dream. But when Elijah invited Katy to Ms. Eloise’s house for their weekly family dinner she refused him, for the fourth time in a row. He began to see in her the same sideways glances and purse hugging he had seen when he started to work at the store all those years ago. He spent the better part of their time together trying to ignore it, but as with most things the more you ignore it the bigger it gets.
Weekly dinners had become a great source of comfort and support for Ms. Eloise. With both Percey and Jim gone, Ms. Eloise was living in a house filled with memories and not much else. Aware of how loss could magnify loneliness, Elijah’s mother had resolved to fill that house as much as possible. The dinners started as just the four of them—his mother, Ms. Eloise, Rae and Elijah, but soon the house began to fill up with family and friends. Earnest Jay frequented whenever he was on break from school along with Ms. Eloise’s nieces and nephews, Jim’s cousins and siblings, and before long it was like a weekly reunion. Ms. Eloise, Elijah’s mother, and Rae would spend all day Saturday cooking and talking and laughing. Rae even started taking the school bus to Ms. Eloise’s house after school when her mother was working late. By the time she graduated high school Rae even had her own room at Ms. Eloise’s and a little herb garden on her back porch. In their grieving for the loss of family, they had built a whole new one—one even bigger and stronger than before.
On the fourth of July Elijah’s mother invited everyone to her house for a barbeque. Naturally eager to please, Katy came dressed in her best and most modest summer dress. Elijah beamed with the energetic beauty on his arm and ushered her in to meet his mother and sister.
“Momma, this is Katy.” Elijah said in a voice as serious as he thought the moment.
He had never introduced a girl to his family before. There had never really been anyone to introduce, any crush he had or girl he had dated had already known him and his family. That was simply a part of living in a small town. It hadn’t even occurred to him to be nervous until the moment he walked into the house and saw the eager look on everyone’s faces.
“Well, hello. I’ve heard so much about you.” His mother chimed as he ushered Katy into the kitchen.
“Oh, hello ma’am, it’s such a pleasure to meet you.” Katy chirped, turning on all of her southern charm.
Elijah turned to introduce her to Rae who was bright and endearing as always.
“It’s so good to meet you,” Katy exclaimed reaching out to hug Rae.
She returned the hug sincerely, though she was taken aback, and gave Elijah a quick look to let him know she was pleasantly surprised by his new girlfriend.
“Can I help you two with anything,” she asked quickly. Katy had been trained well as a southern lady.
“That’s so sweet, but this is all Ms. Eloise’s doing.” As if on cue Ms. Eloise walked in from the next room carrying a stack of dishes and a handful of silverware.
Rae hurried off of her seat. “Ms. Eloise, I told you I would take care of all that!”
“It is not going to break my back to carry a few dishes.”
While technically a senior citizen, everyone in town knew Ms. Eloise could still swing lumber with the best of them.
“That’s not the point, you’ve already done so much.” Rae grabbed the items from Ms. Eloise’s arms and ushered her to the stool where she had been sitting.
Elijah wrapped his arms around Ms. Eloise and turned to Katy, who was doing her best to avoid eye contact with Eloise.
“Katy, this is Ms. Eloise who I was telling you about.”
Ms. Eloise’s jaw tightened and she forced a smile, she said, “You must be the famous Katy we’ve been hearing about.
Strained and low Katy offered a weak, “Hello.” She nodded but never extended a hand.
Rae, ever the peacemaker, broke the uncomfortable silence, “Katy, just wait till you try Ms. Eloise’s cobbler, it’s the best in three counties.”
Katy smiled faintly and turned to face Rae, “I’m sure it’s delicious.”
Eloise’s smile fell and she glared at Katy in indignation before turning to face the dishes again.
After another deafening silence Elijah’s mother tried her hand. “
Rae, why don’t you take Katy out back and show her your garden.”
Always eager to share whatever she was growing, Rae leaped to her feet and led Katy to the back door.
Elijah stood in the corner of the kitchen frozen in anger and embarrassment.
“I’m sorry Ms. Eloise. I didn’t know…I mean, I didn’t mean to…”
Ms. Eloise stood and pressed her hand to Elijah’s cheek and locked her eyes on his.
“There is nothing for you to apologize for.”
She kissed him on the cheek and turned to leave the kitchen, before calling over her shoulder to Elijah’s mother.
“Darling, do me a favor and check those pies in about five minutes.”
“Yes ma’am, Ms. Eloise. I’ll send Elijah out to get you when they’re ready.”
Elijah looked at his mother then back at the kitchen door. How could they pretend? How could they even stand to be in the same house with someone who thought so little of them?
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Katy sat in the passenger’s seat of Elijah’s car glaring at him when Elijah pulled into her driveway an hour later. They left his mother’s house earlier than expected and Elijah was still planning on returning to the party after he was finished, after they were finished.
“You’re not even going to look at me?” Katy pouted.
“No.” Elijah’s voice was quiet and steady.
Katy sensed a storm was coming so she tried again, gently this time.
“Elijah I just wasn’t expecting all those people to be there. I got a little freaked out.”
Elijah said nothing. He kept his hands on the wheel and stared out the windshield.
“Elijah, I’m sorry but I thought I was going there to meet your family.”
“You did.” He said it plainly, as if her ignorance confused him. Then reached across her and opened her car door.
She sat in shock for a moment. Without looking at her he knew there were tears running down her cheeks. He knew, but the part of him that cared was still frozen in his mother’s kitchen. She got out of the car, slammed the door, and watched as he sped out of her driveway.