Martha looked out the window;
her face glowed with satisfaction. Over the last few months, she and her son,
Craig had worked very hard in the garden. Both determined to make it look
exactly the way her husband, Derek had planned it.
She
waved as Craig’s car pulled onto the drive. “I’m sorry I’m late, Mum,”
he said getting out of his car. “I had hoped to be here long before now, but
the traffic was so bad today.” He looked around the garden. “I see you’ve
been busy again; I wish you’d waited until I got here. You know, you’re
doing far too much.”
“Nonsense!
I’m quite enjoying it. Besides, I need to do this for your father’s sake. We
both know how much time he spent during the winter months planning it all out; I
want to bring his vision to life.”
“I
know, Mum,” Craig said gently. “But I worry that you’re overdoing it. Dad
wouldn’t want you to work so hard.”
Martha didn’t answer. She was recalling how Derek had always made the most of
his garden. Every summer the neighbours could only look on in envy, as his
beautiful garden began to unfold.
She
smiled to herself when she thought of how he spent hours talking to his plants;
gently coaxing them into bloom. He would never admit it to any one, not even
her, but she knew it to be true. She had often heard him when she’d gone down
the garden to fetch him for his dinner. However, when she asked who he was
talking to, he’d simply smile and tap his nose, saying, “A little fairy,
Martha; just a little fairy.”
Once
out in his beloved garden he lost all track of time. At mealtimes, Martha had to
seek him out; left to his own devices, he would have starved a long time ago.
But she never complained; it was good seeing him do something he loved. Besides,
she delighted in the garden being so full of flowers.
She
thought back to those warm summer afternoons when they both took tea on the
patio surrounded by the beautiful blooms. And then there were the evenings, when
after dinner they’d sit side by side drinking in the fragrance of the
night-scented flowers. She had been looking forward to it again
this year, until that fateful day when Derek had decided to pull out the old
tree stump.
She
bit her lip at the thought. That wretched stump, it had been there all these
years. Why couldn’t he have let it be? Instead, he had spent hours digging
around the roots and then heaving at it. She had gone to call him in for dinner
when she’d seen him lying on the ground, motionless.
The
ambulance people were quick to respond. They had rushed him to the local
hospital, trying to revive him all the while.
“Your
husband has had a serious heart-attack,” the doctor had said. He told her that
Derek needed major surgery and would have to be moved to the large hospital in
the city.
After
the operation, she and Craig were informed that he wasn’t responding and his
chances of recovery were very slim. If he were younger, perhaps things would be
different, but at his age…
Tears ran down her cheeks as it all came flooding back to
her; Derek lying there with all those tubes and wires attached to his body. It
hadn’t looked like him at all. Not being able to bear it any longer, she’d
run blindly from the hospital and had never gone back.
She
looked across to where the tree stump had been. It was gone now of course. Craig
had been so angry at what had happened to his father, he’d torn it out and
burned it.
“Mum,
are you all right?” Craig’s voice broke into her thoughts. He looked
anxious.
“Yes,
of course I am, dear” she replied, reaching out to him. “I was just thinking
about your father.” She wiped away the tears. “So tell me, how’s my
beautiful grandson?”
“Daniel’s
great, Mum,” Craig’s face broke into smiles. “He’s cut his first tooth.
Sandy says that he did it without all the fuss babies usually make when their
teeth are coming through.” He looked so proud standing there.
Martha smiled to herself. She recalled Derek being the same when Craig
was a baby. According to him, Craig was the smartest child around. It was such a
pity that she hadn’t been able to have any more children. But there now, she
mustn’t dwell on the past. “That’s wonderful news son. I’m so looking
forward to seeing him next week.”
“Yes, Sandy was just remarking that it’s been a while since she and
the baby were last here.”
“Yes,
it was just after your father…” she broke off unable to finish.
“Well now, what do we need to do next?” Craig said, quickly diverting
the subject away from his father’s heart-attack. He glanced around the garden;
he had already done most of the heavy work. “I think it’s time to put in the
bedding plants. Perhaps we should go down to the garden centre tomorrow morning
to choose some from Dad’s list. I know there are plants growing in the
greenhouse, but I don’t think there’ll be nearly enough; not for what Dad
had in mind, anyway.”
Martha
agreed. She had done her best with the seeds, but pricking out the seedlings had
been too fiddly for her. The tiny plants were so delicate; many had simply
dropped through her arthritic fingers and landed on the floor.
She
had marvelled at how Derek, with his large, strong hands, had been able to treat
them with such loving care.
“That’s
a good idea,” she said. “Your father always said that if you don’t choose
them early, you are left with plants no one else wants.
“All
right, Mum, I’ll call for you and we’ll go together. Have Dad’s list ready
and I’ll pick you up first thing. I don’t think there’s anything more we
can do today, it’s starting to rain. Besides, you seem to have finished it
all.”
Once
Craig had left, Martha locked the greenhouse and after a final glance around the
garden, she went indoors.
The
next morning Craig took his mother to the garden centre. There were many pretty
plants to choose from, but Martha insisted that they stuck rigidly to her
husband’s list. “The garden must look exactly as he planned it,” she said.
“We mustn’t be sidetracked.”
Though
it took some time, they managed to find all the plants on Derek’s list. When
they arrived back home, Martha told Craig that he should go and spend some time
with his wife and son.
But
he wasn’t having any of that. “I know that once I’ve gone you’ll set
about planting all these on your own,” he said. “Sandy knows how much this
means to us so she won’t be expecting me home for a while yet.”
Craig
insisted that she should leave him to do much of the work, saying, “I could
really do with a nice cup of tea, Mum. Why don’t you go and put the kettle
on?”
Martha
knew that he was worried about her and didn’t argue. Besides, she was grateful
for the help. Though she would never admit to it, Craig was right; she was doing
far too much. Each evening over the past few weeks, she had been forced to
retire long before her usual bedtime.
By
the time Martha got back with a tray of tea and biscuits, Craig had already made
a start. “It’s looking good son,” she said. “I can see the patterns
taking shape already.”
In
his plans, Derek had divided the garden into different shapes. When all the
plants were in full bloom those shapes would magically turn into butterflies and
birds whose colourful wings would shimmer in the summer breeze.
“Yes,”
said Craig, joining his mother. “It’s certainly going to be a picture this
year.” He sat down on the garden chair and took a sip of tea. “I think this
will be Dad’s masterpiece. He’d planned everything down to the very last
detail.”
Once
the tea was finished, Craig went back to the planting, telling his mother to put
her feet up for a while. “I can manage here; please mum, I’d like you to
take it easy today.”
Though
Martha protested strongly, she was really quite relieved. She had never realized
that gardening was such hard work. Or was it that she was just getting old? Old
age seemed to have crept up when she wasn’t looking.
Craig
spent the rest of the day working in the garden. He told her he would try to
finish the planting before going home that evening as rain was forecast for the
following day. “Naturally I’ll water in the plants tonight,” he said.
“But I’ve often heard Dad say, there’s nothing like a good shower of rain
to bed them in properly.”
By
the end of the day the planting was finished. Before leaving, Craig reminded her
that he would be bringing Sandy and the baby for a visit the following Friday.
The week wore on and as Friday drew near, Martha grew excited at
the prospect of seeing her grandson again. Craig dropped Sandy off before going
on to the office, saying he would be back with a surprise just after lunch.
Martha welcomed Sandy and Daniel, remarking several times on how much the
baby had grown since she had last seen him.
Sandy
looked around the garden in amazement. “Craig’s been so worried about you.
He believes you’ve been doing too much; I can see now that he was right.”
She gently placed her hand on her mother-in-law’s arm. “You know Derek
wouldn’t have wanted you to go to all this trouble.”
“I
know, my dear. But I wanted to do it for him. It would’ve been the first year
that his garden hadn’t been tended properly. I simply couldn’t let that
happen; not when he had drawn up all the plans.”
Shortly
after lunch, Craig’s car pulled up onto the drive. By the time Martha and
Sandy had reached the door, he was pulling a large suitcase out of the boot.
Tears
ran down Martha’s cheeks as the passenger door opened and Derek stepped out.
Martha ran across to him. “Oh Derek! My dearest Derek. What a wonderful
surprise. I just can’t believe it. The doctor said you’d be away at the
nursing home for several weeks yet. It’s so good to have you home.”
Craig
stood back as his parents were reunited. Sandy drew close to him and he put his
arm around her.
“My
darling Martha,” said Derek hugging his wife. “When I felt those terrible
pains all those months ago, I thought I’d never see you again. But here I am,
home again; fit and well.” He looked around the garden in amazement. “It
looks wonderful. But how… who did all this?”
Only
too happy to have her husband back where he belonged, Martha simply smiled and
said, “Why Derek my dear, it must have been the little fairy!”
The End.