he told me that she reminded him of his cousin Leslie. “Our Les had some problems, so I understand what you’re going through, son. You’re a good kid.”
The job we were on was one of the smallest that my boss had ever taken. After getting used to working on large-scale projects, I was surprised that we were doing something so time consuming in someone’s backyard. At least, I had been surprised until my boss had explained that we were designing and installing a ‘love garden’ for his best friend as a gift to his wife. I’d never done anything like it before, and even I have to admit that it’s amazing.
Rick’s best friend was a doctor and his wife’s favorite thing to do was spend time outside. Although the timing of the creation of the love garden was off, the doctor had spared no expense in having things flown in. The garden was an anniversary gift and since their anniversary was on Halloween, it was costing a fortune to get the out of season flowers. I thought it was really cool that he loved his wife so much that he was making it happen, seasons be damned.
The guy might be a doctor but he knew how to handle tools, so he spent a lot of his spare time helping us make it happen.
“Wouldn’t be much of a love garden if I didn’t put any love into it, am I right?”
What we had put together for his wife was amazing, and I was really proud of it. Since I had Marissa with me so much for the last month, she had been here with me most of the days that I was on site.
As the garden took shape she had looked around in wonder, clearly amazed that a man would think to do such a thing for his wife. She’d been quietly thrilled the day that the doctor and his wife had come outside to help, their love for one another so clear to see.
“They’re living a fairytale in that house,” she had said wistfully. “It’s so beautiful to think that when they’re eighty, they can be back here watching their grandchildren play in their garden of love.”
Marissa had lit up inside when the doctor asked her place the garden plaque he’d had made for his wife. It was a beautifully simple saying that summed up the garden perfectly: Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow ~ John Lennon. Marissa had loved that the doctor was so romantic toward his wife, and she smiled the entire time she was setting it into place in the rose bush area of the garden.
Until yesterday, it had been the only time that I had seen her show enthusiasm for anything all month. I was planting the last flower of the day when I heard a commotion behind me. Standing up and brushing off my knees, I turned to see my boss coming toward me. Alarm bells started going off the second I saw his face because he was white as a sheet. He was coming straight for me, and I knew in that moment that I’d been incredibly stupid to leave Marissa at home.
I was shaking my head in the negative as he reached me, desperate for him to tell me anything other than the fact that my wife was gone, but his face told a very clear tale.
The sound of my own voice asking, “What did she do, what did she do, what did she do,” over and over again seemed to be coming from far away.
Tears poured down Rick’s face as he replied, “I’m sorry Dillon… I’m so fucking sorry. I got a call from the police about twenty minutes ago and I got here as fast as I could. Marissa left a bag with instructions for the police to alert me about what she had done… I lied and told them I didn’t know which job site you were on because I wanted to be the one to tell you since I think that’s what she wanted.”
My entire world just fell apart, the shock so horrible that I felt like I might lose my mind.
“WHAT. DID. SHE. DO?”
On a choked sob he said, “She walked in front of a bus as it came around a blind curve. The police told me that she was gone before the driver even got to hit the brakes. Two witnesses saw her lay the bag she had down just before she walked out. The police are
The job we were on was one of the smallest that my boss had ever taken. After getting used to working on large-scale projects, I was surprised that we were doing something so time consuming in someone’s backyard. At least, I had been surprised until my boss had explained that we were designing and installing a ‘love garden’ for his best friend as a gift to his wife. I’d never done anything like it before, and even I have to admit that it’s amazing.
Rick’s best friend was a doctor and his wife’s favorite thing to do was spend time outside. Although the timing of the creation of the love garden was off, the doctor had spared no expense in having things flown in. The garden was an anniversary gift and since their anniversary was on Halloween, it was costing a fortune to get the out of season flowers. I thought it was really cool that he loved his wife so much that he was making it happen, seasons be damned.
The guy might be a doctor but he knew how to handle tools, so he spent a lot of his spare time helping us make it happen.
“Wouldn’t be much of a love garden if I didn’t put any love into it, am I right?”
What we had put together for his wife was amazing, and I was really proud of it. Since I had Marissa with me so much for the last month, she had been here with me most of the days that I was on site.
As the garden took shape she had looked around in wonder, clearly amazed that a man would think to do such a thing for his wife. She’d been quietly thrilled the day that the doctor and his wife had come outside to help, their love for one another so clear to see.
“They’re living a fairytale in that house,” she had said wistfully. “It’s so beautiful to think that when they’re eighty, they can be back here watching their grandchildren play in their garden of love.”
Marissa had lit up inside when the doctor asked her place the garden plaque he’d had made for his wife. It was a beautifully simple saying that summed up the garden perfectly: Love is the flower you’ve got to let grow ~ John Lennon. Marissa had loved that the doctor was so romantic toward his wife, and she smiled the entire time she was setting it into place in the rose bush area of the garden.
Until yesterday, it had been the only time that I had seen her show enthusiasm for anything all month. I was planting the last flower of the day when I heard a commotion behind me. Standing up and brushing off my knees, I turned to see my boss coming toward me. Alarm bells started going off the second I saw his face because he was white as a sheet. He was coming straight for me, and I knew in that moment that I’d been incredibly stupid to leave Marissa at home.
I was shaking my head in the negative as he reached me, desperate for him to tell me anything other than the fact that my wife was gone, but his face told a very clear tale.
The sound of my own voice asking, “What did she do, what did she do, what did she do,” over and over again seemed to be coming from far away.
Tears poured down Rick’s face as he replied, “I’m sorry Dillon… I’m so fucking sorry. I got a call from the police about twenty minutes ago and I got here as fast as I could. Marissa left a bag with instructions for the police to alert me about what she had done… I lied and told them I didn’t know which job site you were on because I wanted to be the one to tell you since I think that’s what she wanted.”
My entire world just fell apart, the shock so horrible that I felt like I might lose my mind.
“WHAT. DID. SHE. DO?”
On a choked sob he said, “She walked in front of a bus as it came around a blind curve. The police told me that she was gone before the driver even got to hit the brakes. Two witnesses saw her lay the bag she had down just before she walked out. The police are
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