are leaving Arundel because there are so few
jobs here. These new houses will create a lot of jobs and will run a lot of
money through the town. Did you know that six months ago one of our only two
grocery stores closed? If we don't do something soon, Arundel could turn into a
ghost town.'
She
could see the passion in his eyes. She'd had no idea that Arundel was in
trouble. To her, the place had always been paradise. It was true that the
mosquitoes and chiggers were enough to drive a person mad, but a little clear
fingernail polish over the spots stopped the itching. To Eden's mind, the warm
weather and rampant growth of the plants more than made up for whatever
problems the bugs caused. And made up for the snakes that found their way into
everything. And for the muskrats in the ditches. And for the raccoons that ate
anything you put in a decorative pond.
'Is
that look a yes or a no?'
'It's
an 'I don't know.' I never thought of designing gardens for a living. I didn't plan
this one. I just followed the original design.'
'Ha!'
Brad said. 'I know what you did and how you adjusted that plan to the modern
world, and I know the way you studied the books Mrs. Farrington bought you. I
even heard about the notebook of designs that you made. Most of all, I know how
you loved doing it. Mrs. Farrington told me how you and Toddy were out here day
after day, year after year.'
Eden
smiled at the memory. 'Toddy was so old he remembered the eighteenth century. I
just picked his brain.'
Brad
smiled at her so that his eyes crinkled at the corners. 'You can't BS me. I was
told the truth about you, remember? By the way, the books you accumulated on
eighteenth-century gardening are in that big pine cabinet in Mrs. Farrington's
bedroom. You must have every book ever published about eighteenth-century
gardens.'
For the
first time since she'd arrived, Eden smiled — really smiled. It wasn't a polite
little grin; it was a big wide smile that involved her entire face. She'd
missed this in the years since she'd left Arundel. Someone who knew her.
Someone who liked the same things she did. In the years since she'd been away,
it seemed that all the men she'd met had wanted her for what she could give
them. Their attitude toward Melissa had been one of tolerance. They were
willing to put up with a child, but they hadn't really been interested in her.
She'd been too quiet and withdrawn to interest them. In the end, it seemed that
it always came down to having to choose between her daughter and some man. Eden
had never hesitated in choosing her daughter.
But
now, for the first time since she was a teenager, Eden was alone - free,
actually. It was difficult for her to remember a time when she wasn't someone's
mother. When she was still a teenager, she'd seen kids her age jumping into
convertibles as they ran off to spend the day at the beach. Sometimes she'd
been nearly overwhelmed with envy. Never in her life had she spent an entire
day at the beach. Her parents hadn't believed in such frivolity, then she'd had
the responsibility of a daughter. As for packing up Melissa and going by
herself, that wasn't something that Eden could quite manage to do.
What
she had done was throw herself into gardening. She'd spent her days in the
garden, with Melissa never far away from her. Often, Mrs. Farrington had joined
them, not to work (she couldn't contemplate using a hoe) but to sit under a
tree in a pretty wrought-iron chair and read things like the Declaration of
Independence (which one of her ancestors had signed) to Melissa, Eden, and
Toddy.
Now,
Brad was bringing back to Eden the memories of those wonderful days so vividly
that she, well, she was feeling as though she was waking up. Design gardens?
For a living? Get paid for doing something that she loved to do? When she'd put
herself through college, it had been a small community college, and the choices
of study had been limited. Garden design had not been offered. She'd taken
courses that she thought
jobs here. These new houses will create a lot of jobs and will run a lot of
money through the town. Did you know that six months ago one of our only two
grocery stores closed? If we don't do something soon, Arundel could turn into a
ghost town.'
She
could see the passion in his eyes. She'd had no idea that Arundel was in
trouble. To her, the place had always been paradise. It was true that the
mosquitoes and chiggers were enough to drive a person mad, but a little clear
fingernail polish over the spots stopped the itching. To Eden's mind, the warm
weather and rampant growth of the plants more than made up for whatever
problems the bugs caused. And made up for the snakes that found their way into
everything. And for the muskrats in the ditches. And for the raccoons that ate
anything you put in a decorative pond.
'Is
that look a yes or a no?'
'It's
an 'I don't know.' I never thought of designing gardens for a living. I didn't plan
this one. I just followed the original design.'
'Ha!'
Brad said. 'I know what you did and how you adjusted that plan to the modern
world, and I know the way you studied the books Mrs. Farrington bought you. I
even heard about the notebook of designs that you made. Most of all, I know how
you loved doing it. Mrs. Farrington told me how you and Toddy were out here day
after day, year after year.'
Eden
smiled at the memory. 'Toddy was so old he remembered the eighteenth century. I
just picked his brain.'
Brad
smiled at her so that his eyes crinkled at the corners. 'You can't BS me. I was
told the truth about you, remember? By the way, the books you accumulated on
eighteenth-century gardening are in that big pine cabinet in Mrs. Farrington's
bedroom. You must have every book ever published about eighteenth-century
gardens.'
For the
first time since she'd arrived, Eden smiled — really smiled. It wasn't a polite
little grin; it was a big wide smile that involved her entire face. She'd
missed this in the years since she'd left Arundel. Someone who knew her.
Someone who liked the same things she did. In the years since she'd been away,
it seemed that all the men she'd met had wanted her for what she could give
them. Their attitude toward Melissa had been one of tolerance. They were
willing to put up with a child, but they hadn't really been interested in her.
She'd been too quiet and withdrawn to interest them. In the end, it seemed that
it always came down to having to choose between her daughter and some man. Eden
had never hesitated in choosing her daughter.
But
now, for the first time since she was a teenager, Eden was alone - free,
actually. It was difficult for her to remember a time when she wasn't someone's
mother. When she was still a teenager, she'd seen kids her age jumping into
convertibles as they ran off to spend the day at the beach. Sometimes she'd
been nearly overwhelmed with envy. Never in her life had she spent an entire
day at the beach. Her parents hadn't believed in such frivolity, then she'd had
the responsibility of a daughter. As for packing up Melissa and going by
herself, that wasn't something that Eden could quite manage to do.
What
she had done was throw herself into gardening. She'd spent her days in the
garden, with Melissa never far away from her. Often, Mrs. Farrington had joined
them, not to work (she couldn't contemplate using a hoe) but to sit under a
tree in a pretty wrought-iron chair and read things like the Declaration of
Independence (which one of her ancestors had signed) to Melissa, Eden, and
Toddy.
Now,
Brad was bringing back to Eden the memories of those wonderful days so vividly
that she, well, she was feeling as though she was waking up. Design gardens?
For a living? Get paid for doing something that she loved to do? When she'd put
herself through college, it had been a small community college, and the choices
of study had been limited. Garden design had not been offered. She'd taken
courses that she thought
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