This is a short story I originally wrote for my sophomore English class, inspired by a plot prompt by my teacher. I thank her for the idea. All characters except Betty and Melissa are property of Harper Lee's brilliance. Happy reading and sorry if it's a little long:)
Flowers and Pocket Watches
His hands were under my chin, pulling up the cover, tucking it around me.
"Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them."
He turned out the light and went into Jem's room. He would be there all night, and he would be there when Jem waked up in the morning.
I put my pen down, my story told. The story of Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, Atticus, Jem, Dill, and so many others that affected my life all those years ago – ten years ago to the day. It seems so long ago.
I'm now eighteen years old; I remain at home to care for Atticus, who is now old and feeble, requiring much attention. Calpurnia died three years ago and now her daughter, Betty, runs our household. With Betty's aid, I care for Atticus every morning before I begin the long walk to the new Maycomb College. It was built last summer. Jem helped to build it.
After the incident with Bob Ewell, Jem healed sufficiently to continue playing football at school. He became so good that many of Maycomb's citizens figured he would go on to a university with a football scholarship, but Jem surprised us. He decided to become a lawyer like Atticus. Needless to say, Atticus was never so pleased in all his life. Jem is now twenty-two and while still very young, has become one of the most successful lawyers in Maycomb County. One of his first cases was a petition to build a college right here in Maycomb, where young people can continue to learn and specialize in the field of occupation they choose.
We have enough talented people in Maycomb to teach their professions to others. Miss Caroline is now the principal of my old elementary school and teaches night classes at the college for aspiring young teachers. Judge Taylor and Mr. Gilmore train the new lawyers and Miss Gates and Miss Stephanie teach political science. In addition to these natives of Maycomb County, several professors were intrigued by our small town's big aspiration and came to add their own talents to the melting pot. As a result, Maycomb has increased dramatically in size.
Jem's petition succeeded and with his own hand – his other still being quite immobile – helped build the college brick by brick.
Jem is married now. He met a pretty little lady while he was away at college by the name of Melissa Brigham. They fell in love immediately and when Jem finished school, he brought Melissa back with him and they were married in a lovely ceremony on the steps of the old schoolhouse. They settled down in a small house on the outskirts of town, where a series of new homes had recently been built. Still, despite the separation, Jem and Melissa come over often to spend time with Atticus and sample Betty's cooking, which is just as delicious as Calpurnia's.
Every morning, I walk the two miles to Maycomb College to take my classes to become a teacher. The walk takes me through town, past the Radley's place, past Miss Stephanie's, in front of the old school and past the jailhouse. The college is located outside of town, just east of the Quarters.
Today, as I walked past the Radley place, my mind wandered back to that summer so long ago, when Boo came out and I walked him home. I had not seen him since, but I knew he was still alive and well. I don't know when he did it, but sometime every day, Boo would come out to prune and water Mrs. Radley's flowers. Somehow he had revived them and cared for them without anyone else seeing him. Mr. Nathan sure didn't do it. He was still the same ornery man, although now, the added weight of age gave him more meanness than ever. Sometimes, I so dearly wished to see Boo and thank him again for saving my brother.
This time as I passed, I felt the desire so strongly that a crazy plan awoke in my mind, almost as if I had gone back to those days with Dill and Jem when we dared each other to touch the Radley House. I was going to stakeout his place and catch him when he came out, just to say hello again. It was a crazy thought, but my mind was already spinning ahead, formulating a plan as to how I was going to do it. Would I do it alone? Or could I manage to convince Jem to join me in my escapade? I decided to try to convince Jem.
We would do it on a weekend, when neither of us had to worry about work or school obligations. We would get Betty to make us a picnic lunch and dinner to eat while we waited. To ensure comfort, I would don my overalls.
Over the years, I had evaded Aunt Alexandra's pestering to be ladylike and kept a spare set of overalls to fit me. In public, and during the day, I wore the traditional dress or skirt and blouse and the lady's hat, but on the weekends, when Jem and I were teenagers, we would both put on overalls and go romping in the woods and fields. True to my tradition, I had a pair of overalls in my closet that was made to fit me. I would put them on when doing hard labor, or if I just wanted to be comfortable in the house – a behavior that always caused Atticus to laugh, and Betty to roll her eyes.
My mind continuing to spin, I walked to school, but went through the day in a daze, thinking only of my plan. I was soon to graduate and become a lady. The time for childish fancies would be over and this was my last chance to be spontaneous. The thrill of freedom from cares was to be mine for one moment more.
Walking home, I debated in my mind how to best approach Jem with my idea. I decided to approach him using a logical argument, while slyly adding the leverage only a little sister could. Passing my house, I continued down the street another mile to Jem's. He would be home now, probably working on a case.
I walked up to the door and rapped three times on the door.
"It's open," Melissa's voice came from somewhere in the house.
I turned the knob and walked in. Melissa was a natural-born housekeeper. Everything was immaculate – well dusted and in place. The smell of her cooking came from the kitchen, so I followed my nose and found her busily chopping up carrots and onions.
Tapping lightly on the doorframe to announce my presence, I said, "Hello Melissa. Do you know where Jem is? I came to talk to him."
She looked up. "Oh, hello Jean. Um, I think Jem's upstairs in his study, reading."
"Thanks, the food smells delicious by the way."
She grinned, "Is that your way of saying you'd like to stay for dinner? You're more than welcome to."
I laughed and then turned and walked up the stairs.
Jem's study was the second door on the left, just after the guestroom. Seeing the door slightly ajar, I peeked in. He was sitting at his desk, reading something that lay upon it; one hand on the desk and the other entwined in his wavy, brown hair. I knocked once and stepped inside, closing the door behind me.
He looked up and smiled. "Hello, Scout. What brings you here?"
"Melissa invited me to stay for dinner," I said, "but that's not why I came." I paused for a minute; then, deciding not to beat around the bush, I said, "I want to see Boo Radley again, and I want you to come with me." I outlined my plan to stakeout the Radley place.
Alarm appeared in Jem's eyes. "Why? Don't you think the man's been through enough already, without a couple of grown people spying on him? It was okay when we were kids to poke at him and play jokes, but we're too old for that now."
"No Jem, you don't get it. I don't want to poke fun at him; I want to talk to him. He knows who I am and he knows you, too. Nobody's seen him or spoken to him for ten years. Not since I talked to him that night you broke your arm."
Jem looked confused. "But why do you want to do it now? And why do you want me to come? You could have done it years ago."
I sighed. "I know, Jem, I could have, but I didn't really feel the need for it. Look, in three months, I'll graduate and I'll be a lady and a teacher. I won't be able to do this again. Besides, you know that if we just walked up to the front door, Nathan Radley would never let us see him, no matter who we are, or what Boo's done for us. Don't you want to meet him, Jem? He saved your life; don't you want to thank him in person?"
"I suppose I do," Jem admitted. He had completely set aside the book he had been reading. "I still don't understand why you think just sitting outside the Radley house will accomplish anything though."
"You don't live next to them anymore," I reminded him, "so you probably don't notice much about the Radley place now." Jem winced. "Remember Mrs. Radley's flowers? The ones that died when she did? Well, they're in bloom again. Do you really think Nathan Radley gives a rat's tail about flowers of any sort? Boo is caring for them. The problem is that nobody knows when or how he does it without us seeing him. That's why I want to stake their place out – so we can find out what time he comes out."
"Scout, it's risky and foolhardy. Besides, it may not even work. And what if he's insulted by it?"
"We can bring him something… a watch perhaps, or a new vest, something to repay him for those trinkets he gave us back when we were kids… I think we just need to thank him." I stopped and watched Jem's face for signs of his thoughts. Seeing him start to soften, I threw in the clincher: "Please, Jem, do it for me. Just this one last time."
Jem sat still for a few more minutes, clearly debating with himself. Finally, he groaned and shook his head. Batting his hand at me, he said reluctantly, "Fine, okay, we'll do it. I suppose I'd better go out and buy him something tonight." He looked up at me, amusement sparkling in his eyes, just the way Atticus used to do. "You beat all, Scout," he said with a grin. He stood and walked around his desk, punching me playfully in the arm as he passed me. "C'mon, let's go down to dinner. Melissa's probably ready for us."
Jem held true to his commitment and bought a brand new gold pocket watch for Boo Radley. He brought it over for me to see and left it up to me to wrap it. Before he left, together we enlisted Betty's aid and hired her to cook our food for the adventure.
The night before our stakeout, Jem and I gathered our stuff and piled it into the basket we would take with us. We had decided on a hiding spot: up in the first crook in the old tree next to the Radley place. We had never used it as kids because we were too small to get up there, but with age and growth, that problem had evaporated. We had decided on a twenty-four hour watch, starting at midnight.
At ten o' clock, we were ready to go. I met Jem at his place. Jem told Melissa he would be spending the day with me and not to worry. He kissed her swiftly, then jogged down the path to join me. He was dressed in faded blue overalls and an old white work shirt, a newsboy cap perched jauntily on his head. I wore my overalls – which were in better condition – and a dark colored men's work shirt. My long, dark hair was pulled up off my face so as not to hamper me.
Moving silently, we passed our house, where the light from the kitchen could be seen as Betty worked, and slipped behind the tree. Jem hoisted me up and I clambered quietly into a comfortable spot. Next, he tossed up the basket, which I stowed safely between my knees. Jem jumped into the air, catching the lowest branch. I caught his hand and helped pull him up. We settled down comfortably and turned our heads toward the Radley house, ready to wait.
We watched in shifts, each allowing the other to sleep. I watched first, and woke Jem when I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer. We went on in this fashion through the night, with no signs of interest from the Radley house. Then, just before dawn, Jem shook me out of sleep.
Keeping his lips close to my ear and his hand on my mouth, he whispered, "Look at the back corner fence post." He pointed the direction I should look.
At first I saw nothing but the post and was confused until I realized that it was the fact that I could see it; a light from the back window dimly illuminated what would otherwise have been an invisible post. Filled with anticipation, Jem and I eased our way down out of the tree and stood behind it, peering cautiously around it. A lone figure emerged from a window and slid silently down to the ground. Creeping stealthily along the side of the house, the figure paused at the corner and bent to retrieve something. My heart leaped as I recognized the silhouette of a watering can and a set of pruning shears. The figure moved toward the flowers and in the dim light, I saw once again the face I could never ever forget. Boo Radley bent over the flowers and tenderly brushed a bud with his finger.
I looked at Jem, who was staring in amazement at the man that had saved his life. Tapping his shoulder, I waited until he looked at me before mouthing, "What do you want to do?"
Leaning close to me, he suggested we move slowly and casually so as not to startle him. Taking my hand as he had done so many times when we were children, he bent and retrieved the neatly wrapped package I had placed on top of the basket. We stepped slowly out from behind the tree and moved toward Boo. So absorbed was he in the flowers that he didn't notice us until we were at the front gate. It creaked slightly as I brushed against it, causing Boo to look up. He made as if to bolt, dropping the tools and stepping back.
Realizing he might not recognize us in the dark, I called out softly, "Mr. Arthur, it's me, Scout, and this is Jem. He wants to thank you."
Boo did not come closer, but his position relaxed and he didn't move as we approached.
Face to face, Jem got his first good look at Arthur Radley. Now almost fifty, Boo had not changed much save for an added paleness in his hair and more lines around his eyes and mouth.
Jem opened and shut his mouth several times, trying to find his voice. Finally, he assumed an Atticus-like manner and said, "My sincerest thanks to you, Mr. Radley, for saving my life and the life of my sister. I've long wanted to meet you. Scout proposed this solution."
Boo nodded.
"As a token of our gratitude, we wish to give you this," Jem pushed the wrapped gift into Boo's hands.
Seeing him hesitate, I coaxed, "Go ahead, open it."
Slowly, Boo pulled back the wrapping paper and opened the little box. A smile spread across his face as he drew out the watch with its magnificent gold chain. He clipped it to his shirt and tucked it in his tattered pocket. Saying nothing, he clasped our hands in thanks and turned and walked back into the house, an added bounce to his step.
Jem turned to me. "I think he's pleased with the gift. I suppose we'll always have a friend in Arthur Radley."
I grinned. "Plus, you finally got to say 'thank you', which is something that will stay with him the rest of his life."
Jem slung his arm around my shoulder and we walked back down the lane, stopping to retrieve our basket. Then Jem and I went into the house to tell Atticus.
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