The Bridge of Roses
By: Wilona Riva
Disclaimer/Author's Note: This came as a result of some imagery used in the side note from my Bible in Genesis 1. Jesse's comments about his notelist was from an actual conversation I heard this morning at breakfast on my way out the door. Thanks, Rae.
"This is going to take a week to clean up," Elohe muttered, stroking his beard thoughtfully.
"Problem is," his son, Jesse, answered, "is where to even begin."
"Well, first, we're going to need some light," Uncle Jev said, "in order to see what we're doing." He wrinkled his nose slightly at the musty cold air, as he opened the window, then went over to the shapeless heap of things on the floor, hovering over it while his brother and nephew discussed the order in which they wanted to organize the mess on the floor.
Jesse put up the golden-colored curtains in the day room, separating them from the dusky-hued ones of the evening. They were beautiful, shot through with all shades of hues. The curtains of night started off a startling reddish-orange and purple, then faded into inky midnight-blue, shot through with points of white. "Alright, the day and night rooms are established," he announced, shaking the imaginary dust on his hands.
"Good," came his father's reply. "We'll pick up on the next segment in the morning."
"Uncle, this is exasperating," Jesse stated the next morning, upon entering the house. "There is water everywhere. We need to separate it."
"True," Uncle Jev said. "I'll work on the roofing and the plumbing. You and your father get the air conditioning system put in."
"Excellent idea," Elohe said, "While we're added, we'll might as well begin painting the house."
"We'll begin that tomorrow," his son argued. "I'd like to think about the colors over night, if you don't mind."
His father sagely nodded. "Mind giving me a hand?" he asked, gesturing towards the bulky air conditioning system bulging at the seams.
"Lots of wind there," came the comment. "And not a problem."
And so on the second day, the little house received its final shape-a dome shaped structure. A soft gentle hum added its music to the harmony of the watery hymn as a gentle breeze blew through the evening room where the three jack-of-all-trades stood admiring their handiwork.
"Good," was Elohe's observation. "Tomorrow, we paint the house."
"There was a lot of lawn equipment in that pile," his son replied. "I'm thinking it might be a good thing to plant a garden with fruits, herbs, nuts, and flowers for them. They'll want for sustenance when they come."
"They will be surrounded with unimaginable beauty, by the time we are done," Uncle Jev agreed.
With all three men working from dawn to dusk, the Edenic wonder of the backyard was a paradisaical wonder. Uncle Jev had redirected the remaining water in the basement to the garden, allowing a fine mist to rise up from the ground during the night to water the flora. Elohe and Jesse raised the earth and clothed it with grass, fruit-and-nut bearing plants and trees, and rich flowering bushes of all kinds.
"And best part," Elohe said proudly, "is that they'll produce according to their various kinds."
"I noticed two very unusual trees in the front of the house on either side of the walkway," Uncle Jev mused.
"You'll have to ask Jesse," Elohe replied. "He has a list of everything he wanted to do. Ah, here he is now."
Jesse was rounding the corner, ticking off items off a small notebook. Both men heard him mutter: "Don't need this. Don't need this." He paused in his tracks, frowning a bit. "Why is that on the list?"
Both men smiled to themselves. The boy was incorrigible at times.
"What?" he asked, as he drew nigh. "The house's colors aren't garish, they?"
"No, the house is fine," his father reassured him. "It's quite beautiful, actually. The colors are warm and inviting and I love the cocoa colored shutters. We were just wondering about the two trees in the front yard on either side of the walkway."
"I want the occupants to have a choice," Jesse answered cautiously. "It will affect them and their children forever."
"Ah," came the satisfied response.
The fourth morning dawned bright and clear. Elohe opened the curtains in the day room and let the bright sun shine forth in all its glory.
"Absolutely stunning," Jesse greeted him, as he wandered inside. "Though did you get a look at the evening room? It looks like someone polished the moon and tossed a handful of stars up into the sky."
"Easier to separate the day and night," Elohe answered. "The occupants are going to need marks to go by to measure the days, seasons and times. It'll be important if they are to survive and raise a family of their own while here in the house."
"True," Uncle Jev said, coming in. "But who, pray tell, ordered the sun to be polished this morning? This is first sunrise I've ever seen."
"The dawn of a new world," laughed Jesse.
"I've found fish in our little stream," Elohe announced, about mid-day on the fifth work-day.
"I've seen a few birds in the garden as well," Uncle Jev commented, putting down his shovel.
" ' If you build it, they will come, ' " Jesse quoted. "And that we have done in so short a span of time. Our own virtual field of dreams."
"Remind me to ban you from watching any more movies," his father grumbled good-naturedly. "I think some of those birds were building nests, Jev. You might want to keep an eye out for them."
"Right," his brother agreed.
The sixth day brought a hushed awe to the three builders. The dome-shaped structure was teeming with life bursting at the seems. Animals of all kinds, wild and tame, roamed the backyard.
"Amazing," Elohe murmured. "More beautiful than I imagined when we began this project."
"We're not quite done yet," Uncle Jev replied. "The occupants are not here."
"When are they set to arrive?" Jesse asked.
"Later this evening," came the reply. "Adam said they were going to be a bit late. Eve had wanted to pack some extra ribs, since Adam lost one."
"That's makes no sense whatsoever," Elohe said.
"I know," Uncle Jev answered. "That's why they are so intriguing."
"That's why we built this place for them," Jesse reminded him. "They will have charge over everything we have made for them."
"I, for one, am glad we got rid of that meddlesome heap of things in the house," Elohe said. "Tomorrow, I'm taking a break."
"Well, we could always make time every weekend to visit with the occupants," Uncle Jev said.
"Or they can come visit us," Elohe suggested. "So long as they take one day off a week to rest from their busy schedules, I will be satisfied. Saturdays or Sundays are usually the best."
"The weekend is usually the best part of the week," agreed his son, then peered down at his feet. "Although I think the grass needs cutting again."
Thus Saturdays became the blessed day of the week for both the occupants and the builders, because the builders finished all their hard work by the seventh day and upon that day, rested from all their labors.