Now in another world I could learn to forget
But 'til then I'm here making room for new regrets
Now some flowers they never bloom
But some flowers just bloom dead
-Some Flowers Bloom Dead- The Wallflowers
Chapter Four:
Normally Elizabeth didn't go to town more then once or twice a month, when it was absolutely necessary. She was there now for the second time that week with a basket, a page of notes and a small pouch with a bit of money that HE had given to her.
But where to start? She had decided she'd better start small, that way, she could first get a feel for her job, and she wouldn't need his help…not yet, anyways.
Elizabeth eyed her notes, saw the first thing written down and nodded to herself. On the page, written in tiny, neat letters was the word, Lilies. His garden. It was one of the more tricky things, because she wasn't sure if real flowers would even be able to grow at his house, but it was worth a try, and it was difficult to screw up too badly. Right, now all she needed to find was a flower shop.
She found one on the corner, squeezed between a brewery and a pawnshop. Elizabeth walked into the dusty store and headed to the front counter where a man was looking through a catalogue which had a cover that probably suggested that it's strength was not in it's articles.
"Excuse me." She said. The man looked up and stashed the magazine under the counter quickly.
"Hullo, customer, can I interest you in a bouquet of fine white roses, half off today with every purchase what costs more then three dollars, or perhaps a fine potted plant, guaranteed to brighten up you living area…only they don't live to long unfortunately."
"Er…no thanks…actually I just wanted to know what sort of lilies you have here?"
"Lilies? Very somber Lilies…sure you don't want some nice roses?"
"No…just the lilies today please."
"Well, alright then…if you'd come this way."
He walked around his desk and headed for a place near the back of the store where several types of flowers were in the process of wilting.
"Our most popular species are the trumpets. Here we have the Amethyst Temple, the Black Heart White, The Gold Eagle…" He went down a line of flowers, naming them absently. He paused, looking slightly awkward as he met her frown. "Don't fancy any of them?"
"I don't think…they're quite right…do have something with…less color." "Well…" He said, moving to another aisle. "There's this Pippi's Kiss…a fine specimen…though not too popular among most flower lovers." He said, motioning towards a white flower with a bit of yellow in the petals.
"Do you have something…darker."
"Darker? Like red?" She thought about this.
"Maybe something purple?"
"Well, there's this one. 'S called a Black Jack." Elizabeth examined it for a moment, and then nodded.
"Give me one of those, and then a few packets of seeds…and do you have soil?"
"Yes maam, all kinds. Most people go for the traditional sort…especially for something as mundane as lilies…but we have some more fertile ones if you'd like to look at them."
Elizabeth looked at the coins Death had given her.
"What's your most expensive soil?"
"That'd be this maam…finest soil in this section of the world, maam. You put this down and you can grow just about anything."
"We'll see. Give me a bag of that."
"Right you are miss." He started gathering everything up. "You sure you don't want any other flowers. We have some nice purple roses that'd go just lovely with these lilies."
Elizabeth opened her mouth to say no, then, closed it again and shrugged.
"Oh, all right."
XXX
Walter was standing by a barrel smoking. Beside him, his son was examining several strands of black greasy hair.
"Marie said I ought to get one of them fancy hair cuts…she said I'd look handsome with a trim." He said, while peering through his oily fingers.
"Boy, you ain't never gonna look handsome." His father said, not taking his eyes off of the street. He exhaled and his vision filled with smoke.
"Marie says I'm very debonair."
"Marie's a seamstress. She says that to all the losers what try to talk to her. That's good business."
"Don't you call her that…just because lots of guys are interested in her."
"Shut up for a bit, Devon, you're making my head ache." Devon sighed and chewed absently on a side of his lip.
"Dad, we've been here for hours. When's uncle Dorjan coming?"
"The man's a git…he likes to keep people waiting."
"Well I'm getting tired."
"Well you just straighten up, we've got company."
"Uncle Dorjan?"
"No, your future bride. Stop chewing on your lip, it's annoying."
Walter grinned as Elizabeth progressed down the street slowly with a bag of soil over one shoulder and a basket filled with lilies and a few kinds of roses hanging off of the other. When she looked up she frowned. She had already been frowning but it now deepened and there was a hint of intense dislike in her countenance.
"Why, Miss Shaul, shopping again I see." Walter said as she passed him, apparently trying to pretend that he did not exist.
"That soil must be heavy…need a hand?"
"No Thanks." She said in a tone better used for words like 'Go to hell.'
"Go give her a hand Devon."
"Aw do I gotta?" As she started to pull away Elizabeth heard the sound of someone being smacked hard, and then Devon was beside her, now apparently keen on helping a lady in need. He reached for her soil, only to be elbowed in the stomach when she turned sharply.
"I said No Thanks." She said coldly. She left him gasping for air and grabbing at his stomach.
"I don't like her. She aint even pretty." Devon said as he returned to his father. "Marie's got lotsa curves and long pretty hair."
"Shut up, boy. She's got plenty of curves. Acres and acres of curves."
"Well she must be hiding them underneath those big clothes then."
"I meant land, you idiot." Walter said with a sigh.
"Ah, am I interrupting a touching family moment?" Dorjan had ridden up in silence, and had viewed the whole exchange, taking silent pleasure in his nephew's pain. (Yes he's a terrible person) He dismounted a few feet away from them, and after tying up his horse, took a few sheets of paper from his robe and handed them to Walter.
"Your late."
"I had a prior engagement."
"What's this?" Walter asked as he unfolded the papers and eyed them briefly.
"It's a copy of outdated laws, I picked them up from one of the files that no one pays attention to anymore. I marked the one that will help you." Walter scanned the page.
"Inheritance laws?" He asked and started to read the marked words. "If a man and his wife dies, all assets go to the next of kin. If a man has only a daughter or daughter's the daughter will inherit all assets, with the exception of land and family occupation. A daughter can inherit these things but can hold them for no longer then a decade, after which, she must marry…" Walter looked up at Dorjan skeptically. "I've never heard of this."
"That's because it's over fifty years old."
"Is it still legal?"
"It hasn't been overridden yet...only because no ones paid attention to it. There's still a law in a file somewhere that says a man can't play a ukulele in the presence of a married woman. I wouldn't mention it to anyone else though…someone might get it into their heads to toss it."
"Well I should say not, don't see why a man can't play any instrument he wants in front of a lady."
"Not that, you idiot…I meant the one that's going to get your son married."
"Oh…right…er…how's this work then?"
"I looked it up. Elizabeth's parents died fifteen years ago, next month. Now, we have a law here that says she should have been married five years ago…a law she didn't know about. Now, let's just say that I pay her a visit, and remedy this mistake…but because it was missed on both sides, I'll be kind enough to give her to the end of the month to marry." Walter was nodding. He still looked slightly bewildered.
"And she'll marry Devon then?"
"Well that parts up to you. You make sure he's in the right place and she won't have a choice. Either she marries or she loses everything."
"How do you figure?"
"Well, if she doesn't marry or sell her land in ten years, it'll be given to the town she hails from…generally to the most profitable men." Walter frowned and nodded.
"But if Devon were to be there, the lady needs to marry someone. She marries him, and here's the best part…the minute Elizabeth Shaul marries, all assets automatically go to the husband…which means…" He said, smiling deviously. Walter looked blank. Dorjan's smile faded.
"It means the land is yours to do what you want with it." He said wearily.
"Oh…yes…good." Walter said brightly.
"Yes, I'll just stop by her house in a week or so to break the news."
"Why a week? Do it now so Dorjan has time to set his charms on her."
"This, my dear brother in law, is precisely why I am waiting a week. While it is unlikely that she should fall in love in that time, it is quite likely that she might find someone more endurable then your son. Give it time. Your just lucky Miss Shaul does not communicate with other people too often."
XXX
When Elizabeth returned to her house, she saw Binky waiting patiently on her front lawn. Death himself did not appear to be around. Elizabeth neared the horse cautiously, and dropped the soil on the ground, massaging some life back into her shoulder, after she did so. The horse watched her expectantly.
"All right." She said. The horse trotted near a long forgotten mounting block. Elizabeth followed it, picking up the soil once again as she did. She hesitated for a moment, then placed the soil on the horses back. Then, she mounted the horse, holding the basket in front of her as she did.
XXX
When she returned to Death's house she headed straight to his office. Inside, Death watched her curiously as she dropped a large bag of soil onto his floor, exhausted.
ER…YES?
"I thought I oughtta…you know…check with you before I start anything…also I have a question."
WHAT IS IT?
"I wanted to start with your garden, but…can flowers grow here?"
IF I LET THEM.
"Oh…all right…then you'd better look at these." She set the basket on his desk. Death leaned forward in his chair and pulled the basket towards him. Elizabeth looked up slightly, and watched as a skeletal hand removed the lily from the basket.
ITS VERY…ER…PURPLE.
Elizabeth was silent as he looked over some of the rest of them.
WHAT FOR IS THIS FLOWER CALLED PENELOPE? Elizabeth raised her brow.
"Wha? Oh…people name them…I suppose to tell them apart."
PENELOPE? He asked again, disapprovingly.
"Guess so."
WHAT IS THIS ONE?
Elizabeth looked up again slightly at his outstretched hand.
"I think it's called a Night Moss." Death seemed to think about this.
I LIKE IT.
"So…do you want me to plant those?" Death eyed the rest of the flowers.
PLANT ALL OF THEM.
"All right." Elizabeth said, taking the basket from his desk. Death stood and went around the desk as Elizabeth kneeled to pick up the soil once more.
LET ME. He said, as he took it from her and threw it over his own shoulder. Elizabeth frowned slightly as she followed him out to the garden.
XXX
She was beginning to feel uneasy. It's normal to be nervous when your boss is constantly looking over your shoulder; it's a real problem all over the multiverse. But in normal circumstances this is because your employer is a middle aged man or woman, who has somehow moved to a position where they don't have to do anything but stand around and make sure that you do everything right while simulatniously making you miserable.
He just seemed interested…and he kept asking really odd and obvious questions.
FOR WHAT REASON DO YOU SPREAD WASTE ON THE GROUND BEFORE PLANTING THE FLOWERS?
"It's soil…it er, helps them grow."
YOU GROW FLOWERS FROM GARBAGE?
"I guess." Expensive garbage. She thought to herself as she finished laying down the soil.
HMM…
She opened a packet of seeds and started to plant them, trying to keep some sort of order despite her lack of knowledge in the ways of gardening.
WHY DO NOT THE SEEDS GROW WITHOUT THE DIRT?
"Um…well…I don't know…they just don't."
She planted a few more seeds; she could still feel him watching her as she did.
MAY I? He asked after a long silence. Elizabeth paused and after a moment, opened another packet of seeds and handed them to him. For a moment her fingers brushed against bone, and forgetting, she looked up at him.
It wasn't nearly as bad as she had though it would be; still, she looked away almost immediately. He had a pretty expected fascia…there aren't too many things one expects from Death. (Although, she had to admit none of those things were planting seeds or buying eggs.)
Elizabeth was suddenly reminded of something she was thinking about the other day.
"Er, I couldn't help but notice that your clock doesn't work."
YES, THERE IS NO TIME HERE. He said as he concentrated on planting a seed. She noticed briefly that he managed to get the same exact space between each seed he planted, putting care into each one…and apparently he was very efficient because he was almost finished when she spoke again.
"Right, well...normally I wouldn't bring this sort of thing up but…if I'm being paid by the hour…and there are no hours…er…"
AH. He said as he set the empty packet of seeds aside and turned towards her.
"It kind of presents a problem."
YES…HOW MANY HOURS WOULD YOU LIKED TO HAVE GONE BY?
"Er…it doesn't usually work that way." She said, watching as he opened another packet.
SHOULD THESE WHITE ONES GO NEXT TO THE PURPLE ONES?
"They have a bit of purple in them, it should be all right." After he started again, he spoke.
LET US SAY THREE HOURS HAVE GONE BY SINCE YOU STARTED THIS MORNING? JUST COME FOR THE SAME AMOUNT OF TIME TOMORROW.
"Er…how will I know if it's the same amount of time?"
MAKE AN EDUCATED GUESS. He set the second packet of seeds aside…Elizabeth marveled at the amount of time it took him to get them all planted. He then reached into his robe and brought out thirty dollars, which he handed to her. Elizabeth took it cautiously.
"Um, thanks…oh…" She took a small pouch from her belt. "The money you gave me for the flowers."
KEEP IT FOR FUTURE PURCHASES.
"All right…um…" Death removed her sample flowers from the basket.
MAY I KEEP THESE?
"Oh…uh…sure."
THANK YOU.
Elizabeth stood uncomfortably for a moment.
"I'll um…see you tomorrow then."
YES.
"Right…goodbye."
GOODBYE, MISS SHAUL.
XXX
When Elizabeth got home she went inside and looked briefly at the clock on the wall.
Amazing…a job where I can spend several hours working while not wasting any time at all.
She sighed and went out on the porch to sit down. Things were going to be very interesting for some time.