STAGE 1
PART 2
After leaving Nikki, Tarzan glided across the rooftops of New York, enjoying the freedom of the night and the new hope of winning his lady love. Staying away from her this pass week had been one of the hardest things he had ever done and he was grateful the self imposed exile was over. Another day and he would have said to Hades with the plan and gone back to doing things his way.
'Now, where was that garden,' he thought, sounding a lot more articulate than he ever let on when he spoke. His uncle never bothered to find out how much he remembered from the six years before the crash and Jane never asked how long he had been here. So he turned it into a game, how crazy can he make the people who underestimate him. Only one person knew he was smarter than he let on, and he was on his way to visit her now.
'Ah, here it is. I wonder if she's still awake.' He mused as he dropped into a lush garden full of irises, mums, climbing roses, and other flowers he hadn't gotten to learn the names of yet. He wondered through the garden mentally picking out which flowers he wanted to use when he heard the back door open.
"Tarzan, is that you I hear traipsing through my flowers? It had better be, cause if it's not I got a Louisville Slugger here who says I'm meaner than you," an aged but surprisingly strong voice called out.
John smiled and shook his head at her bravado, "Tanta, one of these days someone's going to call you on that bluff and I won't be here and then where will you be? Hum?" He chided gentle as he came out where she could see him. He walked up and waited until she had put her husband's old bat down before leaning in, kissing the back of her hand and pulling her into a gentle hug. The two unlikely friends had met on one of the times he had escaped from his uncle.
He had been quietly hiding in a back corner when some punks had decided it would be fun to terrorize the little old lady by ripping up her garden and scaring the daylights out of her. When she heard them she came out and delivered the same speech, and while they were all busy laughing at her John had crept up and tossed all but the leader back over the wall. When the punk noticed it was suddenly a lot quieter behind him, he turned to see where his posse was and was knock over the head with the bat for his trouble. John then picked him up and tossed him back to his friends. Ever since then whenever John needed a place to breathe and regroup he would come here. After the third time Tanta decided that ma'am and young man for names was getting old so she asked him what he'd like to be called and he replied Tarzan. When he returned the query she told him to just call her Tanta.
John shook the memory away, "So how has my favorite lady been? Having to beat away suitors with the bat again?" He teased as they settled on some patio chairs.
Tanta laughed and playfully slapped his arm, "You wicked young charmer you. You know very well that I'm just biding my time waiting for you. But enough about me, what in the world are you doin' in my garden this late? Is that lady of yours giving you trouble again?" She continued with an undercurrent of concern layered in her voice. Tanta loved these visits from Tarzan and had come to think of him as a grandson. He always had fascinating stories to tell, not only of his childhood in the jungle but also about what he had done to annoy his uncle that week and then later what his lady had done that day.
"Actually, I was caught going through her dresser last week by Nikki, her little sister, and informed that she was going to help me win Jane," John dutifully reported with a real smile.
"And just why were you going through that girl's dresser, young man?" She asked archly in a very grandmotherly tone. John hung his head and mumbled something as he pulled his bare feet up into the chair and wrapped his arms around his knees. "Speak up, boy. These ears are old and don't hear so well anymore."
John gave a pitiful sigh and lifted his head, "I wanted something that I could sleep with that had her scent on it. I always sleep better when I'm out on her fire escape and can smell her. Tanta, she smells like home," he explained a hint of tears in his soft voice, hoping she would understand. Tanta made a sympathetic noise and patted his head, stroking his hair a bit when he leaned into the touch. They stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity though only a few minutes had passed when she decided they had been lost in sad memories long enough.
"Well, it sounds like the sister's on your side so your half way there. Now, what are you doing in my garden?" she asked briskly conveniently finding a piece of lint she just had to pick off her robe as John wiped at his eyes.
"Nikki's come up with a plan she calls Operation: Seduce Jane," he replied with a grin. "She's hilarious. You'd love her. Anyway, the first part of the plan was that I was to stay out of Jane's sight for the week. We won't go into how hard that was to pull off. And now we are on the giving of flowers stage and we wanted to do flowers that weren't bought at a store or shop and so I told her I knew of a garden where I could "borrow" some flowers without them being missed," he finished explaining, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
Tanta playfully glared at him, "Are you saying that my garden needs tending? Because if you are, I know a strapping young man who's not doing anything except driving his uncle crazy and pining after a girl, who could fix the problem."
"No, no, no, I like your garden just the way it is. There are so many wonderful places I can perch in," he quickly reassured her, complete with smoothing hand gestures finally uncurling from the protective ball he had become earlier.
Tanta grinned at him, "Well, which ones were you thinking of liberating?
"I was thinking of maybe some pansies and snapdragons. They're ones I could have found in a park or an abandoned lot. Then we can work our way up to the irises and roses," he stated with a hopeful lilt of a question towards the end.
"Well, I don't see why not, long as you don't take too many and you come back, give me reports and let me help. Now, have you figured out how you're going to give these to her?" She asked as she got up and bustled into her house to get something appropriate to put them in.
"I'm going to leave them on her desk at the station," he called as he went picking flowers. They met back at the chairs and John put them in the old jelly jar Tanta had brought out.
"And just how are you going to get in there, them these and then get back out again without being seen or worse yet caught?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I haven't gotten to that part yet. I'll figure it out when I get there," he replied with a shrug, not really that worried about it.
"Uh-uh. You sit yourself down and old Tanta help you figure it out now," she ordered. By dawn Tarzan had a workable plan and enough time to do it. With a final kiss on the cheek in thanks from him and a good luck from her, John vaulted over the wall and out into the gathering light.