Told in a Garden
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, concepts, or names in here. The only thing I own is the idea expressed in this story. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: Suppose one random decision gives rise to two separate but parallel universes. What might happen in those two universes?
"Dad? Can we go to the garden this afternoon?" His daughter's voice floated out to him, and Horatio stared at the engine before him as he thought, vaguely wondering why this should be such a hard question to answer. "Dad?"
He pulled his head out from under the hood and looked up at her leaning out her open bedroom window above the garage. "You know, I think that would be a very good idea. Can you call the florist about the roses?"
"Sure. Same color as usual?" He heard her dialing the cordless telephone to order their usual "bucket" of flowers, and smiled at her inherited take- charge nature. From her sun-blond hair and easy smile to her dedication, Lisabella was nearly a carbon copy of her mother. He heard her hang up the telephone and go back to packing, as he continued checking over his personal vehicle before their long drive the next day.
Later that afternoon, Horatio let her drive them to the florist and then to the garden. The late-summer sun filtered through mature oak trees shading the long drive from the granite sign by the main highway back to the parking lot. It almost seemed that they were driving through a tunnel of green and yellow-gold. They walked side-by-side up the path to the small office and went in, even Florida-born Horatio relishing the air conditioning against the Miami humidity.
"Horatio, it's so good to see you again. How are you, Lisabella? You must be getting ready to leave for school soon, right?" The woman who had come out from the back office shook hands with Horatio and then hugged Lisabella as Horatio stepped back to let the young woman answer.
"Hi, Susan, I'm fine. Physically, yeah, I'm ready, I'm all packed and so on, and we leave tomorrow to drive up to Pennsylvania, but mentally I just don't know. I hadn't realized it was such a big step until I got right up to it."
"I can understand that! It was hard for me, too, and I think every kid goes through the same fears. Don't worry, you'll do fine. Are you ready for it, Horatio?"
"Susan, I don't know. You know what it's like to send your kid off, you're ready for them to go out and become their own person, but at the same time you don't want to let go of them. How are you doing lately? And how's Carolyn?" Horatio and Carolyn had become good friends over the years that he had visited the garden, and he had felt for her daughter Susan as they both watched Carolyn slide in to the darkness of Alzheimer's disease.
"Well, she has her good days and her bad days, but I'm afraid it's been a bad week so far. Every now and then she'll seem to be 'all there,' and then it'll disappear so fast. Silver can usually at least get her to respond, but he's getting old too."
"He's a great bird, though. The next time you see your mother, please say hello to her from me. Even if she doesn't know who I am, she'll know someone is thinking of her."
The three finished their conversation, and Horatio and Lisabella began wandering through the garden pruning, pulling weeds, watering, and then leaving a single dark crimson rose at the base of each plant they had tended. Lisabella paid special attention, he noticed, to the copper- blossomed rose dedicated to Lisa Simmons and the white one for Belle King. They passed slowly through the roses and the other perennials, and wound up in the section reserved for trees and large plantings.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, concepts, or names in here. The only thing I own is the idea expressed in this story. No copyright infringement intended.
Author's Note: Suppose one random decision gives rise to two separate but parallel universes. What might happen in those two universes?
"Dad? Can we go to the garden this afternoon?" His daughter's voice floated out to him, and Horatio stared at the engine before him as he thought, vaguely wondering why this should be such a hard question to answer. "Dad?"
He pulled his head out from under the hood and looked up at her leaning out her open bedroom window above the garage. "You know, I think that would be a very good idea. Can you call the florist about the roses?"
"Sure. Same color as usual?" He heard her dialing the cordless telephone to order their usual "bucket" of flowers, and smiled at her inherited take- charge nature. From her sun-blond hair and easy smile to her dedication, Lisabella was nearly a carbon copy of her mother. He heard her hang up the telephone and go back to packing, as he continued checking over his personal vehicle before their long drive the next day.
Later that afternoon, Horatio let her drive them to the florist and then to the garden. The late-summer sun filtered through mature oak trees shading the long drive from the granite sign by the main highway back to the parking lot. It almost seemed that they were driving through a tunnel of green and yellow-gold. They walked side-by-side up the path to the small office and went in, even Florida-born Horatio relishing the air conditioning against the Miami humidity.
"Horatio, it's so good to see you again. How are you, Lisabella? You must be getting ready to leave for school soon, right?" The woman who had come out from the back office shook hands with Horatio and then hugged Lisabella as Horatio stepped back to let the young woman answer.
"Hi, Susan, I'm fine. Physically, yeah, I'm ready, I'm all packed and so on, and we leave tomorrow to drive up to Pennsylvania, but mentally I just don't know. I hadn't realized it was such a big step until I got right up to it."
"I can understand that! It was hard for me, too, and I think every kid goes through the same fears. Don't worry, you'll do fine. Are you ready for it, Horatio?"
"Susan, I don't know. You know what it's like to send your kid off, you're ready for them to go out and become their own person, but at the same time you don't want to let go of them. How are you doing lately? And how's Carolyn?" Horatio and Carolyn had become good friends over the years that he had visited the garden, and he had felt for her daughter Susan as they both watched Carolyn slide in to the darkness of Alzheimer's disease.
"Well, she has her good days and her bad days, but I'm afraid it's been a bad week so far. Every now and then she'll seem to be 'all there,' and then it'll disappear so fast. Silver can usually at least get her to respond, but he's getting old too."
"He's a great bird, though. The next time you see your mother, please say hello to her from me. Even if she doesn't know who I am, she'll know someone is thinking of her."
The three finished their conversation, and Horatio and Lisabella began wandering through the garden pruning, pulling weeds, watering, and then leaving a single dark crimson rose at the base of each plant they had tended. Lisabella paid special attention, he noticed, to the copper- blossomed rose dedicated to Lisa Simmons and the white one for Belle King. They passed slowly through the roses and the other perennials, and wound up in the section reserved for trees and large plantings.