Jeanette's Point of View
It's been a month. A whole month since Simon got home from the vet's office. A month since we officially started a relationship together and a month and a half since the battle against the bulldozer. It's also been a month and a half since I got to talk to Simon alone, have alone time like the couples do in the movies. I wanted to be alone with Simon… My boyfriend. I still couldn't get used to the fact that I could call him that now. The tall, handsome, blue-eyed chipmunk that I've been crushing on since the day I met him at West Eastman High School was now someone that I could call mine, and he was alive. The Vet had said that Simon's recovery was going well and as long as Simon stayed away from the chemicals for a while to let his lungs rest, he would have no problem with the fuel he ingested only a little while back. Simon had to miss a lot of school due to his injuries, but they didn't slow him down much, and I privileged myself with bringing him his homework everyday. /his concussion healed fairly quickly and within a day from coming home he was up and around. His bruised torso wasn't so bruised by week three and the worst his ribs felt was probably a simple soreness. Simon's wrist was another story; he no longer needed to wear a cast, but I knew that it bothered him from time to time. His surgically repaired arm was no trouble to him, which surprised the vet the most out of everyone. Overall, he was healing miraculously and would be like his old self in no time.
Today was our first day of freedom, this morning our first morning of no longer being grounded in a serious manner. Dave said that he would let us leave the house today, though we weren't allowed out long; only until the afternoon, which is exactly why we planned to leave the house early. This time alone with Simon I happily accepted and I wouldn't let our so called "severe punishment" get in the way of enjoying my time with my boyfriend. It was a warm Saturday, no school and an ideal day to be outside.
"Are you ready to go?" Simon's small voice reached me and I cherished the fact that I could hear him sound like himself. His voice was no longer croaky and was back to it's happy sounding tone. He stood eagerly at the door waiting for me. Every time I looked at him, I smiled just because I knew that I was so close to never being able to see him again. Simon may have gotten his life back, but I felt like the lucky one. His injuries didn't faze him at all, if anything, if you asked him, they never happened. His strength and his stubbornness, his bravery and the natural goodness in his heart, all of these were what pushed him through those tough days when he couldn't even walk. This chipmunk, my chipmunk, cheated death and he said he did it all for me and I would always believe him.
"All set," I smiled, "Where do you want to go on our first day back from the prison of being grounded?" He smirked and walked over to me, took my hands in his, and kissed me softly on the lips. His confidence had risen immensely ever since we started to go out, but he still had his cute, shy moments, usually when it came to us doing anything romantic. I didn't mind, his shyness was cute and I knew he meant well.
"Where else?" He spoke softly into my ear and dragged me by the hand and out the door. Over the short walk to our destination we talked, starting out with small stuff, what school was like now that it was close to ending for the summer, what we planned to accomplish over the long vacation, but then we got into what happened a month and a half ago. We never did tel each other what happened when we split up, we just got the just of it and let it be, but I wanted to know what happened to him and I was sure he wanted to know what happened to me. "Did my heart really stop beating?" Simon questioned after I told him how I stopped the bulldozer, he was still confused about the fact that he came back to life.
"Yes," I nodded, "And I couldn't be happier!" I expressed myself, my true feelings. It was easier to show my emotions to him, did it have to do with the fact that that we were together as more than just friends? I'm sure that was a factor, but ever since Simon died, I've become closer to him, trusting him with my deepest feelings and strongest emotions. I almost lost what I was too scared to have and wouldn't let anything ruin being with him, I would never take his life for granted.
"We'll see about that." He grinned and we continued to walk to our destination, The Gardens. The man in charge, a mister John Hope, had agreed to give us half of the land, seven and a half acres, with which we could regrow what The Gardens had lost. With the new land, we kept the same name and we were proud that it would no longer be harmed by construction workers. The only thing that grew, without our help was grass, grass and weeds, but today we would get the chance to work on The Gardens. The greenhouse lady that Simon told me about gave us the seeds we needed to plant flowers and today we would get at least half of them planted.
The other half of The Gardens, the half that John kept, had been turned into a small bed and breakfast. It didn't take long to build, I heard that the service there treated you like home, a classic tourist attraction. The bed and breakfast would be known for it's perfect view of The Gardens. John wasn't a bad guy, he even installed a hose in the bed and breakfast for us to use.
The day went by slowly and we worked hard with multiple needed breaks. I figured that if we could beat a bulldozer, starting a very large garden would be no problem, but boy was I wrong. I didn't want Simon to work too hard for fear that the affects of his injuries could still take place, it was disappointing that he still had to take his medication, but as long as it made him feel better, I was okay with it. By the time lunch came, we had half of The Gardens weed free and planted with seeds, roses, daisies, sunflowers, and tulips, but no violets. For two chipmunks, we worked pretty fast.
"I'm beat." I stated and wiped the sweat off my forehead with my furry and sweaty paw. My fur made me hotter than I needed to be, I didn't understand how Simon survived in his thick, blue sweater. Me? I wore a simple skirt and purple tee and I was boiling. The fur on his stomach and chest was beginning to fill in, his embarrassment was cute, but we both preferred him with his fur.
"Why don't you get a drink," Simon said and pointed over to the hose, "I'll keep working." I suddenly had a fun idea. Walking over to the hose, I pulled it out far enough to reach both me and Simon; I turned the nozzle and took a sip of the cold water and shivered as it ran down my throat. Instead of putting the hose away and turning it off, I aimed it straight for Simon and whistled. When he turned to see what was going on, I blasted him. "That's cold!" He exclaimed and ran over to me.
"Sorry." I laughed and lowered the hose. He didn't look mad, in fact he looked like he was having fun. Before I could react, he snatched the hose out of my grasp and began spraying me. He wasn't kidding when he said the water was cold, in fact, I think that was more of an understatement; the water was freezing! I reached my hand out for protection and grabbed hold of the hose and we took turns attacking each other with the ice-cold water. Eventually we stopped when the cold started to numb and with playtime over, we went back to work; hopefully by late afternoon (our temporary curfew) we would have The Gardens cleaned up and on it's way back to the natural beauty it had two months ago.
Work went by, but there was one spot I was afraid to visit. I stood only a few feet before the one spot in The Gardens that I would forever recognize, the spot where the violet grew was empty with only dirt to fill it's place. The violet was the most beautiful plant in all of The Gardens, and with it being a rare flower around here, I wanted to see it again. Sadly, that wouldn't happen because like the rest of The Gardens, the violet was torn, destroyed by a bulldozer, but Simon was alive, and that was everything and more compared to the flower.
"Jeanette?" Simon asked, "Are you okay?" He was quiet even though he was only a few feet away from me. I looked up from the spot and smiled at him.
"Of course, why do you ask?"
"You've been standing there for quite awhile. Something on your mind?" Being unable to lie to him, I told him about the violet and how I wished we could see it again, after-all, it was the violet that first ignited our relationship. As I told him what I thought of the flower, he moved closer to me with his hands in his sweater pocket and a smile on his face. The story I was telling faded as he pulled something out of his pocket.
"Oh my…" I gasped. The object Simon held in front of me had an emerald green stem and petals the color of my eyes. "But… I thought…" I stammered, I couldn't think of what to say. Simon gently placed the tip of his finger over my lips and threaded the violet through my hair. "It never wilted?" That was all I could spit out after moments of speechlessness.
"It showed no signs." Simon said, "It doesn't compare to your eyes, but I know how much this flower means to you." He had a grin across his face that would be impossible to wipe off.
"How did you get it?" I choked on every word and my throat told me I would start crying any minute, tears of joy for a change.
"When we got separated, I landed on the blade and the flower was about to be crushed." He began, "But instead I was able to pick it. I've been checking on it every day and it wouldn't wilt." I was sure that within the next couple of weeks the flower would wilt, but I was overjoyed to get the chance to see the violet once more in one peace. I really did have a miracle boyfriend, one that could defy death and still have time to save something as simple as a flower.
"Thank you." I whispered and hugged him tight. If I could stay this way forever, I would have, but I knew Dave would be wanting us home soon, "Can we go?" I asked, "I'm cold." My fur was soaked from our water play and even with the sun's rays shining down on me and Simon's arms wrapped around my body, I froze. Simon nodded and we started our way home and for the first time, I didn't have to worry about our special place. Simon didn't have to worry about our special place, we finally got the opportunity to just relax and be together and I secretly wished that I showed Simon my true feelings for him a long time ago.