“He’s in the backyard. He called me early this morning to ask me to come watch Talon while he went to run some errands. As you know, that’s a big deal for Graham—asking people for help—so I swooped in to watch her while he left and you rested.”
“Did you leave me the breakfast?” I asked. “With the note?”
Her lips stretched farther, but she shook her head. “No, ma’am. That was all Graham. I know—I’m as surprised as you are. I didn’t know he had it in him.”
“What is he doing in the backyard?” I asked, walking in that direction.
Mary followed me, bouncing Talon the whole way. We walked into the sunroom and stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows at Graham as he cut the grass. Against the small shed lay bags of soil and shovels.
“Well, it seems he’s making a garden.”
My chest tightened at the idea, and no words came to me.
Mary nodded once. “I told him to wait to cut the grass seeing as how it rained last night, but he seemed eager to get started.”
“That’s amazing.”
She nodded. “I thought so too.”
“I can take Talon for you, if you need to get going,” I offered.
“Only if you’re feeling up to it. I do need to get going if I’m going to make the afternoon church ser
vice. Here you go.” She handed Talon over and kissed her forehead. “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” she asked. “How a few months ago, we weren’t sure she was going to make it, but now she’s more here than ever before.”
“So, so amazing.”
She placed her hand on my forearm, a gentle touch, and gave me a warm smile, just like her husband. “I’m glad we were finally able to meet.”
“Me too, Mary. Me too.”
She left the house a few minutes later. Talon and I stayed in the sunroom, watching Graham working hard outside, turning his head every now and then to cough. It had to be freezing out there after the cold rain the night before, and it couldn’t have been doing anything great for his cold.
I walked to the back door that led out to the yard and pushed it open, a cold breeze brushing against me. “Graham, what are you doing?”
“Just fixing up the backyard.”
“It’s freezing out here, and you’re making your cold worse. Get inside.”
“I’m almost finished, Lucille. Just give me a few more minutes.”
I arched an eyebrow, confused as to why he was so determined. “But why? What are you doing?”
“You asked me to make a garden,” he said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. “So I’m making you a garden.”
My heart.
It exploded.
“You’re making a garden? For me?”
“You’ve done plenty for me,” he replied. “You’ve done even more for Talon. The least I can do is build you a garden so you can have another place to meditate. I bought a ton of organic fertilizer—they told me it was the best kind, and I figured a hippie weirdo like yourself would enjoy the organic part.” He wasn’t wrong. “Now please close that door before you make my daughter freeze.”
I did as he said, but not for a second did I take my eyes off him. When he finished, he was covered in dirt and sweat. The backyard was beautifully trimmed, and all that was missing was the plants.
“I figure you can pick out the flowers, or seeds, or whatever gardeners garden,” he told me as he wiped his brow. “I know nothing about these kinds of things.”
“Yeah, of course. Wow, this is just…” I smiled, staring at the yard. “Wow.”