“Thanks. You didn’t have to get so much.”
“Yeah, we kind of did.” He glanced at Liv. “It’s okay. Such a rare thing for her to be in my debt. Hey, Jodie.” He waved.
“Hey!” Jodie went around to help Liv with the potted plants.
“Hello, Jodie. This one’s kind of messy. It turned over.”
“It’s okay.” Jodie took the messy pot and another one and carried them over to a garden cart we would use to bring everything out to the garden.
“It’s a gorgeous day.” Nate glanced at the sunlight hitting the barn roof. “It’s supposed to get up to sixty-five. Okay, boss, what’s first?”
“Oh, no, I’m nobody’s boss. But we can take the plants over to the raised beds. We need to spread some compost and mix it in with the soil that’s already in the beds, and then we can line out the plants, plant them, and mulch them. I can bring a water hose over and water them when we’re all done.”
“Look at you, master gardener!” Liv shoved a couple of five gallons buckets into the garden cart. “I think we’ll need to make two trips.
I saw four tomato plants in the cart. “Well, we’ll need to hang onto these.” I grabbed them and stuck them on the porch. That made room for a few more, and Nate managed to line his arms with a bunch of small pots and carry a tray of something in each hand. We were all set.
Jodie pulled the cart, and we made our way to the raised beds. They were on the other side of the house, closer to the road, sitting in full sunlight.
“Four people, four shovels. Does that work?” I uncovered the compost pile I dumped there a couple of days ago, shoved my spade in, and began loading up one of the beds.
The dogs got all stirred up, with all the strange people near their kennel. Lucy yapped and twirled around, begging to come play.
“Can we get the dogs out when we’re done?”
“Eyes on the prize, Liv.” Nate carefully placed the crazy number of plants he was carrying on the ground and doled out a shovel to Jodie and Liv, keeping one for himself. “I hope there’ll be beer after we’re done.”
“Or while we’re working would be better,” Liv chimed in.
“I could make a run to the store when we get finished,” Jodie offered. She made a huge mound of compost down the middle of her bed, traded her shovel for a hoe, and began raking the soil up into the compost and pushing them down together. She worked the hoe back and forth until the mixture was fairly uniform and flat.
“Hey, Jodie, you’re making us look bad.” Nate pointed to the other beds that were roughly half-filled and wiped his brow with the inside of his t-shirt.
“Sorry. I’ll make up for it later when we drink. I’m a lightweight.”
“I’ll be right there with you,” said a husky, aging voice coming around the corner of the house. Everyone turned to see my neighbor, Sheila, with Elliot and Frankie trailing behind.
“Hi! Liv and Nate, this is Sheila and Frankie. Sheila and Frankie, Liv and Nate.” I’ve never been good at introductions, but think I got it right.
“Hi, everyone,” Frankie said.
Sheila stood at the edge of the garden, holding her wrist in her other hand. “I wanted to come see your little garden. See what I’m gonna find a box of on my porch when you get overrun, middle of the summer.”
Jodie took out one of the chicken feed sacks I’d packed in the garden cart and put it down so Sheila could sit on the bed she was working on. She looked over the contents of the cart. “Hmm. I love cabbage and Brussels Sprouts. Might want to wait on those lettuces, plant ‘em in a couple of weeks, unless you want to cover them. You young people actually eat vegetables?”
Jodie and I, knowing Sheila’s proclivity for long conversations, responded simply with a “yes.”
Liv said, “I hated them the whole time I was growing up, but with all the organics that I have access to now, I’m eating more veggies than ever.”
“I can tolerate most of these, but I still hate Brussels sprouts,” Nate said.
“Oh, no, no, no, hon. You haven’t had them made right. You’ve probably only had them boiled. You have to sauté them in a pan with some oil and onions. They’re delicious.”
“Well, I guess I better try that, then.” Nate said. The matter was settled.
Elliot looked at me a little nervously. He was carrying a couple of plastic containers full of fertilizer. “I brought you these. Instructions are on the side of the container.”
Why was he nervous? Oh, having Frankie with him again was kind of a giveaway that they were now an item. Elliot’s life has changed so much from when I met him just a few short months ago. His mother’s death, as well as my dad’s, has really shaken him awake, and now he is transforming from a hermit to a social butterfly right before my eyes. Well, that may be a stretch.
“Hey, Frankie? Do you think I should put Frodo back out here with his buddies? Is it warm enough?”
Frankie opened her mouth to answer, but Liv piped up. “Don’t you dare! He’s a pet, not a yard dog. It will break his heart.”
An “oh, geez” escaped Nate’s mouth before he could stop it.
“Yeah, he could go back out, but Liv makes a good point. If you’ve bonded, he might get depressed, having to be a dog again.” I caught Elliot smiling at Frankie. Oh, man, he has it bad.
“We should probably get going. We’re going to an auction in Boise. I’m looking for
