Genre: Fiction
Subject: Thought and Feeling
Nation-X
CHAPTER 1: A Supply Problem
Sam was receiving the supplies of fresh herbs and vegetables in the kitchen from their delivery driver early on Tuesday morning at Still Water Restaurant. He noticed there were barely any fresh herbs. “Hey, Terry!” Sam called out as the delivery driver was turning to go. “Where is the rest of the order?”
“That’s all I’ve got for you today,” said Terry Teo, 36, badger, as he adjusted his cap uncomfortably. “Sorry, I don’t know. There is hardly any for anybody today. You’ll have to call the office to find out what’s going on with the supply. They didn’t tell me anything. It doesn’t surprise me, though….” He kept talking as he headed out the door.
“Oh, OK, thanks,” Sam said to the closing door. Terry was a man of few words, and Sam was surprised he had told him that much. He suddenly felt anxious.
This could be a problem. They needed those herbs.
He went into the restaurant and found Alvin and Dobby in the office. “Hey, we just got our fresh herbs and vegetable supply, and we hardly got any herbs. Not enough to make the savory muffins for the week.” Sam was concerned.
The savory muffins were a favorite at Still Water. They sold out every day. He could use dried herbs if they were stuck, but that was not the same, and they didn’t sell as well. Still Water was famous for its giant fresh herb savory muffins.
Alvin and Dobby stopped what they were doing and looked at Sam, “How much are we short? Did Terry say anything?” asked Dobby.
Sam shook his head. “He said we would have to call the office. That was all he had for us today. And that there wasn’t much for anyone.” Sam paused. “We have enough to get to Friday.”
Alvin thought for a moment. “Well, we better contact the supply company and find out what’s going on.” Dobby nodded. “Thanks for the heads up, Sam.”
Sam returned to the kitchen to unpack the rest of the order.
A short time later, Dobby came into the kitchen to speak with Sam. He looked serious.
“What’s up, boss?” Sam asked. Dobby shook his head with a stern, concentrated look. “It’s not good, I’m afraid. We may have to change our menu.” He took a deep breath in. “Those savory muffins could be retiring for a while. I don’t want to disappoint our regulars by using dried herbs. It’s just not the same.”
“What? No! Not the muffins! Our customers will lose their minds!” Sam protested. “Why? What happened to the supply?”
“The growers have had a bad growing season,” Dobby explained, “and the latest incident of a fungus infection in the nursery has devastated the herb gardens. Our suppliers have had trouble sourcing a healthy supply.” Dobby continued. “I called the markets in East and West Pearl and even checked the market in North Pearl. Nobody has any fresh herbs to sell to a restaurant, and I do not want to send you to every single supermarket to buy what little they have either.” He folded his arms, thinking out loud.
“Not entirely sure of our options now.” Dobby tapped his pen on the counter, thinking hard. “Unless we know someone with an herb garden.”
Sam stopped what he was doing and stared at Dobby, “Yes!” Sam shouted with excitement. “My Aunt Sylvia grows herbs; she has done so for years! I can call her and ask if she would consider selling us some!”
“That is a great idea, Sam; would you ask if she would consider that? Tell her we can pay market value.” Dobby’s whole demeanor lifted.
Sam nodded, happy to have found a solution, even if it was temporary.
“You bet! I’ll call her right now!” Sam reached for his phone.
Sylvia was surprised to hear from Sam, but she was happy to help, her growing season had been outstanding, and she was truly blessed this year. Sam arranged to go over to Sylvia’s house after work.
As he pulled up to Sylvia and Stanley Sand’s house later that day, Sam realized he had not been there in years. Sam did not remember so many lush, layered gardens with fruit trees, delicate herbs, and vines climbing on trellised arches. There was barely any lawn; gardens were bursting in all directions. Sylvia was in the front of the house wearing a big straw hat, and Sam could see the gardens stretched down each side of the house.
He recalled a large vegetable garden and smaller herb gardens on either side from his childhood memories. But not to this scale.
She greeted him with a warm hug. Sam remembered her hugs, though.
“Wow, Sylvia, the gardens look great! Were they always so expansive?” Sam asked, surprised.
“Well, it happened gradually,” Sylvia laughed, “First, I expanded the vegetable garden. Then I added a couple of fruit trees, and then I planted the roses, a grapevine, and I added flower beds too.” she motioned towards the different gardens with a satisfied smile. “Now, we’re here.”
“Wow, Aunt Sylvia….” was all Sam could get out; there were so many gardens, “that’s a whole lot of gardening.”
She smiled warmly at him, “I love it! I love gardening! It gets in your blood, and it’s so satisfying to see everything thrive. I am out here every day, and I cannot help myself. Here!” She waved him down a path to the left, “I’ll give you a tour!”
Sylvia proudly showed him around the entire property, talking about each plant, patch, and dirt quality. Sylvia knew her stuff. So much work had gone into the gardens. Too much work, Sam thought to himself. He quickly grew bored and started daydreaming. There was a garden bench in one corner. Sam wished he could just sit there while she was talking.
He nodded and agreed to be polite, but he just wanted the herbs so he could get out of there! He didn’t realize Sylvia would go into so much detail.
So, he was entirely surprised when Sylvia suggested Sam start growing herbs for the restaurant. “I can help get you set up and everything. It’s not hard. You just need to be consistent.” Sylvia exclaimed. Sam realized he should have been listening properly!
“I don’t think so, Sylvia,” Sam said, slowly shaking his head. “For a start, I don’t even know where we would have room for a garden at the restaurant,” Sam replied, hoping she would forget the idea. “Besides,” he added, “it seems like so much work, I honestly don’t think I would have the time!”
Sylvia laughed. “It’s gratifying to work in the dirt, Sam,” she paused to look at him, “things don’t seem like work if you enjoy doing them.”
Sam nodded, although he did not know what she was talking about. He couldn’t see how work would ever not seem like work.
“Well, let me know if you change your mind.” Sylvia finished cutting the herbs, and they headed inside for her to put them into a bag for Sam to take. “Here, give your boss one of my cards. I can supply the restaurant for a few weeks, but that is it, I’m afraid. As you can see, this is not a commercial operation.” Sylvia patted Sam’s arm, “think about growing your herbs for the restaurant. You will not regret it.”
Sam nodded again and thanked her. As he left, all he could think was that a garden was so much work! Sam returned to the restaurant to store the herbs. As he walked out of the cooler, Dobby came into the kitchen, “Got the herbs, boss,” Sam told him.
“That’s great, Sam,” Dobby replied. “Do you think she’ll be able to supply us for long?” “
“Sylvia thought maybe only a few weeks, but here’s her card.” Sam fished it out of his pocket and gave it to Dobby. “She also suggested we grow them ourselves, that she could help set it up…if that was something you wanted to do,” Sam trailed off as Dane came into the kitchen. “Set what up?” he asked.
“Our own garden to grow herbs,” Sam replied, “but I don’t see how we will be able to. We don’t have any room,” He added quickly.
Dane’s face lit up, “We could do it on the roof! I have seen it done in other places. It’s perfect!” he said excitedly. The rooftop of Still Water was flat and easily accessible.
“Actually, Dane, that might work,” Dobby replied. “Let me talk to Alvin about it. Would you two be interested in sharing the responsibility if he approves?”
Dane nodded enthusiastically. Sam tried to be invisible. He was not interested in all that work.
“I will ask the other staff too. It could be a collective effort!” Dobby looked to Sam, “What about you?”
Sam nodded half-heartedly. “That could work. Let’s see what Alvin says first.” Sam hoped Alvin would say no. Alvin did not like spending money unless profit was involved.
CHAPTER 2: Birth Of A Garden
A week or so had passed, and nobody said anything. Sam felt relieved, although they still needed fresh herbs. When Sylvia dropped off the following order, she spent some time in the office talking with Dobby and Alvin, and Sam felt nervous. Although after she left, neither Dobby nor Alvin said anything. Sam hoped they forgot the idea or decided it wasn’t worth doing.
At the next staff meeting, Dobby informed everyone of Dane and Sam’s great idea for a rooftop herb garden and that Alvin was behind the project. Sam groaned inwardly. How did this suddenly become his idea? Sam dreaded committing to all that work, and he hoped that Dane would take most of the responsibility. Dobby asked if anyone else was interested in participating, and a couple of the other wait staff volunteered. Dobby suggested Sam and Dane speak with them after the meeting.
Altogether there were four of them interested in starting the rooftop garden: Sam, Dane, Huge, and Grey Jones, 24, British blue shorthair cat, a new waiter.
It turned out Grey was studying to get his master’s degree in Horticultural Engineering. Sam felt that was a lucky coincidence.
Maybe it would not be so bad. At least one of them would know what they were doing.
Dobby told them Alvin had arranged the soil and the raised garden beds to be delivered. Sylvia would sell them some healthy seedlings and come and help get started. They all agreed they would work together for the initial setup and then take turns with the daily tending and watering. Sam figured that would not be too bad. Between the four of them, they would only end up being required to do something once a week or so. Everything was set to be delivered Thursday afternoon during their quietest period of the week.
The four agreed that they would all be there to set up the delivery. Grey explained what needed to happen for the rooftop garden to be an excellent growing environment. All four of them took the stairs at the back of the building and climbed onto the roof. They listened as Grey outlined what he thought the best plan would be for the garden design. They drew chalk outlines to get an idea of the exact dimensions of the garden beds.
The other three asked questions while offering their ideas, and Sam found himself getting excited about what this could all become. He did not have any qualms about the ongoing responsibility of tending to the garden since the four of them would take turns watering. They only had to do one morning and one evening watering the garden every four days.
By the time Thursday rolled around, Sam could not wait. Dane, Huge, Grey, and a few other curious staff members helped the gardening supply delivery guys carry the supplies up the stairs. With all of them helping, they had everything unloaded and on the rooftop in a short time. Sam met Sylvia at the bottom of the stairs and helped her carry the seedlings and small plants upstairs as well. Sylvia also had one extra special thing she needed help with. It was a garden bench and her gift to the Still Water garden. “It’s essential to be able to sit and be with your garden,” Sylvia affirmed. “Time in the garden is never wasted.” Sam thought that was a bit far-fetched, he could not imagine ever feeling compelled to want to hang out once he had done his part, but he nodded and carried the bench upstairs anyway.
They spent the afternoon filling the garden beds with soil and mulch and planting the herbs that Sylvia had brought for them. She told them about companion planting, which herbs to plant next to each other to drive away the bugs that prey on one while attracting good bugs that are beneficial to the other.
As it was beginning to get dark, they all climbed down from the roof, feeling satisfied that they had made a good start for the garden.
Over the next month or so, Sam, Dane, Huge, and Grey took turns watering and checking the garden twice a day. They would discuss pest control at work – only organic, of course, no poison in their garden. And the virtues of extra feeding.
Sam started to notice how much the plants had grown since he was there just a few days before. He also noticed how different flying insects were beginning to visit their garden.
He started looking forward to his watering turns. It was fascinating to witness. Sam even enjoyed sitting on the bench after he watered, to listen to the soil soak it all in.
Eight weeks after they started their rooftop garden, the herbs they had planted were mature enough to cut some for the kitchen. All four of them were there. It was a proud moment, and they had done it! They high-fived and congratulated each other on the work they had done.
The moment was short-lived as on the way back downstairs Dane mentioned how glad he was that it was done and that he had lost interest. He said he had better things to do with his time.
“What do you mean, you’re glad it is done? We have only just started,” asked Sam feeling confused. What was done?
Huge and Grey were silent, waiting for Dane to carry on.
Dane realized how careless that sounded and tried to blow it off, “Cos, well, you know, it’ll be getting cold soon, and you know, the garden will die, and we won’t have to do it anymore, right? right?” Dane struggled for words.
“To the contrary, Dane, the rooftop is a perfect suntrap. We can have a viable garden all year long,” Grey started, “and we have at least six more weeks of summer.”
“Wait,” interrupted Huge, “what are you saying, Dane?”
Dane cleared his throat nervously. “Well, this has been fun and everything, but my girlfriend has been giving me a hard time about choosing a garden over her.”
They had all stopped in the stairwell. Sam, Huge, and Grey were staring at Dane, waiting for him to continue, “and to be honest. I would rather spend the time with her.” He swallowed hard. “I told her after we got our first harvest, I would quit. Sorry, guys.”
“OK…” Sam trailed off, looking at Dane confused. “So that’s it? You are handing in your resignation? Like this is some job?” He shook his head.
“Well, can’t argue with that,” Grey replied for all of them, “the only issue is that I have exams at university, and I will not be here next week. I was going to ask if one of you would take over my watering duties for the week?”
“I can tell her I will be done at the end of next week. I can help. I do not want to make it difficult for you,” Dane said, wanting to be reasonable.
“If we balance it out amongst the three of us, it will only be an extra morning or evening,” Huge replied, thinking aloud.
“OK, cool,” Sam said, shrugging his shoulders. “Problem solved.”
He felt disappointed, though. He thought Dane was as interested in this as he was. After all, the rooftop garden was his suggestion! Sam also felt a little betrayed. Was Dane just going to let his girlfriend tell him what he could and could not do?
It turned out Huge was off the following week as well. He sprained his ankle and was on crutches, so he could not get up the stairs to the garden.
Huge asked Dane if he would water the garden a few extra times so that Sam did not have to come into work when he was not scheduled. Sam was at work a lot, but not all the time.
Dane hesitated but agreed. He did not want to tell Huge that he had promised his girlfriend that he would not spend more time working in the garden.
Dane checked the weather for the week. It looked like it might rain a few days, so it could just work out perfectly. He hoped. He decided not to tell Sam and would figure it out.
CHAPTER 3: An Oversight
As the week unfolded, Sam worked three double shifts in a row and was exhausted. He had also watered and tended to the garden for those three days. Sam had enjoyed that part. It was so satisfying seeing how quickly the garden responded to fertilizer and a good drink of water. He was surprised at how much he enjoyed it. He thought about the garden a lot. Sam found himself researching whether different plants needed more support and shade in the hot sun. He wondered if this was what Sylvia had talked about. Was he falling in love with gardening?
When he left work Wednesday evening, he sent Dane a text to make sure he would water Thursday and Friday. Dane responded with a thumbs-up emoji.
Sam went home to sleep. He had plans for his days off, mainly to spend as much time as possible outside. Sam had not been swimming for weeks. As it turned out, he was fortunate with the weather. Thursday was an unseasonably sweltering day. By the time he got home late Thursday evening, he flopped onto the couch and fell asleep watching a movie.
Friday morning, he slept in. It was another balmy day. Sam went to the market and did his laundry. Late in the afternoon, he got a text from Dobby, saying, “Who is on garden duty? Things are not looking so good.”
Sam’s stomach dropped. He called Dobby immediately, “What do you mean, not looking so good??” he demanded, feeling concerned.
“I don’t know, Sam, can plants get sunburned? The garden is dried and wilted. I am watering it right now,” Dobby sounded doubtful, “I’m no gardener, but this looks bad.”
“What?! Oh No!! I’m coming over right now!” Sam panicked and headed straight to the restaurant. He felt sick with worry. He knew that Dobby was not one to exaggerate; he always spoke plainly and honestly.
He sent Dane a text, “What happened to the garden?!”
Dane had not replied by the time Sam got to Still Water. Sam was furious with Dane. What was his problem? Why would he say that he would help when he had no intention of following through? He ran up the stairs at the back of the building, bracing himself for the scene that awaited him.
Water was leaking out of all the garden beds, from Dobby giving everything a good soaking. But the plants were dried up and incredibly sad looking, some were wilted, and some were even brown and burnt looking. Sam was in shock, and he felt like he could cry. Their hard work and vigorous, healthy plants were reduced to withered, burnt-looking sad, and sorry messes.
How could this happen so quickly??
He called Sylvia. “Can you come to the rooftop? I need your help.” Sam almost whispered. He still wanted to cry or lose his temper, or both.
“Of course! What’s going on?” Sylvia replied.
“Everything is dead. I don’t think Dane watered at all over the last two days.” He took a deep breath regaining composure.
“Oh Sam! I’m sorry! I’m leaving right now.” Sylvia sympathized.
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