Gregory1

    Gregory Schultz had been a shipwright in his working years, and framing boats for the well-to-do of Cape Cod had made for a lucrative career, albeit a time consuming one. Gregory had lived alone for the better part of thirty-five years, twenty of which were spent in the same neatly manicured ranch style home that ran tightly along Hathaway Road across from New Bedford Highschool where he graduated before learning his trade. As an adult, he never had time for women aside from a casual relationship here and there. In fact, he hardly ever joined his coworkers in going out drinking at the harbor dives near the boatyard. The foreman Stuart would bust his balls about it, but Gregory couldn't stand being near the Portuguese laborers longer than he had to be. Anytime there was a unibrow on his crew for the day, it almost always made his day run longer, and being home by 2:00PM was important.

    However, there wasn't a rush to get home now. At fifty-three, Gregory was retired and could tend to the plants at any time of the day, not just after 2:00PM. Greg's affinity for gardening was almost obsessive and a surprise to the handful of people that knew him. His mind would wander while his hands trimmed and toiled the flowerbeds that ran along the front of the property. Inexplicably, the side-lawns and the backyard were hardscaped or managed in away that didn't require a green-thumb or much attention otherwise. Chuck Olinivich from next door would often pick Greg's brain about his routine out of a healthy competitive-spirit. Call it jealousy, as his lawn was much less robust despite using top of the line sprinkler systems.

    6:30AM Pre-soak lawn and flower beds.
    6:45AM Begin hose watering flower beds and lawn.
    2:00PM Pre-soak lawn and flower beds.
    2:15PM Begin hose watering flower beds and lawn.

    "That's it," Gregory said, "real simple. Not sure that it matters, but I start nearest the house and work out to the sidewalk."

    "Huh, you really swear by watering with a hose. Just a plain old hose," Chuck flatly commented looking behind Gregory. The flowerbeds were beautiful, yet so simple! Generic white yarrow flowers that looked like popped corn crowded around spongy domes of blue hydrangea that bled around the perimeter with an evening pink gradient. "You know, me and Laura, we spent about thirty-five hundred on that Spray-Grow sprinkler system." Across the yard there was a flower bed just as prim and it was also partitioned with decorative stones. Leafy green plants lurked from beneath the pedals. At just the right angle, it almost looked like an archipelago from thirty-thousand feet high, and in the Massachusetts summer heat, with his eyes closed, Chuck could have convinced himself he was somewhere exotic in the humid air rising off the hot grass. "Say, Greg," Chuck opened his eyes, "why don't you ever touch the sides of the house?"

    Gregory's eyes tracked across the street behind Chuck. For these brief moments throughout the week, the labor and devotion spent taming the yard to perfection paid off. Droplets of water hanging on blades of grass and the leafs of plants reflected like glitter in the August sun. Her form disappeared and reappeared behind the enormous trunks of the red maples across the street lining the sidewalk. With each instance, Gregory captured the picture in mind like an old Polaroid blinking as she came into focus. From the side, the curve of her cheek was unmistakable and was punctuated with a dimple when she smiled. With her though, the devotion spent taming the yard made it more than a yard. For if she was to be Eve, then he could be Adam, and it would be Eden. Jennifer was his neighbor and Chuck's daughter. She was barely fifteen years old. "Too much work," Gregory replied after a brief pause. He looked back down to the plants he was watering.

    Chuck turned his shoulders and saw his daughter and two of her friends walking home from school. "Ah! Damn it, schools out already!" Chuck whined. "Today is my day to drive the girls to soccer, almost forgot!" Chuck turned back to towards Greg, "You'd think the school would make the arrangements, for crying out loud!"

    Gregory quickly looked away from the approaching girls and gave a polite smile.

    "Alright, Greg, stay well, will you! I've gotta get them fed and ready for practice," Chuck jerked his head towards the girls. "I'd love to talk to you more about this, your yard puts me to shame! See ya!" Chuck said slapping Gregory's shoulder before trotting off.