Tandy's Garden

It began one day when they were sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying their morning mugs of tea. The soft purr of Cat curled around Tandy's slippered feet. Yes, Cat is their cat. They had always intended to name the stray kitten who arrived cold and hungry on their doorstep eight years ago, but what began as "the cat" eventually just turned into Cat, and the name stuck.

"You know Leo, I've been thinking," said Tandy in between her sips of tea. Leo leaned back into his chair, slightly bracing himself. After 42 years of marriage, he knew a remark seemingly so unassuming as this could mean anything from a trip around the world to a whole house remodel.

She continued, "It would be so lovely to have a little stone raised bed outside this picture window - a place I can plant my heirloom peonies. Don't you think that would be lovely?"

Leo, slightly surprised with this simple idea, glanced out the window and nodded with a smile, "I think that would be a lovely idea."

"Well, then it's settled! As soon as we finish our tea, let's measure the length and decide on the height, and after our breakfast, we'll drive to the stone yard to select our stones!" Tandy wasted no time in Leo's agreeable state, and Leo leaned back into his chair feeling slightly duped - as if it all had been a trickery.

With her sun bonnet neatly tied under her chin, the two walked side by side, looking at every possible shape, size, and color of rocks. It was all a bit overwhelming for Tandy because she fancied all the rocks, but this is why she loved Leo, partly because he was so practical - a perfect balance to her emotional whims.

"This here is the rock we should settle on," Leo said matter-of-factly as he kneeled at a pile of hearty grey and sand-colored stones. "These will stack nicely, and they are from a quarry not far from our home, so they will look like they always belonged on our land."

Tandy smiled in agreement, partially relieved he decided for them. They walked into the building to place their delivery order with the gentleman inside. With rough, rugged hands, the man tapped at a keyboard inputting their address.

"We can deliver the load next week." His voice was just as gruff as his hands.

"Oh, but that just won't do," said Tandy in her sweetest, persuasive voice, "You see, my Leo here will want to get started on the wall right away. Won't you, Leo?"

Leo did his best to pretend he could not hear her as he stared out the window, his eyes following a tractor dumping pea-gravel into the bed of a blue truck.

"There must be a time slot sooner. Perhaps tomorrow?" she continued with a smile, not waiting for Leo to agree.

The man humphed a bit, flipping through his spiral-bound planner on the counter and pressed his finger firmly on a square, "Very well. Tomorrow at 8am."

"Oh yes, that will be just perfect! Thank you so much."

Leo nodded his more demure thanks while keeping his eyes locked on the tractor's task.

And so the wall began. With painstaking patience, stone by stone and day by day, Leo chiseled, chipped and stacked each rock for his beloved Tandy. At first, he felt a bit flustered since he had never done any masonry before, but with the help of an encouraging neighbor one afternoon, he got into a steady rhythm and began to enjoy the methodical task.

Tandy carried out warm muffins and lemonade for his afternoon snack. Or, when she passed by, she stopped to rub his shoulders and give him a soft peck on the cheek. It was a bit misty one particular day, but Leo didn't mind being outside, his yellow slicker keeping him mostly dry. Tandy passed by the picture window, tapped at the glass to catch his attention, and did a giddy dance with her two thumbs up. Her silliness, encouragement and love always kept him going.

Stone by stone, the wall was stacked to a precise 15" high, and before long, on a sunny spring day, Tandy's fingers dug peonies into the new soil.

On a rainy summer afternoon, they took their tea at the kitchen table, both admiring all the blooms peeking up from under the window.

"Oh Leo, it's just perfect, isn't it!? You did the most splendid job on our peony wall. You know, I've been thinking. How marvelous would it be to have one of those old walled gardens, just like in The Secret Garden?"

---

[photo by me. story is fictional.]

---