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| Scribbles Challenge 5 Garden of Joy......
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Garden of Joy....
She lay on her back in the dirt surrounded by the marigolds blooming red, orange and yellow all around her. Some people say that marigolds have a pungent scent and most people have no appreciation for the smell. Aubrey on the other hand, loved the marigolds as they held a significant memory for her. The sky above her was awash of pale blues with soft white clouds drifting around. She had taken her escape from the house just as mother announced the chores for the day and hid out amongst the marigolds. She had little regard for the pesky bees that buzzed around her as she concentrated on labeling the drifting clouds. Hiding out in the garden was Aubrey's newest adventure in what proved to be a long line of adventures she had created to improve her boring summer.
Spending the summer with 5 brothers and a demanding mother proved to be more than her fourteen year old heart could take. Her only pleasure this long hot summer had been in watching the neighbor boy Seth, who had just turned 15, mow and bale the hay across the road from her house and the relationship they had developed since that day. The rest of her time had been spent in spring cleaning and laying out in the sun in a bikini, which could only be described as a string with a patch of material to cover the necessary parts. Mothers permission was only gained by the remoteness of their backyard and relentless begging on her part. Her mother was never asked for permission to use the butter to swathe her body with to get a tan, after all there was no money for tanning lotions. She figured if the butter browned their food so well, it would also help her to get brown quicker, and who knew, it seemed to work well.
When time allowed, she sat on the front porch in her mothers wooden swing wasting the day away in daydreams about Seth watching and wondering if this would be the day that he rode by her house and perhaps stopped to talk to her. Her tan legs bobbing along with the rhythm of the swing and the rhythm of the songs she sang with the radio placed strategically on the edge of the porch to pick up the latest, greatest radio station. She wore shorts and usually a small top to accent whatever cleavage she could muster up with her small ninety five pound frame.
The first time she saw Seth, she had just settled on the swing with her favorite book of the time..America's Best Loved Poems. She was in luck this day for only moments after she settled in with her book, Seth's uncle Emmet pulled the tractor into the field with Seth in tow. Much to her surprise it took several hours to bale the hay in the huge field in front of her and she had a full view of Seth without a shirt on, which gave her already active imagination a work out. His sinewy muscles moved as he worked filling her head with thoughts of his arms wrapping around her. The scent of freshly mown hay drifted up into her senses and would forever be connected with a tan, muscular young man working under the hot sun.
She later met Seth when he rode his bike over the two roads that seperated their homes to meet up with her brother for a ride. She had offered him a glass of tea and had once again noticed his muscular chest and arms, no doubt strenghthened by working long hours in the hay fields. She noticed when she handed him his tea that he had a slight masculine, clean smell to him, one that assaulted her senses and would be buried in her memory bank forever. While handing him the tea his hand brushed hers and she blushed as she stepped away from him. At 14, Aubrey had yet to have a boyfriend, let alone a first kiss, so she would spend much of the remainder of the summer daydreaming that one day Seth would kiss her.
Seth's ventures over to visit her brothers increased over the weeks of summer and Aubrey found herself checking the mirror constantly, as she wanted to look her best should he drop by. Their friendship had increased and had even included some rough housing, wrestling as it were. She was no stranger to wrestling, being raised with all these older brothers, but somehow wrestling Seth didn't seem the same at all. Her competitve nature always came out, but try as she might he always seemed to pin her down by sitting on top of her and holding her hands out to the side. This frustrated Aubrey but at the same time sent a thrill through her young frame that she could not explain. He found much joy in rendering her helpless and at his mercy and expressed this through the huge smile that played on his lips. It was during one of these wrestling sessions that Seth finally brushed his lips with hers in what turned out to be a quick kiss. Not the long dreamed about slow, passionate kiss, but a thrill to her nonetheless.
Immediately following this kiss, Seth initiated more wrestling throwing her over onto her side, as if he were embarassed by his impulsiveness.
Somehow they ended up taking a break from the roughhousing and walking through her fathers flower garden. It was at this time that Aubrey gained an appreciation for marigolds, as Seth picked a red one and handed it to her shyly. As she accepted it from him, the smile she gave him glowed inside of her as she realized for the first time that this is what love feels like, first love.
The following day, Aubrey finished her chores very early as she wanted to lay in the sun to enhance her tan. She stretched the electrical cords across the lawn into the backyard and set the radio to her favorite station. She buttered herself up with butter from the refrigerator, that she kept well hidden should mother venture out to the clothesline. Closing her eyes and laying back on the blanket she fell asleep. When she awoke someone was standing above her, no doubt drinking in the sight of her figure in a string bikini. It was Seth who had dropped by to visit with her, she had no idea how long he had been standing there. He didn't stay but a minute as he made some excuse to exit quickly leaving her wondering what his problem was. Though she was disappointed, she smiled any way at the effort he made to drop by to see her.
Their relationship had remained friendly and boisterous throughout this summer and she hadn't quite figured out how to move it along to the next level. She was daydreaming about this when she heard mother calling her name from the back door. She had no idea how long she had laid amongst the marigolds in what she termed her garden of joy. She did know though that the next opportunity she got, she would come back to this quiet place to reflect on the sweet moment that her first love gave her a flower, a marigold nonetheless.
*A quick note..As you can guess there is some truth to this story. The names have been changed to protect the innocent. I did confess about the butter when I was about 40, and my mother laughed. She had no idea how I was getting such a good tan, or where all the butter went.. HA! I am constantly amazed how scents or certain songs can take you back to your youth. I swear to you to this day..when the hay fields are mowed..hmm I get this strange sensation..well you know. :D
peace :) shemelts
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Posted by shemelts on 2008-10-06 10:20:48 | Rating: | Views: 38
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Brilliantly written short story. I could easily visualize Aubrey's surroundings and connect with her feelings of first love and impending womanhood. As a child Marigolds were my gift, to my mom, each Mother's Day. Sadly they will not grow where I live. The spider mites feast on them for breakfast, lunch and dinner leaving a bare twig instead of a beautiful flower. Peace.
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Posted by ColoradoDreamin
on 2008-10-06 12:56:46
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