Hortons Bend

thought I would check it out. I’m still looking for that ginko tree that you wanted.” He smiled again and told her not to worry about it too much. She looked up at him and asked “Do you want to come with me?”Brody shrugged and told her “I think I’ll hang around here. I may not be home this afternoon since I still plan on going to help out Mrs. King”. Lacy put her arms around her husband’s shoulders “C’mon Paul…..take a ride with me. It’ll be fun.”Brody decided he shouldn’t be a stick in the mud today. Nothing good would come from sitting at the house and thinking of the afternoon’s delinquency that he had planned. “Sounds good” he grinned “but let me have just one more of those wonderful biscuits!”
    Boyd’s Nursery did indeed have a sale going on but most of the plants and shrubs were not what the Brody’s were looking for to plant in their yard. Paul did manage to find a small ginko tree but didn’t say anything to Lacy about it. His wife was having a great time telling him about certain plants that she used to see at her grandparent’s house when she was a child. Lacy was not an inobservant woman and soon spotted the Japanese plant in the corner of the nursery. While not on sale that particular day, she quietly excused herself and did a little bargaining with the owner. When she and Paul returned to his Land Cruiser, he spotted the small tree in the back seat. “Ah you little witch…..I didn’t think you spotted it!” he told her. “I love the yellow leaves in the fall too baby and it’ll be something we can watch grow well into our old age.” Brody stopped, grabbed his wife and gave her a loving kiss in the parking lot. “I love you Lacy” he told her. She patted him on the back and said “C’mon baby. You got some diggin’ to do!”
    After lunch, Brody consulted with Lacy on a nice spot in the yard for the newest topiary. A hole was dug, partially filled with potting soil, and the new tree was given a new home. They chose a location where they would be able to look upon it from their porch. Many considered the ginko to be a desirable plant since it is beneficial to the human brain. Lacy joked with her husband as he tamped the dirt around the tree. “Now don’t you feel smarter?” she kidded him. He put his arm around her and walked her to the house. “Honey…..when I’m around you I need all the help I can get!” She laughed and assured him not to forget that salient point either. The two sat on the porch having lemonade when the phone rang. Lacy got up and went inside to answer it.
    When his wife returned she had her pocketbook in her hand and a light sweater. “Where are you off too?” he asked. “Melinda Wilkins had her baby this morning and I thought I would go visit for a while. I won’t be long and I hope you won’t either.” Brody’s mind had completely forgotten his promise to Mrs. King due to having so much fun with his wife. “Honey, be sure to watch the weather this afternoon. There’s supposed to be a front moving in and I don’t want ya’ll to get caught up in any weather if ya’ll are working outside”. He promised to do so and kissed her goodbye. It was almost 3pm and he still had a little time on his hands before going over to the King farm. Smiling at the little ginko tree in his yard, he decided to walk to the mailbox and see if anything had come today. The mail provided little interest to him so Brody decided to sit on the porch and do something he had little time for lately: relax.
    Just 15 miles north of the Brody residence sat two men wh o once again were anxious to have the weekend pass. The only movement they had seen during the afternoon was old man Horton taking his tractor into the fields. Robert Ragland was a little happier since Roger Curtis was at least somewhat talkative today. The two commiserated about the assignment for the first hour. Ragland didn’t have a clue that he was a chump. Curtis lied and told him that he had been on assignments like this before. He reasoned to his associate that the commissioners felt that they were needed in the community and that without them the entire infrastructure would fall apart. They were just a bunch of old men but old men that held power nonetheless. “I don’t like being at their bid and call either Robert” he explained “but I’m just like you. When we got the mortgage and the kids and the car payment….well sometimes we just have to tow the line.” Ragland