Red Clover (36 page)

“What did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking that if you featured a different plant each month that was particularly good for one thing or another—such as soil erosion, or filtering carbon dioxide, or attracting various wildlife—that would interest your customers.”

“I like the idea.”

“Good. I can do that for you. One per month. Deal?” He reached out for Lee’s hand.

“Deal.”

Shaneta, who had been going back and forth between courses via the tunnel, sat down on the bed long enough to ask about Lee’s current project.

“So when do the doors open?”

“June 21, the first day of summer.”

“Not that far off. Are you ready?”

“I think so. I’ve taken out ads in all the local papers, and the week before it opens, I’ll be doing two radio interviews.”

“Does your family know? Will they be comin’ openin’ day?”

“I know Bennett will be there. And I hope Mother. I’m not sure about the others.”

The three of them talked about the project until the two men finished eating, at which time Shaneta got up and disappeared once again into the tunnel. When she returned five minutes later, she was balancing a tray that held three plates of dessert, two cups, and a coffee pot. She put the tray down and looked at Lee.

“Do you know how many steps there are between here and there?”

“Fifteen,” said Dr. Rad under his breath.

“Just enough for the coffee to get cold,” she said.

“Shaneta, are you trying to—”

“I’m not complainin’, mind you. I’m just statin’ the facts. Did I tell you I found a job, Lee?”

“No. Where?”

“In Walworth. Workin’ for the Seversons.”

“Cooking?”

“And cleanin’, and shoppin’. Everything. Just the two of them. No children. Just a big shaggy dog.”

“That’s wonderful. But how are you going to get there?”

“Mrs. Severson will pick me up and bring me home. Except on Wednesdays when Raddie will do the chaufferin’. And every other Friday.”

Dr. Rad forced a weak smile.

“And the day before most holidays.”

“When do you start?”

“Monday.” She turned to Dr. Rad. “I’ll need a ride home. Her bridge club meets that day.”

“Yes, m’am.”

“Don’t you get smart with me, Raddie.”

“I wouldn’t think of it, Shan.”

“I’m going to clear the dishes now and goin’ into my room so you two can chat.”

Lee waited until he heard Shaneta’s door close. “Dr. Rad, I know this is none of my business, but—”

“She means well.”

“I know that, but is this what you want? Or is she pushing herself on you?”

“She may be pushing herself on me, but if I’m being truthful, I don’t mind it. I like the woman. In fact, well...we’re planning to get married.”

“What?”

He smiled. “I think you heard me.”

“What?”

“Is that all you can say, son?”

“No, of course not. Congratulations. I really mean that.”

“Thank you.”

“That changes things, though, doesn’t it? I mean, is this arrangement still going to work? Like I think she was trying to make the point that the table is too small, and the time it takes to bring hot food from her kitchen to your living quarters is too long.”

“I would prefer to keep my work space small and close to the lab where it is. Do you think it would be possible to enlarge her space to accommodate a dining table? That way, we can eat in her space for meals, close to her kitchen, and keep her out of my space.”

“I can talk to Dennis and see what he can come up with. What about a small living room as well? Somewhere for the two of you to watch TV or something.”

“I would like that.”

As Lee recovered from the shock of news of their upcoming marriage, he vowed he would never understand relationships, nor question them again.

“Congratulations, Dr. Rad.”

“Please call me Raddie. I kind of like it.”

32 | Feeling Whole

Lee stood at the edge of the parking lot to admire the giant helium-filled balloons and GRAND OPENING banner when he saw CJ coming toward him.

“Hey, who’s minding the store?”

“Shaneta,” CJ responded.

“Oh, dear.”

“Don’t worry. She’s okay. I gave her a five-minute training session on the cash register.” She stood next to him and took his arm.

The parking lot that held up to fifty cars was nearing capacity. Some of the townspeople strolled around the display garden Lee had created. Others were inside checking out the displays of indoor planters, lawn ornaments, gardening tools, and planting soil. The greenhouses were packed with people loading up their carts with perennials, annuals, and houseplants. Outside, several landscapers wandered through the groves of hundreds of varieties of trees and bushes. A few families with children headed straight toward the building with the poster in the window that read, THE MOST IMPORTANT CONTROL YOU CAN EVER ACHIEVE IS SELF-CONTROL.

The prominent sign Lenny Vinik had made for him that now hung on the front of his building made him smile.

SOCRATES GARDEN CENTER AND KARATE SCHOOL

“You did it, Soc. You really did it.”

“What’s that?”

“You turned the tables.”

“You never did recite the whole poem for me.”

“It’s not important. What’s important is you overcame being on the outside looking in.”

“You did, too.”

“Wrong! I was always on the inside.”

“Was not.”

“Was too.”

“Okay. Have it your way.”

“By the way,” CJ said, “a few people have asked me about the letters you painted on the fence post signs.” Lee had painted each of the 109 signs on his fence line so as to cover over his father’s
NOS
insignia. Then he stenciled them all with letters or marks of punctuation that, placed in the right order, would spell out Lee’s secret declaration to the world.

“Yeah? So what did you tell them?”

“What you told me to tell them—that they’re just random letters.”

“And did they accept that?”

“Don’t know. They probably think you’re just crazy.”

“Maybe I am.”

“Wayne, for one, didn’t believe it. He thinks he’s cracked some of the code.”

“Is that right?”

“He knows there are three sentences based on the three periods. And he knows your first and last names are in there. And maybe the word
I’m
.”

“Mm-hm. What else?”

“Of course, he and Travis tried to find letters for all the naughty words they know.”

“And?”

“They found three they’re admitting to.”

“I can tell you there are no naughty words in the message.”

“I was pretty sure of that. Can I tell Wayne the word
I’m
is right?”

“Yep.”

“And your first and last name?”

“Yep.”

“He asked me to ask you for some hints.”

Lee pondered the request. “Tell him he has a very wise mother.”

“Huh?”

“And I’m thankful to her. That’s all you get.”

She smiled. “Can I tell you something without you getting all mushy on me?”

It was an interesting question. “You can try.”

“You helped me get my life on track—something no one else has ever been able to do.” She swiped at a tear on her cheek. “And for that...I thank
you
.”

Not giving him a chance to respond, CJ walked toward the garden center entrance and then turned around. “Hey, Soc. The boys want to know if they can build a tree house in that maple tree behind the guesthouse, the one right outside their bedroom window.”

“Only if they get someone to help them with it. Not me.”

“No shit.”

“Watch your mouth. We have respectable customers around here.”

“Bite me,” she mouthed.

He watched CJ disappear into the garden center, her new place of employment, while her sons played outside in a murky puddle left behind by the previous day’s rain. They ran over to Lee.

“Mr. Lee,” Wayne said. “Can we keep that black cat that keeps hangin’ around our house for our own?”

“I don’t see why not. It appears to be a stray.”

“All right! We can keep him!” Travis shrieked.

“Thanks!” Wayne said and then turned to walk toward the garden center.

“Hey Travis. How do you know it’s a boy?”

“Wayne said so.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “He knows these things.”

“I see.”

“It better be a boy, ‘cause we already named him.”

“What did you name him?”

“Mr. T,” he said and then skipped to catch up with his brother.

After both boys were out of sight, Lee took a minute to reflect on the rest of his operation—the vast fields of red clover for cancer research and more recently to finding cures for psoriasis and other disfiguring skin diseases; the experimental orchards established in conjunction with two Johns Hopkins consultants; the collaboration with Texas A&M researchers who were close to finding a way to prevent protein from breaking down in red clover; and the grant from AIR that would allow expansion of Dr. Rad’s laboratory.

Lee was proud of what he had accomplished and believed his father would have been proud too, not only because of the end result, but also his journey to make it happen.

Thank you, Father, for allowing me to find my own way.

A tall young woman walked toward him with a level of confidence in her gait that he found both inviting and frightening. She held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Violet Jennings. I understand you’re the owner here.” Her handshake was strong.

She had amazing green eyes. His voice cracked as he spoke the first few words. “Yes, I’m the owner. Lee Winekoop. Nice to meet you, Violet. How may I help you?”

“I have a seven-year-old daughter who wants to take karate classes, but all I see over there are boys. Are girls allowed?”

Lee hadn’t given any thought to the issue before now. He had never heard of a girl taking karate classes—he, like everyone else, considered it a boy thing.

“I don’t see why not. It may not be conventional, but as you can see by my somewhat odd combination of businesses, I’m not one to be swayed by convention.” He caught himself looking down at her left hand. She wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.

“Then you’ve got yourself a new student. Eva will be thrilled. She’ll be enrolling under Eva Larson, by the way. Her father and I are divorced. I took back my maiden name—women’s lib and all that.” Her smile was warm and pleasing.

“There’s a sensei in the dojo right now signing kids up.”

“I beg your pardon.”

“I’m sorry. That’s Japanese for an instructor being in the karate school.”

“Do you also teach the parents? I can see I have a lot to learn.”

He flashed her a wide smile. “I think we can arrange that.”

“Look forward to it,” she said as she turned toward the dojo.

The light touch on his shoulder startled him. He turned around to face his mother.

“She’s very pretty,” she said.

“Mother, I’m so glad you came.”

Bennett and Francine were right behind her.

“Lookin’ good, little brother,” Bennett said with a smile.

“There’s food inside. Some of Shaneta’s specialties.”

“Consider us gone,” Bennett said as he and Francine walked away.

“Bennett,” Lee called to him.

Bennett turned around.

“Thanks for your help with the grant request. It was awarded last week.”

Bennett gave him a thumbs-up and proceeded to the garden center, arm-in-arm with Francine.

Lee looked at his mother, who was looking up at the sign. She slipped her arm through his. “I’m proud of you, son. Really proud.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“You’re making a difference.”

“In what way is that?”

She smiled—a natural smile Lee hadn’t ever seen on her before, a smile that reached further than anything she could have said. “In your life. In mine. In CJ’s, Dr. Rad’s, and Shaneta’s. Bennett’s. Everyone you’ve touched.” She squeezed his arm, still looking up at the sign. “But I have to ask you, where did the name Socrates come from?”

“Socrates. You know. The Greek philosopher.”

“Yes, I know that, but why him?”

Lee didn’t think his mother would understand the whole “south of center” concept, and if she did, she wouldn’t find it amusing. “Oh, I don’t know. Just a name that came to me.”

“He was an enigmatic figure.”

Lee turned toward his mother. “Like me?”

“Yes. Somewhat.”

“Henry didn’t come with you.”

“No, dear. I hope you understand.”

“Not really.”

“You will someday.”

“And Nelson?”

“He had family things to attend to.”

He was disappointed but resolved not to let their absence ruin his day.

“C’mon, let’s go inside. I’ll show you around.” He squeezed her arm. “And afterwards, after everyone has gone, would you like to see the research facility?”

“I’d like that very much.”

* * *

Basil Stonebugger arrived close to the end of the day. Lee led the way toward the display garden, to the plaque on the wishing well where purple clematis climbed lazily up its sides. The plaque read:

In memory of Loretta Sambourg and Gladys Stonebugger

May the red clover in our lives serve to

Inspire, heal, and bring us closer to being whole

Lee watched the sadness flow through Basil’s eyes.

“Thank you for your part in all this,” Lee said to him.

They talked for a few minutes, and then Lee excused himself and walked through the display garden toward the garden center where the last few visitors were still lingering. He looked forward to showing his mother the rest of his property and perhaps for the second time in his life hearing her tell him how proud she was of him.

He slowed up when he saw Henry sitting on one of the wrought-iron benches at the edge of the garden. Lee hadn’t seen or spoken to him in months, not since he had had that first revelatory conversation with Shaneta. He took a good look at him. Gone was the confident air about him Lee had come to know throughout his childhood.