by Charlotte Manville

Created on: May 28, 2008   Last Updated: June 09, 2008

I had a mere twenty minutes left before I could leave work and retreat to the splendid solitude of my newly planted garden, when I received an unexpected phone call from my boyfriend. Three weeks earlier, he had helped me plant 300 hairlike onion fronds, dozens of hand-nurtured tomato and pepper plants, and three rows of our favorite sweetcorn. We had chosen the perfect spot at the neighbor's farm; rich in old compost and fresh manure. I had diligently been watering my eden every other day, after my stress-ridden workday, and I was looking forward to seeing any new progress, until his phone call, that is.

"Honey, " he softly stammered, "I don't know how to say this, other than to just come out and say this."
At this point, I am wondering who is in the hospital or who could have died. Heart racing, I patiently waited to hear. Still stuttering, he quickly spat out, "Gordy accidentally left the gate open to the free stall! The cows got out and tramped right through the garden!" I was in complete and utter shock. My new babies had been out in the sun for only three weeks! Taking a deep, hopeful breath I asked, "How many got out?" The silence on the other end lasted a full minute before I heard the clipped response, "About a hundred of them."
My heart sank. Oh no! "I will be there in twenty minutes!" I never worked so fast in my life. I, indeed, showed-up in less than twenty minutes. Taking slow silent breaths, I gingerly walked from the car, past the barn, detoured around the calf hutches, and stoutly trod the tortuous thirty feet more to the scene of the crime.
I was expecting to see nothing but dirt. No one could have prepared me for what I saw. I could not believe it! Still in shock, I gingerly meandered back to the barn where my boyfriend and Gordy were now quietly standing. They were on tender hooks, having seen my crucified walk towards the garden. I took a deep breath, slowly raised my shielded eyes, and grinned for all that I was worth. "Gordy, I have to thank you!" Poor Gordy blinked several times, not believing what I had said. I started laughing, and my boyfriend looked at me as if I had gone cuckoo. "Really, Gordy. Thank you so much! I had planned on hoeing around all the plants before watering them this evening, and I didn't think that I would have time. And it looks like the cows hit about three out of the three hundred onions, and that was it! The corn isn't up yet, I just tried to replant the onions that were pulled out, and the garden looks like I had just tilled it. The soil is perfect for watering, and there isn't a weed in sight! I may not need all three hundred onions anyway!"
I must say, there were two terribly relieved men standing in front of me. I laughed for another twenty minutes, than I gleefully went back to water my babies.

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