Before you read this, you must promise not to hate any of the characters. Well, not much. You can hate them a little … but you can’t hate the story. Hating the story is decidedly not allowed. It’s off limits. Don’t even think about it.
As you can see, I’m testing out the ‘featured image’ setting for this theme. In my opinion, you should always have a featured image … and I never do. So, henceforth, there shall be a featured image.
Assuming I like the way this theme does featured images … so I guess that’s more of a ‘maybe’ than a ‘shall be.’
Oh, and this section has Christianity in it. Consider yourself warned. π
Parts 1 and 2 ~ Part 3Β ~ Part 4
Flowers, Part 4
Millie Lark arrived not long after Judy and Adele finished pulling the weeds. She helped them clear away the long grass, thistles, dandelions, and other unwanted foliage and pile it behind the shed. She then agreed to take Holt, who had devoured a few too many newspapers not to be garage-bound, for a walk while Adele and Judy painstakingly planted each seedling.
βWe donβt want them in rows,β Adele told Judy. βWe want them to grow all over the place. After we get the seedlings planted, weβll scattered seeds and plant bulbs everywhere, just wherever we can fit them. Itβll be prettiest that way.β
βAnd messiest,β Judy added.
βWell, your father has had his way with the vegetable portion of this garden, so I get to have my way with this half.β
Millie arrived just then, barely managing to restrain Holt. She managed to get him into the garage and close the door after stretching her muscles to their limit. She came to Adeleβs side looking quite worn out. Glancing around her, she sighed. βAdele, I donβt often scold you, but isnβt it rather insensitive to just plant flowers when the world is as it is?β
Adele sighed. βI thought youβd say that. I donβt think I can make a sensible girl like you – especially since youβre so invested in the war effort – understand, but β¦ I need this. Itβs important. I donβt know why; it just is.β
βAll right, then,β said Millie, not interested in protesting further. βI should head back to London. I have a lot of work to get to. Iβll see you soon, okay?β
Adele jumped up and went to hug her best friend. βThanks for humoring me, love.β
βWhat are friends for?β Millie replied with a soft smile. βGoodbye, Adele, Judy. Iβll come see you again soon.β
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Β Β Β After Millie left, Adele and Judy planted the remaining seedlings and went in through the kitchen door.
Mrs. Collier was starting dinner while Lola sat in the corner, cradling Camilla.
βWhat time is it?β Adele asked, laying her shoes just inside the door.
Granny and Lola simultaneously turned to the two gardeners and gasped.
βYouβre all dirty!β Mrs. Collier exclaimed.
βI know. We both need a bath, donβt we, Judy?β
Judy nodded.
βBut you hate dirt,β Mrs. Collier protested.
βI do,β Adele agreed, βBut I love flowers more.β
βFlowers?β Granny and Lola exclaimed simultaneously.
βYes. We planted some while you were so busy cleaning. In fact, Millie came out and brought me my seedlings.β
βYou made Millie come all the way here, made her leave her work, for that?β Mrs. Collier asked, voice raising.
Adeleβs chin lifted, but her hand trembled in Judyβs. βYes.β
βAdele, how could you be so selfish? And for a flower garden!β
βThat garden is infinitely important, maybe more important than Millieβs work.β
βTo plant your insipid, meaningless flowers? More important than Millieβs work at the war office? Adele Elizabeth Collier, your arrogance, your cruelty, your utter lack of concern for your fellow humankind is disgusting.β
Adeleβs eyes narrowed. βI am not Adele Collier anymore. I am Adele Kee,β she whispered.
Mrs. Collier scoffed. βWhat difference does it make?β
βA great deal. The fact that I chose to marry and move into a new household is emphasized by the name-change. I am thirty-one years old, have two children, and am the mistress of this house. Please give me a little respect and human decency.β With that, Adele turned and left the room.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Β Β Β Lola knocked on the door of Adeleβs bedroom. βCan I come in?β she asked gently.
βNo,β Adeleβs voice replied.
βPlease? Look, I know you and Mrs. Collier are upset about Troy being gone – Iβm upset, too – but you just canβt fly at each other because youβre tense. Us five – you and me and her and Judy and Camilla – have to stick together. Women get terribly catty if theyβre cramped in a small space without men around to keep them on the line, but we canβt. We just canβt.β
Adele stood up from her seat on the bed where sheβd be refining her finally-clean fingernails with a file, walked across the room, and put her hand on the doorknob. βIβm not upset about Troy. I donβt care for him enough to be upset over his going, unlike my mother who loves him more than she loves her wayward hellion of a daughter.β
βYour mother loves you half to death! She just doesnβt know how to show approval of you without showing approval of your seeming lack of morals. And of course she loves Troy; she sees him as your savior from a life of sin, whether or not that is correct. And, as far as you not loving Troy, well, thatβs your opinion, but itβs not mine.β
βI donβt love Troy. At least, I donβt love him the way I used to.β
βYouβre not in love with him, you mean?β
βNo,β Adele said, sighing. She opened the door and let Lola in. βItβs not the same as it used to be.β
Lola took Adele in from head to toe. She was wearing a skimpy pink nightgown under a fuzzy bathrobe of the same color. Her hair was still damp and messy from the bath sheβd just got out of, and from the looks of her eyes, sheβd been crying.
βWhatβs changed?β Lola asked.
βI donβt know. I suppose time just happened.β
βDidnβt change anything for Dave and me,β Lola commented, shrugging her shoulders slightly.
βDave and you have been married all these years. Troy and I are starting over after a long separation which I spent hating him.β
βLove is a choice, Adele.β
βI get so sick of people saying that when I know I canβt help it when I fall in love and I canβt make myself fall in love and I donβt want to!β Adele exclaimed with a scowl.
βIβm not saying falling in love is a choice, exactly, though I donβt think it the all-powerful feeling most seem to think it is β¦ but real love, the kind of love you want with your husband, is a choice.β
βBut I donβt want to love like that. My parents did, and I saw nothing passionate about their marriage.β
βWhat do you call passion and how is it different from love?β Lola inquired, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
βI donβt have an exact definition. Itβs something you feel, not something you explain,β Adele hedged.
βItβs just desire and fear and excitement all mixed up,β Lola said plaintively. βLove takes time; attraction can be instantaneous. Thereβs a difference, though most fail to recognize it. Now, here are a few questions you might want to ask yourself. Do you put Troy before yourself? Would you bear anything for him? I know you two like to flirt, but can you be serious together and when you are, do you act loving with each other? If so, Troy and I and everyone else in the world are likely to be fooled.β Lola stood and wrapped her arms around Adele. βYouβve a long way to go, but with Godβs help, youβll get there.β
Adele shook her head. βI donβt believe in God. Troy does, and he tells me Judy does now too, though, thank goodness, she hasnβt mentioned it to me yet.β
βItβs private to her, like so many other things,β Lola said thoughtfully.
Adele smiled weakly. βPrivate to her and Troy, you mean. She shares everything with him. He is her world, and I have no place.β
βShe spent hours with you this afternoon, and she was practically glowing when I drew her bath. She loves you; sheβs just cautious.β
βThatβs what she says.β
Lola nodded. βAll your problems are just going to take some patience to solve. In the meantime, love on your daughters (and Troy, when you get a chance) and spend some time with your mother, and plant those flowers. Someday youβll do more work and be a real useful person, but one step at a time is a lot better than nine forward, ten back.β Lola opened the door. βAnd do read Troyβs Bible, dear! If you could tell him youβve done that, heβd win the war single-handedly!β
βTroy wonβt fly. They wonβt let him. At least not on any important missions,β Adele said swiftly.
βIs that what youβve been telling yourself? Ah well. Perhaps youβre right.β Lola closed the door behind her, leaving Adele alone with her thoughts.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Β Β Β A few weeks later, Adele and Judy again knelt together, this time in the midst of a colorful assortment of blossoms.
βWhy did the weeds grow back? I thought we got them all,β Judy commented.
Adele leaned back and glanced around her, brow wrinkled. βI donβt know. I suppose we didnβt get the weeds out.β
βOh, nonsense. Weeds blow in from anywhere,β Granny said from where she sat on an old bench, Camilla on her lap.
Adele shrugged and went back to her picking. A long silence ensued.
βIβm going to leave Camilla in her basket and get back to the housework,β Mrs. Collier said at last.
Adele barely nodded. Granny left.
βMother.β
βWhat, Judy?β
βIβve been thinking about something, and β¦ would you be angry if I talked about it?β
Adele winced, knowing what was coming. Sheβd heard it all before, but somehow she felt itβd be worse coming from Judy. But she said, βOf course not. You can tell me anything.β
βYou know Daddy?β
She should have felt like laughing after that question, but she didnβt. βHeβs an acquaintance of mine, yes.β
βHeβs a Christian,β Judy announced solemnly.
βI know.β
βI β¦ I am, too.β
βThatβs what your father said.β
Judy took a deep breath. βAm I in trouble?β
Adele raised her eyebrows. βWhy would you be in trouble for being a Christian?β
βBecause you always said that it was a lot of fairytales and other times youβve said you donβt much care for fairytales and β¦β Judyβs voice trailed off as her eyes dropped. βI donβt want you to think I believe in fairytales, because I donβt. I believe in Jesus, my Savior.β
βI know, Judy. It must be very real for you, and I accept that. Letβs keep working.β
βCould I β¦ could I tell you about it?β
Adele was about to say βnoβ and follow it with a sharp, βdonβt talk back to your eldersβ if this was protested, but something in Judyβs eyes told her that would be pushing her luck a little too far. βAll right, Judy. Go ahead. Tell me about βyour Savior.ββ Not that I havenβt heard it all before, cursed delusion.
Judy took a deep breath. βWell β¦ it says in the Bible that if you arenβt perfect, you donβt go to Heaven. And if you donβt go to Heaven, thereβs no other place for you to go but β¦ but Hell.β
βMm.β Adele tried to concentrate on her weeding.
βWell β¦ nobodyβs perfect.β
βYou are, baby.β
βNo, Iβm not. I sin all the time. And even if Iβm not doing wrong things, Iβm thinking wrong thoughts and feeling wrong emotions and β¦ itβs just not perfect at all.β
βI still think youβre perfect. Or you will be. Little girls make mistakes; everyone makes mistakes.β
βExactly!β said Judy, obviously relieved. βBut God β¦ God is so big and great and powerful that He just canβt be around sin of any kind. I mean, He can do whatever He wants to, but we canβt be around Him if we sinned. He hates sin, and sin gets in us so itβs a part of us, even before weβre born.β
βHmm.β
βWell, for a while, that was bad, because then no one could go to Heaven, and God loves everyone so much that He wants us all to come live with Him. But that couldnβt happen β¦ so God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to save us from our sins. He died on the cross, and so we can be clean. Weβre washed βwhite as snowβ by His blood.β
βBlood stains.β
Judy considered this. βNot Jesusβ blood, though, I guess.β
βMagical blood. Makes sense.β
βWell, anyway, it does. But we canβt be washed clean unless we agree to be washed because God isnβt going to force anyone to come to Him. He wants us to come because we love Him. So β¦ if you want to get to Heaven, you have to do two things. The first is βconfess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.β This means that you admit that you were wrong all along and that Jesus exists, that He is the King, and that He gets to make the decisions in your life from now on. The second is βbelieve in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.β This means you have to admit that Jesus is capable of conquering the thing that ties us all down – death – for our sake.β
βAnd youβve done that, Judy?β
βYes.β
βWhen?β
βAlmost a year ago. I waited a while because I thought β¦ I thought you might not like it. But β¦ but I knew it was true for a long time before that. Daddy never lies, and I β¦ I knew anyway. Iβve known for a long time.β
βOf course you have. I imagine Granny is pleased?β
Judy nodded.
βMillie, too?β
βYes.β
βAnd Lola?β
βYes.β
βBut you didnβt tell me.β
βNo.β Judy dropped her eyes. βWas β¦ was that wrong?β
βNo, Judy. That wasnβt wrong. Itβs your choice what you confide in me and what you donβt. But I like to hear about everything that affects you. I know I used to say that if you could take care of it yourself, I neednβt hear about it, but thatβs changed now. Now I want into your life. I want to hear it all. Everything that concerns you, everything that hurts you and teaches you and brings you joy β¦ I want to know.β
βWell β¦ I really like chocolate,β Judy confessed.
βIβve noticed.β
βYou donβt like for me to have it.β
βItβs all right sometimes. I just donβt want you spoiling your meals.β
βAnd β¦β Judy hesitated, then tested the ice. βHolt brings me joy?β
βOh, no, not you, too!β Adele laughed. βAll right, he can come in sometimes, but he has to have a corner to lie down in and stay there.β
Judy grinned. The ice held firm. It was safe to walk on. βSpinach,β she said slowly, βMakes me sad.β
Adele laughed and reached over to tickle Judy. βOh, no! Youβre not getting away from eating your greens, young lady.β
Judy giggled. βBut they make me sad!β she protested.
βTheyβre also making you grow big and strong!β
βLadies,β Judy said airily, βDonβt need to be big and strong.β
βWell, maybe youβll surprise us and cease to be a lady someday.β
βWouldnβt that be a bad thing?β
βIt depends on what kind of not-a-lady you were. Sometimes I wonder if being a lady is a lot different than being helpless or being like Granny. I wonder if being a lady is just being an exceptional women. I mean, Millieβs a lady, but she doesnβt drive me up the wall.β
Judy thought about this. βYes. Being a lady is about what you are inside and how you handle hard things and how graceful you are. Though not graceful like β¦ like dancing. Graceful like β¦ full of grace.β She glanced up at her mother. βDo you know what I mean?β
Β Β Β Adele smiled. βI think Iβm starting to, Judy.β
That’s about it for today, folks! I know the post is late … I blame sleeping in until noon today … which is technically my fault. Although I do have a good excuse; my bed was soft. *drops mic*
~Kellyn Roth
20 Responses
Amazing Kellyn! Love the story! (Hating it was off limits, so what else could I have done? :p).
Never been to California. Want to go there though. Hmm, I don’t use featured images, or do I? I am not sure. I do put images from Google on my posts, so maybe? I love the banner though! π
Well, of course you loved it. *smug look* π
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I like your story! It is getting better. π
(now that I understand it a little better :P)
Good! I’m glad you’re enjoying it! π
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Aww! I like this part. Though, I’m confused to why Mrs. Collier seems to take her fear and frustration out on Adele…. but we shall see. π Judy is a sweetheart! I miss Troy, though. I imagine Judy does…
I have not been to California! I want to visit there, though. Not live though… to many earthquakes and stuff. ;D Though…. a town like 40 mins away from us had a small earthquake that was picked up…. 0-0 Not safe anywhere, right?! ;D
You went to Legoland? Cool. I’m glad you’re enjoying your trip! π
Yes, you shall see … π
Wow, that’s scary! We can apparently get tiny little earthquakes here in Oregon, but I’ve never had one in my lifetime.
Well, I’m home now, but yes, it was all right. π
If you’re home, girl I need PICTURES. ;D Rest up, though. Trips are exhausting, though fun. π
We didn’t feel it! But it was big enough to be picked up I guess… pretty weird, haha.
I’m going to try to post pictures next Wednesday … which is a long ways away, I know. π
Not been to Legoland- would love to. Been to the discovery center- ASDFJKL. Never been to Cali- don’t plan on going. Couldn’t physically sleep ’till noon- was up at six. I hate my brain sometimes.
FLOWERS
TROY
CHRISTIANITY
KITTENS
wait, kittens? where’d that come from?
Kittens are awesome. There are no kittens in this story … but I’m sure ‘kittens’ makes sense somehow … *nods*
It definitely makes sense. Totally. If you look at it… sideways?
Or upside down. Either way. π
Agh its fantastic!!!! I srsly dont get why they all dont want adele to plant some flowers like why? Do they think she cpuld spend her time better or somthing? And I love the way adele chooses to plant the flowers, like all over and not rows like thats legit what I would do!!!
Hey, you remember when I took that test for Adele and got ESFP? *nods* Could be she’s your evil twin … π