Chapter 27
The next day, Mary Louise couldn’t deny the slight quickening in her pulse when her phone rang and she saw it was Cardinal Landscaping. Then she remembered Home Depot and Dan with his arm around that pretty woman. He probably had an entire string of them.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mrs. Fulton. This is Brian from Cardinal Landscaping. How are you today?”
“I’m doing very well,” she said. “And you can call me Mary Louise.”
“Yes, m’am,” he replied and that made Mary Louise smile.
“How are you doing?” she asked. “I understand you were under the weather.”
“Yes, m’am. Kids brought home a delightful stomach virus but I’m happy to say I’m well over it. Thank you for asking.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I’m putting together your quote and I had a couple of questions, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all.”
“Did my dad ask you about putting in a pond? Because we can do lovely ponds, and sometimes he forgets to ask. I wanted to be sure you were aware of all your options.”
A salesman. Mary Louise was annoyed and impressed all at the same time.
“He didn’t mention that, but I can assure you it’s not something I’m interested in. I live alone and I’m trying to simplify if I can. Trying to maintain a pond isn’t at the top of the list of things I’d like to do in my life.”
There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line.
“Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Okay,” said Mary Louise.
“Did he tell you about all the plants you could get cheaper at the Home Depot?”
Mary Louise wasn’t exactly comfortable being in the middle of a father-son issue and didn’t want to say anything that could make the matter worse.
“No. We didn’t get down to any details, but he seemed to have a perfect understanding about what I’m looking for. Why? Can I get the plants cheaper at the Home Depot?”
“He just sometimes forgets that we’re a business. Yes, there are some things that you can get cheaper at the Home Depot, but it’s not always the same quality. It’s better if we can supply everything so we can plan properly, plus all of our plants are guaranteed.”
“That makes sense,” said Mary Louise.
“Last week he had my Aunt Bonnie up there buying hydrangeas even though I’d already placed my order for them. Are you interested in hydrangeas?”
“I’ve heard they’re temperamental, and they really aren’t part of my vision.”
“I understand. Just figured it couldn’t hurt to ask,” said Brian.
A thought occurred to Mary Louise and she said, “Do you mind if I ask you something?”
“Not at all.”
“What does your Aunt Bonnie look like?”
“Oh, she’s pretty. She’s my Uncle Derek’s second wife.”
So that would mean she was Dan’s sister-in-law. She couldn’t help herself from smiling.
“Well, if you don’t want a pond and you don’t want hydrangeas, I should be able to finish up this quote and get it emailed to you in the next day or so.”
“No hurry,” said Mary Louise. “Thanks for calling.”
About fifteen minutes after hanging up with Brian her phone buzzed. It was a 512 number, so there was a good chance it was a legitimate call. She took a chance and swiped to answer it.
“How do you feel about jazz?”
It was Dan. A little shot of joy went straight to her heart. Her cautious heart.
“So so,” said Mary Louise.
“What about blues?”
“Less so. They’re always singing about ‘gettin’ done wrong’ and broken hearts and all manner of depressing situations.”
“What do you like?”
Mary Louise took a moment to think about this. She hadn’t bought a song, CD, or other form of music for over 20 years.
“I guess country? I grew up on Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson because that’s what my dad liked.”
“Oh. Good thing country doesn’t have any songs about ‘gettin’ done wrong’ and broken hearts.”
Mary Louise laughed.
“Touche. I love George Strait and Reba. I don’t like the new poppy country. I also don’t like how the girls dress. By next year they’ll all be getting up on the stage naked. Did you just call to ask me about my music preferences?”
“No. I called because I happen to have two tickets to Joe Bonamassa at the ACL Live and wanted to see if you’d like to join me. Oh, and we could talk about your landscaping. That way I can write it off.”
ACL Live was the Austin City Limits Live venue downtown. Mary Louise had never been there, but she had caught a show or two on PBS.
“Sounds fun. Who’s Joe Bonamassa?”
“As my granddaughter would say, OMG! Only one of the greatest blues musicians of our time. Part of me doesn’t think you deserve to go, but the other part of me feels obligated to introduce you to his music. Then we’ll see who’s so-so on blues music.”
Could she sit through a couple of hours of questionable music just to be with Dan? Hell to the yes.
“And when might this blessed event occur?”
“Sunday. Pick you up at 6:00 and we’ll grab dinner before?”
Lord have mercy. A date. An actual date.
“I’ll see you then.”
**Please leave a comment below. Your information will not be saved or added to an email list. It just prevents the bots from bashing me.
You can also use the Contact form to message me direct.**