Secret Garden Of Eden (Secret Window Fanfiction)

A Rainey Day

I struggled to carry the bucket of water from the other end of the house. Most of it had splashed out as walked. I froze when I saw a pair of black loafers planted on the ground in front of me.

"Mr. Rainey..." I gasped. "I'm sorry. I know the windows are taking forever... I'm almost done." I tried to walk around him, but tripped between the lawn and the gravel driveway.

My breath hitched as I felt my head falling toward the driveway. Everything froze just as I was inches away from landing on it. I felt a pair of arms pull me back up by the waist.

"Careful..." Mort said, helping me to my feet. "A person could get seriously hurt like that."

"Thank you" I stared at him blankly. I bent down to get the spilled bucket, but he swooped down and beat me to it.

"I think... you've done enough for today" Mort smiled softly. "You need a break. Follow me..."

He led me around the house and down towards the lakeside dock. There I was met with the smokey smell of barbecue filling my nostrils and the sight of two lawn chairs, side by side on the lakeside.

"My corn harvest is doing well this year" He explained. "Too well, actually. I have too much. So I thought I'd treat you to a corn roast."

I stared at him, unsure of how to react.

"It's almost lunch. You must be hungry" he grabbed a plate and placed two cobs of corn wrapped in tin foil on it, handing it to me. "Have a seat..."

I walked over to the lawn chair and sat down. I glanced back at him with furrowed brows, before staring down at the corn. This was another trick... just like the other day with the hose.

I carefully peeled back the tin foil, expecting something unpleasant. A stink bomb or a dead rat or a rotting cob that was full of maggots. But all I found was a bright yellow corn cob, smothered with butter and cooked to perfection.

Mort sat down in the chair next to me, sighing happily. "I love corn" he said. "Did you know it's a vegetable, fruit and grain?"

"I... didn't know it was a fruit..." I shrugged.

"Yeah... well, let's dig in" he smiled, picking up his and taking a bite.

I watched him intently, trying to confirm it wasn't poisoned. I picked up mine and took a small bite.

"It's... good" I nodded. "Really sweet..."

"Thank you" Mort wiped the butter from his mouth with a napkin.

"I can't believe you grow your own corn" I said. "Is it hard?"

"No more than any other crop" Mort shrugged. "Funnily enough, corn kind of saved my life."

"Corn? Really?" I failed to hold a smile.

"Yeah, during my divorce, I was... a little too reliant on whiskey..." His eyes narrowed as if he was trying hard to remember. "So to get clean, I put all my time and mental effort into gardening and I figured since corn was the main ingredient in whiskey..." he shrugged.

"Makes sense..." I offered a supportive smile. "And good for you for taking the initiative. I hear it's really hard to kick the habit of drinking."

"Occupational hazzard, I guess" Mort returned the smile. "We writers tend to be alcoholics."

I giggled aloud, before putting a hand to my mouth. "Sorry..." I apologized. "I don't know why I did that..."

"It's alright" He put a hand on my shoulder. "You're allowed to laugh here." He paused looking in my eyes. "Do I make you nervous?"