Planted

Chapter 21 Plants

Tommy was outside my office, humming to himself and trimming my rose bushes.

Since, we let our gardener go, I must admit the grounds have become fairly wild. Strangely, a couple of weeks ago, I was bombarded with dozens of pamphlets in my letterbox offering cheap lawn mowing, weeding, home maintenance and gardening services. Curious, I called each number and I landed up talking to Tommy, who seemed intent on undercutting himself. Touched by his effort and creativity, I hired him in a strictly professional capacity as our gardener and handyman. The cupboards were fixed, broken tiles replaced and mould removed. The house was looking spotless and newly painted. There were even floral arrangements and indoor potted plants on the sideboards.

Slowly, we began cooking meals together and eating with dad. Naturally, we started going on evening walks together, collaborating on home improvement schemes and holding hands again. Tommy would play Plants versus Zombies on my computer on breaks while I worked on. He taught me how to repot plants and deadhead flowers and I taught him a few karate moves. Although I didn't shell prawns for him, once I did help him squeeze a pimple on his back. On another occasion, he did carry our bike and shove me all the way up a steep hill. Cautiously, we avoided talking about any topic related to TUF. It was still a sore point. Apart from that, Tommy was becoming the much needed petrol to run our family engine smoothly.

I could hear him breaking out in a joyful chorus like he always did when he was happy. I knew if I peeked through the glass door he would be dancing in the sun.

One morning, Tommy walked in with Vanda Miss Joaquim in his arms. She was beautiful in a rosy violet matched with a fiery orange and dark purple colour. My mouth fell open in surprise as I watched him stroke her tenderly.

"Come outside with us, Sandy," he said, "Let's do this together. I took ages choosing her."

"I'm busy; this document needs to go out within the hour." I protested.

"Fine, we'll just have fun without you then. You're missing out on Vanda's big moment." he declared walking out to the garden, wrapping his arms around her bottom and whispering sweet nothings to her.

"Drats!" I said after several failed attempts at trying to get back to work. I ran after them quickly before he took things any further.

I got there just in time. Tommy was kneeling in front of her, clearing the ground she was on.

"Stop, I'm here. I'll help," I said. I got down on my knees as well, grabbed a spade and together we put her in her place. Both of us stood up, hand-in-hand, to enjoy her beauty. There in a raised platform, about 50 centimetres tall, stood Vanda Miss Joaquim, Tommy's favourite orchid, Singapore's national flower. She was the centrepiece to the orchid collection we had carefully fashioned for my garden.

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever," recited Tommy. "We make a good team."

"Thank you, the garden looks beautiful. So does the house." I said in response. Impulsively, I planted a kiss on his cheek. "But now, I have work," I said resolutely and left him still gazing contentedly at the work of his hands.

"Ouch," Tommy cursed, "Huh, these thorns have even managed to rip through my gloves." I could hear his displeasure and irritation.

Tommy could be so irritating about using environmentally-friendly products. One infuriating habit was the way he spent ages at the supermarket reading all the labels. Without a doubt, he was seriously weird. When he was not obsessing over the amount of packaging we produced, he was recycling or composting. Did he have to be so calculative? Not about the amount of extra money he was spending on such products, mind you, but about adding up his carbon footprint or the worm count in the soil.