Devonne Brown

“Tom, dig up those hydrangeas and plant them by the old outbuilding. I want them to turn blue. They’ve always been white, and I want blue ones.” 

“I will when I’m done riding my four wheeler, Alice. I want to see how far up the hill this baby will take me.” Alice looked up the mountain side, then at the four wheeler, and frowned at Tom. The hillside was covered with rocks, brush, and briars. It went straight up. The four wheeler wasn’t a damn goat, and Tom didn’t have a helmet. He’d die for sure.

“That baby’ll take you straight to the hydrangea bush with the shovel,” she dropped the shovel on the back of the vehicle. It bounced right back out. She picked it back up and put it back in. “Do it now, before the sun gets too hot,” Alice was relentless. When she got on one of her tears, it was best to just do what she said. She’d go get the tractor and run over him if she didn’t get her way, and right now if he didn’t do her bidding. 

Tom grumbled and griped, Alice thought she heard “Bitch” in his incoherent mumblings somewhere, “Excuse me?” 

He gave her a dagger filled look, but swung his leg off the four wheeler and grabbed the shovel. “Where do you want the damned bush?” She walked over to the old building and pointed to the exact spot. A rock was in the way, a big one. 

“Jesus, Alice. You don’t want it right here. This rock probably goes down a foot. It’ll take  me all day to move it. I’ll have to get Elmer over here to help me. Shit.” 

“Do what you got to do,” Alice turned to go back to the house. She had laundry to hang on the line, and didn’t have time for his mess. “I’ll go call Elmer. Pansy probably wants him out of her hair anyway.”

“Boing,” The blow from the shovel came fast and hard. Alice never saw it coming, and never saw again. It only took one hit with the shovel. He’d dig that hole alright, move the damn bush too. The rock could stay right where it was. He didn’t need any help with the damned hole.

He dug the hole deep enough for Alice to fertilize the hydrangea for years to come. She was right, about moving it. The bush bloomed blue for the rest of Tom’s life. 

He never did make it up that hill on the four wheeler though. Some hills are just too steep for anything but a goat.