Let's see if we can get today right without a complete spaz, shall we?
Part 4 Edwin was never fully satisfied when having to pass information on to a subordinate. It was one of the reasons he only dealt with Dr. Vargas. He was in charge of all of the other indoor staff and as their commander, he had the right to know first if something was afoot. He found the thought of Ms. Evan sending out a memo before clearing it with Dr. Vargas somewhat unseemly as he thought command should have prior knowledge before the mass announcement. “Nothing to be done about that,” Edwin said as he crossed the grounds back to his office. The doctor was out until the afternoon and he couldn’t risk someone going into that section of the grounds before then. He consoled himself with the fact that he had only given Ms. Evans generalities. To apologize to the doctor for going around him, specifics could be provided. Settled on the matter he stopped at his office door and turned to look over the grounds. His office faced a low wall. If he looked beyond the wall, he could see the mass of the grounds, although not the maze as that was behind him. Here winding paths dotted with carefully maintained trees and shrubbery threaded through the view. The tress were only occasional things and placed in strategic locations so that the residents could always be seen by their caretakers. While Edwin disliked the winding paths, he knew that every element of those paths was designed for a specific reason. Despite it’s more artful appearance, there was a precision of thought Edwin could appreciate, even if a part of him did want to tug the lines of the pathways straight. In truth, Edwin rarely looked beyond his little wall. Once the wall had been shrouded in creeping vines, flowers at their bases. He had them removed and a line of shrubs planted in front of them instead. The wall was exactly five feet tall and the shrub had been allowed to grow to a two foot height before being trimmed into neat two by two foot squares. After the sight of both the elephants and Ms. Evans unsightly messy desk, seeing the neatly trimmed shrubs filled him with a deep sense of calm, of rightness in the world. Satisfied that at least some things were as they should be, Edwin turned back to his door and unlocked it. Before he could step inside, Michaelson came rushing down one of the paths. He was doing a strange sort of quick walk, as though longing to run but not quite daring to do so. Edwin decided to withhold comment until he determined the level of urgency in his arrival. If the matter was grave, he could decide Michaelson’s gate did not count as rushing about and let it slide. Despite what others thought, he could be lenient if the situation merited it. Michelson saw Edwin was waiting and steadied himself, walking more normally as he approached. “Sir,” he began. “Lucas found his bees, a large hive on the east side.” Edwin turned cold inside. A hive was so much worse than a lone bee. A hive was where the honey was made. Edwin twitched his fingers and tried not to think of honey. “Have the hive removed and search the surrounding area diligently to make certain there are no outliers.” “Of course sir,” Michaelson replied. “In addition, we believe we may have found information about the …elep…defilement sir.” “What did you find?” Edwin barked out the question. “We believe we found his stash of tools sir, hedge clippers, flashlight that sort of thing.” “Show me.” Edwin said. Michaelson nodded and Edwin followed him across the estate to a secluded spot. Edwin grimaced. He considered it one of his trouble areas and had yet to figure out a way to deal with it to his satisfaction. Once it had been a popular spot for trysts between wealthy visitors. A large tree shaded the area as well as blocked view of the spot from the main House. The roll of the land further assisted in concealment. It was the one spot that could be seen clearly from nowhere on the property. Over the years Edwin worked out several plans but as he had been forbidden to level the land with earth moving equipment or to remove the tree unless it died on its own, there had been little he could do. Briefly, he toyed with the idea of poisoning the tree himself but such surreptitious acts were beneath him. In the area once frequented by illicit lovers, the would-be sculptor made his nest. As Edwin surveyed the tools. They were not quickly discarded as though the invader feared discovery, they were neatly placed, wiped clean after use. This meant only one thing in Edwin’s mind. Whoever had defiled his hedgerows meant to come again. Edwin smiled tightly. When he did return, Edwin would be waiting.
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Somehow part two didn't make it. Sorry for the mix up. v
Part 2 Slowly Edwin walked down the line of elephants. The shock was starting to fade, but the questions remained, as did the elephants. Who had done this and why? The biggest question he had though was how. Edwin marched back to the gathering group of groundskeepers. He had the slight satisfaction of watching them straighten and wipe the looks of wonderment from their faces as he approached. “How?” He demanded of his men, unable to keep his most pressing question to himself. “How did someone manage to sneak onto the grounds and create this?” An invasion of any sort would not be tolerated. Today it was elephants, tomorrow the interlopers could waltz up to the residents and do god only knew what. He was the first line of defense and he would not falter. Edwin resisted the urge to wave his hand in the direction of the topiary as he thought it would affect his dignity. He was fairly certain his color was up and that was bad enough. He tugged his starched uniform straight. While those under him wore the same staff uniform, their garments were often wrinkled and stained with the efforts of their labors on the estate grounds. His was worn with military precision, crisp and ready for a dress parade. He even polished the buttons each night before bed so they gleamed. No one answered his demand. He stared at the men, making sure to look each on in the eye as his gaze slid over the mass of them. “Who was the last out here yesterday?” “I…I was sir,” Lucas raised his hands and the others shifted, parting around him as though they expected him to be lightning struck. Lucas looked around and realized he was very much on his own. He swallowed hard and turned back to face his commander. “Someone reported seeing bees in this area so I was searching for any signs of a hive. Everything looked normal then, sir.” “Bees?” Edwin said a stab of horror hit him. Bees were not restful. They could not be allowed on the grounds. They could not be allowed to disturb the residents. Edwin shivered in revolt just thinking about them. Their buzzing through the air with their fat, hairy bodies, collecting pollen and flying back to their hive where they made mounds of sticky, gooey honey. Edwin hated honey even more than he hated bees. Its slow, viscous pour was torture as you knew once it touched you it would coat your skin, clinging to you, calling dust from the air to join it in adhering all manner of filth to the skin. Just thinking of it made his flesh crawl. “Did you find them?” he asked trying to suppress his inner revolt. Edwin had no idea why bees would even be on the estate grounds. He had ordered all of the flower beds turfed over so they would be less appealing for the vile creatures. “No, sir,” Lucas replied. “No sign of any form of hive or even a single bee.” “Good,” Edwin declared. “Now clearly someone had to sneak onto estate grounds in order to do… this.” He continued as he marched stiffly back and forth in front of the assembled staff. “I want the grounds searched for any sign of this perpetrator and answers as to why he came here and how he managed to gain access to the grounds. And while you are at it, keep alert for signs of bees. But be discrete, no running willy-nilly. We must not disturb the residents.” Even the mention of bees made Edwin want to wash his hands. As his men scattered about the grounds, Edwin returned to his office, eager to be away from the elephants and to find some antibacterial soap. Part 3
“The Doctor will need to be told something,” Edwin thought as he scrubbed the thought of honey from his skin. “The residents can’t be allowed in that part of the grounds until something is done about the defilement.” That much was perfectly clear. After using the soap on his skin, Edwin took a small brush, making certain to get under each nail so that not a speck of filth, imagined or otherwise, would remain on his skin. He inspected each hand and when he thought they were finally clean again, he rinsed them with distilled water from a bottle, washing off whatever chemical deposits the tap water might have left behind. Rinsed off, he took one of his specially prepared towels from its sealed plastic bag and dried any remaining moisture from his skin. Washed and dried, he spritzed his now clean flesh with anti-bacterial gel to complete the process. As much as Edwin disliked generalities, he decided that this might be the time to employ them. “There is no need for the staff to know the exact nature of the defilement,” He said to himself as he rolled his cuffs back down and fastened the stainless steel cufflinks. There was always the chance that the cloth would have wrinkled, but Edwin justified it as a reasonable risk when set alongside the possibility of getting his shirt sleeves wet. Wet sleeves would have required a change in shirt and as he had only ironed enough for the week, changing would throw his schedule off. He was pleased to see the starch had saved the cuffs and he could spot no wrinkles. Satisfied, Edwin walked to the door and reached for the door knob. Before leaving his office he took one more look around, making certain everything was in place. As he scanned the room for anything out of place, he realized that the elephants had left him somewhat shaken. He didn’t know if it was the thought of an unknown assailant on the estate grounds, something he had never allowed in his career, or if it was that self-same assailant’s blatant disregard for order that had him on edge. He did know it made him feel somewhat protective of his space. The sight of everything as it should be settled him somewhat although in leaving his office, he did something he had never done during working hours. He locked his door. If the pachyderm perpetrator was still on the grounds and looking to create chaos from order, he did not want his domain targeted. As Edwin crossed the grounds, he reviewed what it was he wished to convey and chose each word he wanted to use. He refined his speech and was reasonably pleased with it by the time he reached the offices for those who worked inside rather than on the grounds. He walked into the office and the secretary looked up from her keyboard, her fingers stilling and her eyes widening in surprise at the sight of him. “Mr. Trim,” she said, her surprise evident in her voice. “I hadn’t realized you had an appointment.” She turned to her appointment calendar and began scanning the pages. “I’m afraid Doctor Vargas is not in at the moment. I believe he will be out until two this afternoon.” Edwin frowned, he hadn’t counted on the doctor being unavailable. As the secretary tidied her desk he realized that the unknown topiariest had not only disrupted his schedule but forced him to disrupt another’s. Things were getting worse by the minute. “My apologies, Ms. Evans, I was not scheduled to meet with the doctor today. We have, regrettably had an incident on the grounds. While my staff is working to deal with the matter and will do so in a way that in no way disturbs the residents, I must ask that both staff and residents stay clear of the south lawn for the time being. I will notify this office when the matter is settled and regular usage may resume. The doctor may contact me in my office should he require further details.” As he spoke, the woman’s mouth formed a little o of surprise. She shook herself a little and pulled a notepad close. “The south lawn?” she repeated as she scrawled on the page. “I’ll sent out a memo effective immediately, the south lawn is off limits for maintenance.” She smiled. “At least it isn’t one of our more popular places for the patients who like to stroll. I’m sure you will settle the matter quickly Mr. Trim.” “That is my intent,” Edwin said, satisfied that she did not ask for specifics. Confident that no one would be forced to unexpectedly confront the parade of elephants, Edwin turned and left the offices, heading back into his own territory. It was time to put a plan in place. Okay, recently everything got a little crazy and I sort of let this blog slide (along with a bunch of other stuff.) But all that is behind, new year, new beginning and all that.
So for those of you who don't know I run a blog called Writing Around on wordpress. (http://valeriegaumont.wordpress.com/). Monday through Friday I post a writing exercise and then I post what I did for that exercise. It is mostly as a source of writing prompts and a way to get my brain started in the morning, kind of the mental version of those cords you pull to get outboard motors started. Anyway, several of the prompts turned into bits that I want to continue working with, although they don't currently it into any other story I'm working on. So I picked one I particularly liked and decided to see it through. Not sure how long it will end up being but I decided to post it here as it unfolds. So once a week, Wednesdays in fact, I will post an episode if you will. Hope you enjoy and feel free to comment or suggest as you see fit. I have no outline really and am completely winging it on this just to see where it goes. I think I am calling this Edwin's Elephants. Enjoy. Part 1 Edwin stared at the panting groundskeeper, waiting for him to catch his breath and explain himself. Such running about was highly irregular. The staff was trained to be discrete, unnoticed as they quietly went about their business about the grounds. The residents must not be disturbed. Running about as though the place were on fire was certainly disturbing. People came here for a rest after all. At least that is how he liked to view the residents. “There has been an incident sir,” the man finally managed to gasp out. Edwin set down his white ceramic mug on the granite surface of the tabletop, barely making a click as the two hard surfaces connected. He liked to have his first cup of tea in solitude as he reviewed the weekly requests and reports. Then, he poured himself a second cup to sip as he strolled about the grounds inspecting the work and questioning requests for expenditures before returning to his office to decide on the week’s orders. His staff knew that. They also knew of his deep dislike for disruption in his schedule. “An incident, Michaelson,” Edwin said in his coldest voice. Michaelson swallowed hard but took a deep breath and nodded. “I don’t believe it can wait, sir,” he justified causing Edwin to lift an eyebrow in surprise. Usually even the strangest incidents on the grounds could wait. Merely using the tone of disapproval on them made most of the staff rethink their desire to interrupt his set schedule. “And Michaelson has been with us for a little over a year,” he thought. Deciding that it might be worth breaking routine to investigate, Edwin slowly stood, giving Michaelson plenty of time to change his mind. The man stood firm. “At least I’ll get the benefit of a good verbal skinning if this amounts to nothing,” he mentally told himself with some satisfaction. He rather missed that element of his job, even as he appreciated the fact that it was mostly unnecessary. His staff was well trained and executed his orders nearly flawlessly. Recently any infractions were due to a minor misunderstanding, corrected with a simple change in word usage. While effective, he didn’t find it nearly as satisfying. As Edwin followed Michaelson out of his office door, he found himself missing the old days. His dressing downs were legendary. The switch from private estate to a retreat for those who needed rest had been somewhat rocky. He had been in charge of altering the grounds from those the wealthy and carefree strolled for pleasure and used for amusing diversions to something soothing. Many of his changes had been hard for the staff to take. He had been in his element then, running a tight ship and meeting all resistance with stern authority. Edwin smiled tightly as he saw where Michaelson was leading him. Once the sight of an extremely large and complex hedge maze, this part of the grounds had been among the first areas tamed into a restful space upon his orders. The maze had been deemed one of the most complex ever created and stretched over a far larger swath of land than any other created. Many studied its design from the estate’s windows hoping to better it, very few succeeded. As it drove the average person to distraction, making even himself somewhat uncomfortable should he be pressed into admitting it, Edwin decided it would be too much for the current residents. The edges of the maze had been sheered away, the sod patched in to remove all visible reminders and many of the hedges within removed. Edwin thought such a huge expanse of lawn might disturb the residents nearly as much as the maze had, so he ordered several hedgerows to remain in precise parallel lines across the expanse of lawn. There was nothing confusing or wild about what he left. There had been much resentment as the complexity of the maze had been a point of pride for the estate prior to conversion. Edwin frowned as he saw that Michaelson was indeed leading him to the site of the former maze. He wondered what could be out of order there. As far as he knew everything was in perfect order. Just last week he had taken a ruler and measured the remaining hedges on his weekly inspection. Each individual plant making up each hedgerow was spaced the same distance from its neighbors. The lines of plants were completely straight as were their heights and widths. Each row was exactly the same distance from the others. Nothing could be out of order here. He checked. Three times each week to be exact, in addition to the official inspection. “Wait until the loonies get a look at this,” Edwin heard someone ahead of them say. Beside him Michaelson winced as Edwin’s frown deepened. Everyone knew he insisted on decorum. The residents were to be called nothing but that, if indeed they were called anything at all. Edwin discouraged the staff from both discussion and interaction. It was best to let the residents get on with their resting and recuperation and the staff to get on with their work. Each to his own forum, as he liked to think. He turned the corner as another voice speculated. “Who could have done this? That’s what I want to know.” Edwin drew himself up to his full height, prepared to address his subordinates. His reprimand died on his lips and he could do nothing more than stare dumbly at the scene before him. Someone had been hard at work. An entire row of his meticulously groomed hedges had been trimmed into a line of … elephants. The elephants were perfectly sculpted, in fact for a moment it looked to Edwin’s mind as though someone had merely glued green leaves onto actual elephants and posed the stuffed and oddly decorated creatures on his grounds. But no, here and there he could see the base of the hedge, still firmly planted in the ground as it became part of one of the sculpted feet. They had been sculpted from his neat row. The staff grew quiet as he slowly walked down the line, studying the invasion. There were two life sized bull elephants, three slightly smaller ones he thought might be females and several adolescent elephants of varying sizes, making twelve in all. Edwin was at a loss for words. Someone had carved his meticulously groomed hedge into a dozen parading elephants. How had this happened, who had done this, what would the residents think and most importantly what was he to do now? For the first time in his life, Edwin was uncertain of his next move. |
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