Aaron, along with the silent ‘help’ of Sir Rusty, begin the long and tedious process of planting the garden which will become the basis of his park. There are some stumbles on the way. He’s not a carpenter or any kind of craftsman –
“Hey, you got that right. I was a city kid. This type of living is hard. And Sir Rusty over there isn’t any help. He just stands there gloating.”
Why does he gloat?
“Because I keep messing up. I ordered the wrong seeds the first time, and then the second batch got wet in the mail. The planter boxes fell apart.”
Why?
“Not enough nails, apparently.”
Poor Aaron. But things look pretty good for now. He has a good start on the plants, they’re growing well… although, he does look the slightest bit miserable.
“I’m lonely. Or I was.”
You don’t talk to the plants?
“Why would I do that?”
I don’t know. I’ve heard it makes them grow better if you talk to them. Or play music.
“I didn’t read that in any of those gardening books. I think you’re lying. Anyway, like I said, I was lonely. Was. Not so much now.”
Aaron had, it seemed, picked a prime location for his house/park. There were several small picnic areas in the general vicinity where people often congregated on their lunch hours. He met there Summer Holiday, Vivian Lewis, and this guy who didn’t seem to like him much at first.
They asked a lot of questions about his life. Where he was from —
“Around.”
Where he lived –
“Over there. It’s a work in progress.”
Did he like Newcrest –
“Not particularly.”
Did he know they were looking for someone to vote as mayor?
“But I’M the only one who lives here!?”
Congrats, then, they informed him. You’re a shoe-in!
And so, Aaron found himself accepting the unofficial title of mayor of Newcrest.
“There is one good thing that came from that. One… ”
What’s that?
“I met Jade.”
Jade Rosa, a native of Windenburg, who is an administrative assistant with the council who were ‘running things’ around Newcrest. She came to deliver the news that Aaron had been accepted as the default mayor. She looked around and asked what he intended to do when he was done ‘camping’ and he laughingly told her he didn’t know.
“Only because I don’t.”
We know, Aaron.
He told her that he was sort of working for an Anonymous Benefactor who was ‘helping’ him to have a better life.
A better life than what, she had asked, and Aaron quickly realized that he wanted to tell her the whole truth. But he was also afraid that the whole truth would chase her away.
He shrugged and said, “than what I had.”
In a tent?
“I’m supposed to appreciate the work that goes into it, I think.”
Do you?
“Not yet.”
It was as close to absolute honesty as he could get. She found it refreshing. They both laughed.
The next few weeks saw a lot of Jade. A lot. They hung out, talked about books and movies and by doing so she started wonder can you watch movies on xbox 360? She loved the clubs and often went, but was disappointed when Aaron refused to join her. He couldn’t bear to tell her that he couldn’t leave Newcrest without ruining everything. How could he?
“She stopped coming around, you know?”
Yes, I do.
“She left that night, right after that kiss, and I didn’t see her again for weeks.”
I know.
She ran off and got herself involved with Don Lothario.
“That gigolo.”
Yes.
Don Lothario, the gigolo who probably met her at one of the clubs in Windenburg, wormed his way into Jade’s life while Aaron was busy gardening and looking for a job.
The next thing we know, she’s married to him… married!
“The story she told me, when I saw her again, was that they were at a club and the booze was flowing… and she woke up with a ring on her finger and Don in her bed.”
The ring turned out to be Katrina Caliente’s and after a whole bunch of drama, Jade returned both it and Don.
She told Aaron that she only took up with Don because she thought he wasn’t really interested her.
“It was shocking. When did I ever say that?”
Well, you didn’t ask her out on date or go to the clubs with her… what was she to think?
“Yes, exactly. So… I told her. The truth. That the Benefactor has hobbled me to a set rules about what I can and can’t do, where I can or can’t go. All in the name of rebuilding my life and building a community here in Newcrest.”
What happened next?
“She thought I was crazy, pulling her leg. And then she realized I wasn’t. It was a lot to take in and she said she needed time to absorb.”
In the end, she came back to Aaron. She said she didn’t care about his Anonymous Benefactor and the rules. She loved him. He loved her. That’s all that mattered. Even if it meant having woo-hoo in a tent for little while.
Which, as it turned out, was kind of exciting.