Once again, a big thank you to
blackrandl1958
:for her encouragement and editing.
******
Garden of Eden... A long time ago
It was a beautiful sunny day. Birds were singing, butterflies were flitting about, a stream was gently bouncing off of the rocks at the periphery. Beautiful flowering and fruit trees stood straight; flowers of all colors were plentiful.
Eve was wandering alone this morning as Adam was exploring another part of the garden. She was broken from her reverie by a voice.
"Hi, pretty lady. Beautiful morning... as always, isn't it?" the snake hissed.
"Oh, yeah. This place is beautiful. I love it here. I hope we never have to leave," she answered him.
"Hey, have you ever tried one of these?" the snake asked, holding out a beautiful apple.
"No. We're not supposed to eat from the Tree of Knowledge. God told us we can eat from any other tree, but not that one," she said.
"Yeah, not only is this delicious, but once you eat this, you will know as much as God. In fact, you'll practically be a god. God's not here right now. He'll never know. What could it hurt..."
Somewhere east of Omaha... 2022
It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning. Kenny Richardson had two more lengths of his front yard left to finish. He had sweated through his T-shirt but was smiling widely. He loved the look of his plush, dark green lawn, especially after being mowed. Although he could have easily afforded a riding mower, he much preferred the even look he got from his push mower.
He grimaced when saw the Apex Courier truck pull up at his curb. His wife, Callie, was out grocery shopping, which meant that he'd have to stop mowing long enough to sign for the package or envelope the courier was bringing. He
really
hated to stop mowing before he was finished.
"Man, that's some impressive grass you got there," the courier said as Kenny approached.
"Yeah, all premium blue. None of that mixed shit that everybody pushes. I don't mind the rye part, but I really hate the thin-bladed fescue. Fescue is a damned cousin to crabgrass," Kenny said.
"What you got for me there?"
"Well, it's really for your wife, but you can sign for it if you show me ID," the courier said.
Kenny pulled out his driver's license from the pocket of his cargo shorts. The courier took a photo of the driver's license, said thanks and handed the envelope to Kenny. Kenny looked it over and took it inside his house unopened. He came back out and finished his mowing just as his wife pulled into the driveway.
"I'll grab the bags. You've got an envelope on the table that was delivered by some fancy-ass courier just a few minutes ago," Kenny said.
Kenny made four trips from the car to the kitchen counter bringing the groceries into the house. After he put the last of the bags down, he found his wife of 35 years absorbed into the family room sofa, sobbing softly and looking at several pieces of paper.
"Who died, baby?" Kenny asked.
Callie looked up from the papers and tried to speak, but no sound came out of her mouth. Kenny hadn't seen that look on her face since she found out about her mother's death several years earlier. He sat down next to her on the sofa, put his arms around her body and hugged her tightly. The pair sat in this position for the next several minutes before Callie's tears finally abated.
"Ian Ross died yesterday," Callie barely whispered.
Kenny knew his wife had been close to her former boss, but he was surprised at her level of grief. They had worked closely together for about 10 years, but hadn't seen each other since Kenny and Callie moved to Charlotte, NC, from Phoenix, AZ, about 10 years before. Kenny knew that he probably wasn't the most sensitive individual in the world, but this level of grief over a former employer seemed... excessive.
Kenny quickly thought back to when Callie worked for Ian. She had always expressed the opinion that Ian was a perfect gentleman and a great mentor. He remembered that she worried for him after his longtime wife died a couple of years before they moved, but he had apparently gotten over his grief and malaise by the time Kenny and his wife had moved when Kenny got a large promotion.
"I need to go back to Phoenix for the funeral. It's three days from now," Callie said.
"You
need
to go back for the funeral?" Kenny questioned. "Need?"
Callie glared directly into her husband's eyes. They had been together long enough that he could see real anger there.
"Yes. I
need