Fiction Friday - The Tree

Mrs. Joshua Leonard looked at the small tree in puzzlement. The tree looked back, though she didn't notice. Her husband explained, "Now that our family is growing, I wanted to buy you a gift that will grow with us." The little lime tree pushed itself taller. Toni Leonard put her hands on her still-flat abdomen, and looked up at him with a smile.

"That is so sweet, Josh." He knew how she liked to use limes in cooking and in drinks. The small potted tree looked lovely in their sunny dining room, and relished the sun pouring in.

Six years later, with two small boys running around, the tree was almost as tall as the doorway between kitchen and dining room. Toni had named it "Lenore" and considered the tree her feminine counterpart in a house full of maleness. 

Lenore guarded J.J. and Leo's growth, marked on the door frame in her shadow. She laughed to watch them do silly baby things, helped with their hide-and-seek games, and feared for herself as one by one each tiny child learned to pull themselves up to standing by gripping the edge of her pot. Bitsy, their young calico cat, kept Lenore company, napping on the pebbles that topped the soil in the pot, and caressing Lenore by rubbing her scent on the trunk.

Lenore showed off in holiday decor suited to each season, and played with the boys' toys when they hid them in her branches. Lenore was a part of the family.

"Toni, I've got news!" Josh exclaimed as he burst into the house one evening. He tousled each boy's head as he hurried to find Toni in the kitchen. Lenore listened at the door.

"Good news?" Toni asked as he kissed the back of her neck in greeting.

"I think so, but I want your opinion first." The boys were building an extensive railway system, out of hearing, but Lenore was eager to hear everything. "They've offered me a promotion... if I'm willing to take over the Tempe office."

"Tempe!" Tempe, Arizona was a far cry from their Kansas home. 

"What do you think? Warmer climate. And we all enjoyed our trip to the southwest last summer." Lenore had missed the family those two weeks that they traveled. Usually they weren't gone so long. The neighbor who came in to give her water and clean the cat box paid her no attention. If not for Bitsy, Lenore might have died of loneliness. The whole family loved the trip? Would Lenore like it? Josh was watching Toni for reaction. "Should I say yes?" They continued discussing it up until dinner time, when they told J.J. and Leo, selling it as a big adventure. Lenore wondered whether she'd be going on this adventure, too.

The next day, when Toni came in to water Lenore, she explained everything to the young tree. "I hope you'll like Arizona, Lenore." Whew, Lenore waved slightly in relief that she was to go with her family. Toni's thoughts poured out. "I bet you will. It's warmer there, and you - you should be kept warm! I'm surprised you've done so well here!" Bitsy curled around Toni's ankles. "You too, Bitsy. We'll be just fine." But was she saying that to herself or to Lenore?

In Tempe, Lenore began to sag. The trip had been long and stressful for her and every cell of her being was drained. Bitsy still came to keep her company in the new house, and seemed to understand Lenore was unwell, but the humans didn't listen to Bitsy's plaintive cries on behalf of Lenore. 

Try as she might, Lenore produced less fruit and the few limes were smaller than before. Josh began moving her to different places in the house, trying to find the perfect mix of sunlight and airflow. They tried more and less water. Finally one day, Toni had discovered the answer. She moved the tree out onto the patio.

"I did my research, Josh. Or at least, the guy at the nursery did. We have to be sure to bring her inside at night for a while, and after she's doing better we can plant her outside! It will work!" A weak and tired Lenore hoped that Toni was right.

When the time came to replant Lenore in the earth out back of the house, Lenore was already feeling better. She was eager to reach her roots down deep into the warm soil. Toni was careful to place stakes around her to protect the fragile trunk from her boys' tearing around the yard, kicking balls into every corner of the yard. Lenore thrived. She grew - roots deep, branches high and wide.

The following summer, the stakes came down. Her trunk was strong enough to accept a soccer ball kicked into it; her fruit was good; foliage was thick. Bitsy, always an indoor cat, mewled out the window looking at the friend she could no longer be with. Meanwhile, Alf, their new rescue dog, began enjoying her shade in his own way.

The family changed over the years, but Lenore remained, a constant reminder to Toni of the promise of growth through adversity.

It's FICTION FRIDAY!

Forgive any technical errors in growing a tree. I'm not a botanist.
Every Friday I write a new flash fiction piece. If you have a writing prompt you'd like to see turned into a story, just leave it in a comment.