Jeopardy In July

Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

"They are some interesting characters," I said.

Jessie laughed. "You're not kidding, and they say whatever's on their mind, too. I guess when you get old, you don't care what people think anymore."

"So there is a bright side," I said.

We walked through a set of glass doors to the pool where a water aerobics class was finishing up. Remarkably, not a single woman in the class had wet hair; all of them were still perfectly coiffed. I assumed the teacher had been given strict instructions about that. We kept walking and passed the shuffleboard court where Clarence Petersen had collapsed, then the tennis courts, a small putting green, and a picnic area with half a dozen tables. There was even a volleyball net strung over a sandy area. Considering that I couldn't hold my own in a game of volleyball, I wondered if the net was just for show, or whether I was in worse shape than an eighty-year old.

"I've been saving the best for last," Jessie said. We were standing by a wooden gate with an ornate iron handle which she unlatched with a bit of fanfare.

"Ta-da!"

The gate swung open to reveal a delightful garden that seemed to go on forever and I tried to take it all in. Mature fruit trees around the perimeter formed a natural border and included orange trees covered with tiny white blossoms, grapefruit trees, towering mango trees, some scattered guava and papaya trees, and a lone lychee nut tree covered with its trademark bumpy red fruit. Farther in, half a dozen pineapple plants had staked their claim alongside finger bananas that swayed in the breeze. To our right was a hothouse with exotic flowers and to our left a raised vegetable garden, each row neatly labeled with a tiny picture of the bounty to come. My favorite part was a large stand of bamboo in the center of the garden girded by a wooden shelf that held a dozen bonsaied plants. A path of dove-gray pebbles wound gently away from the bamboo in concentric circles like ripples on a lake and teak benches offered a shady place to sit. The overall effect was balance and harmony and a Zen-like tranquility.

I told Jess I wanted to live there, meaning the garden, of course, not the old folks' home with its boring food and Sinatra reruns. I wasn't ready for that yet.

"I know what you mean," she said, "I love this place. Uncle Teddy thinks I come here to see him. Shh, don't tell him."

As we wandered around the garden, I thought about how much Kip would've enjoyed it. Then again, he would have been showing off the whole time, reciting the name of each plant, first in English and then in Latin--not his most endearing quality, I'm afraid. One time when we were in the Everglades together, we came upon a huge gator and I was freaking out, convinced we were goners. I started composing my farewell tweet to the world while Kip tried to distract me, droning on about mangroves and wetlands and ecosystems. He thinks if he ignores my crazy side, it will just go away. All I can say to that is keep dreaming, babe.

Jessie guided me toward the hothouse. "I want you to meet someone."

We paused in front of a sign posted at the entrance: STOP. Are you wearing perfume? Are you allergic to bee stings? If so, please stay out of the hothouse for your own safety.

Jessie gave me a questioning look and I shook my head. She pretended to sniff me so I sniffed her back and then we went inside.

Calling it a hothouse was an understatement--it was a sauna, a sauna with a couple of fans blowing hot air around. Granted, South Florida is always on the warm side, especially at midday in July, but it was damn hot in there. I planned to take a quick look around to be polite before escaping to the chilly embrace of the closest AC.

The sign inside the hothouse was more welcoming than the one outside. It read: "Flowers feed the soul" in colorful letters against a background of daisies. A strawberry blonde woman with her back to us was bending over a table filled with seedlings.

"Hey Jodi," Jessie said, "What are you growing this time?"

"See if you can guess." Jodi turned towards us with a playful expression. A friendly woman with intelligent hazel eyes, she looked to be in her mid-forties.

As we studied the plants, Jodi surveyed them with the pride of a mother duck counting her ducklings. I sensed something familiar about the plants once I considered the possibility that they might not be flowers.

"I have one of those growing in my refrigerator," I said, finally. "Which also proves I'm not a vampire," I said for Jessie's benefit.

"Oh, it's garlic," she said, "how fun!"

Jodi clapped me on the back. "You get an 'A' in horticulture," she said to me.

"And an 'F' in housekeeping," I laughed.

"It all depends on how low you set the bar," Jessie said. "Jodi, this is my friend, Jamie. Jamie, this is Jodi Martin, the activities director here."

"I knew you looked too young to be a resident," I said with a smile.

"Give me a few decades," she said. "I'll have to convince my husband first."

"Jodi is responsible for transforming this area into the Garden of Eden," Jessie gushed with a sweeping gesture that encompassed everything in sight.

"Now let's not get carried away," Jodi said, embarrassed. "I had lots of help. Which reminds me, have you met Eli yet? He's an amateur botanist and he's been teaching me so much. He used to live on the Ein Gedi Kibbutz where they have a world-famous garden. Come check out this weird plant he brought me."

As she led us to the far end of the hothouse, we passed lovely orchids in every color of the rainbow, some hanging from the ceiling, others in pots on the table, before we came to a table with the strangest plant I'd ever seen. Bright green leaves surrounded a hot pink vertical stalk which was shaped like a complicated TV antenna with horizontal stalks jutting out from it. At the end of each stalk was a white ball with a black dot in the middle that looked like an eyeball.

"What do you think?" Jodi asked.

Jessie shuddered. "It gives me the creeps! No way could I sleep with that thing in my room."

"What in the world is it?" I asked. When Kip was Parks Director, he had dragged me through every park in Broward County and I was sure I'd seen all the native species in Florida. "This has to be an invasive plant."

Jodi's face lit up. "I see you know a little something, but I'm afraid you're wrong. This beauty is a native and it's called White Baneberry, also known as Doll's Eyes. It actually grows in the wild."

I took out my phone and snapped a picture to send Kip. "It looks like a weird kind of Halloween candy."

Jodi laughed. "I don't know much about it, but I wouldn't eat it, it's probably poisonous. It's like what they say about mushrooms--all mushrooms are edible but some of them only once."

A happy bark signaled the arrival of Marley. He was with his buddy, Herb Lowenthal.

"Hey girls, it's almost lunchtime so I brought Marley back." Herb sounded winded.

"Thanks," Jessie said. "It's time for his walk anyway. I'll catch you next time, Jodi." She turned to me. "You coming?"

I watched with envy as Herb headed back to the place where cool breezes wafted through vents, caressing the back of your neck and drying your sweaty forehead. With a parched throat and a body on the verge of mutiny, I heard myself say "All right, I guess."