I Wonder What They Do with the Plants in the Winter

A super-short love story with a con and a twist.

Mary sat on a wood and cast iron bench on the Village Green. Her hand patted her stomach. She tapped her toe on the cobblestone walk to an imaginary beat.

Tap-tap-tap.

Her name isn't really Mary. Mary's just a generic pseudonym for the American Girl. And perhaps the song in her head was the Tom Petty classic. But it wasn't a classic to her. It was a little over a year old.

Her name could be anything. Kerry. Carrie. Keri with a heart over the I. But it definitely wasn't any of those. Not in her condition. Worthington was too small for anyone named something other than Mary to be in her condition.

She was staring off into space, waiting for Jimmy to show up. He was ten minutes late and counting.

Do we really need to go into his name not actually being Jimmy?

They didn't know each other all that well. They saw each other in the hallways between classes, but hung out in completely different crowds. He was KISS. She was disco. Sure, his rock-n-roll-in-denim style and light, shoulder length hair, feathered to perfection, caught her attention. But, other than that, she wasn't interested. She was more into the preppy type. She made this distinction as a matter of necessity.

You can play with those boys all you want. But keep in mind that no one outside of McDonald's is going to hire someone that looks like that, her mother was fond of saying.

Jimmy just so happened to work at McDonald's.

As this golden nugget of advice drifted from her mind she noticed the street lamps. On either side of all the lamp posts, along the main part of High Street that passed through Worthington, hung planters. She wasn't sure what kind of plants they were. And, to be honest, she didn't care.

She just knew that the city put a lot of time and care into them. More care than she ever felt.

“Whatchya thinkin' about?” Jimmy said as he walked up the cobblestone path.

“Did you know they have a truck, with this big huge tank of water on the back, that they drive down the street and water those plants one by one?”

“Umm... sure. Yeah. Why?”

“Oh, nothing. I just think it's interesting that they make all this effort, hang the plants out in spring, water them all summer, take 'em all in come fall... You comin' or goin'?”

Jimmy cocked an eyebrow. Then he looked himself over and realized that she was referring to his work shirt, replete with striped collar and the golden arches, peeking through his denim jacket.

“Dang. I thought I had that covered. Going.” He sat next to her on the bench, leaving an awkward space between them.

“You shouldn't be ashamed. You work for a living. The kids 'round here can't say that. They get what ever they want handed to 'em.”

“Are you sure you wanna do this?” Jimmy said abruptly.

Mary became quiet and still.

“I mean,” he continued, “I can keep workin', save some. I just... I just don't know if this is the right thing to do.”

“Who's to say what's right or not. I know I'm just not ready...”

“What about other options...”

“Look!” Mary was clearly agitated at this point, “It's my body and I've already made my mind up.”

“Okay, Okay,” Jimmy was slightly despondent, “It just seems to me you're bein' a little impulsive.”

“Kinda like you were at the party...”

Jimmy sank and reached his hands to his face, “That's... that's not really fair. We were both pretty drunk. Neither of us knew what we were doing.”

Mary sat upright, hands on her knees, “And now we do. It's time to be responsible.”

Frustrated, Jimmy stood up and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to Mary, “It's all I've got. You sure you wanna do this now? If you wait I can go with you tomorrow or something.”

Mary, still sitting proper, looked down at the ground, “The sooner the better,” she said.

“Okay. Well, let me know how it goes... ya know, if you need anything else.”

“I will. Thanks.”

Jimmy turned to leave.

“You know, somethin' like this would just make it worse for both of us,” Mary said.

Jimmy stopped, not looking back at her. “Maybe,” he replied, then walked briskly off to work.

Mary resumed her toe tapping right where she left off, anxiously looking around.

Tap-tap-tap went the American Girl.

Not more than five minutes after Jimmy left, Eric strolled up and sat next to Mary on the bench. He had a stern, serious expression on his face. It bothered Mary. It intimidated her a little, but she couldn't let it bother her.

And, to be sure, Eric is this kid's name. He's the type of kid that needs to be exposed for what he is- a wretch. Unfortunately, this wasn't going to be the time. In fact, that time may never come.

Every school has an Eric or two roaming the halls. That spoiled little rich kid whose only true talent is taking advantage of those less fortunate than he.

This particular Eric's father had already “donated” enough to the school for his son to be the starting quarterback, one of the starting pitchers, and the captain of the basketball team. So it's reasonable to assume that Eric had a cushy job waiting at the bank for him once he graduated college.

And he wasn't about to have his life fucked up by some two-cent piece of a*s.

“Did he buy it?” Eric said.

Mary flashed the bills that Jimmy gave her, neatly stacked and pressed smooth. She could almost swear she saw Eric salivate slightly at the sight of them.

“Good. That's good,” he said.

“I just don't understand why you didn't take care of it yourself. It's yours,” Mary said.

“Hey, I was just lookin' to have a good time. You didn't hafta open your legs.”

“That's all I was? A good time?”

“Well, I wouldn't say it was all that good. But, yeah.”

Eric stood, imposing his authority on her. He fussed with the collar of his button down shirt, making sure it was upright and cocked just right. He was of the opinion that it was better to look good than to feel good. But he lacked the moral fiber to not feel both.

“So, when you goin'?” He asked.

“I made an appointment at Planned Parenthood for tonight... So, as soon as you stop talking to me.”

“How you getting' there?”

“COTA.”

“Well, let's get going,” he said.

Mary stood and the two walked silently to the nearest bus stop. There was a girl waiting at the stop. She had close cropped jet black hair, her eyes were heavy with black mascara, and she wore holey jeans. She had a Long Johns top under a t-shirt that had the sleeves cut off and said Disco Sucks.

Eric, initially, looked disgusted. After a second or two he thought aloud, “Eh, I'd give it a shot. Might be a wild ride.”

Mary looked at him in disbelief. She didn't understand how someone could be so callous to others in this world.

The punk rock girl just sneered at him.

“Here- here's some money for bus fair,” Eric said.

“That's all you're gonna do for this, isn't it?” Mary hopelessly asked.

“Hey, I had my fun. I'm just payin' ya what it's worth.”

“Well, thanks for nothing,” she said as she snatched the loose change from his hand. She was better than him. She knew she was better than him, inside and out, no matter what others though about people like her. No matter what she had done up to this point. People like Eric deserve it.

Because she knew she was better than him she took the high road, and kept silent about what she really thought about him. But if looks could kill...

The number 2 bus came to a stop in front of them. The punk rock girl stepped to the side and let Mary get on first. She then shot a contemptuous glance at Eric before getting on herself.

Mary dropped Eric's loose change into the fair deposit with indifference. She walked down the isle and took a seat near the middle of the bus, next to a window away from the sidewalk. As the bus took off, the punk rock girl plopped into the seat next to Mary.

“Was it awful?” She asked.

Mary rested her head on the other girl's shoulder. “Not too bad. Hurt a little, so I'm glad I only had to do it once. A shame we had to trick Jimmy, though. He was kinda nice.”

“Well, I thought the other kid would pay to protect his sorry a*s. At least you didn't actually have sex with Jimmy.”

“Yeah. Hey- I wonder what they do with the plants in the winter?”

“We won't have to worry about that where we're going.”

The two American Girls watched High Street rush by in lights as they rode. Passed Graceland. Passed Clintonville. Passed the Planned Parenthood on campus, all the way to the Greyhound Bus station.

Author's Note

There is something not explicitly stated in this story and I want to know if anyone picks up on it. If not, I may have to edit it. But otherwise, be kind. I think this is pretty good. I'd like to get into publishing, so I'm putting out samples of my stuff in hopes someone will be interested.