CHAPTER 1
Welcome to Lawn and Garden
"Attention Landmark associates. Could we please have all Lawn and Garden associates to the corral? Again, all Lawn and Garden associates please go to the corral." A woman's voice announced over the PA. Aside from the occasional "code Adam"; missing child, or "code white" announcing injury; that was the most exciting announcement Nadia had heard in a while! She was thrilled to be going back to Lawn and Garden!
Today was a fabulously warm April day. It was the kind of early spring day which would have been well spent soaking in rays of vitamin D after winter's cabin fever. All of the Lawn and Garden associates had gathered for a meeting in the corral. The corral is a section of parking lot that's blocked off on one end. It is where all the mulch, sand, manure, and paving stones are kept. All of the tree saplings and shrubs were in the corral also. Working the corral is a coveted position. Most of the time, only the guys worked the corral because it entailed a lot of lifting, but sometimes it was first-come first-serve.
Nadia had transferred back to Lawn and Garden. She had been working in Jewelry since September when she became sales coordinator. The change was good and Nadia always loved a new challenge, but her heart was truly rooted in the Garden Center. Nadia really enjoyed playing harmless pranks and her hazel eyes danced with mischief. She was lighthearted usually with a graceful confidence. Nadia would never have admitted to being a raving beauty but there was something intriguing about her. People seemed to be drawn to her. She was one of three women on the lawn and garden crew of fifteen associates.
"Ok, gather `round my children," Said a stout man with a seriously full beard. "We are going to go around the circle and introduce ourselves starting with me. I'm Paul the department manager. Some of the team members were unable to make it to this meeting. I have already talked with them and there are still a few in the hiring process. Let's start with you Red." Paul said pointing a thick finger in Nadia's direction. "I'm Nadia." Ilene and Sue flanked Nadia's left. "Ilene." "I'm Sue." Glancing around, Nadia observed each face and tried to assess how many would last until Christmas. At least three of these men are in the military or at any rate, prior service. This was not unlikely due to the fact there was a naval air station in walking distance of this particular Land Mark store. One by one each person stated there name.
On Nadia's right, stood a man with military haircut and a bristly mustache, He waved; "My name is Guy." His voice was soft with feminine overtones. To the left of Sue a young man sat on a pallet of patio blocks. He was clean shaven with crystal blue eyes and a plethora of tattoos. "Chris." He said and becoming aware of the fact that he was being observed, sat up straight and smiled. Across the circle, a tall man stood. He appeared to be in his forties with a mustache and grayish hair. Nadia wasn't sure why but he gave her an uneasy, creepy feeling. "Shane," he laughed and spat over his left shoulder. Sue leaned towards Nadia and whispered, "That was classy!" Nadia shrugged in agreement and wrinkled her nose a bit.
Next to Shane is Abe. Nadia knew Abe because she worked with him when she was first hired a couple of years ago. Abe was older than dirt and was more like a fixture in Lawn and Garden. He had a really bad habit of mumbling and very few people could actually understand him. Alan, armed with sarcasm and an insane amount of trivia knowledge, stood between Shane and Paul. He was practically second in command in Lawn and garden and another person Nadia knew prior to this season. There were still some of the crew that had not turned up for the meeting, but they would be working soon enough.
"Welcome to the crew." Nadia's concentration and assessment was interrupted when Paul spoke again. He had a massive amount of unruly black curls and his beard covered most of his face which made him look like a giant lawn gnome. "Those of you that are new, I am Paul. I already mentioned that I am the department manager of Lawn and Garden. So what I say goes". Paul paused and smiled for a second, and then he continued. "Hopefully we can all get along and work together. If any of you have any problems, please, feel free to come and talk to me. I want us to work as one big happy family." Finishing that with a sarcastic smile, he gave a little chuckle and said. "I know a few of you are smart asses and I think that we should get along just fine." He scanned his audience and began to speak once more. "I don't care if you become friends; just get your work done. One thing I will insist on is coverage here in the corral. If you are out here and need to leave, come in and get someone to cover the corral. Ok? Now with that said, get to work." He showed them away with a flourished wave.
Everyone looked at each other wondering if Paul's speech was done or if he was being sarcastic. The group unanimously broke up and Nadia, Sue, and Ilene were walking towards the gate. "So, are you glad to be back in lawn and garden Nadia?" Sue asked. All three of the ladies were about the same height. Sue seemed older than she was and her light brown hair was pulled back in a grimy scrunchy. She was a hard worker and one of the best people to have on your side. What she may have lacked in appearance she made up for in personality. Sue was known as the plant guru. If anyone had questions about plants, she had the answers.
"It's great! I love it here; so much less drama and gossip. Only real trouble to contend with will be keeping those plants in line. They sometimes get a tad sassy!" Nadia flashed a smile towards Ilene. Ilene halfheartedly returned the smile as they walked. Normally she would have put in her two cents worth. Ilene had short brown hair and somewhat dark complexion. She rarely used her filter in conversation. When something crossed her mind she usually had no problem verbalizing her thoughts.
Nadia noticed that Ilene seemed quiet and nudged her with an elbow, "What's up Ilene?" "Oh, I'm just tired today;" She said as she shoved her hands in her back pockets. Nadia knew that there was more that Ilene wasn't saying but she didn't want to push for information.
"Well if there is anything I can help with, let me know." Nadia offered. Ilene sighed, "You're such a good girl."
The three women walked into the Florida room and Ilene told Nadia and Sue the notes for the day. "Paul wants all the plants watered, inside and out in the corral. He wants all the patio furniture moved as well. Displays of each grill and patio set needs to be assembled."
"But the guys can do most of that stuff." Snipped Sue. "Paul would like you to concentrate on the plants.
There was always a bit of tension between Sue and Ilene, but this evening seemed almost thick enough to cut. "Ok, that's fine by me," Laughed Nadia. "I'm willing to do whatever needs to be done."
"Well, I'm going home. My shift's done for today. Bye baby." Ilene sighed then turned with hands still shoved in her back pockets and headed out the door." Bye Mama", Nadia said with a wave. "Wow! What's buggin Ilene?" Nadia was concerned.
"Don't know, but she's been extra grumpy a lot lately!" Sue exclaimed.
"I hope she can work it out," Nadia said thinking out loud. "Me too Nadia. It's nearly impossible to work with her right now," Added Sue as she reached for the water hose above her head. "I'm tired of her superiority complex!" Nadia looked around and asked, "Where would you like for me to start?" Sue pointed and said, "Check the plants in the greenhouse area." "Okie dokie!" Nadia grinned and turned on her heels.
Lawn and garden was comprised of three inside sections and the corral. The Florida room entrance connected with pets department in the main part of the store. Upon entering the Florida room one would see; aisles of shelves to the left, and electric sliding door straight ahead, and grill displays to the right. The register and another sliding door were set between the door straight ahead and the displays. Going through either of these sliding doors will bring you to a large "L" shaped room known as the green house or indoor patio. Fifty feet from the door by the register is the gate to the parking lot and the corral is directly straight across from the gate. The open patio or open top, is to the right before exiting the gate. The open patio has shade cloths strapped to an overhead metal frame. These cloths are simply to give shade to some types of plants and do absolutely nothing to keep out the rain.
Chris and Guy came in from the corral about half an hour after the others and decided it would be good fun to get Sue riled up. Guy crept up to the back side of the rack Sue was watering while Chris distracted her in conversation. Guy reached up to the valve and turned off the water then quickly turned it on again. Sue's shoes were now soaked. "That's not funny! You boys are so retarded!" Sue was yelling as Chris and Guy came running out of the open top laughing hysterically. "Did you see her face?!" Chris snickered. Guy was almost rolling on the floor with laughter. "Yeah, it was hilarious!" They saw Nadia watching and devised another scheme.
Nadia smiled and went back to watering the plants in the greenhouse patio. Things had quieted down for about an hour or so. Chris thought it was high time to stir up a ruckus. Using hand signals, Chris motioned for Guy to carry out their plan. Guy nodded and they charged towards Nadia like raging bulls. They swept her up with ease, lacing their elbows around her arms, and placed their free hand on her waist and began to run out the gate. The looked quickly to make sure no cars were coming and ran out to the corral.
"PUT ME DOWN! What are you clowns doing?" She shouted, half laughing, "You two are crazy!" They plopped her down on a pallet of paving stones. "Ow!" Nadia whined. "Ok, I've got your number."
"Maybe you should call sometime." Chris taunted. Guy put his thumbs to his ears and waved his fingers, "Bring it!" They talked for a couple minutes getting know a bit about each other's backgrounds. "Ok, so you were both Marines and now you are in the Navy? Why?"
"Well," Chris began, "my time of service was up and I decided I would be done. Then some other circumstances arose and I wanted to get back in, but they wouldn't let me. So, I went to the Navy." Nadia turned to Guy, "What's your story?"
"It's similar to his except, I was broken!" Guy laughed, "So I switched to the Navy so I could stay in the military."
"How about you?" Chris and Guy asked simultaneously.
"My Dad was Navy and he ended up retiring in Maine. My parents had some grand idea they were going to own and operate a bed and breakfast. Sadly, that never came to be. My husband, also my high school sweet heart, is a Marine recruiter and he requested to come back to Maine this tour for family sake." Nadia said in an offhand tone.
Chris looked confused, "then why are you working at Landmarks? Why don't you go to College?"
"Been there, done that. I have the degree to prove it." She replied in a matter of fact voice "Really? What did you study?" asked Guy after he managed to pick up his jaw.
"I have a Bachelor of arts in Government with emphasis in PreLaw and a minor in French. I also have studied three other languages, formally." They stood there gawking and finally Chris exclaimed, "You're crazy! Why are you wasting your time here?! So, you are a linguist and could have some high paying government job, but you work here?"
Nadia put her hands on her hips and pretended to offended; "I like working here. It's fun. It's kinda like an easy A on an exam. You know? The type where you pretty much just show up and you ace the test." She explained.
"You can't possibly be old enough for all that!" Chris scoffed. "Yeah, you can't be." Guy agreed. "How old do you boys think I am?" Chris shifted uncomfortably, "Um ... Well, maybe 23." Nadia laughed, "You are too kind and a very bad at guessing ones age!"
"Have you met Casey yet?" Guy asked changing the subject "No. Haven't had the pleasure as of yet." She said politely." When does she work?" "SHE?!" Guy couldn't help himself and snickered incredulously, "he, not she." Nadia felt her cheeks blush, "Sorry, I'm just not used to guys being named `Casey'. When does HE work?" "He should be here tomorrow. He's pretty laid back." Chris said with a smile.
"Well then, I look forward to meeting him. What time are you two out this evening?" "Ten", was their stereo answer. Nadia stood up and dusted off, "We should get back to work before someone complains about us just sitting here." The guys agreed and they all set to finishing their tasks.
The next day when Nadia came in she headed straight to the Garden Center and grabbed the clipboard with the evening notes. There was rarely anything new or exciting happening. Nadia made her rounds through the garden center and then out to the corral. She spied Shane and another man she didn't know. He did not look like a customer so she guessed it must be a new associate.
Nadia donned her sunglasses and casually made her way over to them. Shane had walked away to help a customer which made Nadia feel much better. She had just met Shane yesterday and already wanted to avoid him at all cost. Something about him really irked her. "Hi! I'm Nadia," she offered her hand cheerily. "G'day Ma'am!" the new associate smiled and returned her greeting. "Aussie?" she inquired. Nadia was always intrigued by anything other than the mundane. His accent certainly was a pleasant contrast to the harsh Down East language of the Lobster Boatmen and half the state of Maine. Most people with a thick Maine accent sounded uneducated. They added and dropped "R's" in crazy places when speaking.
He seemed very pleased that she recognized his accent. "Absolutely! Well, my family and I just moved from there."
"You are military?" She guessed as his accent was muddled. His Australian mixed harmoniously with a slight southern drawl.
He gave a little salute and a wink; "Yes ma'am! Retired USMC, Staff Sergeant Casey Shepherd at your service!" Nadia was thrilled to be surrounded by so many Marines; "My Husband is a Marine!"
Just then their conversation was interrupted by three police cars speeding through the parking lot. The cruisers screeched to a halt at the entrance to main part of the store. They watched intently as five police officers jumped out of the vehicles and ran into the store. Casey and Nadia could not let their curiosity get the better of them because two customers had just pulled in to have their trucks loaded with mulch and paving stones.
Shane slinked over and showing his interest said, "I bet they caught someone stealing crap." He spat something out that landed extremely close to Casey's foot.
"Do you mind? You're in the presence of a lady." Casey slid his foot away as he reprimanded Shane. Nadia was honored by Casey's chivalry. Shane just seemed more annoyed and turned to face Nadia. "Sorry. Hey! Let me borrow your sunglasses." He demanded as he reached out to take them from her face. She ducked away and looked at him with severe disbelief; "Uh, NO! Are you serious? You don't ask to borrow sunglasses of someone who you hardly know."
"C'mon!" he obviously thought he was being cute, "You know me and besides, they'd look better on me. And don't you care about my eyesight?"
Nadia had heard enough. "I cannot lend what is not mine. My sister loaned them to me. Yes, I care about your eyesight, so I suggest you go in and buy you a $5 pair of glasses."
Shane was put out by the fact that she said no. "You're a snob! Fiery though, I like it! Feisty women are so hot!" He pressed the right side of his nose turned his head a bit to the left and blew snot out. Nadia made a disgusted face and a gagging sound.
Casey interrupted at that moment, "there's no need for name-calling. The lady says `no' and you should leave it at that."
"You are disgusting Shane." Nadia felt nauseous watching him spit again.
"Are you gonna go tattle on me now?" he asked in a mocking voice. "First of all, I don't tattle. Second, if I went to the managers every time something or someone offended me, I'd live in their office." Nadia said frankly taking a deep breath. Casey nodded with a grin of approval. He was content to know Nadia would speak up for herself if the need arose.
