A Peach Tree; Part Two

Ding dong.

Daisy and I are at the green-colored house, standing on their porch. We patiently wait for someone to answer. I know someone is home, I just saw the boy. Then we hear rummaging around and look at each other. The door opens and a middle-aged woman comes out. She gasps.

“OH MY GOD!” she says and hugs us. “Are you here for Abner? 

You must be. Are you his friends? Oh yes! I knew he had friends!” she cries.

Daisy and I are very uncomfortable. What do we say?

“Um. . . yeah, we’re here to see Abner,” I say, only hoping Abner is the kid in the window. 

“Oh! Sorry, sorry! It’s just been. . . so long since a friend has come over. Please, come in!” 

Daisy and I do come in, and the house is not what I expected. 

There are paintings from around medieval times, along with artifacts from that timeline as well. Rugs of purples, reds, and greens surround the hallways. In the dining room sits a long, royal-like table, that’s a dark color of wood, with the fanciest chairs on the end. More paintings. I see a glimpse of another room, what looks to be an almost normal room, with a desk computer, a typewriter, and paper. Probably more, I just can’t see it. 

“Sorry for all this. I’m an author, and well, I write fairy tales and old-timey stuff. So I like to keep the vibe everywhere I go,” the woman says. Daisy eyes me, she doesn’t like this place. It creeps her out. Same here.

She takes us to the kitchen. It’s the only normal-ish thing in the house, but still, it’s messed up.

For some reason, chemical bottles and scientific tools are laid out all over the counters. Tubes and bottles of liquid and measuring tools and goggles and lab coats. It’s a mess. But in the middle of the mess, is a boy. Sitting on the counters, holding two tubes with liquid, then he screams and drops them. They shatter to the ground in a thousand broken pieces. 

“What? What is it Abner?” the woman runs up to Abner, who is staring at us as if we are ghosts. 

“W-w-what are they doing here?” he demands, trembling.

“Oh, Abny. Are they not friends?” the woman looks me straight in the eye with a devilish look. I’m honestly terrified.

“GET AWAY FROM ME YOU ALIEN!” Abner puts on a foiled hat and swings his arms at us as if to protect himself. Daisy and I step back.

“A-Alien? Oh, gosh,” the woman slaps her forehead. “Abny, sweetums, I’m sure they aren’t aliens.”

“MOM GET BACK! THEY’LL USE THEIR POWERS AGAINST US ALL!” Abner screams.

“How do you know?” his Mom asks gently, pushing away the foiled hat her son is desperately trying to give her.

“I have SEEN them plotting and planning!” he says. “THAT one talks to animals! Animals! Isn’t that strange? And THIS one, I’ve never seen her before!”

So that’s what he was doing. He thought we were aliens, so he was spying on us to check if he was right. If I didn’t know any better I would have thought he was the alien.

“We’re not aliens,” I say, but Abner doesn’t believe me.

“THAT’S WHAT AN ALIEN WOULD SAY!” he’s breathing in and out very deeply now, and his mom is starting to worry. 

“Calm down, now. I promise they won’t hurt you.”

After about ten minutes of coaxing, Abner is starting to calm down. Maybe he realizes we aren’t aliens. I try to speak encouraging words, proof I would never hurt him. Honestly, Daisy and I both just want to leave.

“Sorry about him,” Abner’s mom says, and rubs her eyes. “He’s not used to company.” I can tell she’s exhausted and embarrassed. “You can go home if you’d like.”

Daisy is nodding, and I am too, but we both know it would be wrong. So we stay. We stay and help because Abner seems lonely, and it’s getting to his head. Obviously, he doesn’t have any friends. I feel terrible. 

“So Abner, are you convinced?” I ask.

“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles. “But one more strange thing and I’m calling 911.” 

We take Abner outback because he’s been cooped up in his house for too long. We show him the peach tree and offer him a peach. First, he refuses, but after he sees us eat one, he’s convinced and digs in. 

“Aren’t they good?” I say, and Abner nods. 

“I need to test these,” he grabs a couple more, but Daisy stops him.

“No, keep them here. We don’t need to know why they taste good. Just enjoy them how it is,” it’s the first words she’s spoken to him. I’m surprised by her love for this tree. I kind of want to ask.

“Okay. . .” Abner still seems suspicious of us, but I think he knows we are trustworthy.

“Why, Daisy?” I didn’t mean to be intrusive, but I hardly get to ask any questions. I don’t know anything about this girl. 

“Well. . .I want them to last,” Daisy says quietly. Everything she says is quiet.

“That makes sense, but won’t they grow back?”

Daisy pauses. “Okay, the real reason is that my great-grandma planted this tree.”

I’m surprised. Abner and I both are. “Really?” I say.

“Yes. My great-grandma and my grandma have lived in this very house for years. I found a single page of her diary in the attic, on the floor. Grandma must have accidentally left it there, maybe it fell out while carrying my great grandma’s old boxes. It said something about a peach tree. I could get it if you want. I can tell more about my ancestors.”

Abner and I both nod. We want to learn more. 

Daisy comes back with a couple papers. She knows very little about her great-grandmother but does have a couple pieces of evidence for what she used to do.

“It says here;” Daisy began to read the diary entry. “And we planted it very carefully. Rob packed the soil on top, and Catherine watered it. Now there’s a tiny seed in the soil. Soon it will grow big and strong. I’ll be sure my kids (If I ever have any) take care of the tree. It’s not just any peach tree. It’s an Ancestor Peach Tree. Takes forever to grow, but bears the best peaches. Lincoln took me near the tree for a picnic, and you won’t believe this, but it was the first time he kissed me! It was a wonderful day, and I never expected it to happen. I’ve got to go eat dinner now, so goodbye diary! --Ally.” she finishes. “Lincoln is my great-grandpa, so they actually got married!” she exclaims. “And this is only one page. I wonder what she was saying before this.”

“Oh wow. That’s really cool, Daisy,” I say. Abner is staring at the page.

“Did you say Lincoln?” he asks.

“Yes. My great grandmother’s husband,” Daisy replies.

“The name sounds so familiar. Oh, I know! My grandpa’s name was Linc!” Abner exclaims. 

“Wait. Really?” Daisy says. “One of my grandma’s brothers was named Linc, after my great-grandpa. . .”

Soon, it dawns on everyone. Could Abner and Daisy be. . . related? 

“What a coincidence!” Abner says happily.

Or, maybe it dawns on some of us.

“I know nothing about my grandparents. They died when I was young, and I guess I’ve never mentioned them,” I say with a shrug.

“Even on your dad’s side?” Daisy asks. I’m very quiet.

“Um. . . my dad died when I was five,” I say softly.

“Oh. . .” Daisy gets extra quiet and doesn’t say anything. “I’m sorry.”

“So just because of that, you don’t see your grandparents?” Abner asks. His remark slightly hurts, but he is right. 

“Abner! That was rude!” Daisy raises her voice for the first time. 

“No it’s fine,” I say. “He didn’t mean it. I’m not certain, honestly. My mom is just. . . yeah.”

“I get you. My dad is in the army.”

We all stop and stare at Abner. His dad is in the army. . .? He’s sounding so normal all of a sudden now. My heart shatters for him. 

“I’m terribly sorry Abner. That must be hard,” Daisy says. 

“Yeah sometimes,” Abner shrugs it off. “But can you believe your great-grandma planted this tree?”

“When she was young. Very young. With her best friends,” Daisy adds. 

I want to learn more. I want to learn more about this tree, these houses, their grandparents. It feels like they’re something special about it all. Why a peach tree? Are Abner and Daisy related, or it just a coincidence?

“Hey Abner, do you have a family tree?” I ask. 

“Um, I don’t know, if I did I bet aliens took it to do research on me, though,” he replies, and I want to smack my forehead.

“Can you go ask your mom?” 

“Sure, I guess.” Abner gets up and heads towards his house. I look at Daisy.

“What about you?” I’m getting up now, and I want to ask my mom about our family,

“No, I already checked. Family trees are uncommon, you know,” Daisy replies. We suddenly hear a shout, and it’s coming from Daisy’s house.

“Daisy! Time to eat dinner! Get inside!” 

“That’s my dad,” Daisy says. “Sorry. But hey, can we meet again? Tomorrow afternoon at the tree?”

I nod. I actually really want to see Daisy again. “Yes. I probably have to go in soon, too,” I say with a smile. 

Daisy gets up and starts running towards her house. “Bye Jen!” 

Wow. It’s been what, four hours? And I already have a friend. Daisy’s sweet and caring, and I like her overall. I wonder if she’ll be my bud this whole summer. Honestly, I hope so. 

Maybe she’s not so weird. What if talking to animals pleases her, or calms her, or gives her someone to talk to? When I’m that lonely I certainly have my own ways of coping. 

And Abner. Sure he’s. . . the oddest of us all, but who isn’t a little bit weird? Maybe over time, he’ll get normal again. He seemed to be not as weird when we hung out with him.

But soon Mom calls me in. And I have to go. What about Abner? I decided to leave a note for him, telling him Daisy and I had to go, and that we’ll meet again tomorrow at the tree. 

That night we have macaroni and cheese, the simplest meal out there. When I’m done I’m so tired I hop right into bed. Or, well, not really a bed, more of a sleeping bag on the floor.

I look to the window of my room. The stars are out and the moon is shining. It’s really beautiful. Tomorrow I’ll get to see Abner and Daisy. I thought moving would suck, and that I would miss my friends (and I do), but already I’m enjoying it.

You know, maybe summer won’t be so bad after all. 

~~

End of Part Two