The Magic Tree

    It was a rainy, windy day as we drove down the dead-end street to our new home.  We have been wanting a home for the longest time and now that I have been released from the Marines, we are finally getting a home of our own.  Lois has been planning for days as we drove from California to Florida on how she wants to decorate. She has looked at every design magazine and online to pick colors, furniture, and decorative items. I don’t really mind at all, Lois put up with a lot of loneliness and made do in base housing for years while I served our country. She never complained. Of course, my only requirement for our new home, is a quiet neighborhood, a garage, and a pool. I know, I don’t want much. But we found it all in the place on Ritchey Drive.

     Our house was the last house on the left side of the dead-end street, it was a simple concrete block house, with a crappy yard, no fence and a couple of near dead palm trees on the front lawn. The pool was great, but the enclosure needed work, of course since it was a 1970’s build it needed lots of new things, flooring, light fixtures, drapes, appliances, no wonder we got it for such a great deal.

     “Wake up Lois, we are here.” I said as I gently nudged her arm to wake her, she had fallen asleep about 200 miles ago.

     “Oh, my Liam, it is great, look at the little porch, and the big tree at the front side of the driveway!  That tree will be beautiful after we get someone here to prune the dead fronds and weeds away from it.” Lois said all in one breath.  That is just how she is when she is excited about something.  

     Because of the heavy rain and wind, we sat in the driveway in the car for a little while, as we sat there, we talked about all the things we would do to the house and yard. After about ten minutes the rain let up and we went to the front door. I picked up my little wife and carried her across the front threshold. She laughed as she looked up at me with those beautiful dark eyes that were sparkling and as soon as I let her down, she reached back at me and stood on her tippy toes to reach my lips, so I leaned down and embraced her loving kiss.  I have never figured out what this beautiful brunette who stands almost five feet tall ever saw in a big six-foot four muscle bound jerk like me! But we love each other and have been married for over fifteen years.

     The Pod from the movers was in the driveway and the moving van is scheduled to arrive tomorrow with all our furniture and belongings. I ventured out into the rain to get the blow-up mattress, some linens, and things that Lois has packed into the pod.  While I was out there in the rain, I noticed our next-door neighbor look out through his blinds. When he saw me, I waved, but he just closed the curtains and did not wave back.

     “Well, the neighbors are restless my Cherokee Princess, and none to friendly,” I explained as I told Lois about the man next door. 

  “Maybe he is afraid, some people, especially older folks are fearful of new neighbors. I’m sure he will come around.” Lois spoke. “Or maybe he is in there with 15 cats, and a book of spells, trying to decide how to hex you!” She laughed.

     “Ok, ok, I know I have a little trouble trusting, but good grief, we are going to be neighbors, so I guess we will just have to put up with whatever, 15 cats, book of spells, grumpy old scaredy cat man who needs to mow his yard and stop spying on his new neighbors! I spoke.

     “Liam honey, come over here and help me make the bed, I am still sleepy, let’s sleep on it and unpack tomorrow…I bet I can take your mind off our neighbor,” Lois said with a smile and a wink. That is all it takes for me, I know I am easy when it comes to Lois’s charms.

     The next day Lois was up at the butt-crack of dawn, making coffee, and cooking eggs and bacon. Ahh, she knows the way to this jarheads heart.  After breakfast, I pulled some tools out of our truck, and started to clean up the yard.  I walked over to the big palm tree at the corner of the lot between our house and Mr. Friendly’s and started clearing away some of the dead fronds that had fallen around the base of the tree. Just as I had bagged up a big black plastic bag full, I heard someone yelling, “Hey, get the Hell away from that tree!”

I looked up and saw a thin man in Bermuda shorts with no shirt and flip flops on running, well sort of running towards me. He was waving a machete in the air and his grayish hair was waving in the wind, he looked as if he had not seen a razor for a while and had a few teeth missing. The look on his face was one of extreme anger. As he approached me, he continued to yell obscenities.  I stopped my work and said, “Hiya neighbor, what is all this yelling about?

   “What the hell? Are you as stupid as you look, you big dumbass! That is my tree, and you keep your musclebound hands off it, do ya’ hear me, or are you deaf too?” The old codger yelled.

    “Look buddy; we just bought this house and are moving in, and I am trying to make the lawn and this old tree look better. The tree is on the property line between us. I can’t believe we are even arguing about this! Why do you not want me to make this tree look better and clean up my side of the lawn.  I have no intention of hurting the tree or moving it, just helping it to thrive, so what is your problem?” I asked in a slightly frustrated tone. I held out my hand to offer to shake his hand and said, “I am Liam Bradley, your new neighbor.

The old man gave me a fierce look and said, “Well, I am not shaking the hand of a dimwitted, musclebound, pretty boy, who goes around messing with other people’s trees!  That tree has been there longer than you have been alive, and I take care of it! It is special, there are things about it you don’t know, and you just need to keep your fists off it!” he retorted.

Before I could respond, out the door came Lois, running and smiling up to the tree and the two of us. I saw she was holding a cup of coffee in a Styrofoam cup. She held out the cup of coffee to the old man, and said, “Hello sir, I am Lois, I am so happy to meet you, please enjoy this coffee, I hope you like it black?  What is your name?? she quietly asked the old man.

To my surprise, he put the machete down on the ground leaning it against the tree and took the coffee from my wife. I saw a tiny smirk or smile as the edges of his mouth barely lifted. He drank the coffee and looked at my wife. “You are just a little bit of a thing how did you ever get tangled up with this muscle brained nincompoop?” he asked as if I was not standing there.

Lois chuckled softly, and said, “While you may not see it, he does have his charms. I love this nincompoop very much, and I missed him dearly while he fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was shot twice, and could not come home, but now that he is retired, we hope to be good neighbors to you, Mr.? Sorry, I missed your name,” she replied, “and I am sorry I asked him to clean up around this tree. I never meant to upset you sir.”

The old man began to smile, “So you were a soldier?” So was I. But that was a long time ago. My name’s Ritchey, just like the street. At one time this whole area was an orange grove, my family used to own it all. But as time passed, it is all gone, except for my little house, and this old tree that I watched grow from the time I was a boy. You know this tree has special powers. There is magic inside,” he whispered.  “Thank you for the coffee, little Princess,” he said as he turned and walked away, leaving the machete against the tree.  I stood there for a bit wondering what the hell just happened. I looked at Lois and she just smiled at me saying, 

“Come on sexy nincompoop, let’s go inside, leave his magic tree alone, we have plenty of other things to do,” Lois said as she turned in front of me shaking her little sexy hips. I followed her and said, “Ok, I will let the tree alone, but you don’t really think it is a magic tree, do you?”

“It is to him, Liam, and on the reservation back home in Oklahoma, we were taught that elders see and recognize magic in many things that the rest of us take for granted. So let him have his magic tree, who knows what else he has lost?”

“Lois, how did he know your nickname is Princess,” I asked her.  Lois kissed me and said, “Maybe the tree told him.”