The Gardens of Digby Green: Garden Girls
The engine started, and the truck rolled on. From stop to stop he drove, while the truck box got hotter and hotter. Rose gagged and wished for water. Her thirst wasn’t the worst of it, though.
The driver kicked her each time he passed her with another shop’s order. When he caught her using her limited range of motion to pound on the truck bed, the driver moved the truck to the far end of the parking lot.
“Such a hateful florist lady. I see it in your eyes. Your customers don’t know you at all, not like I do. Not like I will.”
He yanked the zip tie tighter, until she couldn’t separate her wrists. Then he used another tie to attach her wrists to the back of her belt.
Rose’s cheeks were chapped with her tears. Her nose ran, and there was nothing she could do about it.
“Can’t have you banging your head, now. I want you awake for what I’m planning.”
He grabbed her upper arm and lifted her body clear off the floor. It hurt. He reached for a bag of grass seed from the opposite side rack and let it drop on top of the puddle of tears and slime where she’d lain. He let her fall unhindered face down on the plastic bag.
Desperate, she turned her head enough to expose one nostril. Never had she been so glad to breathe. Behind her, the door came down, and the darkness returned.
When the truck engine stopped next, Rose Wilkinson heard a voice she recognized. Rosalie. The “Garden Girls” would be meeting at Rosalie’s house tonight for games and a movie.
Please, please, look in the truck.
Rose fought the bonds on her ankles, but any rattling she created was drowned out by the rising loading door.
Please, Rosalie, look in the truck.
The women were dark silhouettes as they crossed behind the truck. “See you tonight, Lily,” was the last thing Rosalie said before she moved out of range. Rose wept.
The Gardens of Digby Green is a short story in multiple parts which will post on Fridays until the story is complete.
If you’ve just joined this story, you can find the first part and read it from the beginning, here.
Next week, part six, Poker Night.
Ruth DeMaat
Heidi Kortman
Ruth DeMaat
Heidi Kortman