excerpt
The vegetable garden is a large area at the back; located on the north side of
the property and sheltered by a fence to the north. Their house faces east so that
the garden is on the western part, with the western and southern sun hitting it
almost all day. On one side, William has a small area covered with plastic and
Evelyn tells Bevan that’s where they plant the tomatoes and eggplant which like
the heat and not rain.
“We get a lot of rain here, as you know, and tomatoes don’t do well in rain, so
he covers them every year. Everything else we plant is exposed to the weather.”
“What do you usually plant, Evelyn?”
“We grow everything, you name it; we grow potatoes, celery, leeks, beets,
Swiss chard, garlic, onions, greens for the salad, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers,
spinach, beans of three different kinds—oh, Bevan , everything is grown here,
believe me,” she says, quite proudly.
“In other words, you literally live off the land.”
“Yes, and you’ll see all that when you come this way next year.”
Bevan smiles, and it’s his turn to clear his throat. Evelyn looks at him and smiles.
“You’re not planning to come our way when you retire, are you, Bevan?”
“Well, to be honest, Evelyn, I haven’t given it any thought as yet; I have a few
things to do before I retire.”
“What do you still have to do, my brother? Isn’t it enough that you have given
this service of yours your whole life? Aren’t the tragedies that have taken place all
over the world in the last thirty years enough? However, I don’t want to go there
again and upset you; after all, you’re an admiral. Your job is to serve the armed
forces of this land.”
But Bevan doesn’t get upset with Evelyn. He has made peace with that side of
himself, and his sister doesn’t get him upset anymore. As a matter of fact, he’s at
such peace with himself lately that he feels just great, even when she talks harshly
about the army.
“Are you at peace with yourself, Bevan?”
He takes a deep breath and looks at the garden with all the vegetables they
grow. He sees his sister being so relaxed and in a state of complete satisfaction
with herself. He knows he’s in that same state also, but it’s very hard to explain
why. He knows why and that is good enough for the time being. When they read
in the papers later on what has transpired, they’ll understand. She’ll understand
why he’s at peace with himself at this time in his life.
“I am quite happy to see that you and William are in good health and in good
spirits, as always. I’ll make a point of coming back here again some time and then
perhaps we’ll talk about being at peace and all. Right now, I’m very happy to see
you are well, my dearest sister.”
Manolis Aligizakis 