Chapter Two, Episode 148 - Samuel’s Story - Situationally Theirs

Samuel’s Story

He didn’t think often about his own life. He’d been part of the Estate as long as he could remember. Born and raised here. Took over from his father. Only went away to University on the mainland after high school, but came back as soon as he could with a Degree in Agriculture. His father wanted him to know things deeper than what he could teach him. For a time, he felt trapped in the strange city world. The noise of the traffic, all the green seemed trimmed and manicured, too many people crowded into small spaces, too many walls. Some days he felt as though he could hardly breathe. Then some professor would lecture about the insides of the plants, the nature of the clouds in the sky and young Samuel would understand the why and how of growing things and the weather. Things he knew instinctively, things his father taught him, but this was deeper. There were insides to things that no one had ever taught him. He was still glad to get home in the open, he knew what books he could study and how he could learn more. Still didn’t like the internet much. One wall of his little shack, was a bookshelf floor to ceiling, full of books and magazines - science, poetry, reference books. He talked like he’d never had an education but that was just his facade. Elizabeth was aware of his books, given him some and borrowed some. They were two of a kind. Set themselves out to the world as uneducated but were educating themselves all the time. 

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Samuel hung back when Miss Dez and Matt ran towards their home. They had run like that. “Don’t be silly, Samuel. That was a long time ago and she didn’t stay long.” He had been much younger then, younger than Miss Dez and Matt. She had helped him at the plant nursery several times when he’d go to pick up his father’s orders. After a while, he found excuses to go to the nursery for his father, for any of the staff. She found excuses to wait on him each time. What was her name? “Dang, I’m gettin’ old. Can’t remember her name. Some plant name. But her hair was long, braided and the colour of molten gold.” He walked toward his home at the back of the garden. “She’d sit out on the porch here, watchin’ me in the garden. Oh, she was a pretty thing.” If anyone had asked him whatever happened to her, he didn’t say much. In truth, one day she wasn’t at the store. No note, no phone call, just gone. James Digby had met her once and knew that she was special to Samuel. The only one who really knew about her was James Digby. A teenager himself, he ran errands for his father who was the butler at the time. He tried to find out about her, but the store just said she no longer worked for them. “It was done then, Samuel and it’s done now.” All tidied up, he set his hat on, slung his jacket over his shoulder and left for supper at the Estate. “Suppose I should tell Elizabeth about her…..no, it’s long past and before she was even out here.” 

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Seeing Elizabeth putting food on the table, he felt warm inside. There was nothing flyaway about her. Sure they were both older now, but she’d always been like that. No wonder he couldn’t remember that girl’s name. It was as flyaway as she had been. He brushed Elizabeth’s hand gently as he took the mashed potatoes from her. Dez and Matt caught the tender look the older couple shared, and left it alone.

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

~ Mark Twain