The House in the Cerulean Sea(82)

And Talia was pacing in front of a display of gardening equipment, stroking her beard and inspecting each trowel and spade and fork hoe. She stopped and gasped. “These are the new B.L. Macks! I didn’t even know they were out yet!” She reached out and pulled a queerly shaped spade from the display, the handle adorned with imprints of flowers. She turned and showed it to Linus. “These are the top-rated spades in Garden Tools Monthly! I didn’t think they were going to be released until next spring! Do you know what this means?”

Linus had no idea. “Ye-es?”

Talia nodded furiously. “Exactly! Just think! I can buy this, and we can go to the graveyard like Lucy wanted! I can dig up so many things with this!”

“Don’t say that so loudly!” Linus hissed at her, but she ignored him, proceeding to mime digging as if getting used to the grip and heft of the spade.

Even Lucy seemed interested. “It’s a little small,” he said doubtfully. “How are you going to dig up an entire grave with that little thing?”

“It’s not about the size,” Talia scoffed. “But what you do with it. Isn’t that right, Mr. Baker?”

Linus coughed. “I—that’s quite right, I suppose.”

“And I’m a gnome, Lucy. You know how well I can dig.”

Lucy nodded, looking relieved. “Good. Because we might have to dig up at least three or four bodies—”

“We’re not digging up any bodies,” Linus snapped. “So get that idea out of your heads right now.”

“We’re not?” Talia asked, looking down at the spade. “But then what’s the point?”

“The point? The point of what?”

“Going to the graveyard,” Lucy said, tugging on his hand.

“We’re not going to the graveyard!”

Talia squinted up at him. “But you said we could.”

“Oh no,” Lucy moaned. “Is he going senile? He’s so old, he’s losing his mind! Help! Please, someone help us! This man who is supposed to be watching us is going senile and I worry what he might do!”

A squat woman appeared down one of the aisles looking worried, a smudge of dirt on her forehead, gardening gloves on her hands. She held a pair of pruning shears. “My goodness, what’s going on? Are you all … right…?”

She stopped when she saw Talia with the spade. She looked slowly over to Lucy, who grinned at her, showing many teeth.

She took a step back. “You’re from the island.”

“Yes,” Talia said in a no-nonsense voice. “And I’d like to talk to you about the B.L. Macks. When did they come in? Are they as good as their rating suggests? They seem to be lighter than I expected.”

“We’re going to the graveyard,” Lucy added in an ominous monotone. “Do a lot of people die here? I hope so.”

The woman’s eyes widened.

“We’re not,” Linus said hastily. “Talia here has the most beautiful garden that is well cared for. Why, I don’t know that I’ve ever seen something so immaculate.”

It didn’t appear to do much to calm the woman, though Talia preened. “Thank you, Mr. Baker!” She looked back at the woman. “You can’t tell by the way he dresses, but sometimes, Mr. Baker has good taste.”

The woman nodded, head jerking up and down. “That’s … nice.” She cleared her throat. “A garden you say? On the island? I thought it was…” She blanched.

Talia cocked her head. “You thought it was what?”

“It … uh. Doesn’t matter.” She glanced quickly at Linus before very obviously forcing a smile on her face. “Tell me about your garden, and I’ll see if I can figure what would be right for you.”

“Oh no,” Lucy groaned. “Now she’ll never stop talking.”

Talia ignored him as she launched into a very thorough explanation of her garden. In fact, it was so thorough, Linus thought she was going over it inch by inch. And while he secretly agreed with Lucy, he remained focused on the shopkeeper, watching for any sign that she was just humoring Talia in order to get them to leave.

Though that certainly seemed to be the case at the beginning, the woman began to relax and interrupted Talia, asking questions about pH levels in the soil, and what kinds of flowers and plants she grew. The woman seemed impressed with Talia’s knowledge and what she had created.

Eventually, she said, “While the B.L. Macks are considered top end, I’ve found they tend to wear down quicker. Someone like you”—she coughed—“who knows what they’re doing, might do better with the Foxfaires. They’re sturdier and don’t cost quite as much. It’s what I use here in the shop and at home.”

Talia put the spade back on the shelf almost reverently. “Foxfaires? Garden Tools Monthly said they—”

“Garden Tools Monthly?” the woman scoffed. “Oh, my dear child, Garden Tools Monthly is now the Garden Tools Weekly of the garden tool world. It’s all about the Garden Tools Bi-Monthly. It’s what all serious gardeners read.”

Talia gasped. “It is?” She glared up at Linus. “Why didn’t I know this? What else has been kept from me?”

Linus shrugged helplessly. “I have no idea what’s going on.”