Golden Summer - Marigolds

Marigold!

In a small beach side town, lived an old lady and about 300 other people

The town wasn’t at all big but it had a small petrol station, cute little café and the floral shop the little old lady owned.

‘Beep, Beep’ was the noise you often heard as people drove through the town tooting at a young boy who sat on the side of the road, waving at cars before school, after school and on weekends.

The town was so cute and lots of people stopped at the Café or petrol station for a break

Sally was the name of the little old lady; she was as ‘people would explain’ ‘The Meyer of the town’

Everyone loved her and she could tell you the names of all the people who use to live there.

She knew when a new family were in town and could tell you what each person had for dinner by the smells she could smell as she walked home after closing her shop at 4pm.

Sally was a very colorful person, she wore beautiful floral dresses, had stunning flower hair pieces and a lot of pink and white handbags in all sorts of different styles.

It wasn’t at all hard for people to realise which house was the owner of the floral shop because at Sally’s house everywhere you walked were beautiful flower gardens.

Sally loved all sorts of flowers but her favourite was the Marigold.

Sally had Marigolds in an abundance in her shop, home and on all her dresses.

It was like a positive addiction Sally had.

On this very Sunny Summers Day after lunch, as Sally was walking back to her shop, from her house, she come across a young lady who was wearing a beautiful red floral dress with a gorgeous Lilly piece in her hair

“Hello darling” Sally said to this young lady as she stood glancing at the dress she had on

“Hi. My name is Cathy. Are you from here?” – The young lady asked

“Oh dear, I think I am the oldest person who has never left this town before. How can I help you today dear?” Said Sally still glancing at the lady’s dress

“I am looking for my grandma, apparently she lived here years ago. I am not entirely sure if she is still alive though. My mum hasn’t spoken to her for years, since before I was born.”

Sally stopped, stood still and took a moment to look up at the young lady’s face before she spoke

“Your grandma?”

“Yes ma’am, she lived here her whole life my mum said. She got upset when my mum wanted to travel the world so they haven’t spoken since” Cathy replied.

“She loved flowers and my mum said if I drove there her house would be the one with all the flowers at the front but wouldn’t give me the address as she forgot the street” Cathy said standing there looking around

A very shocked Sally stood. She reached over, touched Cathy’s Lilly piece and grabbed Cathy’s hand

“Come with me dear, lets walk to my shop so you can tell me more”

They began to walk along the overgrown footpath and headed back to Sally’s floral shop.

“You mean, you mean?” Sally began to say as they were walking back to the shop

“You mean your mum is from this small beach side town and left years ago?” Sally asked

“Yes, my mum travelled the world to live a dream of possibilities. My mum is such an outspoken lady and when I arrived in this town, I can see why my mum left. Her personality would have shook this town if she stayed here” Cathy replied

“Are you…. Can’t be…not possible” Sally mumbled ever so quietly whilst fumbling around for her shop keys inside her cute little white and pink floral handbag

Cathy not completely sure what was happening stood and looked at Sally in a state of curiosity

“Do you know her?” Cathy asked

“Do I know her? I think I do know her, and know her very well actually darling” Sally asked as she turned around to walk into her shop to fetch a glass of water

The floral shop was so nicely set out, all colour matched and signs displaying so clearly what kind of flowers were in each section

“Take a seat there darling, would you like a glass of water dear?” Asked Sally as she pointed to the cute seat, she had purchased from an antique store that use to be next door

“Yes please, I would love a glass of water, thank you. It is hot outside and I have been walking around for the past hour trying to find the house with a garden full of flowers. Marigolds my mum said” As Cathy walked towards the Marigolds on the shelf at the store

“This town is rather small and it feels like people know when you are not from here. Its rather a stick out or blend in kinda town, isn’t it?” The redheaded blue-eyed Cathy replied

“Indeed dear” Sally said as she sat, still in shock that this lady had arrived and looked exactly like her own daughter.

In the town not a lot of people knew about Sally and her family because all the people who were there during the year Sally’s daughter left had all moved on with there own lives in the big city or at least somewhere bigger than this small town.

“Let me see. Does your mum look like you dear?” Sally asked

“Yes, she does. Except she darker red coloured hair and a lot more freckles. My mum doesn’t dress like me either, she said I dress like my grandma” Still not being able to piece the puzzle together yet Cathy continued to tell Sally about her and her mum.

“My mum left to travel the world; mum said my grandma didn’t agree so she left against her mums wishes and never come back. My mum flew her wings at such a young age and become one of the best travel agents anyone has ever met. That’s where she met my dad” The blue-eye Cathy explained as she drank her glass of water sitting next to the abundance of Marigold plants.

“These are my mums favourites plants. She has them spread all throughout her city apartment.” Cathy continued to speak as she picked up a Marigold plant to smell it.

A little while later as Sally and Cathy sat talking, Sally couldn’t help but notice how Cathy looked exactly like her when she was a young person herself.

“Cookie?” Sally asked

“Oh yes please. My mum said my grandma loved baking too, peanut butter cookies with jam on top” said Cathy as Sally was plating up some biscuits.

Looking at the very talkative Cathy, Sally sat smiling and intrigued – Could this be my granddaughter she thought, could I really be a grandma and had no idea she wondered

Sally wondered off into the little kitchenette where she got out a photo album

“Let me show you some photos of the people who have lived and still live in the town. I will see if any of these people look like your mother, dear” Sally spoke

“Oh photos, I love photos. I am a photographer so these are my favourite things to look at” A very excited Cathy said as her blue eyes looked nice and bright popping with excitement

People who visited Sally were never surprised at the kind of photo albums Sally had, Pink and White with huge big Golden Marigolds on the front.

They began looking through the photo albums where they saw lots of beautiful statues the town once displayed, beautiful statue of whales that got knocked down in the 1991 Tsunami, a big statue of a dog that was broken by truck accident and so many more exciting cute little shops, fairs and animal parades.

“These photos are amazing! Did you take them yourself?” A curious Cathy asked flicking through each page with more excitement

“I am a lady of many talents, dear. I love to keep myself busy with all these wonderful little hobbies I have or else, my personality might shook this town, like your mums” Sally said as she giggled taking a bite into the peanut butter cookie with jam on top.

They started to get to the middle of the photo album where there was a cute note

‘People of our town, celebrate together’

Sally had cute little hand writing and had some wonderful little flicks at the end of her words

“What a beautiful saying” Cathy said as she turned the page

“My mum!” Cathy excitedly replied, rubbing her mums face through the album

“Oh, you found your mum did you dear?” Sally asked with a sparkle in her eye

“Yes, this is my mum ma’am. She is so beautiful, and she did use to wear dresses like me” Cathy said as she turned more pages

They browsed through the photo albums for about 1 hour before Cathy came across a baby photo which looked like her as a child

“Who is this ma’am? Sitting in this floral shop?” Cathy asked as she took another cookie

“Oh, that is my daughter. She left town a little while ago to live some big dream. I always thought she would come home to see me, but seems she is so busy living her magical life” Sally responded as she poured her another glass of water.

It didn’t take Cathy much longer before she pieced the puzzle together. They both sat sharing stories and then Cathy blurted out

“You’re my grandma, aren’t you? Your daughters name is Polly and your husband’s name is Bob, isn’t it?” Cathy asked as she twiddled her hair around her very white fingers

A very honest Sally replied

“If I told you at the beginning when you arrive, I wouldn’t have been able to hear all yours and your mums exciting stories. You are right though, your mum’s personality would have really shook this town, I know that now dear. I am very old so the phone number I had in my phonebook isn’t the phone number your mum kept when she left.”

Sally said reaching for a little notebook inside her handbag

“This is your mums little notes and little artwork she use to do for me as a child, sitting in this same floral shop. Polly had so much potential, I am not surprised she become one of the best trave agents. She had a very bubbly personality and loved a good challenge your mother did. I was sad when she left, but so happy she didn’t stick around in this small town like me, darlin”

Cathy, excited with joy and now filled with cookies asked her grandma

“How come you never left this town grandma?”

“Well dear, back in my days I was never taught how to survive in the big city. I know this town like the back of my hand and leaving felt scarier than letting Polly go alone. I visit your pop at the cemetery every Sunday morning and on special occasions. I couldn’t bare the thought of leaving him here with no one to visit. So, when your mum left, I felt sad but nothing I could say or do would stop her. She’s a tough lady your mother is and filled with so much adventure. More adventure than me, so I am happy to stay here and potter around doing my gardens daily” Sally replied

Cathy decided to say on in the small beach side town with her grandma, to help her grandma grow more Marigold along the main road.

If Polly ever drove through the town again, she would feel at home with the abundance of Marigolds every!