After being cooped up in that cage, he was suddenly marooned in green grass and brightly colored flowers. The rabbit’s nose wiggled and he took two tiny hops. Then he spotted Charley’s rhododendron bush. The rabbit raced over and took its first bite.
“Yes,” June cheered, wishing Chloe had stuck around for the fun. “Eat!”
It didn’t take long for June to deposit all three rabbits into Charley’s yard. By the time the afternoon passed, his rhododendrons and trilliums were missing entirely. When Charley came home, June heard some surprised shouts but did not dare go out to see what all of the commotion was about.
Charley did not say a word about the incident, but he eventually got her back. In the fall, June planted an array of tulip bulbs in her garden. They were neatly laid out in an arrangement of red, purple and orange. Whenever anyone complimented her garden, she would say, “Just wait. When my tulips come up, it will be more beautiful than you can imagine.”
Well, when June’s tulips sprouted, they were not beautiful. They were black. As though an evil witch had waved a magic wand over her garden. June couldn’t figure out what on earth had happened, so she called over a horticulture specialist. Were the flowers sick?
“Ma’am,” he said, shaking his head. “See the roots down here? These were cross-pollinated specifically to create black tulips. You bought some hybrids.”
“I most certainly did not,” June said. “I have been gardening for longer than you’ve been alive. I know exactly what kind of bulbs I picked.”
The horticulturist shrugged. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, ma’am. These bulbs are exactly what you put into the ground.”
June heard the pages of a newspaper rattle and then a soft chuckle. Charley snapped his paper shut. “It’s a shame about your flowers, June,” he’d said, walking to the edge of the fence. “Tulips always look so good at Easter. Guess the Easter Bunny won’t be coming to visit you anytime soon.”
June flushed to her very core. “You didn’t.”
Charley smiled. A perfect white smile. She could swear the man already had a full set of dentures.
The garden war had officially begun. June sprayed dandelion seeds across his yard, dumped weed killer onto his rosebushes and even, during a particularly hot and dry summer, had stolen his hose. Charley had been up to his share of tricks as well, but a gazebo with a copper ceiling lighting up her backyard like a laser show . . . Well, this was something new. And it had most certainly crossed the line.
“This gazebo is unacceptable.” June rested a hand against the stone fence.
“What seems to be the problem?”
“The reflection is blinding. You need to have it removed. Right away.”
“Now, June,” Charley said. “Why would I do something like that? I just put it up.”
Charley seemed so pleased with himself, standing there in his light blue plaid shirt. The idea of competing with this man for another minute suddenly seemed exhausting. Gardening was where June found her peace. Her solitude. She couldn’t imagine what the rest of the summer would be like with a copper beacon shining sunlight into her yard. “If you do not take that thing down,” she said, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice, “I will have it spray-painted black.”
“Then I’ll have you arrested for vandalism.” Charley shrugged. “I can’t imagine they’ll let you do a lot of gardening in jail.”
Frustrated beyond words, June glared at the roof of the gazebo. Even with the thick black sunglasses covering half of her face, it was impossible not to squint against the bright reflection. He would have to take it down. He would have to!
“I have lived here for my whole life.” June shook her finger at him. “I raised my daughter in this home. Then you came along and ruined everything.”
“Tell me, June.” Charley leaned forward and rested an arm on the fence. “What could I have possibly done to bother you so much?”
June shook her head, unable to find the words to explain exactly what it was about Charley that bothered her so much. “Please.” Her voice was uncharacteristically soft. “I have worked hard to make my garden special. Please . . .” Maybe because of the sun or maybe because the situation seemed so incredibly impossible, June felt her eyes smart. Afraid her voice would crack if she tried to say another word, she turned away.
Through her tears, June stumbled across the careful paths she had spent