The Boss is Always Right

Posted on Thu 19th Jul, 2018 @ 4:56pm by Eddie Hunt

1,139 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Oblivion
Location: Hydroponics, Deck 2001
Timeline: MD6, 1100 Hours

"What good does it do me to be Head Gardener when no one listens to me?" Hieronymus Block mumbled grumpily, moving about the hydroponics lab. "Didn't I say to give these tomatoes fertilizer once a month? Sure I did! No one listens to an old man. Think I don't know anything. I tell you this much, Gladys. I know these plants have been over-fertilized! There are too many leaves and not enough flowers to form fruit. That's what I know!"

The cat at his feet yawned widely, small teeth showing. She looked to the left, as she heard a noise, and got up to investigate.

"Don't you go killing any more mice that escape from the labs down the hall, you hear me? Those mice could have any number of diseases. No sir, donchew do it!" The cat paid him no mind, and he kept on with his changing of the water mixture under the grow lights.

Eddie had found out that the head gardener of the place was a man by the name of Hieronymus Block and, after consulting with the computer, knew he could be found in Hydroponics, which was Eddie's next pit stop. Besides, whilst the renovations were going on, he could do nothing but explore. As he walked, he noticed a cat come round the corner and eye him up. He was in two minds whether to stroke the feline, but in the end he walked on and turned in the direction the cat come from.

He eyed up a grey haired man not far away from him whom he only assumed was Hieronymus. "Mr Block?" he called out inquisitively.

To see him in his well-worn gray overalls, over a yellow plaid shirt, or to listen to him speak, one would never guess the sharp mind which lay beneath the bushy brows. Nor would one suspect he had three advanced degrees in varying areas of horticulture, from as many universities.

"Maybe," came the response as the old man turned around. "Depends on what yer sellin'."

"Depends on what you want me to be selling," Eddie spun it round.

"Ha! Nothing!" Block said, turning back to his tomatoes. "Now, go away."

Eddie smiled, thinking This could be a bit trickier than I thought.

"Unfortunately, I can't do that, Sir. I have a small proposition for you, well, no ... yeah ... I guess proposition is the word I'm looking for," Eddie said, pondering on the word choice.

Without looking back at the man annoying him, Hieronymus grumped, "How're ya gonna proposition me if you don't even know the right words." He was starting to get intrigued, but not enough to change his attitude ... yet.

"Technically it was the right word," Eddie put his hands up in a mocking manner, although Hieronymus wasn't looking. "Any way, are the gardens in Tivoli mainly your doing? Or shall I go find someone else?"

"They are my plans, carried out by machines and a few half-competent under-gardners. Good luck with finding someone else who knows a leaf from a stem," the old man said. He finished with the tomatoes and went to the sink to wash his hands. Then he turned and leaned against the counter next to the sink.

"If you aren't going to go away and leave me in peace," he said gruffly, "just spit it out. What is it you want from me?"

"The Casino on Deck 1553. I am the new owner, and when I first came aboard, I was admiring the gardens on that deck, which stop before you get to the casino. Then it's just plain green. I would really like to continue the garden around the casino or even something linked to the casino," Eddie said.

Hieronymus scratched his head, then his ear. He looked up at the ceiling, letting his eyes roam over the joins to the bulkhead over them. In fact, though he looked as though he were inattentive, he was visualizing the gardens this Hunt fella was describing. He remembered that he had wanted to take the gardens all the way to the walkway, but the casino manager had told him they only wanted grass.

Finally, he looked at Hunt. "So ... the other fella is out on his ear? You're the big monkey now? Whadja do? Fire him?"

"Ummm, I found his body in the hotel's swimming pool." Eddie said no more.

Block began to laugh, and he laughed until he wheezed. "Whoo-ee! You really know how to tell a story, son. Well, I doubt he'll be missed. Not by me, certainly. I wanted to fill in that area when we first built it, but he wouldn't have none of it." He straightened up, ready to talk plants now.

"So what's yer favorite flower? I have some flowering hydrangeas in blue and pink, and some white daisies, if ya wantin' a little color, relatively low, fat bushes, lots of greenery. Or we can put in eteromeles arbutifolia. Train it up like a tree," he used his hands to show height and shape, a natural action on his part. "It takes constant maintenance to do it, but it looks nice. White flowers in little bunches, and then red berries. Not edible, but not poisonous. And those don't usually grow over about three-quarters of a meter, even without the trimmin'.

"Yes, you put it with a nice border of purple flowering hesperis-matronalis that's kept short. It'll look nice year-round. Probably don't want to take it all the way to the sidewalk. People'll just step on it and walk through it, ruin it, but maybe within say a meter. That'd make you a nice garden look, and blend in with what's already there, but it'd be obviously separate plantings."

Eddie sort of nodded along, trying to keep up with everything Block just said, "Is it now that I tell you I don't have a clue when it comes to flowers, plants or gardening? My Mother's favorite flowers were carnations, and that's about as far as my knowledge goes." He smiled, "However, I know what makes a garden look beautiful for me, and that is color. So if we can infuse color into it, that will be ideal."

"Blue, pink, white and purple enough, or you want more variety?" the old gardener asked, rubbing his chin. "I can probably find something in yellow to add. This time of year, stocks are low, but I can find some daisies, maybe. Or dandelions." He waited to see what Eddie would say to that, his eyes crinkling in the corners, but without smiling.

"I think some yellow would be nice, preferably daisies, but whatever you can use to make it look good I guess," Hunt replied.

Block nodded, "The boss is always right. I'll start getting the plantings together and be working on the gardens tomorrow."

 

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