Chapter 40
“Nothing like swinging in a hammock, reading a good book. Plus. Waffles.”
-Celia
Jocko called Flint and asked for help with something down at the barns when we returned. I planned to pack my bags, but Dena stopped me.
“Join me in the greenhouse?” Dena made it sound like a question, but her eyes told me it was not a request.
I was 44 years old and suddenly incredibly nervous around Flint’s Mama.
We walked along a brick pathway to the greenhouse. Outside, the temperature hovered in the 40s, but inside, the humidity was set on “tropical.” The greenhouse was two stories tall, with some plants that reached the ceiling. Palm trees, lush ferns, orchids, and too many hanging pots full of colorful hibiscus to count.
“This is gorgeous,” I breathed, twirling to take it all in.
Dena laughed. “It kind of got away from me. This is the second greenhouse we built on the property. We outgrew the first one.”
She led me down different paths in the building.
“Are those - pineapples?” I pointed to a pointy-leafed plant.
“Sure enough,” Dena knelt in front of a row of them. “They’re not quite ready for harvest, but when they are, they’re delicious.”
“You’re growing pineapples in your greenhouse?”
“And when we eat these, we save the tops of the fruit and replant them, growing another pineapple,” Dena chuckled as she stood.
My mouth hung open, ready to catch some flies. “That’s amazing!”
“It’s a hundred percent self-sustaining,” Dena pointed to the workbenches in the middle. “It helps when you run a cattle ranch and dairy farm. All the fertilizer you could need. And we utilize reclaimed water here, along with solar panels, to keep the place warm. Not that we need a lot of that help in the blazing heat of summer.”
My eyes didn’t even know where to look. There were so many plants. It was starting to give me a headache. “Why these particular plants?”
Dena smiled. “Aha! Youareas smart as I thought you were! These are all plants that are found in American Samoa.”
“How did they get here?”
“Flint, my first husband Flint, his parents had a greenhouse with their native plants,” she explained. “Many of these plants came from starts of those. Don’t ask me how they got them into this country. They’ve been here a long time.”
“And the ones that weren’t starts?”
“Passed down to me after they died,” Dena sighed. “They wanted their grandchildren to have a piece of their heritage. Even if it was only plants.”
I nodded and walked through the aisles of the giant greenhouse. It smelled like a tropical paradise. I could imagine putting a hammock in here and whiling away a cold, rainy afternoon reading a book.
We rounded a corner and by George! There was a bright red hammock next to an end table. I jumped and clapped my hands in delight.
“You found my secret spot,” Dena giggled.
“Does everyone in this family have a secret spot?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I understand my boy took you to his secret lake,” Dena winked. “You’re the first person he ever took there.”
I scoffed. “I find that hard to believe. There’s a freaking trail leading to it.”
“Oh, we found the secret lake after he left for the Marines,” Dena smiled. “But he’s never willingly taken anyone there. Not even Celeste.”
“His fiancée.”
