The Fall and the Rise.

It was a long, dark road with high hedges on either side.The few street lamps did little to dispel the gloom. A rising wind chilled the atmosphere and Ben turned up his coat collar. At least it wasn't raining.

He had asked the coach driver to drop him off at Four Mile Cross. The man looked at him dubiously and said "Are you sure? There's not much along that road. You'd be better getting off at the next town."
"I'll be fine" replied Ben as he stepped off the coach. As if to reassure himself he patted his coat pocket where nestled a much read and carefully folded letter. Hefting his back pack up on his shoulders, he set off. He knew where he was going.

Ben had lost his job several months before. A gardener with the municipal gardening team, he had helped to keep the flower beds and gardens throughout the town looking colouful and attractive. He loved his job and was good at it. The economic crisis and various cutbacks had meant a slimming down of the team. Ben and several others had to go. He got the news late one Friday afternoon. Sal, his girlfriend, a nurse in the A and E of the local hospital was just leaving for work when he came home. One look at his face told her that his news was bad. She did her best to reassure and comfort him but, that night, had to leave him to his desolation. As days went by she watched him sink deeper and deeper into depression. He would leaf through the newspaper without reading it, watch television without registering what he was looking at, go for long solitary walks that seemed to have no aim. He spoke little to her whereas before they had always had so much to share and say.

Sal was convinced that he would find another job. He was qualified and able and his love for flowers and plants showed whenever he spoke of them. But time went by without a solution. The Ben she knew and loved seemed to be disappearing. She was becoming as desperate as he was.

One morning she came home from work with a determination that things would change. She looked at him and said "Ben, I've had an idea." He looked back at her, curly hair barely brushed and his blue eyes dull and listless. He waited.
"Why don't you go to the library. You've got a ticket, look at the books on gardening and see if you can widen your knowledge. Maybe you can find another job by learning about other forms of gardening."
He shook his head. "What else can I learn about?"he asked.
"Go and find out" she urged "you never know, anyway I'm off to bed." She kissed him twice, once for luck, she said and went upstairs crossing her fingers. She had to do something to shake him out of his lethargy and put a sparkle back in him.

Ben sighed, Sal's idea held little appeal and what else was there about growing plants and flowers that he didn't know. Still, Sal had been wonderfully patient and supportive and he felt he owed it to her to try out her idea. He washed up his cup and plate, found his seldom used library ticket, picked up his jacket and went out.

Miss Barnett, the librarian, looked up as he came in. She smiled at him. She knew him by sight and had often admired his imaginative displays in the public gardens opposite the library. She hadn't seen him for a while and had wondered what had happened to him. Today he looked lost, so very different from the young man that she remembered with his easy smile.
"Can I help you? she enquired.
Ben feeling foolish took a deep breath and asked "Can you show me where the gardening books are please?" Miss Barnett showed him the section. Ben looked at the well-stocked shelves, selected a book at random and carried it back to a table. He leafed through it without much interest. I'll have a look at a few books, he thought, enough to convince Sal that her idea didn't work. After all I haven't much else to do.

While looking at the shelves his eye fell on a large and colourful tome. He carried it carefully back to the table. It was a book on orchids. By the time he had turned every page it was lunchtime and he was hooked. He went for a quick sandwich, bought a notebook and a set of coloured pens and went back to the library. Miss Barnett noticed a spring in his step that had not been there earlier. He asked her "Have you any more books on orchids?" She found a couple and left him scribbling notes with various coloured pens.
By the end of the working day he had filled several pages of his notebook. Miss Barnett promised to get in touch with the other local libraries to find more books on orchids. She had also looked up specialist pages on the internet. Ben went home a totally different person from the one who had gone out that morning. Sal couldn't believe the change in him when she saw him that evening.

Time went by and Miss Barnett and Ben became friends. Once she knew what he was doing and why she went out of her way to help him. She knew that he didn't have a computer so she found articles of interest on hers and printed them off for him. He soon had a lot of information on orchids at his disposal.

One morning Ben saw fliers for an orchid exhibition in a neighbouring town. The following day he set off early taking a packed lunch with him. The hall where the exhibition was being held was packed. The exhibits were magnificent and took his breath away. Even the lovliest photos did not do justice to the real thing. He looked carefully at each display remembering all he had learnt. Late afternoon he went looking for a cup of tea. Many others had the same idea and the only spare seat was at a table that was already occupied. However, everyone moved up to make space for him and Ben found himself sitting next to a young man about his own age. They chatted for a while. The young man nodded at the many leaflets that filled Ben's coat pockets.
"Are you an orchid fancier?" he enquired.
"Sort of" replied Ben, "I've been learning a lot about them and I find them fascinating. I'd love to work with them."
"Would you?" asked the young man.
"Yes I would" Ben replied.
"Now is your chance" said the young man mysteriously "finish you tea and come with me."

They went back into the hall, the young man steering a mystified Ben across the floor to the biggest and, in Ben's eyes, the lovliest of all the displays. The young man introduced himself. "My name is John Baker. I work for the Four Mile Cross nurseries. Orchids are our speciality. I am responsible for setting up the displays that go on show all over the world."
Ben was speechless.
John continued, "Tell me about yourself." Ben spoke of the last few months, his attraction for orchids and his desire to work with them. He also mentioned his various diplomas. John Baker listened intently, nodding now and again. He took a card from his wallet and handed it to Ben.
"I know that the nursery wants to increase its current work force. Write to this address detailing all you have told me and include a CV. Don't forget to mention my name. Good luck Ben. You really deserve it."

The answer came back promptly with the offer of a two day interview, and this was why Ben was walking along the poorly lit road with high hedges on either side. He knew exactly where he was going!!

Copyright Jacqueline Hastings 2010