The Girl in the Garden

Chapter 5

Most of the drive away from Wexley House passed quietly. Wish sat beside Ben in the back seat but didn't engage with him very much.

"Why do you have a driver?" Ben asked shortly after they'd pulled away from the group home.

Wish appeared to think very deeply about this question. Finally, he said, "I've never really gotten along with machines." It sounded like he was using a dirty word, like even just the idea of anything mechanical was offensive.

"Why not?"

"We all have our gifts." Wish shrugged his shoulders as he added, "and our gifts must be balanced with struggle. That is the way of things."

"I feel like all I have are struggles," Ben said, "where's the balance there?"

Wish looked away from Ben and stared out the window. "If you're anything like your mother, and I can tell that you are, then you have your fair share of gifts as well."

"What are they, then?"

"You seem quite attached to that guitar. Music could be one of them."

"I can't play it."

Wish turned back, and Ben felt like his gaze seemed overly critical. "Then why do you seem so protective of it?"

"It belonged to my dad." Ben caressed the bumpy outer surface of the case, a texture that reminded him of late nights listening to beautiful music. "I never figured it out myself, but he was pretty talented."

"I believe that may have been one of the reasons your mother fell in love with him."

That was the second time the man had mentioned his mother, and it made Ben burn to ask the real question, the one that had been eating away at his brain for days. "How did you know her? My- my mother, I mean." He stumbled over the words and winced, wishing he had been more confident in his delivery.

Wish didn't seem pleased to be asked this. "I suppose you have every right to ask me that, and I will say that I played a role in raising her and educating her. It is a painful subject for me, though."

"Why?"

"My boy, we have only just met. I'm sure you will have your secrets from me, and I will respect that if you allow me to have a few of my own in return."

"But—"

When Wish cut Ben off, it was with a tone that was quiet but powerful. "Would you rather we turn around and drop you back at that miserable place?"

"Fine, I just think I deserve to know. If I'm supposed to live with you, don't you think I should know why I should trust you?"

"Perhaps you will find it sufficient enough to know that Alice trusted me, and it was her wish that I should take you in."

Ben let the words settle into his brain. He did trust his mother, but that didn't blunt his curiosity. He wanted this living situation to be better than the last one, though, so he didn't push his luck. "You're right," he said, "I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize. We are simply establishing the boundaries of our new relationship. One that I hope will be beneficial for us both."

And that was it as far as the conversation went. They drove for hours after that without exchanging a single word. Ben watched the buildings of the city give way to the scattered houses of the suburb and then the rolling fields of farms and pastures. Finally, trees began to crowd in tight around the road, and Ben found they became so thick he couldn't see past them anymore. As the paved road gave way to a pothole-laden gravel lane, Ben realized the canopy overhead was thick enough to block the light of the sun.