15 for 15 Contest --- Closed

Old Mr. Briggs the gardener never got along well with innocent little LilyJoy. I never understood it. He was such a nice old man (and a very good gardener), and LilyJoy is the most innocent, most lovely children in the world. It seemed like they would have gotten along famously.

My beautiful, wonderful daughter, LilyJoy, turned seven years old that year, and decided she liked to wander into the greenhouse to keep Mr. Briggs company. Mr. Briggs would always come see me at the end of the workday and demand she leave him alone.

"I don't understand! Everyone loves LilyJoy!" I told him, hurt and confused.

He scowled deeply, his eyes almost swallowed up by his enormous grey eyebrows, and his wrinkles obscuring his features. "I ain't your nanny, Mrs. Brown. You got other staff fer that."

And so I told LilyJoy she had better keep her distance. LilyJoy, my beautiful little girl, with her angelic, round, dimpled face, her sweet smile, and her blond, soft angel hair, looked up to me and whispered, "I promise, Mommy. But why doesn't Mr. Briggs like me?"

I shook my head. "I'm sure he likes you, LilyJoy, everybody likes you, sweet girl, but Mr. Briggs is... busy. He has work to do."

"I can help him, though!" cried out LilyJoy.

I smiled sadly, and encouraged her to find something else to do. "I tell you what, I'll buy you something new. Anything you like! How about that?" I said, giving her a tight hug. I called to the nanny and ordered her to buy whatever LilyJoy asked for.

Mr. Briggs came to me again, the next day. "Yer daughter's bothering me again," he growled.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I told her to keep her distance, and she always listens to me," I said.

"She's... she's not a normal child!" He shouted.

I was shocked. I nearly fired him then and there for such an outrageous outburst, but I decided to be lenient, because, after all, he really was an excellent gardener.

Things went back to normal for a bit, but things got strange in a few days. Mr. Briggs was often seen scowling, and he shot me funny looks one day when I was walking LilyJoy through the greenhouse to admire some of the plants. But my sweet little daughter paid him no mind.

The next day, the third nanny that month quit for some reason. It was such a strange thing, but LilyJoy told me that that nanny had some mean habits and I decided it must be for the best.

It was late that afternoon when I heard it. A loud boom!, and the ground shook.

I raced outside of the mansion to where the greenhouse used to be, but it was gone, nothing left, but smoldering ash. I shrieked, "What happened? What happened?"

I looked around. It was so strange, what could have happened. "Lily! LilyJoy! Where are you?" I knew she might have been playing in the greenhouse since her nanny had just left today, and my heart pounded, and I was so scared, but there she was, my little angel, dancing up to me from beside the house. "LilyJoy!" I wrapped her in a tight hug. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"What happened, Mommy?" she asked.

I couldn't answer her. I was so scared, so confused. The police were called. Sure enough, a body was found in the wreckage. Mr. Briggs. He had been such a good gardener for us.

"Was it suicide?" I asked the police.

The officer shook his head. "The explosive used was made out of fertilizer, ammonium nitrate fertilizer that he kept, but he wasn't anywhere near the bomb when it went off. It looked like he was just watering some plants. He couldn't have built it. It doesn't even look like he could have known about it."

I stared at the officer. "Then, who? Who could have done it?"

He didn't have an answer for me. The police continued an investigation, but no answers came to light.

I gave my little angel, my little LilyJoy a hug that evening. "I'm so sorry, I know Mr. Briggs was your friend," I told her.

She smiled at me. "That's okay. I didn't like him anymore, because he wasn't nice to me. So he's gone now."

My sweet little LilyJoy. Such an optimist, even when things are hard. I love my little girl.