Last week my dear husband took a vacation from work to help with various projects at our home in Rhinebeck. With the help of my brother-in-law visiting from the west coast, the carport received a new roof, the outdoor furniture was cleaned and oiled, and we tackled a variety of landscaping projects. Somewhere during the landscaping discussion, while I was at my computer guest blogging at Keli Gwyn’s Romance Writers on the Journey and keeping up with my fellow writers on Facebook, my husband ordered 18 tons of dirt.
Yes, that’s right, 18 tons of dirt.
Why? I asked myself this same question as the second dump truck pulled away. At first, I chalked it up to grown men wanting to play in the dirt on vacation. As I helped move the dirt around our property I started wondering, would this ever happen in a romance novel? After a few years of wedded bliss, would Mr. Darcy race through the front door and announce to Elizabeth: “My dear, I purchased a pile of dirt for you!”
It seems unlikely that such an event would occur in a Regency era novel. After all, the lords and ladies that grace the pages of these books often employed a small army of servants and gardeners to tend to the dirt, but how about in a contemporary setting? I can almost see Suzanne Brockmann’s former Navy Seal turned Toubleshooter, Sam Starrett waltzing into his home and announcing to his wife Alyssa (also a Troubleshooter) that he’d ordered truckloads of dirt to play in during his spare time when he isn’t off saving the world.
Side note: if you’re not familiar with Sam & Alyssa you must order Suzanne Brockmann’s Troubleshooter series! And pre-order your copy of Hot Pursuit, Suzanne’s Summer 2009 thriller featuring Sam and Alyssa.
With piles of dirt to spread, I had plenty of time to muse over this question. I decided that for our contemporary heroes and heroines, there may come a time when the hero proudly presents his heroine with a mountain of dirt. And after the heroine in question recovers from her initial shock, I’m sure that she too sees the genius behind her husband’s gift. Just as I did.
Once the dirt was spread, I was left with the most amazing area in front of our home to plant. My dear husband had created the perfect place for a virtual field of flowering bushes to thrive!
Awww…I’m so glad you have 18 tons of dirt to play in! LOL! I think that would be fantastic in a contemporary romance
Romantic, indeed! I would very much like to think that Mr. Darcy would provide a beautiful garden for his dear Elizabeth. Dirt and all!
I made my way over here through Elyssa Papa’s blog! I love the fact that as writers we can take the concept of an 18 ton dirt delivery and turn it into a romance.
Happy planting!
I would love to have 18 tons of dirt. Our ground is hard clay and nothing but weeds grow. You’ll definitely have to share pictures once your garden grows.
I can see tons of dirt in an historical.
Renee
Sweet! I want a bunch of dirt too now. I guess I’ll settle for mulch once it stops raining and see it for the romantic gift that it is. Thanks for putting a new spin on my DH’s gardening.
My husband is going to be so jealous when he hears about this. I can confirm that the desire to obtain massive amounts of dirt is some sort of a bizarre male instinct. John talks about getting dirt, slows down the car and looks longingly at large piles of dirt when we happen to pass by them, goes up to construction workers and dump truck drivers and talks to them to see if he can get free dirt. I am not making this up. This has been going on for two years now! So far he’s just been too cheap to actually buy the dirt – but I’m sure that will change sooner or later….
Sarah,
I enjoy having you as my guest at Romance Writers on the Journey. Little did I know that while you were interacting with your visitors your hubby had gifted you with a mountain of dirt. I do hope that wasn’t his early birthday present to you.
Today is the day. I wish you a very Happy Birthday filled with friends, family, fun–and no dirt!