Sara Marx - Before I Died by Sara Marx

Author:Sara Marx
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2011-09-12T23:40:13+00:00

Chapter 23

“Did you know that a healthy lawn sustains life? Did you know that a patch of sixty-by-forty-foot lawn produces enough oxygen to oxygenate a family of four?”

Mark’s taped public relations approach was just shy of sparkling, I had to admit. I watched him walk along a perfect lawn in jeans and a sports coat, listened to the sound of his twangy accent as it bounced along sincere-sounding dialogue. For a soon-to-be millionaire, his eyes showed only sincerity, not dollar signs, as he delivered his message. That alone was going to make GreenSafe a huge seller.

Trinidad, I’m sure, was making all those same observations. He smirked as he operated the remote for the small television set in the shed. He mocked Mark and narrated over the narrator and surprisingly, my companion’s remarks were nothing short of utterly sarcastic. “And did you know that that’s only true if the grass is as tall as your head and totally untouched by the chemicals you designed to squeeze the life out of the environment?”

I shot him a look. I knew he was going to unload a tremendous lecture on morality and hypocrisy on me at any minute. He continued to fiddle with the remote, fast-forwarding through Mark’s DVD, pausing now and again.

“Don’t underestimate the power of a lush lawn. Not only will an aesthetically pleasing lawn bring you joy and increase the value of your property, but consider the life sustainability it can provide.”

“Now consider that as a result of your lush, beautiful lawn, you may ultimately need to wear a body suit and a gas mask.” Trinidad was developing an imitation of Mark that wasn’t half bad. He turned to look at me. “Sound like a place you’d want to live?”

“No.”

“Well, of course you didn’t want to. You moved.” He waved the remote at the player again. “You just left your neighbors to suffer, let alone whatever damage came from the trickle-down effect. Oh, and did I tell you the good news? It’s not just for golf courses anymore! A major mass-market retail store already has its order in for this fine product and plans to deep-discount it for the general population. Now nobody has an excuse to not have a GreenSafe Lawn! Sounds good, doesn’t it? Someday soon, they’ll be burying those Sell-Mart buyers under all those lush green lawns thanks to you.”

“Thanks to me?” I shook my head. In my living years, it was normally my habit to place my hand over my chest when someone made me angry. It was almost as if the rapidity of my heartbeat helped me determine just how angry I actually was. When I did it now, there was no gentle thud-thudding where my heartbeat should have been, only cool skin and the gentle contour of my ribcage. I admit it alarmed me. I tried to shrug it off. “What was I supposed to do?”

“You were supposed to do something more than nothing.” In addition to being dead, Trinidad seemed suddenly to be fairly unbalanced.

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