Professor Higgins Investigates

Chapter 2

Professor Eliza Higgins, Lizzie to her friends, followed the slightly overweight Russian Blue toward her office. The feline knew his way down the hall and had his favorite stops along the way. He knew which office would provide a loving scratch under the chin or, even better, a tasty cat treat. The stops were frequent because this was Lizzie and Harry"s last day to walk down the corridor. Today, Lizzie officially started her retirement. She was young to retire, but she had so many other things to accomplish, and to be honest, academia was getting boring. It wasn"t like when she started and she was out in the field helping with the horticulture classes. Now her day was mostly spent behind a desk looking out the window and thinking about the landscaping projects she longed to be working on.

"Ready for retirement, Lizzie?"

"What will you do with all your time now? Play grand hostess at that plantation you own?"

The questions were consistent, in varied forms, of course. "I"ll take it day by day," she would answer. Lizzie still wasn’t sure she knew what she was going to do with all the extra time on her hands. Yes, there were a lot of renovations to do on the old plantation that was now being run as a bed-and-breakfast. And there was a gardening TV show she hosted on the site. Plus, there was plenty to do in the greenhouses and the research facility within those greenhouses. Yes, Lizzie could be very busy. Yet she had people in place to take care of all that, and she didn"t need to do a thing except sign the checks and smile graciously. But that wasn"t Lizzie"s nature, and she was nervous about all the time she’d have on her hands.

"Alright, Harry, it"s time to make sure we’ve got everything out of the office and say our last goodbye," Lizzie said to the cat, as she snapped her fingers to hurry him along. She opened the door to her office and found a pleasant surprise.

"I"ve come to see my favorite student off. Yes, after all these years, it"s time for you to go off on your own." A deep voice greeted Lizzie, and she smiled at the figure of the tall man, his hair snow white with age, who sat behind her desk. The Chancellor of the college had made a special appearance to wish Lizzie goodbye.

"It doesn"t seem possible, does it? It seems like it was just yesterday that you were teaching me how to run a backhoe, telling me if the guys could do it, I could do it," Lizzie answered, walking over to give him a fierce hug.

They shared a laugh at the memory, each remembering the years they had spent together on the college grounds. Lizzie first was a student, and then she became a teacher. The Chancellor was first her professor, and then he rose in the ranks. But he"d always been Lizzie"s mentor, and she was grateful for every moment and every bit of wisdom he had shared with her. The older man took her hand and together they walked over to sit on the couch in front of her desk. Lizzie looked around her office fondly, already missing the piles of books and memories it had held.

"No second thoughts. You"re ready for this, and it"s time you move on." Her mentor caught her longing look and reprimanded her. As if on cue, there was a knock at the door and a young woman stuck her head in the room.

"Professor Higgins, Sonia Evans is here and wanted to know if she could bring some things into the office," she said. Lizzie exchanged a knowing look with the Chancellor as she nodded to her student administrator.

"She"s not wasting any time, is she?" he asked.

"It"s fine. I was that eager too when I first started. And why shouldn"t she be? It"s a great opportunity for her. I know we made the right choice when we selected Sonia."

"She"s got some big shoes to fill," he said as he got to his feet, giving her a warm embrace.

"I"ll see you at the party, right?" Lizzie asked as he walked toward the door.

"I wouldn"t miss it." He opened the door to find Lizzie"s replacement ready to enter.

"Hello, Professor Evans. I hope you"ll be comfortable here. If you need anything, please let my office know." Without waiting for her to answer, he gave a last wave to Lizzie, and after making sure Harry had a last bit of extra attention, he left.

The women were silent for a moment after he left and Lizzie looked over toward her replacement, noticing, not for the first time, that Sonia was like a younger version of herself. Not only in her dreams of academia, but in her appearance. When the younger woman reached up to fiddle with the string of pearls around her neck, Lizzie almost laughed out loud. When they had first met, the woman had dressed much differently, high style, high heels, and high maintenance; those were the best words to describe her appearance. But as she had worked under Lizzie, she had begun to imitate her superior in many ways. Not only in the way she dressed, but in interactions and mannerisms. More than one person had noticed when she had her hair cut and dyed to match the same color and cut as Lizzie’s, and she’d also slowly changed her fashion to match what Lizzie usually wore. Khakis and a button-down shirt, usually with the blazer, a set of pearls at her neck that her grandmother had given her, and always a pair of sneakers or work shoes. It was rare for Lizzie to wear heels because she always liked to jump in when she saw an opportunity to help with one of the landscaping projects going on in the labs.

"I hope you"re going to enjoy retirement, Lizzie," Sonia said as she put the box in her hands down on the chair by the door.

"It will be a change of pace. I"m not sure if I"m looking forward to it or not, to be honest, but the decision is made, and it"s time to move on. Besides, you"re here to take over, and I wish you the best. If you ever need to ask questions about the curriculum or the students, feel free to call me," Lizzie said as she prepared to pick up her own box from the desk to leave.

"Thank you for the offer. You’ve taught me so much already. I know I’ll be keeping in touch with you. I value your opinion and insight. You know this department inside and out."

Lizzie smiled at her replacement, remembering how anxious she had been about making changes to the department when it had become hers. Sonia would learn what worked and what wouldn"t, and there was nothing Lizzie could tell her that would give her any better wisdom than the school of experience.

"Right, well, this is your office now. Harry and I will get out of your way so you can settle in," she gave a snap of her fingers and Harry jumped into the box on her desk that held the last of her personal belongings.

"I hope you"ll stop by Azalea Plantation for the party. It"s an open-door event. Come when you can and stay as long as you like." Lizzie said as she walked to the door. Harry poked his head out of the box and snapped his tail. Whether in agreement or disagreement, she didn"t know.

***

Lizzie took her final walk down the hallway to a round of applause. I wonder if they’re applauding to congratulate me or to get rid of me, she jokingly thought to herself. She had spent a lot of years in these hallowed halls, and for the last few years, way too many hours in the office. She felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders as she exited the doors of the horticulture school and walked out into the shaded entryway.

. I wonder if they’re applauding to congratulate me or to get rid of me,"Here Lizzie, let me take that for you."

Two muscular arms grabbed the box out of her hands before Lizzie even realized what was going on. She looked up to see Kevin Lowe, a longtime friend who she dated, and next to him, her best friend from childhood, Trisha Fleming.

"What are you two doing here?" she asked.

"We wanted to make sure you didn"t change your mind," Trisha laughed as she answered, but she also looked serious. Kevin looked down at Harry, who still sat in the box watching what was going on and gave a grunt.

"I think the first thing you should do in retirement is put Harry on a diet. No more sitting around the office for him. He needs to be out chasing mice and working off some of that fat." The two women chuckled with Kevin, but Harry gave a meow as if reprimanding the man"s humor.

"Seriously, I could"ve gotten home by myself, you two," Lizzie said, putting her arm around Trisha"s shoulders and following Kevin toward her car. Neither of them answered. They each had their doubts about whether Lizzie would actually make it home without changing her mind. Once they had Harry and the box in the backseat of Liz"s car, Trisha gave her a quick peck on the cheek and promised to be over later to catch up. Lizzie watched her friend hop into her own car, put it in gear, and pull out onto the stone driveway, kicking up gravel as she went. Trisha"s lead foot had started when they had gotten their driver"s licenses, and she hadn"t let up on the gas pedal since.

"Do you want some company?" Kevin asked as they watched Trisha"s car become a dot in the distance.

"Don"t you have work to do?" Lizzie laughed. "I"m fine. I"m actually eager to get back to the plantation. There"s so much going on there; I want to get my hands into everything."

"Don"t rock the boat too much, Lizzie. Your staff has been doing fine, and they may not appreciate heavy-handed help because you have nothing else to do." Kevin softened his warning with a smile, but he was serious, and Lizzie gave a nod of understanding. The last thing she wanted to do was step on toes, but she wanted to get more involved in the running of the B&B at the plantation. She had a feeling there would need to be some compromises in her future. Kevin reached in through the window and gave Harry a pat, and then he took his leave.

"Don"t forget we have a meeting in the morning to go over the new ad campaign for the bed-and-breakfast. Oh, and there will be a photo shoot just before your party tomorrow."

Kevin was not only a close friend, he also handled the publicity for the bed-and-breakfast and the gardening show that was filmed on site. Lizzie often hosted the show, although more often than not there were guest hosts sharing a wide range of experience and adding entertainment value. One more thing for Lizzie to get more involved with.

"Sounds like retirement is going to keep us busy, doesn"t it, Harry?" she said, sliding into the seat of her car, and starting the engine.

Harry merely yawned and curled up, enjoying the sunbeams coming in through the open window of the car. A few moments later, Lizzie left the college behind, following the winding country road toward the bed-and-breakfast she owned. It was an old Florida plantation that had been handed down for generations. After being converted to a bed-and-breakfast, those duties had usually been handled by the women of the family. Lizzie loved the drive from the college to her home. The streets were lined with huge old live oak trees, the Spanish moss hanging down so low that at some points, it almost touched the ground. The recent rains had given the wild meadows a soft green look of fresh growth. Wildflowers of brilliant colors were scattered throughout the greenery. They were deliberately planted by the department of transportation, making Lizzie wonder if that still made them wildflowers.

Cattle grazed amongst the flowers, and as she drove by some of the larger properties, beautiful racing horses could be seen being put through their paces behind the wood fencing separating property lines. Traffic was light at this time of day since most people were still at work. Tourists and snowbirds made up most of the daytime traffic but knew enough to get off the roads during the heavy traffic times as the Florida residents traveled to get back and forth to work. Lizzie’s mind wandered as she drove, and before she knew it, she was pulling into the private road that led to the plantation’s entry.

"We"re home, Harry."