A Budding Heart

Basil chuckled, tilting his head as if trying to see her around the flower. “What?!” But he let her turn away anyway. She was a sheepish kind of woman, he’d noticed. Modest. Traditional. No wonder she got flustered every time he said something about, say, kissing.

Still…he couldn’t help but tease her. She made it too easy, and he always liked to see if he could make her cheeks match her hair.

“You don’t think kissing’s nice?” His laughter finally trailed off. “A lot of people seem to think kissing’s nice. C’mon.”

“Well, it’s very nice if it’s with someone special to you. That’s...” She frowned, thinking back to their kiss, as brief and messy as it was. “That’s the only way I like kissing. I want to find someone special to share my life with.” They had kissed, but obviously, it hadn’t meant anything to him. She was trying not to think about it, sometimes things just didn’t work out and that’s how it was. There was no point in being mad or upset with him.

It didn’t make it hurt any less. 

       Smile growing, Ceci nodded happily. Still new to town, she hadn’t had the chance to go out and explore all the places to eat. Doing so now would help make her feel a little more at home, and having the chance to bond with a coworker never hurt either. 

       “ I’d love to! “ She told the other, hoping she put the right amount of enthusiasm into her voice. Some days it was hard to tell if she came off as over eager or not eager enough. Stomach rumbling again loudly, she felt her cheeks turn a little red. “ And so would my stomach apparently. “

Lyla grinned broadly and clasped her hands together. “Perfect! We can head over there as soon as everything’s finished.” Just thinking about it made her hungrier. 

Cecilia had been so focused on counting she hadn’t heard the woman approach. Looking up, she offered the other a small smile. “I’m almost done, just trying to figure out what to give them to turn into change in the morning.” Her gaze drifted back down to the bills, and she resumed counting. It took her a moment to realize what the sound was. Looking up at Lyla, she grinned a little. “Mine did the same not too long ago. It’s a good thing you didn’t hear it.”

Lyla giggled. “My own probably drowned it out. It’s been growling at me for the past hour.” No wonder as her lunch had been a little sparse that day, too much in a hurry this morning to make a proper meal. 

Basil, in fact, didn’t say anything at all.

Lyla, he’d known since their time working together for his best friend’s wedding, had a habit of daydreaming sometimes. She’d begin talking about a detail, and would slowly trail off, then stare into the distance with bright eyes and a very soft smile.

Just like this.

Basil didn’t like to hurry her back from these. He thought it’d be too jarring for her. Instead, he watched her, waiting patiently, fascinated by the flitting of her mind and how adoringly she gazed at the flower in her hand. And then, when she looked up, he smiled back.

“You’re back,” he said softly - warmly - before his tone turned teasing. “You looked like you were about to kiss that flower.”

At his words, a soft pink bloomed on her cheeks. She’d forgotten Basil knew about her bad habit and that she wouldn’t be able to simply play it off. Holding the flower to cover her face, Lyla turned to hide. “Basil! That’s not very nice.” It was a soft scolding filled more with laughter than admonishment.  

Basil traced the blossom with his eyes, sliding off of his counter so he could come a little closer to inspect it for quality or damage. Flawless. He smiled at it, as if it was a secret friend, and then looked back up at Lyla.

“I wouldn’t know.” He chuckled. “I don’t exactly stick around. Just wanna get my slip signed and get back to the shop. Better company here.” As usual, he didn’t think before he spoke - just let his thoughts out freely. Why would he care if a customer flirted with him? He didn’t have time for that. He had time for work and flowers and friends, and that was about it.

Still. If it was something she was interested in… “Come with me sometime, when we’ve got another couple of designers on duty.” He shrugged, leaning against the counter, his arms crossing over his chest. “You’d probably like seeing their faces better than me. And I could use the company. Some of those rides are too long.”

Lyla looked away in an attempt to steady her heart. Not everyone could appreciate those moments, she supposed, but they were details that she cherished.

She pulled the flower close to her chest, fingers running up the long stem and dancing over the feather soft petals. “Oh, well, if you ever need help with a large delivery, I wouldn’t mind.” Sometimes they catered for events that would need several hundreds of flowers

It would be pretty nice, though, wouldn’t it? Riding with Basil, talking... she imagined their conversation of flowers turning to the wedding they were driving to — because suddenly it was a wedding venue that needed all of these flowers — and when they got there, they would carry the flowers in together. Maybe they would be asked to stay and they could dance for a bit. She could say yes this time rather than—

For someone who had seemed so in love with the idea of romance when they first met when she was a wedding planner, she seemed to turn the subject away quite quickly. Had he misread her? Basil tilted his head to the side, studying the flowers and silently naming them as he thought. He was terrible at comfort. Terrible at pretty much any human interaction, actually - why couldn’t they all be plants?

Better to just go with her flow, then.

“I mean, I’d love to, but, uh…they were only hiring part-time professors when I came through.” Basil chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. “Yep…just gonna make flower delivery my real passion after all. Turns out I could’ve saved on all that college after all, huh?”

Lyla giggled. “I wouldn’t really know. I think it’s a fun job, though.” She picked out a flower, a pink peony with a long stem, and turned toward him. “Putting together a bouquet and seeing it delivered, I wish I could see the customer’s face when they receive it.” Those moments were so precious and that she helped create them always made her heart bloom. 

@abuddingheart;

Even though he had set out on his journey of adulthood and independence away from his brother, Dirk never forgot about his roots. His family, his friends, his hometown… they were responsible for shaping him into the man he was today. Without them, he certainly wouldn’t be here— he’d probably be nowhere. So what kind of jerk would he be if he turned his back on all of that?

That was why he always made sure to write letters to his brother and old friends, to update them on his life, check up on theirs, and let them know he was subverting all poor expectations and doing alright for himself!

He figured he should include a lil’ extra-extra in his letters though, especially to Ivan. A nice souvenir from the big city, something they could still appreciate, and not freak out over. For his dear brother, he figured a nice floral perfume would be a good start. And if that failed? Flowers. That was always a trusty go-to gift. 

“Heyooo, Miss Lyla!” He says as he steps into the Urban Garden, greeting the woman with a grin and wave. “Hope the day’s been treatin’ ya well?”

Dirk’s familiar cheery tune drew Lyla’s attention from the bouquet she was putting together for a client. They wouldn’t be around to pick it up until much later, but she liked to put a certain amount of detail into her work. There was also always the chance, however rare, that a rush of customers would flood her. Better to get much done as she could in her free moments.

Basil couldn’t help but chuckle at her comment. He could understand a bit of it, at least - fielding his own buddy’s mother had been a nightmare just for himself, and he hadn’t even been paid for it. He could only imagine the nonsense she’d put Lyla through behind closed doors or on the phone.

“Hey, who knows, right? Some suave lawyer might come waltzing in here and need centerpieces for some fancy function, and the next second you’ll have his number in your pocket.” At the least, he wanted her to be happy.

Sometimes he thought that smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.

“I know what you mean, though, like…I didn’t realize how much more free time I was gonna have now that I’m just working here part time. It’s a breath of fresh air compared to the past, what, nine months?”

What he said made her stomach twist, but there was no change in her easy smile. “That would be quite the movie romance,” she joked. “Hmm, maybe? You never know~” Her tone seemed to suggest she wouldn’t mind such a thing, but she wasn’t looking at him as she said it. Instead, she was distracted by the flowers near her, re-arranging them delicately inside their bin and checking their stems. Delicate fingers pulled her pink hair behind her ear, brushing against the floral arrangements she had in her hair.

@abuddingheart

Monday mornings weren’t exactly the busiest times at Urban Garden. Most of the time if there were no deliveries to be made, Basil would be told to go home early, but somewhere in the past month his boss had learned that Basil would make any excuse in the book to stay at work. A man needed money, after all, even if his garden called to him.

So there he was. No deliveries. And there Lyla was. No orders. Just a shop with only two workers for the next hour and a half, at least. He didn’t mind. Lyla and him had a weird past - her doing that wedding planning thing for one of his best buddies or whatever - and they hadn’t even had time to catch up since she’d started working here.

Well. Why not now?

Basil heaved himself up to sit on the register counter and smiled down at Lyla. “So. How’s life? No more bridezillas for you forever?”

One thing Lyla loved about working at Urban Garden was that it was lowkey. Her phone was not constantly ringing, she was not being yelled at, she didn’t have to go yell at vendors, and the hours were set: 9AM to 5PM in the Baycourt building. It was an odd sort of therapy but one that she enjoyed. True, she didn’t grow as close to her clients here, there were no emotional days, and she had met some truly great people, and formed deep bonds, while working as a wedding planner.

Right now, though, she did not miss it. Not even during the downtime at Urban Garden. 

Of course, Basil working here was rather a surprise, even if only part time, and it brought back a lot of complicated feelings.