âI couldnât let her go without flowers,â Ada smiled softly, shoving her hands into her apron pockets. âSheâs always been so kind to me and my family, itâs really the least I could do. Besides, itâs not like weâre selling out of flowers,â she gestured around the shop full of potted plants and succulents, bouquets of any flowers from floor to ceiling, and a fridge full of more in the back room. âIâm glad you remember your types of roses. That must have made all the girls in London very happy.â
Ada rehearsed in the mirror of her childhood bedroom, the very bedroom she still slept in after all these years, what sheâd say to him if she ever saw him again. Sheâd glance into the closet and see the box of the dress sheâd picked out pushed into the back corner; it was covered in duct tape, a ploy to keep her from opening the box and destroying what was insideâafter all, sheâd never be able to wear itâbut she couldnât bring herself to throw it away. Sheâd pretend he was standing in front of her and sheâd calmly tell him how much it hurt to see him. How much it hurt to know he could walk away from herâwalk away from her for the assumption sheâd be giving up her future and her dreams to be with himâtoo blind to see that he was what she wanted. He was the portrait sheâd painted of her future and he ripped it from her like a piece of unwanted mail. But she binned all of thatâthere was no point. It wouldnât change the past; it wouldnât make her feel any better to bring ghosts into this.Â
âI havenât had a chance to read the book yet, but Iâm looking forward to it,â she smiled cordially. She looked forward to reading that book the same way she looked forward to ripping a bandage off of her arm. Like sheâd told Stella earlierâreading his book was life homework. She realized she was making him uncomfortable at the mention of the bookâeven after all these years she could still read him enough to know when to change the subject. âMostly just working here and painting,â Ada answered honestly, âI do a lot of commissioned paintings for weddings, too. Those alone this summer have made me almost enough money to move out of my Parentsâ, well, Dadâs house. Other than that I keep to myself, really. Cal works with me nowâremember the boy I babysat? He just came back home and I hired him on the spot. Itâs nice to be around someone familiar,â she shrugged. âI gather you came home to find some calm, hmm? Iâm sure this town is boring enough that youâll be up and off again in no time.âÂ
âSheâs one of the best people in the world, and she deserves every possible bit of love we can show her.â He couldnât help blushing when she mentioned other women, but he hoped maybe she wouldnât notice if he focused intently on a particular jade plant. âActually, the gents always seemed more charmed, but the fact that I can keep my houseplants alive seems to impress just about everyone.â He shrugged, picking up the plant to feel the weight of it in his hands and inspect the leaves, to give himself something to do besides study her face and catalogue every small change.
He used to know her face better than he knew his own; no matter the changes, her eyes were the same, and Freddie couldnât tell even himself he hadnât been dreaming about them for a decade. Her, this place, the tree in her front yard where theyâd spent so much time. Everything green was Ada. It went against every instinct he had not to reach out and run his thumb along her cheekbone, but he knew he couldnât--and the only person to blame for it was himself. Instead, he gripped the little clay pot in his hands until his knuckles turned white, realizing heâd probably end up taking it home just to keep himself from doing something stupid.
âOh god, please just throw it in the bin. My professional recommendation is that you borrow it from the library for the sake of civic responsibility and then return it unread, please.â His face was getting redder, he could tell, and he could barely contain his sigh of relief when she changed the subject. âYouâre still painting? Ada, thatâs wonderful! And commissions, thatâs extraordinary--not that Iâm surprised, youâve always been so talented. But Iâm so glad for you, really. Oh man, little Cal? I think the universe just wants me to feel like a kid again. Except for the restlessness, this time around. I think Iâll be around for a while. Itâs been too long since I stayed in one place--I need to make sure I still remember how.â