Lark (First & Forever 5)

“Awesome! I think you’ll love it. You’ll love Noah, too. He’s a real sweetheart.”

The way he said that made me ask, “Are you interested in your new business partner?”

“No! I mean, he is gay. And single. And cute. But I’m not ready to give up on Hudson yet.”

Why did I see a potential love triangle in my friend’s future? I decided it was best not to bring that up, though. There was a knock on the door just then, and I pushed off the counter and said, “That’s probably Dylan’s iced coffee.”

He got up too and said, “I’m going to go upstairs and start on some research. Noah and I want to sell toys and doggie treats in the lobby, and we’re both supposed to find some options to show each other over dinner tonight.” Oh yeah, Hudson was really going to have to step up, before Kel slipped through his fingers.

When I returned to the backyard a couple of minutes later, I handed Dylan his iced coffee and said, “Come and sit down. You’ve been working hard.”

There was a table with an umbrella on the cement patio, and as we took a seat, Dylan gestured at the overgrown backyard and asked, “Do you think Yolanda and JoJo would mind if I cleaned that up?”

“Mind? I think they’d love you forever.”

“I miss having a yard. I do some gardening with my dad occasionally, but it doesn’t quite satisfy the urge to get my hands dirty.”

“Well, then go for it.”

He grinned at me and asked, “Want to help?”

“You could probably convince me to come out here and dig in the dirt, as long as you fully understand I have no idea what I’m doing.”

“I’ll teach you.” This whole gardening idea made him happier than I would have expected it to.

We chatted about some ideas for the garden for a few minutes while he sipped his iced coffee and I enjoyed my strawberry lemonade. Then we were interrupted by the buzzing of my phone. I pulled it from my pocket, read the group text Casey and Theo had sent to about twenty people, and whispered, “Wow.”

“What is it?”

I handed him the phone, which had a photo of a boxy, yellow building on the screen, and explained, “My friends had this goal of opening a children’s health clinic and community center, and they’re making it happen. They just bought that building and texted their friends to let us know. Theo’s a doctor and Casey’s a nurse, I can’t remember if I already told you that. But this is wild, especially right on the heels of Kel’s news.”

“What’s Kel doing?”

I told him about the business my friend was starting and said, “Everyone’s making their dreams come true.”

“That’s fantastic.”

It definitely was, but at the same time it felt like a huge wake-up call. My life was at a stand-still, and I had no idea what I wanted to work toward, or even what I should be doing. I really didn’t want to make my friends’ successes about me though, so I smiled and said, “For sure.”

Dylan finished his iced coffee, then got up and kissed my forehead. “Thanks for the drink,” he said. “It was just what I needed.” Then he went back to work on the shelves, and I picked up my sanding block and tried to be useful.

By that night, the shelves were installed in my room, with the plan of painting them the next day. Dylan and I admired them as we curled up in my bed, and he asked, “What do you think?”

“They’re absolutely perfect.” I really meant it. They were beautifully made and looked like they belonged there.

Since this was a rental, he’d made them in easily removable sections. If anyone ever wanted to take them down, the only sign they’d ever been there would be a few tiny, easily patched holes, where the earthquake braces were anchored to the studs in the wall.

I couldn’t see why anyone would ever want to take them down, though. In fact, I imagined them becoming a permanent part of this house. That felt good, knowing a piece of Dylan and me would live on here, no matter where life took us in the future.

20

Dylan

I’d forgotten how good it felt to build things, and I was proud of the way the shelves I’d made for Lark turned out. It also felt great to take care of him in some small way.

I spent the night with him—yet again—on Saturday, and on Sunday morning we ordered some groceries and cooked breakfast for the entire household. Afterwards, most of the day was spent alternately painting and gardening. In between applying the primer to the shelves, then two coats of paint and letting each dry in between, we began to tackle the overgrown backyard.

Lark started out a bit iffy when it came to yardwork, but he soon warmed to the task. He liked the fact that the results were so immediate. We pulled weeds and cut back overgrown vines to reveal some existing landscaping, and after we cleared out a large flowerbed against the back fence, I told him, “I think we’ve earned a trip to the hardware store.”