Light Me Up

After entrusting the cafe to the closing crew, I came home to decompress and play in my garden. The earth was still cool but we were having an unusually warm spring, so I wanted to take advantage of it.

I put my hair up into a bun of messy curls and slipped on my linen gardening dress, then went out back. The grass was cool against my feet. The rain hadn’t come yet but the sky was still gray. It would be here soon. Best get some seeds in the ground to take advantage of the natural watering.

I gathered my supplies and went to the vegetable patch. It was barren from the winter but not for much longer. I tilled the soil to prepare it. Raven played in the yard, chasing birds and squirrels, but then settled in for a nap against the back fence. Digging in the dirt, I lost my sense of time. What felt like mere minutes was really over an hour as I noticed the darkness creeping in. I felt them then. Small raindrops hitting the skin of my hands and neck. Raven darted by me to sit on the covered porch.

I hurried to get the seeds planted. Cauliflower, broccoli, and a variety of lettuces. The rest would wait.

I moved to the garden beds surrounding the porch and made rows for fennel, anise, and angelica—all plants for protection. The rain was coming down harder now, but I needed to do this. I didn’t bother with tools. I used my hands to dig small holes, place the seeds, and cover with soil. It was cathartic. It made me feel like I was actually doing something, not just waiting around for trouble to come. I got lost in the task, but as I started the last row, I heard his voice.

“Hey hippie. You know, it’s raining?” Theo.

I didn’t bother turning around, just kept placing my seeds.

“Oh is that what this wet stuff is?”

He huffed out a laugh.

“You need some help?”

“Nope, I’m just about finished.” I put the last three seeds into one of the little holes and covered it up. The raindrops had grown fatter now. It was still a drizzle but it wouldn’t be for long. I stood and shook out my dress, wiping the dirt off my hands and knees. When I looked up, I saw Theo watching me with curious eyes.

“You’re all dirty.” His tongue shot out to lick his lips so fast, I thought I had imagined it. I walked up to him. Not too close—I kept a bubble of personal space.

“Yeah I am.”

He looked up and down my body. I waited. Then he smirked.

“You need help cleaning off?”

“I doubt it. I’m good with my hands.”

What was happening? Why did we do this? We didn’t even like each other but whenever we got close, especially alone, some sort of energy zapped between us and we couldn’t help but flirt. Or maybe it wasn’t flirting, just sexual innuendos. Whatever the case, I needed to stop. It was only bound to complicate things, and seeing as we were complete opposites with exactly zero things in common, it was pointless to continue. I turned to pick up my supplies and walked them over to my gardening table. Since it was raining, I slid them underneath it.

“What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Hmm?” He shook his head. “Oh, I was in the neighborhood.”

“That’s not unusual.”

“Yeah well you seemed weird today so I figured I’d stop in and see if everything was okay.”

“Why?”

“I just said—”

“Yeah, but I mean why do you even care?”

“You’re my friend.” He took a moment to think about that and then adjusted his language. “I mean, we’re sort of friends, right?”

“Hardly.”

“You know you annoy me and I annoy you, but we love the same people and we’re around each other a lot so… I don’t know.” He rubbed the back of his head and shifted. “Do I need a reason?”

“It’s just weird. You’ve never really seemed to care before.”

“Yeah well I’ve never seen you be so weird before. Almost nervous or something. You’re usually cool as a cucumber.”

I considered that. It was true, I was a wreck earlier. At least for me. My thoughts drifted back to my garden and how lost I was in the dirt, I hadn’t thought about the Eryn Blake thing once since getting home. I felt good. Talk about therapy.

“Yeah, I suppose I was a little off earlier. But I’m fine now.”

He surveyed me again, his brows creasing together as he considered what I had just said. I smiled and shrugged my shoulders, leading the way up the back deck and into the door.

I wiped my feet on the towel I had left there and took my dirty dress off, leaving it on the deck. Now dressed in a tank and cotton biker shorts, I walked to the sink to scrub my hands. I looked back and saw Theo ogling.

“What?”

“You just drive me a little crazy, that’s all,” he laughed. I shrugged again.

“Yeah, well, ditto.”

“Town Council meeting is tomorrow. You think the Coastal League will be a hot-button issue?”

“I’m well aware and I have my notes prepared. As for the League, I highly doubt that. There’s no reason for controversy, Sheriff. We just want to peacefully protest like everyone else has the right to do.” I turned the water off and dried my hands.

“Of course.”