I furrowed my brow as my ears perked up.
“They could do with a light misting. Those daffodils will get waterlogged and rot after a while.”
Then the front door opened and closed behind her beautiful body as she left.
I wheeled my chair around and watched her figure through the window. The deep sway of her hips and the way her curly hair blew around her shoulders. I wheeled over and pulled the curtain back, shielding my eyes from the harsh sun as she got into her car. Her thick legs carried her tall and confidently, and the toned dip in her waist called to my fingertips.
I watched her get in and drive away before I rolled over to the flowers she delivered.
I reached up and plucked the card from the vase. I smelled the flowers, taking in their delicious scent. I opened the card she kept delivering with the arrangement and took in the cursive handwriting. It was obviously hers. Controlled. Fluid. Feminine.
Like her.
Be honest. Be nice. Be a flower. Not a weed.
-Aaron Neville
I stuck the card in my breast pocket to save for a rainy day. Every arrangement had a different quote about flowers that somehow seemed to reflect our prior engagements. I backed away from the flowers and relegated myself to the fireplace room. I sat with the books stacked along the shelves and closed my eyes, basking in the silence of the room.
I assumed my mother and sister were still bickering.
Pathetic.
My mind drifted back to the woman. Apparently, she had a little more knowledge about flowers than I gave her credit for. The suggestion wasn’t a bad one, and it gave me something to think about.
What would those carnations look like lining the outside of the hot tub?
Maybe I’d give her a call when I was better. Upright. Walking. Able to do the things a man of my prominence should be able to do. I felt the card burning a hole in my pocket, waiting to get back into my room. I had a desk there with my laptop and an entire drawer dedicated to the cards she left me.
For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away.
“Hayden? Hayden!”
“Where did he go, Mom?”
“Hayden! Where are you, sweetheart?”
I cringed at the sound of their voices.
“He’s in here, Mom. Hayden, you can’t roll off like that. You scared the hell out of us,” Cara said.
“Too bad I didn’t scare the shit out of you,” I said. “Because you’re full of it.”
“Don’t talk to your sister like that,” my mother said.
“Then stop arguing all the time,” I said.
“We only want what’s best for you,” Cara said.
“When it doesn’t include my opinion, sure,” I said.
“If you had things your way, you wouldn’t even be doing this follow-up surgery,” my mother said.
“Because I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“Well it is. So hush,” she said.
“Nice to know my opinion holds weight still,” I said flatly.