“It’s all right. I didn’t think about it either. We were both just caught up in the fact that the council even granted me this opportunity.”
“Yeah, that too. And really, if we never left this house or our bedroom for an entire year, I’d be happy.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, making her laugh aloud. “But that’s not realistic, is it? So…well, I had this idea.”
“What is it? Tell me.”
“Better that I show you, actually.” Tucking her arm into his, he led her out of the living room, to the back door that led to the outside. “This”—he gestured around them— “Is my idea.”
“Apollo, I’ve already seen—what the fuck?” Geri’s eyes widened. “Your garden! What happened?” Stepping away from him, she spun around. “It’s all gone.” Instead of the lush, beautifully-manicured and maintained garden, they now stood in a bare yard. “The flowers, the trees…they must have been alive for millennia. Did you get rid of them?”
“What? Oh no, I didn’t,” he assured her. “It’s still there. I mean…” How could he explain it to her? “Since this is my home, I can do whatever I want. Reality here bends to my will. The garden you saw still exists. It just…how do I put this…it exists somewhere else.”
Her nose wrinkled. “Like a different dimension?”
“Something like that. Nothing was disturbed, and no plant was destroyed. If I want to, I can easily restore it here again. Or we can visit it anytime you wish. But, I was thinking, since you love plants and gardening so much, you could start a new garden here. Your garden.”
Geri inhaled a quick breath. “This…this is all mine?”
“Yes.”
“And I can do anything here?”
“Whatever you want. And–mmph!” Apollo never got a chance to finish his sentence as Geri wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a long, sensuous kiss. When she finally let go of him, he grinned at her. “I take it from your reaction that you like it?”
She smirked. “What do you think?” Pure love and happiness thrummed through the bond. “I love it. And I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He planted a quick kiss on her lips. “I’ll help too.”
“You want to help? With gardening?”
“Well, yeah. It’s something we can do together.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Hey now, what’s with that look?”
“What look?”
“That look—the one on your face right now that has skepticism written all over it.”
“Nothing. I mean, Apollo, gardening takes a lot of patience.”
“I’m patient,” he said.
“Uh-huh.” The corner of her mouth tugged up. “You were so cranky while we were waiting in line at that wine booth at the market.”
“It’s wine!” he huffed. “I don’t understand why it’s an hour-long wait for a cup of fermented grape juice, just because this seller blew up on Hellenagram.”
“See? This is what I meant about you and patience.”
He thought for a moment. “I have other skills, too, you know. Ones that can be useful for gardening.”
“I’d like to see that.”
“Oh, you’re gonna see it.” First, he’d have to think of what those skills were exactly. “But…why don’t we walk around and start planning? Maybe you’ll be inspired—hey, that’s one of my skills! I can inspire you to create the most beautiful garden anyone’s ever seen, here and on the Upperworld.”
She chuckled. “I don’t know about that, but I’ll definitely do my best.”
“I know you will.” He was sure of it.
“Apollo?”
“Yes?”
