Rory and Tabby, who also came to help the first two days, decided to stay home as well.
Izzy, however, had a similar reaction to Eve. To power through until she can’t anymore.
But I’m starting to wonder if Eve can see reality dawning in front of us through the haze of sleep deprivation.
I’m certainly struggling.
Sunflowers in good condition are harder and harder to find, the wind blowing petals everywhere and causing rapid death for the few that are still blooming.
And Eve is stomping around like a zombie, mud coating the overalls she’s been wearing for the past three days. She wipes her nose on the back of her hand and continues on, and I catch yet another cut on her hand borne from numb fingers and desperate hacking at sunflower stems.
I don’t want to be That Guy, but I’m starting to wonder if Eve is so blinded by this storm that she can’t see what she’s doing.
As she dumps another armful of sunflowers into a bucket, she gets a call that she pushes to her headphones because her fingers are stuck in the shape of her shears and she can’t actuallyholdthe phone anymore.
“What’s up?” she barks, immediately turning back to the field to gather more sunflowers.
I flank her, as I have been, because my concern is growing by the minute.
And she stops in her tracks. “What?”
I pause when she does, taking a step around her so I can gauge her expression.
And she looksfurious.
“ABBY! You turn around and come back hereright now!”
She listens for a second, then shakes her head. “I don’t give a fuck about the truck. If you’re not back here in fifteen minutes, you’re fired!”
She hangs up the phone and her eyes find mine, bewildered. “She wanted to drive the truck through a flooded street for the sake of making a goddamn sale! One sale!” She shakes her head. “I can't believe her, putting her life at risk for this!”
I blink, taking in the bags underneath Eve’s eyes and the hopefullynotpermanent disfigurement of her clipping hand.
I bite my lip before I speak. “Maybe it’s time to call it.”
And to my surprise, she nods.
“It’s time,” she agrees, then turns around and starts screaming. “VIC!” she bellows, spotting him emerging from the field. “Go home!”
He nods. “You sure?”
“Go! And drive safe!”
He nods again, resting the last bunch of sunflowers in the bucket before giving her a mild wave and heading to the parking lot.
“You need a ride?” she asks.
He shakes his head. “My good old truck has never let me down.”
“You’ll call when you get home?”
He nods noncommittally. “I’m actually, uh, just heading across the street.”
We both pause, and Eve glances at me with a small smile on her face. “Oh okay. Well, you text me when you’re inside somewhere warm then?”
“You got it,” he says, before turning and heading off toward his truck.
“That’s cute,” Eve comments, before turning back to the sunflowers and screaming, “IZZY!”
