“How cliché.” Now it’s her turn to roll her eyes.
“All joking aside, Beck,” she adds, a few moments later. “You are wise beyond your years.”
“I could say the same to you. You’re not like most twenty-one-year-olds.”
“Nana always says I’m an old soul.”
“I agree with her. Talking with you is the best part of my day.”
“Mine too,” she readily agrees before dropping her feet to the ground and looking away.
“Hey. What’s wrong?” I gently touch her arm.
She turns to look at me with renewed pain on her face. “It feels wrong to say that to another man the day of my boyfriend’s birthday,” she whispers.
My eyes startle in surprise. We have never discussed how our friendship might impact our other relationships, and while I don’t share her view, I’m not surprised Stevie has expressed this opinion. I have gotten to know her, and I was expecting this to crop up at some point. “We’re friends, Stevie. You and I both know nothing inappropriate has happened between us. If I was a female, that thought wouldn’t even cross your mind. You should not feel guilty for our friendship or how it makes you feel. We aren’t doing anything wrong.”
“That’s not how others would see it.”
“I honestly don’t care what anyone else thinks, but if it matters to you that much, we can stop these meetings. We can end our friendship here.” The words kill me to speak. I don’t want to stop these garden visits. But I will if it’s what she needs. I never want to make her life harder.
She shakes her head, sending waves of glossy red hair cascading over her slender shoulders. “I don’t want to stop meeting up. Your friendship has come to mean so much to me, Beck.” Sincerity flows through her words and leaks from her expression.
“It means a lot to me, too. I have other friends in my life but no one who sees the real me like you do.”
“I know what you mean. I can just be myself with you too.”
I nod because it’s exactly how I feel. I place my hand carefully on top of hers. “I am here tonight if you need me. But if you need to be alone, that’s fine too. I just want you to know I’ve got your back. Always.”
A glassy sheen pricks her eyes, and it’s the closest I’ve seen her come to shedding tears.
“Thank you, Beck. A million times thank you. For being my lifeline. For being a bright spark in a world that’s so very dark. I know I can always talk to you, but tonight is something I need to do alone.”
“I understand,” I say as someone calls out Stevie’s name.
We both turn toward the sound of the female voice, and Stevie curses under her breath. “Incoming,” she mutters, bending down for the birthday gift and her purse. “I told her not to do this, but she never listens to me.”
Watching the tall, thin girl with a shock of wild brown curly hair approach, I instantly know who she is.
Stevie and I stand, and I shove my hands into the pockets of my dress pants.
“There you are.” She stops and smiles, her gaze dancing between us.
“Hadley, I presume?”
“Shehastold you about me then. That’s a relief. I really didn’t want to give you the summary of what we mean to one another in the few short seconds we have before we need to go inside the hospital.” The words stream from her mouth in a rush, and she barely pauses to draw a breath.
“Of course, I told Beck about you. You’re my childhood best friend, roommate, and perpetual thorn in my side.” Stevie leans in and hugs her quickly. “I say that with love. Always with love.”
“Ditto, sexy. Look at you.” Hadley whirls her hands in front of Stevie. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you looking anything close to human. This is great progress. I’m proud of you, Opium Poppy.”
My brows climb to my hairline as Stevie cringes.
Hadley emits a loud gasp, slapping a hand briefly over her mouth. “Oh my god, Beck. I’m so sorry. That was insensitive.”
I have no idea why she’d think that, but I can’t get a word in edgewise to tell her it’s fine, that I’m not offended, because she keeps talking.
“It’s an ongoing joke since we were kids. Nana calls Stevie Little Poppy, and there was this one time a local farmer got caught harvesting poppies for opium, and I tried to convince Nana to change Stevie’s nickname, but she wouldn’t entertain the idea.” She fake huffs. “I thought it was genius, and I like to remind my bestie so she knows how lucky she is to have such an intelligent and entertaining best friend.”
