“Mmph,” he said in affirmation. It was, quite frankly, the most amazing thing he’d ever eaten, but he supposed thatmmphwould have to suffice. Diana seemed to understand, anyway.
Eventually managing to swallow down the enormous mouthful – and vowing to be a bit more sensible with the next one – he took a sip of his americano and watched Diana thoughtfully, simply enjoying how much she was enjoying her meal.
“You seem like you have a green thumb,” he said, thinking back to that magical moment with the hummingbird. “I couldn’t help but notice your garden yesterday – it was amazing.”
Diana smiled, looking embarrassed but pleased. “The front yard is all native plants. We have a veggie patch in the back yard, as well as a few blackberry and loganberry bushes. Oh, and we have some baby fruit trees, but they aren’t producing anything yet.” She shrugged. “Nothing we grow is as good asthis, but sometimes it’s just more satisfying to grow things yourself, you know? And it’s good for Ash to learn.”
Our mate denigrates her own abilities?the wyvern hissed, horrified.We must disabuse her of such notions right this instant.
I’m way ahead of you, big guy,Calvin replied. He couldn’t stand the idea that Diana might not think highly of her own hard work.
“I’m sure it all tastes incredible,” Calvin said, completely serious. “And keeping all those plants alive and in good order is one hell of a skill – I may know my way around concrete and steel, but I wouldn’t be able to grow a carrot if my life depended on it.”
Diana laughed, ducking her face down behind her dark, curly hair. “It’s kind of you to say so.” She looked up at him from under her lashes. “If you’d like, you could help me? With some carrots, I mean. I’ve been meaning to get a few carrots and radishes planted before it’s too late.”
“I’d love nothing more,” he said, without even thinking about it. But it was absolutely true. The idea of spending time with Diana getting his hands dirty and coaxing new life into something sounded truly magical, even if he had zero expertise and was relying on her to show him what to do.
“And you?” said Diana. “What do you do for fun?”
“Outside of construction?” Calvin said, feeling a bit self-conscious now that the shoe was on the other foot. “Not a whole lot, since the hours are pretty long. But when I do have time, I like to do woodworking.”
“Woodworking? That sounds like it’d take some skill,” said Diana, dropping another piece of fried chicken onto his plate.
“I wouldn’t say I’m that great at it yet,” Calvin said with a laugh. “I guess in a way it’s just a logical extension of construction work, except that you can be more creative and do whatever you feel like.”
Diana stole one of his blueberries and popped it into her mouth with a cheeky smile. “What kind of things do you like to make?”
“Good question,” Calvin replied. He never reallythoughtabout what he was going to make – it all depended on where his mood took him on any given day. “Mostly furniture, I guess – chairs and things like that. I’ve tried my hand at wood carving a few times, but I’m not very good at it. It’s fun, though. And I like the challenge.”
The sudden thought came to him that he’d like to make something nice for Diana one day. What that thing would be, he didn’t know, but now that the thought was there, he knew the idea wouldn’t leave him alone until he did it.
“That sounds like fun,” Diana said, looking wistful. “I’d be terrible at it, but I’d love to try one day.”
“Well, I could show you, if you like,” Calvin said, his pulse picking up a little. “And Ash as well, if he’d be interested.”
Diana’s eyes widened. “Really? I mean, that would be lovely – of course I’d like that. But aren’t you just up here for a hiking holiday?”
Tell her that you are her possession for all eternity,the wyvern snarled.Position yourself nakedly upon her bed in her absence and await her return!
Easy, tiger,Calvin yelped, barely keeping from raising his hands defensively in the real world.One step at a time, yeah?
“My most recent construction gig just finished up,” he said truthfully. “I’ll probably have another one soon, but I don’t have anything lined up right now. And I’ve been at this game long enough that I can take some time before starting the next job if I want to.”
He couldn’t help but notice that Diana looked pleased at the prospect. Emboldened, he continued. “Ihadbeen planning on returning home after a few days, but now I’m thinking that maybe it would be nice to stay in Girdwood Springs a bit longer.”
“Well, you’re certainly welcome to stay here for as long as you’d like,” Diana said with a brilliant smile. “I’d love to showyou around town, and I think Ash would love to take you up on that woodworking offer.”
“It’s a deal,” he said with a grin. “You can show me and Ash how to grow carrots, I can show both of you some woodworking, and Ash can teach us more about cryptic crosswords.”
Diana grimaced good-naturedly. “I think you’re on your own with that last one.”
Calvin laughed. “Well, I’ll see how it goes. Iamcurious to learn how any of it is supposed to make sense.”
“If you do find a way to make it make sense, let me know.”
Calvin sat in contentment for a minute, happy to just eat his waffles and enjoy Diana’s company. His mind wandered to how much he would enjoy learning to garden with her, and how nice it would be if he could live with her over the years and see the trees that she had planted bear fruit.
The thought reminded him of yesterday –was it really just yesterday?– at the lemonade stand, and the fundraising event that Diana had clearly been running.
