“Did you uh… did you tell her… we were…?”
“I told her about you, that you were staying here for a while. But I kept it vague. I didn’t know how you wanted to play it. Would you rather tell them we’re in a relationship or stick with being roommates? Not much danger of meet-cutes in my house.”
“True. We could probably just go the roommate route. Except…” Her eyes went wide.
“Except what?” Will prompted.
“Well, like… what if it’s a compulsion? What if your dad starts hitting on me?”
“What? No. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Not with my mom there.”
“But that’s what I’m saying!” Emmy insisted. “What if it’s a curse and he can’t even stop himself? Remember when I fell on top of you because the book willed it? I don’t want your dad to hit on me, Will! This is going to be awkward enough!”
“Okay. Point taken. Don’t panic. We’ll tell them we’re in a relationship. It’s fine. Better safe than sorry, right?”
“Right.” Emmy let out a relieved breath. “That’s settled. Are you cooking for them? Is there something I should do or… wear?”
“Um… act normal and wear clothes.”
Emmy rolled her eyes even as she laughed lightly. “Okay, I think I can manage that. Good thing I finished your landscaping. It’ll give us something to talk about so things don’t get awkward.” She shrugged uncomfortably. “Bright seemed to think it looked good.”
“That’s right, you mentioned she was here. What did she want?”
“To hang out, apparently. I guess after she made the wind chime for me, she wanted to see it in action. She was really effusive in her praise, but that could just be because she’s Bright.”
“Why do you do that?” Will asked.
“Do what?”
“Make up reasons why your work isn’t as good as people say it is. You landscaped my yard, Emmy. By yourself. What’s wrong with being proud of that?”
“It’s no big deal,” she said quietly, her cheeks heating.
Will pinned her with a serious look. “Itisa big deal.”
Emmy stared into her half-empty coffee mug. Her light breakfast suddenly curdled in her stomach. She’d never told her family that she’d wanted to turn gardening into a career, rather than just a hobby. To this day, she didn’t know what had stopped her. Sure, it had taken her some time to weave her way around to that conclusion, but that didn’t make it less. Just because her parents had both stuck with the same career their whole lives. Just because May started watching makeup tutorials before she was even allowed to own makeup. Just because she couldn’t come up with any good excuses or reasons for her waffling didn’t mean she wasn’t entitled to take a little time to decide what was right for herself.
Even as she’d drifted through college, she’d clearly had it on her mind. She’d run a few ideas by Andrew here and there during their relationship, and that had been a mistake. She felt shame—though she couldn’t tell if it was deserved or not—for being more open with him than she was with her family. In this regard, at least. His responses hadn’t exactly been encouraging. He never outright said, “This is a pipe dream. Don’t pursue it.” But whenever she tentatively brought the subject up, he asked leading questions, dropped innocent little comments.
Maybe you should look into taking a couple more classes. You’ve never pursued this seriously before, right?
It’s kind of bad timing to start up your own business, isn’t it? In this economy?
It’s more than picking out pretty flowers, Emmy. Starting your own business is a huge responsibility.
Maybe give it a year and see if you’re still interested. There’s no rush.
This last said with a patronizing smile and a pat—an actualpat—on the head.
Emmy felt a rush of emotions overcome her. Andrew had had more to say on the matter of her “gardening habit” than she’d thought. Each instance on its own had been annoying, but had seemed ultimately harmless. Thinking of it all together like she was doing now, however… it was almost sinister. Andrew wasn’t solely responsible for her self-doubt. She wished she could put it all on him because that would be easier, but she knew she had to own her part in it. Still, he certainly dug right into her insecurities and fed them regularly. How had she not seen that before?
The sound of the front door opening pulled her out of the sticky mire of her past. Was Will walking out on her? Was he that upset? But no, he came back in a minute later, holding out his phone to her. While she watched, he swiped through picture after picture of his yard. The early morning light perfectly accented every angle, every color. She found herself gripping her mug with white-knuckled hands.
“It looks like something from a brochure,” Will said.
Emmy stared at his face. A single tear slipped through her defenses. Will smiled gently and reached to wipe it away. His caress lingered for a second before she lost the warmth of his hand again. Emmy dropped her gaze, suddenly realizing just how intimate this moment was. But Will gently tipped her chin up so she was looking at him again. He studied her face intently for a moment.
“Are you okay? I didn’t mean to make you cry.”
