“Hey! How’s small-town life treating you?” Her voice is like a balm to my unsettled heart.
“Oh, it’s small.” I chuckle. “But seriously, it’s not so bad. I’m trying to find a hobby.”
“A hobby,” she deadpans.
“My boss makes me stop working at a regular time, and he won’t let me work on the weekends, so I need something to do. There’s literally only so many shows I can watch.”
“I’m not going to lie. This is a weird problem to have.”
“Right? I don’t even know what to do with myself. It’s so stupid. How can someone have too much time on their hands nowadays?”
“I have no clue, but I have a teenager and a two-year-old, so I don’t know the meaning.”
“How are those perfect nephew and niece of mine?” My heart aches thinking about how it’s been nearly three weeks since I’ve seen them.
“Oh, you know, he’s a raging ball of hormones who wants nothing to do with his parents right now. But he’s doing great! And Maddie is full of attitude and independence. It’s testing my patience to the fullest.” The sarcasm in her voice makes me laugh.
“Do you need me to come down for the weekend? Do you and Theo need a break?” I ask seriously.
“We’re doing fine, Ains, I promise. Would Gavin and Maddie love to see you? Honestly, I have no idea because he’s in this ‘too cool for shit’ stage, but I bet he would be happy. And Maddie is honestly a toss-up. She may love to see you or completely ignore you. That’s not to say we need you to come visit. Focus on your life and what you want from it, okay? Stop worrying about everyone else.”
Hard truths from my sister.
“Okay. Tell Gavin to text me when he’s on his game tonight, and I’ll jump on and play with him.”
“I will. And Ains?”
“Yeah?”
“Start a garden. The answer is always plants.”
I laugh because my botanical-loving sister is right. I totally forgot that was the reason I called her in the first place.
“Great plan, Lark. Thanks.” I hang up the phone with a giant smile on my face.
God, I miss them, but I know leaving was the right move. Now, I just need to figure out how to live my life the way I want to. How does one go about living the life they want to live? Do you just make a list of shit you want to happen in your life? Like, manifesting it? I have no clue.
I step off the porch and walk to the side of the house, inspecting the land. I could totally turn this into a garden. I’m not Larkin, so I don’t exactlyhave a green thumb, but I could make a vegetable garden. How hard could it be?
Looks like it’s time for a trip to Bluebell Falls Nursery to see what I can get to make this happen.
It takes me ten minutes to throw on some cutoff jean shorts and a tank top before driving over to the nursery. It’s down the street from my house, and if I wasn’t planning on getting a shit-ton of plants, I would have just walked here.
An overly cheery voice draws my attention. “Good morning! Can I help you find something in particular?”
A petite woman with bright blue eyes, tattoos over most of her exposed arms, and a wide smile walks toward me.
“Actually, that would be great. I’m trying to set up a vegetable garden, maybe some herbs too.”
Her eyes remind me of someone, but I can’t place them.
“Oh, that’s fun! Follow me, and I’ll show you what we have. If you are looking for something and we don’t carry it, let me know, and I can get the boss to special-order it.”
“Awesome.” I give her a genuine smile.
“I’m Marina, but everyone calls me Rina. I just saw Old Man Walter walk in, and he’s going to need some attention.” She winks. “But I’ll be back in a minute.”
“I’ll be fine, thank you.”Rina, Rina, Rina… Why does that sound so familiar?
