The Candid Life of Meena Dave(42)

She searched for the perfect spot, one that wouldn’t be too obvious at first. Only when it was too late would anyone notice. And by anyone, she meant Sabina.

A large tree at each corner gave the garden symmetry. Planting there would require too much effort because there wasn’t enough space between the tree trunk and the stones surrounding the area. The best place would be the fence that separated their garden from the one to the left. Neha’s side of the building. Meena used her phone’s measuring app to work out the available space. She could figure out the plot size once she had a rough idea.

“What are you doing?”

Meena jumped. “Sam.”

He raised his brow and waited for her answer. Wally sidled up to her more slowly than usual.

Meena bent down and scratched behind the puppy’s ears. “Hi, Wally! Why are you not running around?”

“He’s got a funny tummy,” Sam said.

“Oh no.” Meena gave Wally a sad frown. “Poor puppy.”

“He’s going to be fine,” Sam said. “As long as he doesn’t eat things that aren’t food.”

Meena gave him a few more scratches.

“Well?”

Meena straightened and tucked her phone into her jacket pocket. “Right. Um.” She should tell him. He might not like it or agree with her. He could tell on her and jeopardize the whole thing. Then she thought about it. Sam wouldn’t do that. While she wasn’t sure he was the type of person who would help her commit a felony, in her gut she knew he wouldn’t snitch.

“I’m taking up gardening?” Meena said.

He swallowed his laugh. “Is that a question?”

Meena straightened her shoulders and shook her head.

“Do you know what you’re doing?”

“I’ve done a lot of research on the internet,” Meena said.

“Did the World Wide Web tell you that it’s almost winter?” Sam asked. “Probably not the best time for planting.”

Meena gave him a smug look. “Not for what I have planned. It’s the perfect time.”

He frowned. “And you’ve talked to Sabina about it.”

Meena glanced at Wally, who sat with his chin on his paws. The poor dog looked so pitiful.

“Meena.”

“It’s a communal garden, right? Besides, it’s on this side of the building. I’m not going to mess up anything she’s doing. I just want to claim this little patch of grass.” She’d spent a lot of time thinking of ways to wage a silent battle against Sabina. Maybe too much time, but Meena couldn’t let go of the fact that Sabina didn’t want her here. And that she’d likely made Neha feel the same way. It was for Neha that she was doing this. Neha would have appreciated Meena’s efforts.

“To plant what exactly?”

Her eyes lit up as excitement coursed through her. “I watched a lot of gardening videos. Did you know that the easiest things to grow are wildflowers? And they all have these incredible names like yellow rattle, red clover, and Yorkshire fog. And what even is a lady’s bedstraw? According to the Gardening Guru YouTube channel, you get the seeds, push them into the earth in the fall. And let nature do its thing. When spring comes around, they’ll start to sprout, and by summer, it’ll be a full-on wildflower patch right here. Chaotic and unruly.”

Sam paced with Wally to get the pup moving. “And you’re going to tend to it? Take care of it?”

Meena shrugged. “That’s the best part. It doesn’t need tending. It can be left alone, and the seeds will do their thing.”

“I see,” Sam said.

“I’m not doing anything wrong.” Meena tucked her hands in the pockets of her jacket. “This garden doesn’t have to be only what Sabina wants; it could be for everyone. I bet even Tanvi would love wildflowers.”

“And what’s to stop Sabina from mowing them down?”

Meena’s excitement was dampened. “I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’m kind of winging things.” She wiped her hands on the front of her jeans, unsure what to do with them.

“This isn’t natural for you, is it?”

She laughed. “Not even a little. But hey, it’s never too late to learn a new thing.”

“But that’s not the only reason,” Sam said.

Meena shrugged. “I think Neha would like it too.”

“Why are you trying to get under Sabina’s skin?”

Meena began to walk toward the porch. “I should go back inside, make coffee.”

She heard his sigh. Somewhere along the way, they’d become friends, or at least become friendly with one another. She stopped and walked back to him. “I’m trying to settle in. See what it would be like to make this place one of my bases.”

“When’s the last time you lived somewhere?” He sat down on the short iron bench.

“College, I guess.” She sat next to him.

“It’s not so bad here.”

She looked at him. He’d thrown a coat over his green-and-black-and-gray flannel pajama bottoms, hair wild as if he’d just gotten out of bed. “No. It’s not bad at all.”

“Maybe you’re ready to put down roots,” he said.

Meena stood up and paced. She took the leash from Sam and led Wally to a sniffing spot. “I was in Romania one summer, six years ago. Most people think vampires when they imagine Transylvania. But there’s a region nearby that had the most incredible wildflower meadow. I was going through photos of it recently, and I thought, That would be nice here. Not on that scale but just along the fence. To muss up some of the perfect landscaping.”