Be Good A New Adult Romance (RE12)(14)

Even though his story was sad, I couldn’t help but smile at the image of Melanie swooning over Tevye while singing “Sunrise, Sunset.”

“At the end of my senior year, I dated Marcy. She was the Science Fair State Champion. We went to prom together and made out at the After Party. The next day, she dumped me for one of the State Science Fair runners-up.”

“That’s one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard.” I lifted my hand and touched his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into my hand then took a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes and looked at me, there was still a bit of sadness there. “Please don’t dump me for a snare drum player.”

I smiled and gave him a light kiss. “I promise I won’t dump you for a snare drum player.” I kissed him again. “Or a cast member of Fiddler on the Roof.” I gave him another kiss. “Or any science fair contestants.”

“Do you want to make out some more?” he asked.

I kissed him as my affirmation.

“Good,” he said and kissed me back.



***



When I awoke on Monday morning, I was so overcome with sadness, I could hardly breathe. It was like a blanket of sorrow had enveloped me in the middle of the night and now it threatened to suffocate me. The feeling was so consuming and completely foreign, I didn’t know how to react.

I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to go back to Phoenix—back to my dead end job—back to my tiny apartment and my witch roommate and her evil cat.

I wanted to stay with Brett.

But it was ridiculous to even consider. We had only spent a few days together. I couldn’t very well move in with him. We weren’t even sexually active yet. Well, technically, we weren’t sexually active again, since we hooked up at the wedding.

I pulled myself up from the bed and looked around. A big part of me was afraid this might be the last time I’d stay here. Call it old habits but I was used to guys quickly tiring of me and dumping me for the next flavor of the week.

Not that I thought Brett was like that. But did I really know him that well? I wanted to trust him. I wanted to believe that he truly cared about me and wanted something more but I was still cautious. I still needed to protect my not-so-desolate heart, just in case.

I thought I heard noises out in the garden. I hopped out of bed and went over to the window. Brett must have gotten up early because he was already futzing around in the garden.

I threw on a pair of shorts and a tee shirt and decided to join him.

Brett was so engrossed in his gardening, he didn’t notice me at first. When I offered, “Is there anything I can do to help?” He looked startled.

“I don’t expect you to do hard labor while you’re here.”

I laughed. “I wouldn’t call gardening hard labor and I really do want to help. If you want me to.”

He turned to face me, his eye narrowed. “You can help if you really want to.”

“I really want to,” I assured him.

He still didn’t look convinced but he handed me some shears. “Why don’t you prune that miniature rose bush?”

I was suddenly frozen with fear. I knew how much the garden meant to him and I didn’t want to mess anything up with my incompetence.

Brett watched me just standing there looking at the rose bush. “Have you ever gardened before?”

I shook my head.

He closed the distance between us. “It’s okay. You won’t mess it up. If you trim a little too much, I assure you, it will grow back.”

I gulped. I still couldn’t make my arm move toward the bush.

Sensing my hesitation, Brett took my arm in his and guided me toward one of the branches. “Snip right here,” he said as he pushed my hand to the spot he wanted me to cut.

I did as I was told and a small branch fell away from the rest of the bush.

“You did it,” Brett said as he placed a kiss on my cheek. “Now where do you think the next cut should be?”

I examined the rose bush. I thought the right side looked at little fuller than the left. I pointed to three small branches that I thought could have been eliminated to even things up. “Maybe trim these?”

“I think that’s a good choice. Go for it.”

I clipped the three small branches off and we both examined my work.

“I think that’s perfect,” Brett praised. “You’re a natural.”

“Anything else you need me to do?”

Brett grabbed a small garden shovel and handed it to me. “I want to add these tickseeds. I think the yellow will really brighten things up.”

“I’m ready,” I said as I eagerly held up the shovel.

To my surprise, Brett kissed me. “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re helping in the garden.”

“Honestly, before I met you, I’d never given gardens much thought. But you love them so much and I can see how happy they make you. I want to be a part of that and share that with you.”

Brett took three small potted plants and showed me where he wanted them replanted. I dug small holes for the three plants based on Brett’s guidance and he carefully placed each of the plants into the holes I’d created. He added a bit of plant fertilizer then carefully patted the soil around each plant. The way he expertly handled the soil reminded me of a sculptor handling clay. Brett grabbed a spouted water container and he carefully gave each plant a small amount of water. I marveled at the love and care he took with each plant. He was nurturing. It reminded me of the care he took with me when I was sick and hung over the morning after we hooked up.

After the three small plants were settled in their new surroundings, Brett perched on the garden wall. I sat beside him.

“I got my love of gardens from my mother,” he said. “Gardening was her passion and I’d always help her around the garden on the weekends. We spent a lot of time together planting, weeding, pruning, and trimming. She loved her garden and she taught me to love it, too.”

“Do you mind if I ask what happened to your mom? You don’t have to talk about it if it makes you uncomfortable.”

He seemed to think about it for a few moments then said, “She died in a car crash.”

That wasn’t what I was expecting. For some reason, I thought he was going to say she had been ill.

“I think deaths can be harder to deal with when they’re unexpected.”

“I’m sorry you lost your mom. It sounds like the two of you were close.”

He didn’t respond, which I thought was strange. There seemed to be a lot more there that he wasn’t telling me. Then he said, “All this work in the garden must have made you hungry.”

I didn’t want to push if he was done talking about his mom. I was happy he shared what he did with me. At some point, though, I wanted to know the rest of the story.

“Yes, trimming a few small branches and basically watching you replant those tickseeds starved and exhausted me.”

“You didn’t just watch the replanting. You dug the holes. That’s the most important part.”

“Whatever you say. What are we making for breakfast?”



***



I expected Brett to just drop me off at the airport and part of me hoped he would because we would avoid the painful process of having to say goodbye. I just knew I would cry. I could feel it bubbling up inside me. Kind of like those volcanos third grade teachers always made for their classes; the sadness was getting ready to erupt.

Brett insisted on parking the car and helping me get checked it. I suspected he didn’t want to say goodbye either and this was his way of prolonging my visit as much as he could.

After my bags were checked and I got my boarding pass, Brett took my hand in his and walked me to the gate. We both stood there for a few moments just looking into each other’s eyes. Then Brett kissed me. It wasn’t the peck you’d expect in a crowded airport. It was a kiss filled with passion and hunger. It sent a wave of shivers through me. “I can’t wait to see you again,” he whispered in my ear. “Only two weeks until the wedding in Tucson.”

At that moment, two weeks felt like a really long time. He might as well have said two months. I willed myself not to get emotional but I couldn’t help it. The volcano inside was about to erupt. “I’d better go,” I managed to get out. I didn’t want him to see me fall apart.

He embraced me in a hug and that sent me over the edge. I could feel my body start to convulse. I was crying. For someone, who never cried (Flaw 5) because she was completely dead inside with a withered heart (Flaw 23), I certainly broke down a lot with Brett.

He continued to hold me tight. “It’s okay. We’ll see each other soon.”

Then he grabbed my shoulder and looked into my eyes. “I want you to know that you’ve captured a piece of my heart. And you’ll have it with you wherever you go. Please take good care of it.”