Poinsettia Lane

Chapter Twenty-One

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

ALTHOUGH THE PLANTING is finished, they still need to add the final touches to the terracing. Just as Everly wonders if she was supposed to reach out to him about the ground cover, his name pops up on her phone screen.

Her heart jumps, and she fumbles her phone, snatching it off the counter.

“He-hello?” Everly says, steadying the phone in her hand and leaning against the cabinets behind her, carding her fingers through her hair. Her stomach flips in an uncomfortable amalgamation of nerves and excitement.

“Hey, it’s me.” Asim’s voice comes through short and surly, and Everly straightens, on alert. “I have some bad news… I don’t think I’ll make it to your place today.”

“Oh. Kay.” Her brows furrow, and her thoughts are ready to start spinning.

“I’m really sorry. I’d love to, but I’ve been neglecting some upkeep on the wiring in the shop and it’s on the fritz even more than usual this morning. I really need to take a closer look and get it fixed up," he says.

“The wiring, right.” Relief that he isn’t ditching her washes through her, but she’s also a little concerned he hasn’t mentioned any issues like this before. “No problem, of course you have other things you need to do, I shouldn’t have assumed. Just let me know when you have time again and we can figure it out.”

Everly’s voice rises in pitch the more she talks, until she sounds entirely unlike herself. Has she been taking up too much of his time? He’s an entrepreneur, a business owner, and his job is much more hands on than hers. She hasn’t once considered what that means for his responsibilities in light of the many hours he’s been spending at her place, working on her project instead of his own. Everly starts to wonder if she’s been unreasonably self centered, when he interrupts her thoughts.

“Everly," Asim says, his voice firm in her ear. “It’s not a big deal, I’ve been happy to spend time with you and we’ll get the terrace finished up before you know it, okay? This isn’t on you. I’m the one who has been procrastinating over here.”

She can practically see him—talking with his hands and the wry look on his face with those last words. Everly takes a calming breath, and nods. Then remembers they’re not on video and he can’t see her.

“Yeah,” she says, “okay.”

“Thanks, I owe you one," he says. “Let me know how I can make it up to you.”

Everly cocks her head at that, her mind already racing with possibilities. She absolutely will.

~~~

Now that her day has opened up, Everly momentarily considers calling Addison, but then remembers how cranky she was at nine am and considering it’s an hour earlier in San Diego than it is in Arizona, she decides to wait. She texts Frankie instead, asking if they want to meet up.

An hour later, they’re walking out of Roasted, tightly covered travel mugs in hand. Frankie recently hired a couple of the local teens to help out—so they can take off and do other things during the day without having to close down and risk a violation—though it’s just a matter of time before their nemesis comes up with something else to hassle them about. Frankie waves to the two teens through the front windows as they walk the few feet to Crooked Books next door.

Mrs. Langdon’s head pops out from behind multiple stacks of books on the counter when they step in, and she barks at them to leave their drinks by the door. Everly and Frankie exchange a glance, smothering their laughs at her snarky attitude.

“Yes, Mrs. Langdon," they sing-song in reply, and she narrows her eyes at them before letting out a ‘hmph,’ twitching her nose and disappearing behind the stacks again. Everly and Frankie view this as further evidence of her secret fondness for the two of them; they’re fairly certain she’d have kicked out anyone else already and they haven’t even stepped a toe off the welcome mat yet.

Leaving their drinks by the door, they both take a deep breath of the musty, papery book smell, tipping their noses up to the ceiling. When they realize what the other is doing, they pause and look at each other, laughing when they both say “jinx” at the same time, followed instantly by “you owe me a book!” in the same breath too.

Frankie cackles, and Everly shrugs.

“Sounds good to me," she says. “Pick out two, I owe you one anyways for neglecting you recently.”

Frankie just grins before weaving their way to the back corner where Mrs. Langdon keeps all the raunchy pirate smut. Everly smiles and follows in their wake. She’s not looking for anything in particular, but browsing a good bookstore is one of her favorite hobbies so she happily sets to looking around. They pull books off the shelves, snicker together at the lewd covers, ooh and aww at the cute ones, and create their own little corner of quiet chaos in the back of the store. They’ve learned to keep their voices down to avoid Mrs. Langdon’s infamous wrath, so most of what they do and say is done in hushed whispers with exaggerated hand gestures and facial expressions to compensate.

“So how is business going?” Everly asks, her voice soft. “Has you-know-who made any more threats?”

“No, thank goodness. I ran into him at the store again last week, but he just gave me a nasty death glare.” Frankie rolls their eyes.

“So you served him one right back, I assume.” Everly smothers her giggle in the crook of her elbow, since she currently has books in both hands.

“Obviously, and you’ll be proud to hear I’ve only closed during “regular business hours” twice since we last talked about it.” Frankie tucks a book under their arm and uses their fingers to make air quotes around the words, clearly displaying their ongoing skepticism regarding the concept of regular business hours.

“That’s actually very impressive for you!” Everly whisper shouts.

Frankie snorts, and Mrs. Langdon rounds the shelves, eyes already slitted like she was just waiting for them to do something wrong. She eyes them both up and down, and Everly freezes, looking at Frankie from the corner of her eye to be sure neither of them are breaking any rules at the moment.

Mrs. Langdon lets out a loud sniff as she shuffles past them to the back room. They don’t move for a few seconds, waiting until they no longer hear her footsteps, then they turn to each other at the same time, Everly’s wide eyes meeting Frankie’s.

“Close one," Everly mouths to Frankie, and they nod, hunching their shoulders and pretending to shrink in on themself.

They go back to browsing, picking out a couple books each. There’s no sign of the cats, much to Everly’s disappointment. She’s not holding onto the idea of getting a pet quite as strongly as she was before, but she does like to see Luna and Harriet, and was hoping Luna would let Everly pet her again. Everly keeps her eyes peeled for a flicking tail or bright eyes as they meander up to the counter, but no luck on the cat front today.

Mrs. Langdon meets them there, eyeing the books they both place gently in front of her. Everly could swear she catches a glimpse of an upward lip twitch when Mrs. Langdon sees Frankie’s choices, but it comes and goes so fast she can’t be sure.

Everly pays for all of them, insisting on it when Frankie protests, and Mrs. Langdon slides them into a paper bag. They thank her, and Everly is even more certain this time of the sparkle in her eyes, but her voice is gruff when she tells them to “Be on your way then, I’ve got enough to do putting your mess back together.” while shooing them out the door.

“She loves us," Frankie says, as soon as they scoop up their drinks and step outside .

Everly throws her head back and laughs. “The only things Mrs. Langdon loves are her books and her cats.”

“No way, did you see, she smiled at me!” Frankie’s eyes are alight and they throw their hands out as they talk. “And I left the romance corner a mess on purpose. I knew that old bat was spying on us and I wanted to see if she’d be mad. She totally wasn’t.”

“She absolutely was, you’re delusional.” Everly can’t stop laughing. “I did see a hint of a smile though, so you’ve got me there.”

Frankie smirks and they come to a stop outside Roasted. Everly opens the bag on her arm and passes Frankie’s books to them.

“Come over soon? I want to show you the terracing," Everly says.

“You tell me when and I’ll be there.”

Hugging her friend a quick goodbye, Everly veers toward the park along the river, intent on starting one of her new books.

~~~

She’s just finishing up the first chapter, already hooked by the thrill of a mysterious death and hints of a cult, when her phone buzzes with a text. Everly opens it to see a picture of Moose giving serious puppy eyes, with a hole in the wall behind him full of wires and tools.

Asim: Moose isn’t nearly as fun to work with as you are.

Everly: Awww, he looks like he really wants to help though!

Asim: More like he wants to eat. You’d think I never feed him, the way he begs.

Asim: How has your day been?

Everly: Good. I met up with Frankie and we went book shopping .

Everly snaps a quick picture of her book stack with the river in the background and sends it to him.

Asim: Not quite the view I was hoping for, but still looks nice.

Before she can second guess herself, Everly picks up the book she was reading and opens it, angling it in front of her face with just her eyes peeking out over the top and snapping a couple selfies, then sorting through for the best one and sending it to him.

Everly: Better?

Asim: Better…

She can practically hear the growl in his voice and she smirks to herself, surprised she isn’t feeling more upset that he had to cancel their plans. Maybe she didn’t react more strongly because he has a valid reason. Whatever it is, she’s grateful today is turning out to be a pretty good day, despite the last minute change.

Everly: How’s the wiring?

Asim: Frustrating. I think I’ve got it but I might need to hire someone to come take a look if this doesn’t fix it. It’ll be at least a couple more hours before it’s good enough for now though, if I’m lucky.

Everly: I wish there was something I could do to help.

Asim: Chatting with you is enough, and seeing my favorite brown eyes has already brightened my day. You’re perfect .

Everly blushes, glad she could do something to brighten his day too. He returns to work and she returns to her book, reading for another half hour before packing up and heading home. Everly walked downtown from her house to meet Frankie earlier, so she walks the paved trail along the river before cutting through downtown again toward her place. She hasn’t had a day to relax and enjoy herself like this in ages.

As she walks, she reflects on how her body feels lighter, like a weight has been lifted from it. She takes in the blue sky above her, the chatter of birds in the trees, and tips her face up to feel the sun on her skin. Placing one foot in front of the other, she takes slow breaths, savoring the sense of peace and contentment in her soul.

Everly decides now is as good a time as any to try Addison, so she gives her a call and it connects after the second ring.

“Hey, sis," Addison says.

“Hi," Everly smiles, marveling that this is her life now. “How are you?”

“Bleh.” Addison makes a noise similar to a cat spitting up a hairball, and Everly recoils from her phone in disgust.

“What… what?” Everly says.

“Just, you know. Life! It’s happening, and I’m not loving it at the moment.”

“What’s going on? I thought things were good last time we talked.” Everly looks around in confusion, as though the manicured lawns surrounding her are privy to Addison’s secrets.

“It’d be easier to tell you what isn’t going wrong," Addison mumbles, sounding forlorn. “Work is stupid, girls are dumb, boys are dumber, and my favorite fish died!”

“You have a favorite fish?”

“Had. I had a favorite fish. I no longer do. Because it’s dead," Addison says.

“Right, I’m sorry.” Realizing she stopped walking at some point, Everly shakes her head and pointedly starts moving her feet forward again. “Uh, do you have… other fish?”

“No. It was a betta fish. They don’t like other fish. ”

“Oh, um.” Everly is at a loss. This is new territory for them and she isn’t sure what Addison needs or wants from her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Those must have been the magic words, because Addison goes off. Everly does her best to listen, but she has a hard time following along with the many names Addison is throwing out. Apparently there’s drama between some co-workers and her boss which is making her life infinitely harder at work, as well as some sort of love triangle that happened with a girl she was most recently dating (Everly wonders if this is the one Addison broke up with right before Christmas) and a boy she dated before the girl (maybe?) and Everly has never been so grateful to see her driveway and the comfort of home.

She tries to interject the appropriate “hmm” and “oh my gosh” and “no” responses, and that seems to be all Addison needs at the moment. Everly props her phone against her shoulder as she unlocks the door, then drops her keys on the table in the foyer and grabs water from the fridge.

Finally, Addison takes a breath.

“Wow, that’s a lot," Everly says.

“I know, right?!” Addison sighs, fuzzing the line for a moment.

“So, this girl, she’s the one you broke up with before Christmas?” Everly asks, tentatively dipping her toes into what might be dangerous waters.

“Yeah, to be honest that whole debacle is why I needed to get away. I spent the last two Christmases with Sabrina and her family and it was amazing, but when I caught her cheating with my other ex… I just couldn’t face the idea of being alone for the holidays, you know? Then on top of it, Benji had to get involved and start talking to me again too, as if I had any desire to hear from him when he knew Sabrina and I were together the whole time he was sleeping with her. Ugh. I couldn’t deal with them going behind my back like that, and apparently they’re on again/off again now and they both keep reaching out to me and yeah. It’s just too much.” Addison pauses for a breath again, and Everly can practically feel the dejection seeping through her phone. “Sorry to unload all of that on you, you probably didn’t ev en follow half of it.”

“That’s okay, I’m glad you told me anyway. I want to be there for you Ad, and yeah, it sounds like way too much for one person to deal with. I can’t believe you’ve been carrying that around this whole time.” She thinks she hears a sniffle, but doesn’t want to call her sister out on it if she’s crying. “Is there anything I can do? You need me to come out there and beat somebody up?”

Addison lets out a weak, watery laugh, confirming Everly’s suspicion. “You think you could beat someone up?”

“Hey! I’m tough," Everly says, flexing her arm and pretending to feel more indignant than she really does in hopes of getting another laugh out of her sister.

“Oh, I know you’re tough. Tough doesn’t mean you have any sort of skill for punching someone though," Addison says.

“Okay fair point. I could still come out though, if you want me to.”

Although her voice is tentative, the thought is sincere. She would fly out there in a heartbeat if Addison asked her, but she isn’t sure if they’re at a point where it’s okay to offer that kind of support. Everly doesn’t want to come off too strong and scare Addison away from confiding in her in the future.

“No, you don’t need to. I’m okay, I think I just needed to get it all out.”

“The offer stands, if you change your mind.”

“How are things with you? Are you done with the landscaping? How’s Asim?” Addison fires questions at her, and Everly allows her sister to change the subject.

“Good, actually. We were supposed to finish up today, but he had to take care of some other stuff at the greenhouse.”

Everly updates her on all things gardening, Asim, their date, and moving forward. Addison squeals when she hears about the romantic river boat dinner, and asks if they have another date planned. This gives Everly an idea, and as soon as they end the call, she follows up on it.

Everly: I know how you can pay me back for today.

Asim: Name it and it’s yours.

Everly: Valentine’s Day. I’d like a second date. On the motorcycle this time.

Asim: I’ll pick you up at 7

She closes her phone, face stuck in a smile that may well be permanent at this point. Valentine’s Day isn’t far off; she has just under a week to prepare. Everly feels unexpectedly proud of herself for going for it and texting him like that, not letting herself doubt or second guess her decision.

She wanted a second date, and now she has it.