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 Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:43 pm
Oh right, lunch. "I didn't see anywhere," Maia admitted. She looked to Dari, and then back to Toby. "Anywhere's fine. Do you like any of the restaurants?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:47 pm
Toby didn't skip a beat. "Come on, I know a good sandwich shop around the block. We'll take it home to eat so nothing goes bad in the car."
That was the plan and that was how it went. Upon returning home, groceries in need of refrigerating went away, lunch was had, and then Toby went with the others out a side door hidden in the laundry room. There was a bit of grass and then, suddenly, a little garden. It was semi-circular, reaching around a glass butterfly feeder in the center. At the foot of the feeder were a few little heart-shaped, polished stones.
"So I figure we'll put a few here, and a few here," Toby said, motioning to two separate areas in the garden. "We can move the feeder."
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 12:54 pm
The garden wasn't something Maia had noticed before, having come into the yard mostly at night to gaze up at the stars. It was beautiful. Toby had certainly put some work into it.
She bent down onto the grass to look at the flowers already there. "It's lovely."
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:01 pm
It was sort of hidden at the front-side of the house anyway. It was meant to be hidden. Sort of private. God help the rebellious teen that decided to stomp it, if they ever did. It was also well out of reasonable dog-pee range.
"Okay, so what you do is stick your thumb into the ground, make a bit of a hole, and then put in one of these little things--" It was a fluffy seed, dark inside with light protuberances. "--and cover it up. We make a hole every nine or ten inches, then water it and we're done." He got down on one knee almost reverently and shook a few of the seed pods into his hand.
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:12 pm
Maia made a hole with her thumb as instructed, and then another, waiting for seeds. This clearly meant a lot to Toby, she was nervous to say anything about it. It was a nice gesture, remembering those you'd lost with something living.
"One in each?" she confirmed.
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:20 pm
"Yeah, only one or two. More than one flower grows out of one seed." Toby was otherwise quiet. Dari's hand grew larger and stiffer as he applied pressure to poke his own holes. Toby shook seeds into his hand.
It was a nice little moment with his current loved ones, honoring those who had passed.
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:25 pm
Maia planted each of the seeds and looked to Dari, giving him a small smile. The flowers would be beautiful when they grew, even if they were only for a season. She put one seed in each, careful to stay in the area Toby had indicated earlier.
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:27 pm
Toby pulled up the metal stake that held the butterfly feeder and put it aside while he worked behind its usual spot, and when they were done he put it back, sat on his feet, and smiled. Nice. Carolyn would be proud.
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:33 pm
"It'll be beautiful," Maia said, sitting up to admire their handywork. Did Toby plant something every year? Maybe they could plant some of those bright yellow flowers too, when it wasn't too late for them.
She stood and stretched.
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:36 pm
Toby didn't acknowledge Maia's words, but he heard them. His smile broadened. Dari was quiet as well, looking over the blooms and contemplating all of the emotional motivations behind it. He knew that Toby hired people to mow the lawn, but he trimmed his own brush and was the sole caretaker for this little plot. It was like a tribute at a grave site, except these grave sites were a long way away.
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:45 pm
Maia wandered over to Toby and sat down. The silence was full and emotional, the selkie recognized that. It would be exciting to watch the flowers grow up. Now wasn't a good time to suggest video games or movies, that'd be insensitive, and besides she didn't want to.
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:47 pm
Toby took Maia's hand this time and turned to her. He offered her a smile and then nodded toward the house.
"You guys don't have to stay out here. You can go do whatever."
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 1:58 pm
Maia shook her head, giving his hand a squeeze. "I'd like to stay out here with you," she said. She gave him a small smile. He needed the company. "We can do stuff later."
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 2:04 pm
Toby just nodded. It was up to them.
Dari straightened his back and admired the blooms, trying to imagine the new flowers among them. He was usually at work during this part of the process. He'd only been able to take part last year, and Toby had later let the walls break just a little to admit to him how much it meant.
Toby took his hand back gently and moved to cross his legs, almost meditating on the space, always smiling softly.
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2015 4:58 pm
They stayed a long while, and had dinner; Maia had been right, the spaghetti was good. They talked, and soon it was dark enough for the fire. The selkie had been looking forward to this, they were going to make s'mores.
"Let's go," she beckoned Dari to the backyard. "You can have marshmallows."
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