Chapter 14
Saturday morning arrived with the bright, eager energy of late spring. The backyard was a canvas of damp earth and green shoots, waiting for the work Julian and Lily had promised each other two weeks ago.
Julian stood near the garden beds with a shovel in hand, turning the rich soil while Lily knelt beside a row of small plastic pots, carefully arranging seed packets like playing cards.
"Are you sure we put the sunflowers in the sunny spot?" Lily asked, squinting up at the sky to measure the angle of the morning sun.
"Positive," Julian said, wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead with the back of his arm. "They need at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. Just like you need to eat your vegetables if you want to grow as tall as one."
Lily giggled, poking a small hole in the dirt with her finger and dropping a sunflower seed into the dark earth. "I'm already growing fast. My shoes are getting tight."
Julian smiled, driving the shovel into the soil and setting it aside. He knelt down beside her on the damp grass, ignoring the dirt staining his jeans. He picked up a packet of tomato seeds and handed a few to her small palm.
"Here. Plant these right next to the sunflowers so they can keep each other company."
Lily took the seeds carefully, pressing them into the earth with gentle reverence. "Julian?" she asked softly, her eyes fixed on the dirt.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Are we ever going to talk about her again?"
Julian paused, looking out over the quiet suburban yard, the fence line bordering the neighbor's property, the tall trees swaying gently in the breeze. He thought about the white rose he had worn on his lapel, the ruined dress, the small note that had changed everything.
May you like
"We don't need to," Julian said, wrapping an arm around her small shoulders and pulling her close. "We learned what we needed to learn. And now we focus on what's growing right here."
Lily nodded, satisfied with the answer. She buried the last seed, brushed the dirt from her hands, and looked up at him with a bright, untroubled smile that reflected the clear blue sky above them.
