Anthurium

🍂 Caelum 🍂

She opens the front door and smiles, the sunlight pouring in highlights the happiness swirling in her eyes. Evolet crosses her arms and leans against the doorframe. Her hair is twirled into a messy bun and her shorts accentuate her long legs.

"Hi Caelum, welcome to my humble abode."

"Thanks, I'm curious about the graveyard."

She beckons for me to come inside, and I happily follow her directions. It's spacious for what I thought it would be. The lounge room and kitchen share one room but the couch divides the space into their own areas.

"I'll give you the two-second grand tour first." She chuckles.

"Obviously, here's the lounge room and kitchen." Evolet points to the area behind her. "Under the stairs is a small laundry and upstairs is the bathroom and bedroom. If you need to use the bathroom, just go upstairs."

"It's a nice place."

Despite the size, which is enough for her, it's a beautiful home. The kitchen leads to the outdoor entertaining area and she's started decorating the space with plants, which is always a beautiful sight.

"Now for the graveyard." She sighs.

"Is the peace lily still alive?"

"Yup." She proudly smiles as she points to the pot plant near the back door.

We wander outside and there's an abundance of plants scattered across the lawn. There's a few overgrown plants in the garden beds but most of it is empty.

"What happened to the graveyard?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Welp, I did some gardening this week and binned the dead plants. I also found time to go plant shopping." She grins.

"There's a lot of plants."

She clasps her hands and swings to the side.

"I know there's a lot of different plants here, but I like all of them."

"Gardens are beautiful because they're filled with plants you like."

Her posture softens and her smile widens.

"I also purchased some twinkly lights for the deck. If you have time and wouldn't mind." She nibbles on her lower lip.

"Sure." I nod.

"I have some ideas of where the plants should go, but you're welcome to change them around. I don't want to plant them in the wrong places."

"Let's get started."

I help Evolet drag plants across the yard, occasionally swapping a plant and offering some advice. She bounds across the yard with even more excitement and determination. Once the plants are spread across the yard, she takes a step back and carefully inspects it.

"What do you think?"

"It looks good."

"Okay." She nods.

"Do you have a shovel?"

"Oh, yeah."

She hands me gloves and a shovel and I dig a hole for a medium hedge bush. Evolet crouches beside me and digs a small hole for a perennial flower.

The sun beats down and sweat trickles down my forehead and soaks the back of my cotton t-shirt. She brushes her arm across her forehead and fans her face.

I peer to the side and chuckle. Even though we're sweating, she's so beautiful.

"Oh no, do I have something on my face." She uses her arm to brush her face, which only smeers dirt across her pink cheek.

"Well, now you do."

I tug the glove off and cup her warm cheek. Her green eyes bore into mine as I brush it away. She licks her lips and her breath fans across my lips. I trace my finger down her cheek and along the line of her lip. She sucks in a breath and pulls away.

"All gone."

I stare at the garden and scratch the back of my head. She twirls a loose strand of hair around her finger and chews on her lip.

"This weather, hey."

"Yeah." I chuckle.

"I thought it would be nice weather for gardening, but even with the clouds I'm sweating."

"Don't think about the heat."

"It's all I can feel." She groans.

"We're almost done."

"Don't lie to me, there's heaps more to plant."

"It's okay if you'd like to take a break."

Evolet tosses her gloves on the ground and sprawls across the grass. I peel my t-shirt off and wipe the sweat from my face before discarding it.

I dig the hole a little wider and place the garlic-scented plant into it. I cover the root system with moist soil and pat it down. I peer over my shoulder and Evolet looks away laughing.

"I don't mind if you look." I chuckle.

Her body stiffens and I grin.

"I'll grab the hose to water the plants."

The smile is wiped off my face as she sprays me with cold water. I sigh with relief before chasing her across the yard. Water whips around and she does her best to evade me. This yard isn't big and she can't escape me.

I hook my arm around her waist and pull her back. She squirms against my chest and I pull the hose from her grasp. Evolet fights me for the hose and somehow we lose our balance and collide on the floor in a tangled heap.

"You're so heavy," she grumbles.

I place my hands on either side of her head and push myself up. She exhales a breath, sending black tendrils of hair flying in the air. Her green eyes search mine until a droplet of water from my hair splashes onto her forehead.

She sprays me with more cold water, so I move back to give her space.

"Where are those string lights?"

"Oh um, just over here."

Evolet turns the tap off and wanders over to the deck. Standing under the shade brings me some much-needed relief. She passes me the box and explains where she wants the lights to go. I don't think I've ever worked this hard to impress a girl before.

* * * * *

Splashes of orange and pink swirl across the cloudy sky as the sun disappears further down. The twinkly lights provide some light to the dimming world. Evolet passes me a beer and sits beside me on the deck.

She rests her back against the pole and smiles at the lights. There's lights wrapped around the foundation pole and across the roof of the deck.

"Thank you so much, these look amazing."

"It's no problem." I shrug.

"I bet your place has a lot of flowers." She smiles.

"Weeds are over running the garden because I don't have enough time to wrangle with them, but there's always a bowl of fresh flowers on the counter."

"Oh?"

"Mum's always coming by to make sure we're still alive and eating. She brings flowers but I've grown up with that, pretty sure it started with my grandmother."

"That's so sweet."

"What do your parents do for work?"

"Dad's a psychologist and Mum's a suburban housewife. She brunches with cocktails, does hot yoga, whatever that is, and shops. She's a good cook because my grandmother believes the only way to catch a man is to cook good food."

"Cocktails for brunch sounds nice." I chuckle. "Is it just you and your sister?"

"Clya is more than enough for me." She shakes her head.

"Considering how much trouble my brother gets into, I can't fathom the idea of having any more siblings." I shake my head.

"Amen." She laughs.

Evolet finishes her drink and places it beside her. She twirls the bottle between her fingers until she shakes her head and takes a deep breath.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Are you okay with beef tortillas?"

"It sounds delicious." I grin.

I follow her into the kitchen and lean against the bench. She collects a range of vegetables from the fridge and places them on the bench.

"Would you like to marinate the beef or char the corn?"

"Mm, burning food is more of my expertise."

Evolet laughs now but she's yet to experience my cooking skills in action.

"There's a pan under the stove you can use."

"Okay." I nod.

She hands me the oil and corn and I look through the cupboard for a pan. Evolet whisks around the kitchen, finding bowls and spices. Whatever she's mixing smells delicious. I heat the pan and add the oil and corn.

Evolet places the meat into another pan and pours tequila over it. She glances at me and smiles.

"Do you promise not to charcoal the meat?"

"I promise I won't ruin dinner."

"There's more tequila if the beef needs it."

I stand guard of the food while she chops vegetables for the salad. She tosses the veggies into a bowl and adds some dressing.

"It smells delicious," I comment.

Evolet turns around and smiles.

"It's something delicious and simple."

"Simple is cooking two minute noodles, this is something else."

"Thanks." She grins.

She wanders back to the stove and peers at the meat, which I've yet to ruin. I pass her the tongues and she turns the corn to inspect how it's cooking.

"I love the lion tattoo."

"One day I'll be fully tattooed."

"How many do you have?"

"Just three but I like them to have a meaning."

"What does the lion represent?"

"It's my star sign, but also represents power, courage, justice and authority."

"What other tattoos do you have?"

"I have a sun for my brother, Solis, and rosemary sprigs for Grandma. Once my mother decides on a flower, which will be never since she doesn't like me getting tattoos."

"I love it, but I'm surprised you have flower tattoos."

"I'm not afraid of who I am, or going after what I want." I wink.

"Oh." She drops her gaze to the food as red colouring flushes onto her cheeks.

"Do you have tattoos?"

"What do you think?"

I cock my head to the side and frown.

"No."

Evolet smiles as she turns away.

Here's a woman who'll keep me on my toes.

Once the food is cooked, we sit on stools and overstuff the tortillas.

"Did your mother teach you how to cook?"

"Yes." She smiles. "I enjoy cooking and exploring new recipes but I could never do this professionally, I would lose my passion for it."

"Fair enough." I nod.

"What are your passions other than plants?"

"I don't know, I work a lot."

"You really don't have time for anything else?" She gasps.

"Sometimes I enjoy making herbal teas and concoctions with my grandmother. She grows most of her own produce and part of that is making tea."

"I would love to try this tea."

I take another bite of the burrito and smile. It's been a while since I've shared a meal with someone other than my family.

"Do you have a tattoo?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"If you're lucky, maybe one day you'll see it."

"So you're the mysterious type?" I raise an eyebrow.

"No." She shakes her head. "God no."

"I hope I'll be lucky enough to learn everything about you."

Evolet bites her lip but it doesn't stop the smile from forming on her lips.

"There's an event at the jazz club next week, come with me?"

"Yes." I nod.

"Maybe you can learn more about me then."