June 29th

          So, there's this new guy in town.

          I'm sure you've heard of him. You know everyone, after all. He works at the flower shop in town. He's really nice and he always smells like lilacs.

         We met at the coffee cart in the middle of the mall. If you cared to remember anything about me at all, then you probably remember how I couldn't drink my coffee without exactly three sweeteners. I was behind him in line and there were five sweeteners left in the tray, and because my life seems to be founded upon a series of consequential mishaps, he took them all. I asked the woman behind the counter, who I assumed had her wiry ponytail pulled too tight, if there were anymore left, but she snorted that there weren't and that I should opt for extra creamer instead despite her knowing that every time I came to that coffee stand, which seemed to always correlate with her shift, I never requested extra creamer. He overheard, and he slide his sweetener packets down the counter until they brushed against my hand. I told him it was no big deal and that I would just get the extra creamer, but he smiled and said that he really wanted me to have them.

          I really like his smile. Almost as much as yours.

          He and I talked while we waited for our coffees, and we ended up splitting the sweeteners; two and a half each. That was when he told me that he works in Fiona's Flowers, and that was also when I noticed that he smelled very strongly of lilacs. I found out that his grandmother is Fiona. And I also found out that he's not afraid of spiders; he said they frequent the shop as much as the customers.

          He asked me to stop by some time, and so I visited the flower shop after class. Green really suits him; the apron, I mean. He had a dirt stain on his brow and his hair was wild with what one would assume to be bedhead, but I knew it was because of his habit of running his hand through his hair, which I noticed at the coffee cart. He smiled really wide when he found me in the sunflowers. I don't think I've ever seen someone so overjoyed to see me before. It made me feel purposeful.

          Since then, he and I have been on a few dates. I really like him. He's actually the first guy I've taken an interest in since you. And I'm not just writing all of this with the intent of somehow making you jealous. I've finally accepted that you've moved on. So, I guess I'm writing this because, if you ever read this, I would like to think that you would be proud of me. I'm proud of you.

          But I think it's equally important for me to include that when he found me in the flower shop, I was looking for you in the sunflowers. And I realized that, no matter how long it's been, I will still look for you in every sunflower... but now I have a reason to look at the lilacs.