“You compared dirt to a gym locker,” she says. “Please continue.”
I grin and keep going. “Check the seed packet. Some seeds like to be buried deep. Others just want a light cover. Respect their boundaries.”
“Plant consent,” Charlie mutters, grabbing his jacket.
Juliette lowers the phone. “That’s it. That’s the one. The internet can’t handle more than that anyway.”
Charlie heads for the door, keys already in hand. “Are you almost done?”
Juliette waves his way. “I’m about five minutes behind you. Go ahead, we’ll lock up and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The door clicks shut behind him, the shop settling into its quieter, after-hours version of itself. Juliette starts gathering seed packets, humming under her breath, when her phone buzzes.
She glances at the screen.
Her shoulders drop a fraction.
“Oh,” she says, surprised.
“What?” I ask, because apparently, I care now about the tone of a single syllable. Which I guess I do if it’s coming from her.
“I had plans with my little man to make homemade pizzas tonight.” She types a quick reply, then slides her phone into her back pocket. “But it seems David’s taking Theo to dinner now. He’ll drop him off later.”
“Oh,” I say, mirroring her.
Juliette laughs softly. “It’s not lost on me that the things I’ve run from for so long are all lined up in front of me right now.”
“You mean David?”
“Yes,” she says, stacking seed trays. “And hockey. Going to a game. Seeing a jumbotron, for the love of Pete, and hopefully not having a panic attack or vomiting when I do, since there’s onlyone memory on that screen that is burned into my brain for eternity…”
I hum, thoughtful. “That’s a lot of baggage to hold onto.”
“Yep,” Juliette says easily. “It sure is. I wish I could let some of it go.”
She shrugs like this is just another adjustment, another small pivot she’s learned to make without complaint. Then she goes back to tidying, stacking seed trays, smoothing things into place like order is something you can create if you try hard enough.
I don’t move.
Because all I can think about is how often she meets the world with patience and grace—and how rarely it seems to return the favor. How solemn the shop feels without Theo’s voice bouncing through it.
“Okay,” I say, decision made. “I have an idea.”
She looks up. I check my watch. There’s time.
“You’re free tonight?” I ask.
Juliette narrows her eyes. “Why do you sound like that?”
I grab my keys. “Because I’ve got a surprise for you.”
She hesitates, then sighs. “That never means what I want it to.”
“It means trust me, and have an open mind,” I say. “That’s all I’m asking.”
Maybe I should have givenher a hint.
We walk side by side toward the Birdcage, and I sense the shift in her body before she says anything. Her steps slow. Her shoulders creep upward. She stays just a little closer to me than before.
