Page 42 of Wildflowers and Wide Receivers

I glance over at Jonah.

“Wildflowers are our thing.” He shrugs his shoulders. “When we have the chance, we go out exploring to see how many we can find. Vivi gets to pick one of each flower we find. Sometimes we make a bouquet, and other times we make a collage.”

“Sounds fun. I take it you’ve done that here before?”

“Yep,” Vivi chimes in. “Last time, we found four.”

“That’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what we find tomorrow.”

Vivi continues to swing our arms, and not so secretly, I take peeks at Jonah. What is it about this guy? Tonight, he’s wearing a pale-blue T-shirt, khaki shorts, and he’s carrying a pair of flip-flops. His hair was wet when he first came down the stairs, but now after being in the breeze it’s dried. Just like Vivi, his skin is also sunkissed. He looks so good. Catching me looking at him, his mouth tips up on one side. It’s not a big smile, but one that says, “I’m happy you’re here, too.”

“Ms. Sophie, this place has the best food.”

“Do they?” I ask her, not bothering to tell her I’ve eaten here before. She’s so excited to take me there.

“Yes.” She looks up at me. “I love their lemonade, and for dessert, they have banana pudding with the cookies in it.”

“Sounds delicious. What do you get for dinner?”

She thinks about this for a moment and then says, “Most of the time, I get the grilled cheese, but tonight, I think I want fried shrimp.”

“I’m allergic to shrimp,” I tell her, and at this tidbit, Jonah looks over at me. Since his confession about not really knowing me, I’ve noticed that all day he’s been soaking up anything new I tell him about me. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t doing the same. I just leave out the part where I’ve basically internet stalked him since he reappeared in my life and know quite a few details about him. But these, I learned today.

Jonah’s favorite food is tacos. Even though he grew up in Boston and loves lobster rolls and clam chowder, he says he’s a sucker for a good taco. He admitted to trying tacos in every city he’s played in. While sometimes there’s free time to venture out, other times he has them delivered to the hotel.

His favorite movie is Cinderella Man. He saw this in the theater with his brother. It was the first “adult” movie he remembers letting him see, and for a time when he was a kid, he wanted to be a boxer.

He loves the smell of sunblock, he’s never met a potato chip he doesn’t like, and aside from hating seagulls and pigeons, it turns out he really doesn’t like birds in general. When I asked him why, he mentioned a duck biting him once and the Canadian geese taking over Boston.

I laughed thinking he’s being ridiculous, but hey, he’s allowed to feel however he wants.

“Does that mean I can’t get them?” Vivi asks, frowning.

“Nope, you can still get them. It just means I can’t eat them,” I tell her, tightening my hand on hers. “Or give you a big kiss on the lips.”

“What happens to you if you eat them?” Both of them are looking at me now.

“My lips swell up real big, I break out in hives, and I look funny.”

She tilts her head. “I don’t think I have anything like that. There’s a boy in my class who can’t eat nuts. Because of this, we aren’t allowed to have anything with nuts in the room. Not even a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.”

“Well, I think it’s definitely better to be safe than sorry, don’t you?”

“I guess so.” She shrugs. “But I do like peanut butter.”

“Just like your uncle,” I goad her and Jonah smiles.

It’s just after six when we walk into the restaurant, a bell rings over the door. Sunset isn’t for almost two more hours, so we’ve beaten the crowd.

“Hi, y’all. Grab a seat anywhere and I’ll be right over,” says an older woman who is smiling from ear to ear. She pushes her way through the swinging door that leads into the kitchen and disappears.

Vivi picks a table in the front of the restaurant, close to the window so we can see out.

“Can I sit beside you?” Vivi asks.

“Of course,” I tell her, and Jonah scoffs.

“I see how it is. You girls have to stick together and all that, right?” He’s teasing her, and she giggles. Meanwhile, Jonah sits across from me, and butterflies swarm in my stomach. It was different sitting next to him on the beach. We could look out at the water there, but here, we’re facing each other.