Page 72 of Sterling Fight

Love. Marriage. Family. All with Genie.

Not wanting to frighten her, I say instead, “I’ll have to think about those wishes. One must choose carefully.”

“Yes, one must,” she mocks playfully.

“What would your three wishes be?” I ask. “Can a Genie ask genie?”

Genie laughs deeper, her body shaking beneath me. “I don’t exactly know the rules, I guess, but I’d say I’m allowed three wishes as well.”

“And what would your wishes be?”

Genie stares back at me more a long minute. “I always thought I knew what my wishes were.” She slides her fingers through my hair again. “But I think my wishes might be changing.”

“Checking yes to a few new things?”

Her eyes momentarily cloud. I’d almost say fear flashes through them. She has her reasons for not wanting to get married and even some deep-seated concerns about her ability to parent. I never want to force her to do anything she doesn’t want, so if I’d only get one of my wishes, it’s that I’d want Genie to love me.

And if one of her wishes is to be loved, I can make that happen for her.

“Checking yes to a few new things,” she says quietly. Then she tips her head so I can kiss her, and we start our day where we really do work in the garden, but unfortunately, keep all our clothes on.

25

[Genie]

Ihave never gardened before, and I had no idea how hard it could be. But also, how extremely satisfying it is to dig in the dirt, plant a baby seedling, and envision how the garden will grow.

And what it will look like all the months I might not be here.

The thought doesn’t hit me until our second day working on Judd’s extensive garden. He has a greenhouse and has begun some plants from seed. Tomatoes and peppers. Beans and a few cucumbers grow vertically up a thin wire. Judd appreciates the merits of farming and prefers to produce what he can, giving him the healthiest eating experience as food goes from ground to table.

Like he once told me he became an accountant, so he’d never be poor again, he tells me he learned to garden so he’d never go hungry again.

And my heart breaks all over for the struggles the Sylvers endured as children.

A collection of raised beds with a gravel path between them and rivaling an English garden is to the left of the greenhouse, and we spend the majority of our second day there.

“A happier memory is that my mother loved gardening as well. She had a real green thumb, and that’s one reason she shifted the original farm and fleet to the Seed & Soil.”

Judd has so much love for his mother, and as this weekend is Mother’s Day it feels appropriate to celebrate her, even if she isn’t here, by gardening.

Still, I’m exhausted and I’m looking forward to a night curled up on Judd’s couch until he says, “I have a fight tonight.” He isn’t looking at me as he presses dirt around a plant in one of the raised boxes.

Instantly, the air shifts around us. “Another one?” My voice is quiet.

“Every Saturday night.”

I pause where I’ve been tapping at my own plot of dirt and glance across the box at Judd. “Why?” I clear my throat of the sudden clog. “Why do you fight?”

Judd tips back so he sits on his haunches and looks at me. His face hardens a bit, the sweat from the heat of the day and the redness of the sun adding to the edge in his expression. “Why does the boy whose dad beat him up fight?”

I swallow at the sudden sharpness in Judd’s tone. “Yeah.”

“Because my father said I was weak. A fucking runt. He called me a coward because I never fought back, never talked back to him. And the truth is, I didn’t know how. I didn’t have the snark of Sebastian or the strength of Knox. Didn’t have the invisible shield like Ford or quick comebacks like Clay.”

He pauses and glances to his right. His sorrowful expression doesn’t match his strident tone.

“Did you know I was supposed to be a girl? As if a baby’s gender can be predetermined.” Judd scoffs. “And he’d tell me, if I’d only been the girl they’d wanted, then⁠—”