AllFreeNovel
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As it’s Monday, I work my way up the highest office floors. Tomorrow I’ll start again on the ground level in the afternoon, after visiting Mr. Bernard and his greenhouse in the morning.
At four p.m., I’m ready to call it a day, but I have three more offices to visit—the Power brothers’. All but Will’s since he had his plants moved to Colt’s for the time he’s away.That’s where I decide to start.
“Hey, Reshma,” I say with as much of a smile as I can muster.
“Hi, Virginia. Did you have a nice weekend? Do anything fun?”
Since my twenty-four-hour protection is supposed to be discreet, I upsell my lockdown lifestyle. “Had a great time bingeing a new true crime series with my sister. You?”
“Celebrated my husband’s birthday. Big family event. Still cleaning up.” She laughs.
“Hopefully the house-elves finish the job before you get home. Is Colt in?”
“House-elves are in short supply these days.” She smiles. “Mr. Colt had an all-day meeting off-site, so you can sing to your babies as loud as you’d like.”
I’m surprised by how much my shoulders relax, knowing I’ll be alone.
“I’ll be done before five so you can lock up. But if I lose track of time, come and get me.”
Standing in the middle of Colt’s office, I look from his table of greenery over to Will’s. Aside from a few pots, the plants are the same, but while Colt’s are thriving, Will’s look wilted and sad. I’m certain they weren’t like that three weeks ago. I wonder if I’ve done this, if my sorrow has seeped into the soil. Why else would they be looking so woebegone?
“This won’t do,” I say to the room, then walk to the healthy gathering of greenery.
I poke my finger into each pot on Colt’s table, water the few that need it, pinch a couple of dead leaves from the coral bells, and inside ten minutes, I’m done.
“Now, you people,” I say to Will’s collection, “you have to do better. I am sorry if I’ve been bumming you out, but this is not acceptable. You are strong and resilient, healthy and happy.”
I pick up the hibiscus and hold it so the leaves are directly in front of my face.
“Never forget, when you change your thoughts, you change your world, Hibbi. This world, this small, little world you live in, is better for you being here. You have years of flowers left in you. We need you. Will needs you.”
He does. Willneedsthis plant.
But does Will needme?
I need Will and his contradictions. Will and his grumpy happiness, his understated passion, his vulnerable overconfidence. I love how safe I feel when he holds me, how comfortable I am taking risks with him, how accepted I feel even though I’m far from perfect.
I love how he knows just what to say when I’m second-guessing myself, tailoring his motivational catchphrases just for me. Sometimes to make me laugh, sometimes to force a spirited discussion, and always to help me see that I’m good enough to be loved by the formidable Will Power.
Maybe that’s what these plants are missing—Will’s words of encouragement.
“Is that what you need, Hibbi? Do you miss hearing Will spur you on to greater things? To know everything is exactly as it’s meant to be?” I shrink a little, not feeling like anything in my life is as it’s meant to be anymore. But I don’t want the hibiscus to know that. “All right, then.”
I think of one of Will’s quotes and adjust it slightly for the plant.
“You are a winner. You are makingsoilhappen. Nothing will stop you from flowering again. Is that better?”
I smile at the hibiscus, exhale warm breath across its leaves, place it back on the table, and pick up a droopy jade plant.
“Hey, Jade. What’s got you down? You need a little pep talk, don’t you?” I gently stroke a couple of her fleshy leaves while I think.
“You don’t need to be limited by the size of the pot you’re planted in. Grow. Show the world you can be more, and your pot will grow to fit your new reality.”
I laugh at my adjustment and feel more like myself than I have in days, weeks. Picking up the ponytail palm, I start to dance, swaying side to side so its long, thin leaves move like they’re in a gentle breeze.
“You are a powerful life force, unique in the world with your singular combination of roots and stalk and leaves. Let your vitality vibrate, and you will be seen.”
I spin around as I say, “Let your energy flow,” and see Colt standing in the doorway. I almost drop the plant and quickly turn back to the table and mutter apologies.
