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It was Kara's fault. About a month ago, she'd dragged Alex out to the farmer's market, early on a Sunday. Alex had grumbled the entire time as they perused the stalls and Kara had gone on about how much fresher and tastier the food was at the market.
Alex had remained unimpressed.
That is, until they had stopped at a vegetable stall and the stall's owner had turned around to greet them, while Kara had been inspecting the tomatoes.
She had been, quite simply, stunning in her jeans and a black tank-top. Her strong arm muscles had danced beneath her golden-brown skin, as she'd picked up a large bushel of green bell peppers. She'd put it down on the counter in front of her, with her other offerings. Her smile had been wide and bright and ohmygod were those dimples? Alex had been completely agog, without the power of speech. She hadn't even heard what Kara and the woman had talked about, so mesmerized had she been by the vision of beauty in front of her. And then when she had laughed, Alex thought she might never have heard such a beautiful sound in her entire life.
Alex had watched, dumbly, stupidly, as Kara had loaded up on carrots and tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers.
"That's gonna last you two a while," the woman had said, adding up the total on a pad of paper. "Unless you're hosting a party?"
Alex had blinked, realizing that the stall owner thought they were living together. "Uhhh, no, my sister," she emphasized, "just loves her veggies."
"It's true," Kara had affirmed with a grin.
The woman had tilted her head at Alex. "Ah," she'd said with a smile. "Well, then, what about you? Can I offer you something in a radish or maybe a green bean?" Her dimples were showing again.
Kara had snorted until Alex had elbowed her in the ribs. "Sure," she'd said to the stall owner. "What would you recommend?"
They'd left the stall with their reusable bags both filled with all kinds of fresh vegetables.
"Are you going to eat any of those?" Kara had asked, knowing Alex's dislike for anything green.
"Shut up," she'd said, handing the bag to Kara.
***
The week after the first time Kara had brought Alex to the market, she had showed up at the market without her sister, who had been out doing something Supergirly.
She absolutely had to know more about this beautiful woman running the stall. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about her all week.
Alex had arrived at the stall, pleased to see the woman there, wearing jean shorts and a tank top in the warmth of the July morning.
"Hey there," she'd said to Alex. "Good to see you again."
"Nice to see you too," she'd smiled.
"No sister this time?"
"Nah, she's, uh, busy," she'd said.
"Well, what can I get for you, then? Did you like the fresh spinach?"
Alex cleared her throat. "Yeah, it, uh, it was amazing."
"Great, let's get you some more, then!"
"Sure, that would be, um, awesome!" she'd said, forcing herself to sound even moderately enthusiastic about vegetables.
Just a few minutes later, Alex had paid her another twenty-odd dollars and had another heaping portion of vegetables in her bag. She hoped Kara liked squash, as her bag included two of the large items.
***
She'd returned, week after week, Kara or no, and she'd discovered that the woman working at the stall — Maggie — was helping a friend by running the stall for him.
"Oh, so you don't actually grow all of this yourself?" Alex had asked.
"The only thing that doesn't die on me is a bonsai tree," she'd admitted.
"A bonsai tree? Seriously?"
"A girl's gotta have some hobbies," she'd said, by way of explanation.
"Fair enough," she'd replied. "So, uh, your friend, uh, how, um, how did you end up helping him?" Alex had asked, hoping to get some kind of clarity on Maggie's preferences.
"He's my ex's brother, and my ex now lives in Gotham, so I thought I'd offer to help."
"Ah," she said, nodding, still unsure as to Maggie's orientation.
"Well, here you go," Maggie had said, handing her a bag of vegetables. "That'll be $18.50."
Alex had paid her and thanked her with a smile before heading back to her car and driving directly to Kara's in order to give her the vegetables. There was absolutely no way in hell Alex was going to eat a full pound of zucchini.
***
The fifth week, Alex had decided she'd give Maggie her number and tell her to call or text her if she wanted to hang out. She had her cell number written on the back of her business card, tucked in the back pocket of her jeans so she could easily access it. She parked the car and practiced for a moment.
"Hey, uh, you know, I, um…" She sighed and cleared her throat.
"Hi Maggie, I, well, would like…" She blew out another breath.
"I was just thinking that I'd like to get to know you better. Give me a call or shoot me a text sometime." She nodded. That was the winning phrase. "Be confident, Danvers," she instructed herself.
She walked right up to the stall and frowned, looking around. Maggie wasn't there. An unfamiliar man was running it.
"Hey," he smiled, though nowhere as brilliantly as Maggie. "Can I help you with anything?"
She cleared her throat. "I, uh, I was actually looking for Maggie."
"Oh," he said, "she couldn't make it today."
"Oh, okay," she said, "no problem. Thanks." She turned to go back to her car.
"Wait!"
She stopped and turned back.
"Are you Alex?"
Her eyebrows rose. "Yes."
"Got something for you!"
She took a couple steps back towards the stall as the man bent down and handed her a big bag of vegetables. "For you, from Maggie."
Alex laughed. "Thanks," she said, smiling. So Maggie had been thinking about her. That boded well, didn't it? She took the bag and headed back to the car. She called Kara on the way and told her she had more vegetables for her and Kara said she'd meet her at Alex's.
Kara was waiting for her when she arrived at her apartment. "What did you get me?" she grinned, getting up from the couch.
"No idea," she said, "Maggie wasn't there."
"Oh, I'm sorry." Kara took the bag. "So wait, why do you have food for me and you don't know what you bought?"
Alex shrugged. "Some dude was there and Maggie had apparently told him to give me this bag."
"Aw, isn't that sweet of her?"
"I guess it's a good sign," Alex said, sitting at the counter.
"Well, let's see what she picked out for you."
"Does it matter? I'm not going to eat any of that."
Kara was already looking through the bag and then laughed.
"What?"
"Here." Kara handed her a note.
Dear Alex,
Don't worry, the food is for your sister. My number is 555-867-5309. Call or text me sometime.
- xo Maggie
Alex's jaw dropped.
"Busted," Kara giggled.
***
Later, after Kara had left, she screwed up her courage and texted Maggie.
Hey, it's Alex. Kara said thanks for the food.
The response was almost immediate. Hope she enjoys it, though I have no idea where she puts it all. And hey, glad you texted.
She smiled. So how did you know Kara was the one who loves fresh vegetables and not me?
Alex, you thought the romaine lettuce I gave you was spinach.
She flushed, caught in her white lie. It looks really similar, okay??? Like green and leafy!
In response, she received a laughing emoji.
Hey, you have to give me credit for knowing a parsnip from a carrot.
Another laughing emoji came back quickly.
And here I was going to ask you out to dinner tonight, but I guess if you just want to make fun of me… ;)
Her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Funny, I was going to ask you out to dinner," said Maggie.
She swallowed. "You were?"
"I was."
"Well?" Alex grinned.
"Well, you said you were going to ask me out, so ask me out, already." Alex could hear the smile on Maggie's face.
"Would you care to join me for dinner tonight?"
"Love to," she said.
They hung up a couple of minutes later, having set a time and Maggie having suggested a place she knew.
She arrived at 6:57pm, wearing nice slacks, a button-up shirt and a blazer, and she smiled, seeing Maggie was already there, waiting for her outside the restaurant. She was gorgeous, wearing dark blue jeans, and a shirt with its sleeves rolled up. Her dimples were showing and Alex was oblivious to just about anything else.
"Hey."
"Hi," blushed Alex. "Shall we go in?"
Maggie tilted her head at Alex. "You sure about that?"
"Why wouldn't I be sure?"
She pointed to the restaurant name: KALE ME CRAZY
Alex just laughed. "All right, all right, show me what's so great about vegetables."
"It'll be my pleasure," Maggie smiled brightly. "And yours too, later, I would imagine."
Alex grinned at the innuendo and followed her into the restaurant. Spending some time with Maggie was worth eating a few vegetables, even if Kara would mock her later.
The next morning, Alex woke up with Maggie's arm around her waist. Yep, the vegetables she'd eaten at the restaurant were definitely worth it.