Chapter Text
Eddie was maybe a little tired of these things. The kids had visitors come to school, which was great, except they would send them home with things. Sometimes it was as simple as an informational pamphlet or a little plastic firefighter’s helmet. Most recently, it was a plant.
Christopher’s entire grade had an interactive seminar with a local plant nursery which taught them all about plants and how to care for them. And in this seminar, they spoke about the importance of plants and going green and whatnot. And then, they handed out red solo cups, had the kids fill them with soil, and covered up a seed. And Eddie was glad his son was getting a good education, he was glad he was enjoying school and learning. What he was not happy about, however, was the way his son glared at him for killing his plant.
Dad, the soil’s too dry.
Dad, it’s not getting enough sun.
Dad, it’s wilting!
Let it be known that Eddie really did try, honestly. But he was a probationary firefighter, had twenty-four hour shifts, and was a single father. Plus, he’d been murdering every plant he tried to cultivate practically since birth. He’d told his son this right when he saw him carrying a plastic cup full of dirt, and still somehow the responsibility had landed on him. He understood, he was the parent. But, damn, if the kid wanted to keep his plant alive, he needed to take care of it himself.
Eventually, Chris seemed to understand this, and he made himself a rigid schedule for his plant. He wrote it out in different colored pencils and taped it up to the wall right beside the window in which his plant sat. He named it Queen, he talked to it about his day, he measured out the right amount of water, he did further research on proper care. Eddie was so proud of his son, the way he spent so much time and effort on the thing.
So, of course, right as it began to flower, it began to wilt.
“I don’t understand,” Chris was saying, too close to tears. “Dad, I did everything right. I watered it and I talked to it. Queen’s dying! What do we do?”
And that was how Eddie found himself digging out the paper Chris had gotten that day, detailing the care for peonies and their meaning of good fortune. At the top of the paper in the right-hand corner was the name of the shop, the address, and the phone number.
Buck’s Botany. This had better be worth it.
***
Buck’s Botany was a quaint little shop in what definitely used to be a house. It was probably two properties, though the corner lot had been leveled into a parking area. The house was painted a welcoming pale blue with a white porch, the paint chipping on the railing. In the backyard and extending slightly over into the second lot was a large greenhouse. Eddie took a moment to take the place in as Christopher got himself situated on his crutches. And then, the two of them went inside.
The house had clearly been renovated. Eddie wasn’t sure what the original layout looked like, but he was certain there were more walls that were ripped out during the transformation. Everywhere he looked was a different thing; stacks of gardening gloves and tools, rows of pots, an entire wall dedicated to little packets of seeds. The wall beside the door displayed various pamphlets detailing how to build a garden, aquaponics, raised garden beds, pruning gardens, proper plant care, what dying plants mean, and on and on. Looking around, Eddie was a little overwhelmed. It did not help that Christopher was running around from place to place, absolutely thrilled with everything he saw. Eddie was a little worried he was going to knock something over with one of his crutches in his excitement.
Suddenly, the back door opened, and a tall, muscular man stepped through. He was wearing a muscle-tee with the sleeves cut off and a pair of jeans and Timberland’s. His skin glistened with sweat as he pulled off his gloves and swiped a hand across his brow, catching his breath. And then, he glanced over and gave Eddie a beatific smile.
Oh, God, Eddie was in it now.
“Hi,” the guy spoke up, earning Christopher’s attention. “I’m Buck. I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”
“No, not at all,” Eddie rushed, trying his best to keep from checking him out (again). “We were just looking around.”
Buck nodded and stepped forward. Christopher must have come into view then, because the man’s face just lit up as he greeted the boy. Eddie’s heart did a funny thing in his chest as he watched them introduce themselves.
“You were the guy that came to my school,” Christopher was saying. “You were really fun.”
Buck blushed, throwing the kid a shy smile. “Ah, thanks, buddy. What brings you guys by?”
Eddie awkwardly held out the cup he’d been carrying, remembering only a moment later to explain, “You guys planted this, and Chris has been taking really good care of it, but it’s starting to not do so good.” Yeah, that was decent.
The man nodded and gently took the cup in his hands. He took it to a nearby table and regarded it for a moment. Eddie watched in absolute confusion as he checked the calendar and started counting in his head.
“Do you go to Durand?” He asked Chris. At his affirmation, Buck bit his lip and turned his attention back to the flower. Eddie was really trying not to find it distracting.
“Okay,” he said finally. He leaned his elbows onto the table and looked at Chris. “Christopher, you know how when you were little, you had smaller t-shirts?”
Chris nodded. “I can’t fit into those anymore.”
“Exactly!” Buck agreed, lighting up. “You’re a big kid, you can’t fit into that! You got too big for it, and you needed new shirts. Just like you’re gonna grow even more, and then you’ll need to get more shirts.” He leaned in conspiratorially, saying, “I’ll bet one day you’ll need bigger shirts than your dad.”
Chris giggled, music to Eddie’s ears. “No way!”
Buck shrugged, though he had a bright grin. “It’s possible. If you eat your vegetables, you could get even bigger than him. I bet he didn’t eat his vegetables.”
Chris laughed again, positively delighted. “Grandma says he always complained about it and he wouldn’t eat anything green. She says that’s why he can’t cook now.”
Buck snorted, and Eddie threw in a good-natured “Hey,” because he was pretty sure he was supposed to be offended. But how could he be, when this man was making his kid smile like that?
“Well,” Buck continued. He leaned back down on his elbows, head just above Christopher’s level. “I bet you’ve been taking care of your peony, haven’t you?”
Chris nodded. “Her name is Queen. I water her and talk to her. I have a schedule, I brought it!” He took out the paper he’d folded into his pocket and proudly held it out to the man.
Buck took it and looked it over, nodding very seriously as he did. “This is quite impressive, Mister Christopher. No wonder Queen’s so grown.” He handed the paper back and said, “So Queen’s been getting everything she needs, right? She’s getting water, she’s getting sunlight, she’s getting love. And now, she’s too big for her cup!” Chris gasped and Buck nodded emphatically. “You’ve taken such good care of her, she’s outgrown her cup, just like you’ve outgrown your t-shirts!”
He bent down again, giving Chris a soft smile. “You’re doing an amazing job with her, Christopher. She’s well taken care of, I know that. Just like your dad takes care of you. And just like he buys you new things when you need them, you need to get Queen a new pot.” He stood tall, gestured around the store. “Just remember, Chris, you can’t get one too big. You gotta get one that’s the right size, okay? It’s gotta be bigger than this one, though. But don’t get her one that’s too big, or she’ll be swimming in it. You wouldn’t want a shirt that’s your dad’s size, would you?”
“Not yet!” Chris agreed. Buck nodded and gestured again to the pots lined up in the store. Chris shot off to them, taking his new task very seriously. Buck chuckled to himself with a slight head shake and turned to the back of the store where he grabbed a half-full bag of soil and a well-used hand shovel.
Eddie was torn between watching the man work and watching his son consider every pot there was on display. Eventually, though, Christopher won out, and Eddie pushed the gorgeous man from his mind and enjoyed the bright sunshine that was his kid. He was lucky; no wonder the plant was doing so well. Christopher Diaz saved everything he touched.
Ten minutes later, Christopher presented his chosen pot with the widest grin Eddie had ever seen on his face. Buck commended his choice and took the pot to the table. He had Chris put on a dirt-stained child’s apron, then the two of them filled the pot with soil. Eddie watched as he talked the boy through it, never lending a hand where Chris didn’t need it. He held the bag open for him to scoop up more soil, and he pointed out how and where to leave a hole to insert the flower into the new pot. He never once offered help where it wasn’t needed. He guided Chris through something new without overstepping. It took years for even Eddie to get the hang of that.
“Now, Chris,” Buck said as he pulled the cup between them. “Have you ever gone through a big move?”
Chris nodded enthusiastically. “We just moved from Texas!”
“Whoa, that is a big move!” Buck agreed. “Well, Queen is about to go through something kinda like that. When plants are moved from one place to another, it scares them a little bit. So, for a few days, if she’s not doing so well, just remember that it’s okay. Just keep doing exactly what you’re doing, and she’ll perk right up. She just needs to know that just because her home has changed, doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. Does that make sense?”
Christopher nodded very seriously. “That’s what my dad said when we were moving. We’re going somewhere better. It was hard at first, but I like it here better than Texas.”
Eddie could have cried. He could never really tell if Chris was happier in California or if he was just putting on a brave face for his father. Both of them were guilty of that, though Eddie was trying to break that habit in his son now before it got too bad. But still, hearing that he made the right decision for his son? Hearing that, while doing something everyone told him not to do, he made his son even happier than he was before? It felt… freeing. Eddie did something right. He may have done a million things wrong, but he did this thing right.
Buck very carefully cut the side of the cup with a pair of scissors and held the base of the plant as Chris pulled the plastic away. Buck smiled brightly at him and gestured to the walls of the soil, still holding in place. Chris marveled at it as Buck explained that since Queen had been in the cup so long, her roots had grown as far as they could reach, and thus they formed the same shape as the cup. Eddie couldn’t help but feel a little impressed as well. They could see the roots so clearly. Queen had made herself a home in that little red solo cup. And, as Buck explained, she was going to make a home in this new pot, too.
Together, they gently patted soil around Queen in her new home, and Buck congratulated Chris on a job well done. They removed the apron, which had gotten dirtier as they repotted Queen, and Buck turned to Eddie with a bright smile. Eddie felt a little weak in the knees at the sight.
“Alright,” he said to them both. “Queen should be all set. Just keep taking care of her exactly as you are now, and you should have no problem at all.”
“Thank you,” Eddie said once he found his voice again. Thank you for making my kid happy, thank you for treating him like a normal kid, thank you for giving him this passion even if I didn’t appreciate it at first. “How much do I owe you?”
Buck waved him off. “Don’t worry about it.”
Eddie furrowed his brows at the man. “What? No, I–”
“Look,” Buck cut him off. “I’m happy to help someone learn to care for plants just as much as I do. Maybe he’ll have a whole garden one day. Or maybe he’ll just take care of this plant for however long he does. I don’t know. I just know that I’m happy to help.” He shrugged, then turned to the wall of seeds. He perused for a moment, before pulling a pack from its spot. “Here.” He held out the seeds for Eddie to take. “I always think it’s better to give someone a seed instead of a flower. A flower dies; if you help it, this can last forever.”
Eddie looked down at the packet they both held in their nearly joined hands. Buttercups.
“I– thank you,” Eddie muttered, at a loss for words as he stared at the picture of the flowers.
Buck smiled and nodded. “Have a good night, both of you.”
Eddie nodded dumbly and led Chris to the door.
“Wait–”
Eddie spun around, and Chris did, too, though at a slower pace.
Buck grabbed a card from the checkout counter and held it out to Eddie. “Every week, we have a class for kids. A garden club. It’s free, just an hour and a half. We encourage kids to bring something from home they can use for the plant, but it’s not required. A lot of the parents go to a restaurant down the street if they don’t want to stay. Chris seems to really like gardening, maybe he’d like it.”
Eddie looked down at the card, trying to curb a smile. He stroked his thumb over where it read Evan Buckley, botanist. This was just for his son. Buck had no interest in Eddie. “You teach this?”
“I do,” Buck said with a nod. “We do different things every week. Sometimes fruits and vegetables, sometimes flowers, sometimes ferns, stuff like that. Last week we started growing potatoes. We plant our things each week, and each kid has their own little area they keep their plants, or they can take them home.”
“This, uh,” Eddie considered his schedule, and his coworkers’ kids, and the likelihood that this was going to become a team thing. “I’ll try to figure this out with my schedule.”
Buck waved at him as if he were embarrassed. “I mean, it’s just a suggestion. It’s a lot of fun for the kids. And me.” He bit his lip, then seemed to steel himself and said, “I never caught your name.”
“Eddie.” He stuck out his hand, smiling when Buck took it. “Eddie Diaz.”
Buck shook his hand with a smile. “Pleasure to meet you both, Eddie and Christopher.”
They stood there for a moment, until their hands were clasped a touch too long. Both of them pulled away as if burned, laughing awkwardly. Eddie threw a goodbye and a thank you over his shoulder as he ushered Christopher out the door.
“That was weird,” Chris said as Eddie helped him into the car. “Why did you two shake hands like that?”
“I don’t know, mijo,” he said as he buckled his son in. “Sometimes adults are just weird.”
Chris nodded sagely. “Yeah.” He turned to his plant and said, “Adults are weird, Queenie.”
Eddie furrowed his brows. “I thought her name was Queen?”
“Buck called her Queenie once. I liked it.”
“Ah,” Eddie said. He got himself into the front seat and looked down at the packet of seeds in his hand. On a whim, he pulled out his phone and opened Google, looking up buttercups and their meaning.
“Ranunculus,” the first source read, “or ‘buttercups’ symbolize charm and attraction.”
Eddie huffed, unable to contain his smile. Evan Buckley was one smooth motherfucker.