Chapter Text
Friday. Afternoon. Yarckel streets.
The afternoon sun shined particularly bright this spring afternoon over the cobbled streets of Yarckle. Today was a Friday; you did as you knew how to do best and procrastinated until the end of the week to do all your grocery shopping. When will you ever learn? The weight of the over-filled vegetable basket nearly toppled you sideways. I think suffering is my favorite pastime... You thought to yourself while sticking to your clothes from all the sweat. A florist by the name of Lilybet Bauer watched you make continuous stops to catch your breath from down the street. The petite black-haired farmer figured you were carrying too much again- of physical weights and of other assortments. She watched you struggle until you finally made it to her stall. The thumping of the large wicker grocery basket heralded your arrival. You panted like you just crawled through a desert and finally arrived at an oasis. Your forceful exhalations blew the golden curls of the newborn baby strapped to your chest in a baby sling.
The florist thought you looked very pretty, even when you were a hot mess. “Hello Cassandra. Happy Friday!” She waited for you to catch your breath and continued pruning her plants.
Panting, you finally replied. Geez. I’m out of shape. “Good afternoon, Lilybet. I hope you’re having a nice day so far.” Your nose dove in to sniff some camellias she had on display. You sort of looked like a weirdo from how hard you sniffed. “Camellias smell sooooo good.”
Lilybet secretly hoped you were a bit weird. She felt most women were far too occupied with being perceived as potential wives as opposed to being authentic. Hugo’s baby blue eyes sparkled when they looked at her as you leaned over to take another lung-sized whiff.
“Goodness! Hello, handsome.” She spoke normally but withered down to a whisper when she thought her excitement might make him cry.
You noticed her leaf-green eyes were locked onto your son, so you turned to give them a better angle to look at each other. “If he could speak, I’m sure he’d wish you a happy Friday as well.” You smiled at her and began to rock him gently when your baby began to whimper. “Well, the silence was nice while it lasted.” A deep breath was scooped from the air and exhaled back out. One side of your face turned into a slight frown as you tried to soothe an increasingly whimpering Hugo.
“Oh, no. Does he cry often?” Lilybet asked in a whisper.
Your soft hands brushed back Hugo’s soft hay-colored curls. “He does. I’m not sure why. I feed him until he’s full and burp him until he’s comfy enough to fall asleep.” The tone of your voice carried a noticeable twinge of agitation. You wanted to continue to complain about all the things demanded of you each day but didn’t want to come off as grumpy or whiny.
Lilybet plucked some lavender from a box behind her and held it in Hugo’s direction. “Have you tried some lavender? Let him take a whiff.”
“I haven’t. It hadn’t crossed my mind.” You reached for the lavender and waved the bundle in front of Hugo’s nose- it made him fall silent. “Wow! I’ll take your entire stock!” You joked with the cheesiest smile on your face. She noticed some of the curls above your forehead were glued to it by your drying sweat.
Lilybet chuckled. “Lavender is a known stress reliever. Its scent is its most famous property. You can make oils, potpourri, and sachets out of it. If you have a garden, you can grow as much lavender as you want.”
“I do have a garden. That’s very helpful and something to consider, for sure.” You responded to her while continuing to waft the lavender in Hugo’s face and rocking him. “Thank you, Lilybet.” Your eyebrows softened when you thanked her. She had no idea how many sleepless nights she saved you from.
Lilybet’s face shimmered with happiness at your gratitude. Her body leaned over the counter she manned and added. “Yes ma’am! Plants are amazing. You can use them to make dyes, teas, and even medicine.” She wanted to continue to fawn over her passion but knew most people didn’t care to hear her rant and rave about plants, so she halted her educational assault on your ears.
You didn’t mind. In fact, it was nice to meet a woman who seemed passionate about anything else aside from finding a husband. Your head turned to look at her when she halted her lesson. “That’s neat. I’ve always liked plants. They’re a joy to paint, but I haven’t had any luck growing them. It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I have a brown thumb.”
The pixie-haired farmer’s emerald-green eyes glistened at your words. “That’s nonsense! I can answer any questions you might have. You just need to get your fingers in the dirt and really study them.” Plants will tell you all you need to know if you learn to understand their language. She wanted to say but thought you might run past her stall from this moment on until the end of time in perpetuity if she revealed how weird she really is. Lilybet thought you seemed genuine and wanted to explore your personality. She held her hands behind her back when you began to speak and crossed her fingers you’d be interested in becoming her newest friend.
You kissed a calm Hugo’s nose and responded to the smiling lady. “I’d love that. I wouldn’t know where to begin, if I’m being honest.” You wondered if it would be too forward to invite a stranger to your house but figured it was worth giving it a shot. She does seem very interested. Maybe she’ll want to hang out... it would be nice to have a girlfriend. “Lilybet, you seem very cool. I’d like to get to know you better- How would you feel about coming over to my house? I think it’d be tons of fun to chat and learn about gardening.”
The clover-colored eyes shot open as she hopped in excitement. “I’d love to! You seem cool, too! I can’t wait to teach you about plants! There are many others that can help you and Hugo I think you should know about. I’ll bring some over.. Uhh.” She stopped to think for a moment. Did she ever mention a time? The petite lady thought to herself.
You chuckled when you realized you forgot to mention a time. “You can stop by tomorrow morning, if you want. I live just down this street, on the right-hand side. Once you reach the house with the red mailbox, ours is a few doors down and has a ‘Rosenthal Residence’ sign posted near the door.” The pink smile you gifted her was filled with giddiness.
The gardener pitter-pattered in place with her hands holding each side of her face. “Sounds good! I can’t wait to check out your garden. I’m sure you’ll love everything the plants will have to offer.” Ms. Bauer hoped you were as excited as she was.
You reached down for your heavy basket while smiling. “I’m looking forward to it! I’ll see you then.” With a slight grunt squeezed out of you, the tiny arms you were blessed with managed to lift the heavy basket- it seemed almost lighter after stopping by Lilybet’s stall.
The petite farmer waved you goodbye with both her hands and dismissed herself from the swaddled baby. “See y’all tomorrow! Goodbye, little tulip!”
Could it have been the well-earned rest or her invigorating personality? Speaking with her filled your mind with happy thoughts and your stomach with butterflies. In your walk home you couldn’t help but imagine what other aspects of your new friend awaited your exploration.