Page 17 of Poinsettia Lane

“What do you want to do?”

“Ugh,” Everly glares at them. “This question again.”

“Yes.” Frankie counters her glare with a sassy smirk. “This question again.”

Their left eyebrow goes up as they wait. Everly glowers at it. She’s always been jealous that they can lift one eyebrow, it’s such a useful expression. Hers just sort of contort awkwardly without any up or down movement when she tries.

Everly sighs and lets her head tip down toward her lap. “I hope he doesn’t think it’s his fault, or that there’s something wrong with me. I guess I want to fix it. I don’t like what happened, that’s not me, and he asked to see me again. I want to see him again.” She looks up at her friend with a self-deprecating smile on her face. “I just also don’t want to look like a fool again.”

Frankie looks like a proud parent sending their kid off to the first day of school. “You won’t. Let’s make a plan, we both know that will help.”

Everly acknowledges that plans and a solid list fix everything, even though they betrayed her today, so the two of them begin. They go back to her idea of heading to the garden center under the guise of doing some plant shopping, since she still has no other way of contacting him. Frankie offers to go with her for moral support, but Everly determines this is something she can and should do on her own.

Everly and Frankie discuss what she will wear and say, backup ideas of what else she can say, what to do if he’s not there, what to do if she sees him first and vice-versa, and anything else they can think of. At this point, she could not be more prepared if her life depended on it. It’s the start of a new year after all, and she’s committed to showing the world who she really is.

CHAPTER SEVEN

PARKED IN THE lot outside Magnolia Nursery for seven minutes and counting, Everly is still sitting inside her car instead of getting out and walking into the main building as she is supposed to. Like a normal person.

But Everly’s mind keeps jumping back and forth—she’s not ready, she’s ready, she’s not ready. If she procrastinates too much longer, she’ll be out of time and they’ll have closed. It’s times like this that she wishes she could just shake herself and stop overthinking everything. Maybe it’s time to consider anti-anxiety medication again.

Everly starts to go over her hype speech again, when her phone chimes a text. Everly gave her sister a cute little bells ringtone so she doesn’t miss it if Addison contacts her. It’s been over a week now since she left to go back to California, but they’ve been doing their best to keep in touch.

Addison: Hey sis, it’s been a couple days so wanted to check in and see how things have been going. What are you up to?

Well, that timing couldn’t have been better. Maybe a small distraction is what she needs to calm her racing heart.

Everly: Oh you know, just sitting in my car outside the garden center trying to ward offa panic attack. The usual, how about you?

Addison: OMG!

Addison: You’re finally doing it!

Addison: YES. Okay. You can do this, Ev. Talk me through the plan, what’s the first step?

Everly: I suppose getting out of the car, or even turning it off and opening the door would be a good start.

Addison: Ha. Ha. Your snark isn’t working on me.

Everly: Well I planned to go in and shop around, pretend like I needed a plant or whatever, and see if he actually works here or just does deliveries.

Addison: I like it. I’ll be over here sending you all the brave, successful, you can do this vibes. Shoot me a “help” text if you need an emergency out!

Everly: Why would I need an emergency out?

Addison: I don’t know. What if it turns out he has rotten breath or hates animals or something? No one’s perfect.

Everly cracks a smile at that, because she can’t imagine him having rotten breath or hating animals, but she appreciates what her sister is trying to do. She sends her a quick thanks and lets her know she’ll send an update later. The distraction did help, and she feels a little more calm now than she has the last fourteen minutes since pulling up. Everly shoots into action before her anxiety hijacks her again.

It’s now or never.

~~~

The first thing she notices as she walks up the front path toward the building is the sound of tinkling water. There’s a whole section of water fountains outside to the left of the path along the building, tucked in amid vibrant flowering vines, sculpted shrubbery, and potted trees, all waiting for their new homes. She loves how peaceful it sounds, and Everly huffs a soft laugh under her breath at how magical it feels when she spots a lazy yellow butterfly flapping around.

The door is already propped open, allowing fresh air into the main building. To her right is the checkout counter, along with some indoor displays and a staircase with a chain across it. Further to the left, the building opens up through a large, rolling garage door into a flourishing greenhouse. That looks like a bit much, so she decides to start at the displays here in the main shopping area.

Everly wanders, starting to relax a bit, even enjoying her time looking around at all the different plants, garden decorations, and cute pots. She runs her fingers over the leaves as she passes, feeling the different textures and shapes as she does so and marveling at the variety.

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