Page 115 of The Woman in the Hollow
“None of which fits with the rustic decor at your place.”
“So, it’ll be eclectic.”
“No, really. I don’t want to bring it. Most of it were finds from garage sales and secondhand stores because it was all I could afford. I really just want my clothes, bedding, and some of the cooking stuff I have.”
“If you’re sure.”
“Oh, maybe we should take the bed. The guest rooms really need some furniture.”
“Sounds good.” Even if I planned to have cribs and toddler beds in those rooms sooner rather than later.
All the times my brothers and cousins threw around that trite ‘when you know, you know’ phrase, I’d always kind of rolled my eyes at them.
It turns out, they were right.
Because I knew.
Hazel was it.
Rings and dresses and little versions of the both of us.
“Alright. All this heart and flowers shit is making me sick. I’m gonna go get some lunch,” Dom said, sliding out from behind the table and walking away.
Hazel turned, watching him leave, a wicked smile tugging at her lips.
“What kind of punishment have you cooked up?”
Hazel turned back, eyes dancing.
“I’m going to tell your mother that Domenico told me he is ready to settle down and fall in love.”
“Oh, that’s fucking evil,” I said, smiling.
“I know,” she agreed. “It’s going to be so much fun.”
Hazel - 3 months
“Isn’t it a little early for all this?” Dante asked, taking a break from his basement workout to come over to where I had six hard plastic pop-up tables set up underneath long grow lights.
I was busy poking holes in hundreds of little dirt pods with a nifty device meant just for the task that Giulia had given me the last time I’d been at her house for dinner.
“You’d think,” I said. “But a lot of these plants take forever to get going, so if you don’t start early, you’re not going to get anything worth selling in the spring.”
The year before, the garden center had ordered in a lot of the flowers and vegetable starts.
This year, I was giving a pilot program where we grew some of our own a try. But because I wasn’t sure about it yet, I didn’t want to force employees to do the work.
“What ones are you working on now?”
“Bell peppers. All the fun colors too. I think these might need heat mats, though. It’s chillier down here than they usually like.”
“Youdorealize the garden center doesn’t need to save money, right?” he asked, picking up one of the seed packs for purple peppers.
“I know,” I agreed. “The prices just felt insane when I went to order. Though, with how much extra work this is, it might be worth it.”
“Are these peppers too?” he asked, gesturing behind me.
“No. Those are flowers to try to impress your mom with our gorgeous, overflowing, colorful flowerbeds this summer.”
