Page 37 of Huge Dynamite
“Yeah.” Nodding, I lay it on her lap.
Rubbing her hands together, she looks over the tray. “Eggs and toast. This looks delicious, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Staring at her, I am absolutely floored by her beauty. And even more by the person that she is. Standing up taller, I take a deep breath.
“The Ring Ding with the candle is a really nice touch. Is it my birthday?”
“Is it?” She catches me off-guard.
“Nah, July 15th. I’ll be twenty-nine. Yours?”
“August 30th. I’ll be thirty-one. I didn’t have anything nicer to put on the tray, so the Ring Ding is supposed to take the place of flow—”
Fuck. Why did I have to bring it up?
“Take the place of flowers?”
I don’t answer her.
“Seth? Why don’t you want to mention flowers?”
“Just because, you know. Our history with flowers.”
“I’m sorry.” Sliding up further in the bed, she tilts her head. “We have a history with flowers?” She wiggles her finger back and forth between us.
“Just that I sent you those flowers, and I never heard from you.”
“Wait. What? You sent me flowers? When? Where?”
“At the hospital. After the night of my injury. I put my cell number on the card. The flowers were a thank-you for what you did, and an apology for acting so stupid.”
“Seth, I never received any flowers. If I had, I definitely would have thanked y—” Her mouth drops open, and then she slams it shut, hard. Nodding, she looks out the window and back. “Well, no wonder.”
“No wonder what?”
“Seth, were the flowers you sent a large bunch of purple and blue wildflowers?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry. I did get them. But there wasn’t a card.”
“So you assumed they were from someone else?”
Her expression hardens. “No. Someone elsetoldme they were from him.”
“Robert.”
“Who else?” Shaking her head, she looks down at the sheets and then back to me. “I’m so sorry, Seth. They were such beautiful flowers, and the whole time we were dating, Robert never sent me flowers. Not once. I should have known better. I can’t believe that son of a bitch did that. But I’m not surprised.”
“It’s not your fault.” Although the conversation has turned to the topic of Robert, an overall sense of peace falls over me.
“Come on.” Her eyes light up. Patting the bed next to her, she nods to me. “Enough time spent on that idiot. Come, sit.” Picking up the Ring Ding from the tray, she smiles. “Besides, as much as I love flowers, I like this even more.” Pulling out the candle, she picks off tiny pieces of the chocolate shell and eats them. “Do you mind if I start with dessert? I do love these things.”
As she snuggles down into my bed and picks at the Ring Ding, I chuckle.
“What are you laughing about?”
“Nothing, really. It’s just that you are a woman of many surprises.”
