Page 71 of Poetry of Flowers

I forgot her birthday present at home!

I had spent three months searching for the perfect birthday present. I was such an idiot.

I had ordered from a little jewelry shop in Romania. The shop had caught my attention because they encased memorabilia in chain pendants, and they also offered engravings. They had been very excited to working on my idea after I had explained what I wanted. Now everything was ruined. Tillie loved birthdays, especially the presents, even though she was the kind of person who was happy about anything, possible even an interesting stone. I wanted her seventeenth birthday present to be something memorable.

It had to be something she could carry with her, knowing I’d always be above her heart.

That shit is cheesy, but Tillie loved this kind of stuff and I loved her, so, of course, she would get what made her happy.

If I could, I would gift her all the happiness in the world just to see her smile.

“Why do you have color in your hair?” Sammy, the girl of the twins, asked Tillie who sat next to me on the floor of the old bus. We had no idea if it was safe or even legal to drive, but I hoped we’d not get stopped on our way.

Devon and his family were going in the same direction, but not as far as Chicago. They’d drop us off at Billings, and from there we would have to find another way to the city. We had already been driving for five hours. The first two had been so peaceful while the little monsters had been asleep and not singing idiotic children’s songs over and over again.

At least Tillie and Theo had some cash on them which could get us to Chicago... I would have to ask Nash if he could send me some money.

“Because I like it,” Tillie explained to her.

The roots were already growing out, I’d help her dye it again when we were back in Grand Lee.

Sammy grinned with only one front tooth as she looked at her brother Sean. “We should color our hair too!”

“When you are older!” their mother called from the passenger seat.

Sammy rolled her eyes.

“Boring.”

“Can you play us something?” Sean pointed to the guitar and pulled on my jacket, looking at me with big eyes. If they weren’t so annoying, they could actually be adorable.

“No.”

“Pleeease,” he begged while continuing to pull on my jacket. Someone should teach these kids some manners.

I smiled sweetly as I repeated, “No.”

The boy kicked me with his hard boots. Little monster.

Kick me one more time, and I’ll throw you off the bus,I wanted to say but couldn’t because I would probably be the one that was thrown out by his father or mother. One was scarier than the other.

“Stop kicking me, you little devil,” I hissed at the boy, but he only stuck out his tongue.

Tillie giggled next to me, “someday you’re going to be such an interesting dad.”

“Joke’s on you, Tillie, I won’t ever have kids,” I replied and looked away from her, just in time to see the twins opening the zipper of my guitar bag.

“Hey! You both stop.”

But they didn’t until I snatched my guitar out of their filthy little hands. “Have you never learned what the meaning of the word stop is?!”

Sammy made the kind of puppy face children make before they start bawling.

“You’re so mean,” she sobbed and started full on crying in front of me.

“Aww, you made little children cry, that’s so attractive,” Autumn grinned at me. Everyone knew that she hated children.

“Stop flirting with me and help me calm them down before we get kicked out in the middle of nowhere,” I shot back as I rubbed the kid’s shoulder.

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