Page 25 of Beyond our Forever

“How do you like the city so far?” I try changing the subject, hopefully to a more cheerful topic.

“We’ve seen very little of it, actually,” he admits, a small smile on his lips. God, this Adonis, what magazine did he escape from? Even those grays suit him. “We’ve only just arrived and I must start work tomorrow, so we’ll be lucky if we manage to get our beds put together for bedtime.”

Mikel then tells me they’re from Alabama, that he works in a financial investment firm, and after what happened with his wife, when they offered him a promotion in a new location, he didn’t hesitate to take the opportunity for a fresh start.

“We’re not from here either,” I inform him. “We came from Arizona.”

“What a change that must be, with all that heat in the summer.”

“At first we found it hard getting used to winter, but after so many years, we’ve become Hoosiers.”

“I hope we can soon say we feel at home too.”

“Well, once fried chicken and waffles have become your usual Sunday breakfast, I think you’ll have made it.”

“What a strange combination!”

“But delicious.” I smile. “Although it did take us a while to get used to it. And don’t be surprised if you find peanut butter burgers advertised at a restaurant.”

“Seriously?” he laughs.

“Yup, seriously,” I laugh back.

“My oldest son is going to love living here.”

“They just got here, so it might take a little while but I hope so.”

We continue talking about everything and nothing in particular. I inform him about the garbage collection schedule, the habits we have in the neighborhood, and how happy the other neighbors will be when they find out that the house that’s been empty for more than two years is finally occupied.

“You have a beautiful house. That glass wall work is very interesting,” my new neighbor says as he walks around our family room.

Mikel refers to the glass wall that covers the back of our home, it allows us to enjoy the lake view and the natural light that comes in almost all day.

“You also have a beautiful family,” he says, looking at one of the framed photos on the granite counter in my kitchen. We were all sitting on the swing hanging on the porch. Ava had just been born and the children were spellbound with the new family addition. “Your husband is a lucky guy.”

“I wish he would have realized that,” I add without thinking and instantly freeze.

I shouldn’t have let that comment blurt from my mouth, much less today.

Mikel notices and after watching me for a few seconds in tense silence, he changes the topic.

“Very suggestive, your choice of flowers,” he says, taking the anthuriums in his hand. “They aren’t easy to come by, you know?”

“Do you know anything about exotic flowers?” This is getting interesting and any extra clues would be helpful.

“I’m an amateur flower grower,” he admits. “These plants are easy to care for and often bloom. I’m not sure how hard it is to keep them in this weather, but hey, in a greenhouse it would certainly be possible.”

Amateur flower grower… interesting.

God, I sound like Emilia with her crazy theories, maybe we should start talking less.

“They have a rather special meaning,” he continues.

“Oh, yeah?” I pretend like I don’t know anything, to encourage him to continue.

“Yes, you can’t miss the heart shape of the leaf and plus the fact that this yellow part here looks phallic…”

True enough, the flower speaks for itself. Mikel might be an amateur grower, but he seems to know what he’s talking about, which caught me off guard.

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