Page 68 of Knot All is Forgiven

"Please don't," she cuts me off."I… I can do this, this casual, light conversation. I can't talk about that, Rafe."

"Okay then." I look around my room, trying to see if anything in this temporary living space can jog an idea. Nothing jumps out at me, so I say the first stupid thing that pops into my head. "Is your favorite color still maroon?"

She chuckles and grabs something out of frame. A maroon blanket ends up in front of the camera."It is. You remembered?"

"Of course I did. Not many eight-year-old girls insist on maroon balloons for their birthday parties."

"Oh my gosh, I forgot about that. My parents were so annoyed with me. But you gave me that teddy bear with the maroon bow."

"You still have him?" I ask hopefully.

She shakes her head, eyes darting side to side."I threw it away after… everything."I don't want to ruin this call by bringing up those memories, so I suck on my teeth, trying to think of something that feels safe to talk about. Before I get the chance, she says,"I need to run, Rafe. Thanks for chatting."

"Anytime. Thanks for calling, Jordy." I don't want to be the one to end the call. I don't think she does, either, because we silently stare at each other for a bit. Eventually, I say quietly, "You smell like mangos with lime."

"I was buying some mangos that day."

And then the call ends.

"This is a strangebasket, sir," the man at the florist shop says. "I don't know if we've ever had someone bring their own fruit before."

I roll my eyes, pushing the bag across the counter to him. "I understand, but this is what I want. Is that going to be a problem? Do I need to go elsewhere?"

"No problem, Mr. Stargazer. I was just a little surprised. And curious." The man is older, probably in his early fifties, with dark hair and eyes. He's short, with a round nose and reddened cheeks. "It's not every day someone tries to put mangos in a gift basket. Typically, it's chocolate-covered strawberries."

I pull two mangos, a lime, and a mango knife from the bag. "She doesn't smell like chocolate-covered strawberries. Why would I send those?"

Realization lights up the man's face, and he smiles broadly. "Ah, a courting gift for your Omega. That makes more sense." He grabs a white wicker basket and fills one half with floral foam and the other with these tiny, squiggly cut pieces of paper. Flitting around the shop, he begins to collect flowers, but I stop him before he gets too carried away.

"Peach, burgundy, and greenery, please. Oh, do you have any wisteria? And stargazer lilies?"

He chuckles. "None of this goes together, you know that, right?"

"Right, but that's not what's important here. Please." Desperation laces my tone. I have to get this right. I want, no need, for her to know how much I'm thinking about her. I'm not sure if I can make a gift basket that says, 'Please forgive me, I was a fucking moron, but I always loved you, and now that I know you're mine, I feel like I'm going to die if I'm not by your side,' but I'm going to try.

It does seem like a lot of pressure to put on a gift basket.

The man works carefully, doing his best to make my floral choices look deliberate. In the end, it's surprisingly lovely, with mostly burgundy flowers and greenery accented with light purple wisteria and peach roses and a single massive stargazer lily in the middle. He arranges them in the foam within the basket and then gathers the mangos, limes, and knife and places them in the front.

"This look right?" he asks, spinning the basket to face me.

And it looks beautiful, exactly what I wanted, but something is missing.

I click my tongue, my eyes darting around the shop as I try to think about what I've left out. My eyes land on a white teddy bearwith a maroon bow around his neck. It's large, easily the length of my forearm, and I don't know if it will fit in the basket, but I have to have it.

The florist follows my line of sight and chuckles. "That one, huh?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

After half an hour and a credit card swipe, I leave the shop feeling like maybe, just maybe, I can put a smile on her face. I stop at a cafe to grab a latte, and my phone goes off several times in a row.

Cyrus

I was thinking of inviting Jordan and Icarus for dinner

Slime

Not just Jordan?

---