Page 43 of Finding Basil
Basil walked him over when they were finished with checking the greenhouse and bagging up some of the mess from the kitchen. “I’m sorry about all this, Herb. We’ll have a redo on the date, if you still want to.”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
“I don’t know. Just, with everything falling apart at the seams since you came here, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking we might do the same.”
“That’s the one thing that I think will last, Basil. I’m falling in love with you, or…well, I am already there, if I’m honest.”
Basil smiled at him and said, “Well, I am too. In love with you, that is.”
“Good. That’s one thing out of the way, so now I just need to see all my seedlings come in.”
Basil laughed and grabbed his hand to walk the rest of the way. “I predict they’ll come in even faster.”
“I trust you.”
Chapter Eleven
Lila’shouse,thoughquitecluttered, was more comfortable than he imagined it would be. Sure, she had a collection of cows, from ceramic to cows on her towels, throw pillows and even a rug.
And she also seemed to collect magazines, as she had small wooden crates filled with them all over the living room. There were farming magazines, Field and Stream and more.
But her sofas were worn and comfortable, her lamps shed soft light, and the tea and cookies she served were delicious.
She had the most amazing brass telescope in her living room too, that Herb just couldn’t stop staring at while they nibbled her pecan cookies.
“That’s beautiful. Antique?”
“Sure is. Was my grandfather's, and his dad's before him. He gave it to me when I was twenty.”
“May I?”
“Sure! Your eyeball can’t break the thing.”
After wiping crumbs from his hands with a napkin, he went to the telescope and looked through it, adjusting the lens just a little to see his own home come into view. He stood back up straight and stared over at her, nearly laughing. “Um, Lila, have you been spying on me.”
“Hey, you told me to watch out for your house. You think I can see it from here with my eyes? Shit, I can’t read a newspaper without my coke-bottle glasses.”
“I’m not upset. It’s not like I run around my yard naked.”
“Feel free to check it whenever you want. You might catch something. That damn fire chief don’t know his ass from his elbow. He’s a volunteer, never took no classes for fire investigating, but he knows it all, he thinks.”
After he sat back with her and sipped his tea, he had to agree. “I don’t want to make enemies here, but you’re right. I didn’t have grease on my stove. I worked half the day cleaning, knowing that Basil was coming. I don’t want him to think I’m some slob.”
“You can tell you’re not. Clean clothes, nice nails, not a scuff on your shoes. If your house was a mess, that would be a surprise, and I’ve been in it. Even when you first moved it, it was clean enough, where there weren’t holes all over.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“You’re getting it fixed up nice. For an old house, that is a good, charitable thing to do. I don’t believe in hocus pocus, but houses…they have a spirit in them. All those laughs, tears, hollering, hugs, they have to rub off on a place. You can feel it when you walk into most. If there was bad feelings, well, you get that. If good ones, you feel comfortable in the place right off. I wasn’t a fan of the former owners, but they were good enough to one another.”
“I wasn’t sure about it at first, but I have fallen for it. The original wood framing all the arches between the rooms, and thethick walls, high ceilings. The kitchen, even as dated as it was, felt like it had seen the baking of a lot of birthday cakes and Sunday dinners.”
“You see a lot for a young man,” she said, her eyes narrowed at him but warm. “I like that.”
He slept that night in a big bed that was covered in a beautiful quilt he suspected she’d made herself. The bathroom was shared, but clean and very…blue. A blue toilet, sink and tub to make all the blue tile, but he didn’t mind it. It was grandmotherly.
The following day, he was treated to a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and the fluffiest waffles he’d ever tasted. They shared their food and the strong coffee she made with a little conversation.
“I sent Basil to you for a reason. That boy needs a good man in his life.”
