Page 4 of Single Teddy
“You must be Mr. Crawford,” I said to the man still in my arms.
“The one and only.” He smiled, and for some unknown reason, his smile took my breath away.
TWO
WESLEY
Iwalked over to the mantel in the living room, brushed my hands over the bright-green leaves of my pothos plants, and breathed in.
It wasn’t that it smelled particularly of anything other than, I guess, plant realness, but touching it, being next to it, watching it grow stronger, gave me life.
“Oh, oops, someone needs a tall drink of water,” I said to the plant pot on the far right of the mantel after checking the soil with my finger. I then checked the other two pots spaced out evenly next to it.
Yup, all had started to dry out.
“Let’s take care of that,” I told them, misting their draping foliage first before pouring water into their pots. “There. That should do it, huh?”
I cocked my head side to side as if they would respond and smiled.
“Gorgeous, darlings.” I blew them a kiss and walked over to the little nook corner beside the fireplace, where my glorious Zizi resided, her leaves seemingly larger every time I turned around.
“Good morning, Miss Zizi!” I said and ran my hands through my zanzibar gem’s leaves to check for rot or signs of malnourishment. “One of these days, you’re going to have to share your beauty regimen with me. Not a hint of decay anywhere, you diva you!”
Miss Zizi’s neighbors, the fiddle leaf fig with its frilly dark forest vibes and the monstera with its huge, almost fluorescent leaves, were the next to receive some TLC. Last, I showed some love to my herb garden on the kitchen windowsill.
Once I was done, I put the watering can and spray bottle back in the cabinet under the sink and toasted a bagel. I made a sandwich for my lunch and then turned back to my bagel, which received the royal treatment with cream cheese, strawberries, bananas, and honey. A generous sprinkling of crushed walnuts and all systems were a go.
I sat at my dining table, chewing my delicious, sweet breakfast, and looked around me. The kitchen island was woefully empty of some plant friends, and the living room contained a single two-seater couch that was so terribly uncomfortable I preferred sitting on the floor in front of it. My backyard was gloriously colorful, and to the side of the wall next to the table was my entire book collection, stacked like a Tetris board into my tiny bookcase. I couldn’t help but fill my lungs with extra air.
“You’ve done well, Wes.”
My dream was finally a reality. Yes, it needed some work—actually a lot of work if you took into account the entire upstairswas devoid of furniture, sans my childhood bed I’d brought over from home—but it was mine. All mine. My house.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the serenity permeating the building. Heck, if I stayed quiet long enough, I could even hear the birds singing from their perch in my beach plum trees.
“This is heaven,” I said to no one in particular.
It was still strange having no one respond to my ramblings, but I liked it. I liked having my own space after sharing it for so long.
If summer vacation had lasted longer, I could’ve spent more quiet mornings here reading. But alas, school had started, so I had to go out and be sociable. Good thing I liked my job and couldn’t really complain.
I rinsed my plate and set it in the drying rack, picked up my satchel, and walked to the side door. I took one last look around, like I did every morning, and with a smile, walked into the garage.
I rode my bike to the school, which was only a few blocks away. Another great benefit of my new house. It was so close to work.
I took the scenic route anyway. It was still nice and warm. Might as well enjoy it before summer completely walked out on us and gave way to fall and winter.
I passed Mrs. Bea’s house, my absolute icon. Her front yard was a thing of beauty. If there was a heaven, I was pretty sure it looked like Mrs. Bea’s garden. Naturally, she was out there, tending to her babies, and I waved at her. She waved back and shouted after me. I didn’t quite catch it, but if I knew her by this point, it was probably to be safe on the roads. It was sweet that she cared.
I rode down to the beach, through Main Street that was starting to wake up, and back up again a couple of blocks. I could get the rest of my workout in after school. Now, I needed to get into my classroom. I was expecting a new student today, and I needed to reread their file before they arrived. Thankfully, he’d only missed a couple of days so there would probably be no catching up necessary, but it was better being prepared for every eventuality.
The classroom was just as quiet and serene as my home was, but unlike my humble abode, the quiet here wouldn’t last. It would soon be filled with laughter, groans, screams, and the occasional tears. But for now…
“Right, let’s recap.” I sat down at my desk with my cup of coffee and opened the file.
Student name: Bear Olson
Legal guardian: Theodore Olson
