Nicole hadn’t been feeling well lately. Nothing that serious, just something uncomfortable enough to keep her at home. She still had her chores to attend to, and with her good-sister with child, there was no reason not to do her part. Marisol took over the washing, though. She didn’t want Nicole to spend too much time outside in the cold. So, for the past few days, Nicole had been stuck at home with no one but the chickens for company.
There was someone who came to visit her often, though. Her friend Flora, who was not afraid of catching cold and did not mind braving the snow to get to the Radcliffes’ house. She made Nicole’s days brighter, spending hours and hours talking about everything and nothing while she helped her friend with her chores.
One of those days, Nicole and Flora were sitting together chatting about nothing in particular, and Nicole thought of just how lucky she was to have a friend in Flora. She knew their days of long conversations by the fire and sitting side by side, doing the mending, were going to be over soon. Flora had been betrothed to Elias Scott, the heir to one of the best breweries in Henford. Nicole couldn’t help but be happy for her, it was a very good match, though she didn’t expect anything less considering how beautiful Flora was. But she still dreaded having her friend be taken away from her. Elias lived in town, which, while not that far away, was still not as close as the McMullen farm.
Nicole was about to say something to her friend, something about how much she would miss her, when something in Flora’s face made her pause. If you had asked them afterwards, they wouldn’t be sure as to who leaned in first. They just knew they had shared a kiss, short but sweet, with no one to witness but the chickens.
They smiled at each other and shared more kisses after that, until the sound of footsteps outside alerted them of someone coming into the house. They greeted Marisol like they always did, and if she noticed them sitting closer together than usual, she said nothing about it.
Eventually Flora bid her friends goodbye and made her way home, happy in the knowledge that something beautiful was blossoming between her and her best friend.