kazcaldwell:
The advent of summertime had brought with it a calm that settled over Normal, North Carolina. Heat had trickled in slowly, then all at once, forming a humid blanket covering the town and its inhabitants. Not usually known for their hustle and bustle to begin with, everyone moved all the slower in those lazy dog days of early June.
Most sat inside their polite suburban homes with the AC cranked considerably low. Johnnie Ward sat in his family’s trailer, down to his skivvies in front of the only fan, occasionally swatting his younger brother Jack out of the way of its cool breeze. Sheriff Matthews was grumbling about the broken unit at the station, fanning himself with his brown Stetson as he surveyed the ever-growing pile of paperwork upon his desk. Marie smiled cheerfully at the diner as she trained a new staff of teenagers how to properly scoop and mix one of her signature milkshakes. For most of the town, the only difference between this summer and the last was that everyone had silently agreed not to set up their swimming pools.
For Kaz Caldwell, the heat was welcoming. The cottage by the graveyard had felt colder than ever those days. The sun beating against his bare shoulders felt fairer than those fresh piles of dirt decorating their backyard. Like a garden of his own grief.
His sneakers hit the pavement rhythmically as Kaz did what he did best. It was the routines, like an afternoon jog, that kept his head on straight. No more spiraling. No more voices. Just a boy suffocating in the humid air of June to keep up with his conditioning. He had to be ready for senior year when it came. It would be his last chance to prove himself on the field after sitting out the back end of that Spring season. Because baseball mattered to him. Because it was important.
Right?
Kaz found his way to Psychics’ Strip, like he’d grown accustomed to in recent months. Holly was outside with Maggie, weeding and preening a wild bed of flowers in their yard. Kaz watched their domesticity in silence for a moment, until Maggie caught sight of him.
“Well hey there, Handsome,” she greeted, waving him over with a pretty smile.
“Hey Maggie,” he said as he approached, having dropped the ‘Miss’ after the hundredth time she’d insisted it made her sound old. “Hey Holly. Did y’all need any help? I was in the neighborhood and saw you working hard over here so I thought I could… be useful…” Words that didn’t sound true to anyone in that yard, but Kaz said them with a smile which was all he usually needed to do.
@hollys-eve
There was something perpetually comforting about the act of weeding, planting, and caring for the garden that Maggie had so meticulously cultivated. There were plants on every hanging and surface of their home. It felt strange to not walk by and get the strong whiff of sweetness that came from the roses or tang of the basil. As terrible as her mother was at baking or cooking, she couldn’t deny that she had a green thumb. This was something they had shared for a long time and for the first time in a very long time Holly felt at peace.
Eve slithered gently throughout the garden, aiding in mixing up the dirt while she bathed in the sun. Sometimes it was just nice to have her out and about. A snake was far less complicated than anything else going on in her life at the current moment.
Holly was surprised when she heard her mother speak, turning around to see Kaz walking towards them. Her eyes lit up as she gathered Eve up and let her slither up her arm until she found herself a comfortable position. Her hands were dirty, a few flowers that Maggie had plucked sitting comfortably in her hair as she made her way over.
“Hey there stranger. It’s good to see you around again.” She smiled softly but felt unsure as to how to proceed. Things had been a little awkward lately, strained in ways that made sense but were hard to process, especially for someone who was so new to the very concept of a relationship. Still, Holly held out Eve who excitedly sniffed the air. “I think if a snake is helping us out you probably can too. I mean she’s only a little cuter than you are.”
It would be nice to spend some time with him, even if Maggie would be around chatting up a storm. “Fair warning, she’s going to educate you on flower symbolism.”
