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| Sometimes, Spring and Winter mix together. |
"You are my springtime," Denise would tell her before hugging her. "You take your time finding a job. You'll still live here, right?"
"I love you too, Mom," Flower replied. And she did, but she couldn't help but be jealous as most of her friends posted pictures of their first apartment and started their first real jobs. It just didn't seem fair. Still, Flower stayed home and diligently applied to jobs, wondering how many different ways she could say the same thing in her cover letters. Slowly, the interviews began coming in, and then Flower got a job offer. She was going to be an administrative assistant for a hospital.
She went out with her friends that night to celebrate and came into the office in her business casual best that Monday.
"Your name is Flower?" the HR manager, Linda, asked dubiously.
Flower had long ago gotten used to this. She decided to go with the humorous reply this time. "Yup. When your Mom's a hippie at heart, that's the kind of name you end up with." She laughed and shrugged.
Linda smiled. "I see. Well, welcome to the hospital. Let me know if you have any questions."
Flower smiled and nodded. This was going to be a great job. Several people came by her desk to introduce themselves, but the guy who caught her eye never came over.
On her second day, Flower asked her new friend, Melody, who that guy with the brooding good looks was.
"Oh," Melody replied. "That's Harvey. He's all right."
"All right?" Flower asked.
"Yeah. Just don't get him started talking about his dog. He will not stop." Melody laughed. Flower had never had a dog, but she liked her friends' dogs.
Later that day, Flower managed to make her way over to his desk.
"Hi," she said. Harvey looked up. "I'm new here and-"
"Oh yeah. Flower, right?" Harvey asked.
"That's me," Flower replied with a smile. "It's kind of a dumb name."
"I think it's nice," Harvey replied with a smile. It was really at odds with his black hair and...was he wearing eyeliner?
"You're the first person who's said that to me in years," Flower said, remembering a childhood of far too understanding adults.
Harvey laughed. "So, do you have a favorite flower?"
"Not really," Flower replied.
Harvey laughed. "Perfect. Hey, you're going to the happy hour on Friday, right?"
"Yeah," Flower replied with a smile. "I am now," she thought.
''Great. I'll see you there."
"See you there," Flower said. As she walked away, she hoped her face wasn't turning too red.
Flower didn't tell her mother about the happy hour until Friday morning. "I'll be home late tonight," Flower said around a mouthful of cereal.
"How come? Are they making you work overtime on your first week?" Flower could tell her mom was beginning to get riled up.
"No. There's a happy hour after work." Flower smiled.
"Oh. I suppose it would be good to bond with your new coworkers."
"Yup," Flower said finishing her cereal. "Well, I've got to get to the bus stop. Bye, Mom!"
"Bye," Denise replied, sounding slightly dazed.
"She'll get used to this," Flower thought, walking toward the bus stop. Once she had some money in the bank, her first big purchase was going to be a car.
Flower made her way through the day trying not to stare at the clock. She just wanted that happy hour to come sooner so she could hang out with Harvey. She had walked past his desk earlier, when he was away, and glanced at the pictures he had up. He did have some pictures of a dog up, among all of the people. To be fair, his dog was super cute.
Impatiently, Flower waited until 5, and then a bit longer as Melody, her ride to the bar, finished something up. "Don't worry," Melody said. "We'll arrive fashionably late." Flower just hoped there was still a seat next to Harvey.
As it turned out, Flower was able to pull a chair up to the end of the table with sit with Harvey on one side and Melody on the other.
"So," Flower said to Harvey, going for broke, "I hear you have a dog?"
"Yeah," Harvey replied with a smile. "He's very loyal. I call him my guard dog." In a matter of moments, Harvey had his phone out and was showing Flower pictures of the cutest pit bull she'd ever seen.
"He's so cute!" Flower said.
Harvey smiled. "Yes he is, but he likes to pretend he keeps the house safe."
Flower laughed. "What a good dog."
"Do you have a dog?" Harvey asked.
"No," Flower replied. "My mom never wanted us to get one growing up."
"That's too bad," Harvey replied. "I don't know what I'd do without Sid."
"Probably have your house broken into," Flower joked.
Harvey laughed. "Absolutely."
For most of the night, Flower managed to be in the same conversation as Harvey and the two of them stayed at the bar after everyone else left. Flower was having too good of a time to think about leaving, and it seemed Harvey was too. Once they were ready to go, Flower was planing on taking the bus home, but Harvey offered her a ride.
Flower had a moment of hesitation telling him where she lived. She did barely know him, after all. Still, they worked at the same place. He wasn't a criminal or anything. She quickly decided to accept his offer and followed him out of the bar. He had a standard black sedan and the inside was clean, although there was black dog hair everywhere. "Sorry about that," Harvey said with a laugh.
"It's all right," Flower said, settling into the passenger seat. "I don't mind."
As she directed him to her house, Flower began to think about whether or not she wanted a good night kiss. It hadn't exactly been a date, but it hadn't been definitely not a date either. After a bit, Harvey parked his car across from Flower's house and looked at her. "This was great. I'm really glad you came," he said.
"Me too," Flower replied, leaning a bit closer.
Harvey leaned toward her a bit. He hesitated. "Is it all right if I kiss you?"
Flower beamed. "Yes," she said. Flower had kissed boys before, but there was something different about Harvey. She liked his kisses much better.
After they were done, Flower smiled at him and got out of the car. "See you Monday," Harvey said.
"See you Monday," Flower replied with a smile. She noticed that Harvey waited until after she got inside her house to drive away. "He's so thoughtful," Flower thought, closing and locking the front door behind her. She walked into the living room smiling.
"Where have you been?" her mom asked.
The smile slid off of Flower's face. "At the happy hour, like I told you."
"You said you would be back late. This is past that."
"I stayed out later than this in college all the time," Flower replied, confused.
Denise took a deep breath. "You're right. I guess I just need to get used to my baby girl growing up."
Flower decided not to tell her mom about Harvey just yet. Besides, they weren't really anything yet. "I'm going to head to my room. Good night, Mom," Flower said.
Over the next few weeks, Harvey and Flower became closer and closer. Flower got to know his dog, Sid, but she still felt a special thrill when he decided to cuddle with her. The first time Sid jumped up on her lap, Harvey apologized and tried to explain that Sid thought he was smaller than he was.
"Don't move him!" Flower said. "He looks so comfortable." She looked down at Sid and smiled. She pet him a little and Sid settled in, sighing in contentment.
Harvey laughed. "He's in doggy heaven."
After awhile, Flower was able to buy a car. She didn't have enough credit to sign for the car loan on her own and it took more convincing than Flower had expected to get her mom to cosign for her.
"You're growing up and leaving me," Denise said, with a tear in her eye.
"You'll always be my mom," Flower reassured her.
Denise took a breath and smiled. Then she signed the papers, and Flower drove herself home from the dealership.
Eventually, Flower decided it was probably time to tell her mom about Harvey. She started by telling Harvey about her mother. "She's a little...possessive, so I'm worried telling her about you will freak her out."
"Hasn't she been wondering where you've been going when you come to see me?" Harvey asked.
"I tell her I'm seeing some friends," Flower said shrugging. "It's just easier."
Harvey nodded slowly. "Well, whenever you think she's ready, I'll be glad to meet her."
Flower smiled and leaned against him. "What would I do without you?" she asked.
"Well, I guess you'd have to find someone else with a dog who liked to cuddle," Harvey teased.
"True and I don't know how I would find someone like that," Flower teased back.
As it turned out, Flower saw a chance to bring up Harvey to her mom the next day. Denise had just been watching a rom com and bemoaning that she was single. She looked at Flower and said, "Don't be like me. I hope you find a good man."
"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that," Flower said.
"Oh?" Denise asked.
"I've got a boyfriend."
"Really?" Denise's face froze.
Flower nodded carefully. "He's very sweet. And so is his dog."
"Oh, he has a dog," Denise said. Her voice was very quiet.
Flower nodded and waited.
"What's his name?" Denise asked at last.
"Harvey." Flower couldn't help but smile when she said it.
Denise nodded distantly. "So, that's where you've actually been going all this time."
"Well...yeah," Flower admitted.
"So you lied to me about it," Denise said.
"Well, he did start out as a friend," Flower justified.
Denise's face changed and became angry. "So now you're seeing some man named Harvey and you didn't want to tell me about it," she spat.
"Because I knew you'd freak out," Flower replied.
"Freak out? My baby is seeing some man I've never even met." Terrified, Denise turned to face Flower. "You two haven't...done anything, have you?"
"Oh my God, Mom," Flower replied. "Seriously?"
"I know I didn't raise a whore," Denise replied.
Without another word, Flower stood up and went to her room. She closed and locked the door behind her. A few minutes later, Denise knocked on her door. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"Packing," Flower spat. She closed her last suitcase and zipped it shut. She left her room and breezed past her mom.
"Where are you going?" Denise yelled. "You are my daughter and you live here!"
"I'm sick of being smothered by you!" Flower yelled. "I understand why Dad left. I'm surprised he stayed with you as long as he did!" Then she pushed past her mom and went outside while her mom was still in shock.
A few minutes later, Flower knocked at Harvey's door.
"Hey!" he said, smiling. Then he took in Flower's bags. "It didn't go well?" he asked.
"She's overwhelming," Flower replied, sighing. "Can I stay with you for a few days?"
"Of course. Come inside." Harvey closed the door behind her. "Do you want to set up in the guest room?"
"Well, I was kind of hoping to stay with you," Flower replied with a little smile.
Harvey smiled back. "I think we can manage that."
It took longer than Flower thought for her mom to start calling her to try to get her to come home. However, once Denise started calling her, she didn't really want to stop. Denise left her voicemails which were hard to understand, but Denise definitely said it was like winter in her house. Flower began turning her phone off for hours at a time. After some careful hints, one day Harvey finally asked her, "When are you going to talk to your mom?"
"Why would I do that?" Flower asked, glancing at her phone to make sure it was off.
"Because you miss her."
Flower shot him a look.
"You do," Harvey replied.
Flower sighed. "I know you're right, but I'm still mad at her."
Harvey laughed. "Well, you can always split your time between us."
"No," Flower shook her head. "The two of you need to meet. Once she sees how great of a guy you are, she'll calm down. I think."
"Has your mom always been like this?" Harvey asked.
"More or less," Flower replied, shrugging. "I keep trying to get her to go to therapy. Maybe this time I'll be able to talk her into it."
Flower set the date for a few days later on a Saturday. They were going to meet for lunch. All Flower had to eat that morning were a few pomegranate seeds. After moving in with Harvey, she had discovered how delicious they could be.
At the lunch, Denise seemed to be in a normal mood when she sat down, although she looked terrible. Flower took this as a good sign anyway. "Mom, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Harvey."
"Hello," Harvey said with a smile.
"Hello," Denise said. "I'm sorry I've made such a fuss about all of this."
Flower said nothing.
"But, Flower, I'm ready to be okay with this. I miss you."
Flower looked at her mom for a moment. "I miss you too."
Denise smiled tentatively and Flower smiled back. The winter, it seemed, was over and springtime was back for Denise. "So, Harvey," Denise said, "tell me about yourself."
Harvey smiled a little. "Well, let me tell you about my dog, Sid."
Flower laughed and sat back. Maybe this would work out after all.
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