Tuesday: Plant Parenthood

[mylandmyrules]

Nell and the kittens were cheerfully working around the store. Well, Nell was working, the kittens were cheerfully getting underfoot and generally being cute as anything.

It was a pretty quiet day and Nell was glad once again that the werebeasts seemed to have passed her store by.

In the afternoon she took a break to have some tea and a scone and think about what new things she might plant in her greenhouse this spring.

Comments

[defenderofdesmoines]

After a refreshing (and, let's be real, really necessary) nap, Annie had found herself staring at that elephant's ear she'd mentioned to Nell a few weeks back, and idly lifting its droopy leaves with a frown.

Hence, sometime in the afternoon, Annie was letting herself into Plant Parenthood carrying a plant of about three feet in height, peering around it and calling out a, "Hey, Nell?"

[mylandmyrules]

"Annie!" Nell said cheerfully. "And Birnam Wood!"

She stopped and chuckled a little self-consciously. "Sorry, I've been reading Shakespeare. Come in, and oh my this must be your poor elephant ear."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Got it in one!" Annie told her cheerily, though she was a little puzzled as she squatted to set the plant down, just because it was so awkward to carry. Her bump was a bit more prominent than it had been a few weeks back, and definitely had made the trip over more interesting than Annie had anticipated. "But you're gonna have to help me -- I'm not much of a Shakespeare scholar."

Like, to really understate things.

[mylandmyrules]

"It's from Macbeth," Nell said a little shyly. "When MacDuff's army cuts down the trees and hides behind them as they sort of creep towards Macbeth's castle. So with you kinda hidden behind your plant..."

Which thought had her hurrying over to take the plant from Annie. "Here, let me take this poor guy. Have a seat. Would you like a cup of tea? I have some that are nice and soothing for ladies that are expecting."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"I would love some tea," Annie assured her with a bright grin as she passed the plant over. "And thank you. Are you, like, a big reader? I wish I had more time for it, honestly."

She'd kind of prioritized the superhero thing over her education in a lot of ways, and her downtime these days was a lot more American Ninja Warrior-focused and a little less....Scottish-play-oriented.

[mylandmyrules]

Nell set the plant down and gestured to a chair for Annie to sit, then went to pick out a tea for her. "I wasn't allowed to read much back home," she explained. "Not till after my husband died and there was no one to stop me. Just the bible mostly. So when I was here before - and now again - I take advantage of the library much as I can."

She poured hot water into the two mugs over the tea and brought them back over. "This one has a bit of sweetness to it naturally," she told Annie, "but I have sugar and honey if you'd like a bit more. I've a bit of a sweet tooth myself."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Thank you," Annie replied with a grateful smile, holding off on additional sweetener for the moment. There was a lot to unpack there, though Annie had definitely been to enough Believe Expos to not be too thrown, as the cross she wore might indicate. "I'm -- sorry to hear about your husband's passing."

Forgive her if that came out a little like a question; she just had a hunch that not being allowed to read was maybe the tip of the iceberg there.

[mylandmyrules]

Oh, you had no idea, Annie. The tiniest tip of an immense iceberg.

"Thank you," Nell said. "He passed about 5 years ago, almost six now." But you probably really didn't want to know that she'd been married 16 years ago. "So I've gotten used to being a widder woman."

She gave Annie a smile and turned her attention to the plant, touching its leaves gently and then the soil. "Now, he's not too bad," she said, sending some energy into the plant and then taking of a few of the leaves edged in brown. "He just doesn't like his feet wet. I can put him in a new pot for you with good drainage and he'll perk right up."

In fact, the plant had perked up amazingly as soon as Nell had begun touching it.

"Easy mistake to make with these guys, 'cause they love water, but they don't like their roots to sit in it."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Man, too much of a good thing, huh?" Annie replied, quirking a brow in amusement. "Thanks for the help, Nell. I appreciate it. And I bet he does, too."

She nodded towards the plant, who she was probably just imagining was already perking up a little bit under Nell's ministrations.

"And -- five years is awhile to get used to being a widow, I guess," she added, treading carefully. "Is that how you ended up here?"

[oh my goodness I meant to hit submit on this comment THIS MORNING, I am so sorry!]

[mylandmyrules]

And by now the plant looked completely healthy and had even sprouted a few new leaves.

"African violets are the same way - but more persnickety," Nell said with a smile. "But a new pot with some stones at the bottom and he'll be good as new."

She shook her head. "No, I ended up stuck here shortly after I got married and couldn't get home. Finally got a portal after I graduated and when I got home it was like no time had passed for anyone there. Nine years later after... everything... I finally decided to come back here and found only a week had passed. Took some getting used to."

To say the least.


[And no worries! These things happen!]

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Ohhhh, I know about people getting stuck here," Annie told her, sympathetic. "But like -- okay, you know Gladio, right? At the gym? Have you guys talked about the whole time thing? Because man, that has got to be...so disorienting. Every time I end up in my husband's world, we're gone for a different amount of time than has passed here -- but usually I'm talking like, a couple weeks' difference or something."

[mylandmyrules]

Did Nell maybe blush the tiniest bit when Annie mentioned Gladio? Did she?

She did nod at Annie and smile, though. "Oh yes, we've met. Prompto and I talked when we both got back and he told me that he and Gladio and Iggy and I should all form a sort of club for the time displaced since we'd all been gone so long against our will and we all understood what it was like. I didn't realize you had something like that happen every time you visited your husband's world."

And there was another smile then and maybe another tiny blush. "Gladio's helping me with some physical training as well. You should have seen him and Iggy training with all their kids that weekend. It was pretty amazing. I don't think I'll ever get that good, but I can certainly get better than I am."

[defenderofdesmoines]

"Let me know if you'd ever like to train with another woman," Annie offered, with a self-conscious little wave towards her midsection. "Granted, I'm not exactly in my usual fighting shape, but I've been doing martial arts since I was about three. But you're in great hands with Gladio -- he comes in to see me at the bar every week, on Thursdays, and from what I hear he and Ignis really put the hurt on a bunch of those things last week."

[mylandmyrules]

"Oh, I'd like that," Nell said, "If you feel up to it. I did some sparring on Lana's world with some of the women warriors and that was amazing." She hadn't always been comfortable with being touched, especially by men, so when she'd first begun learning it had been entirely a hands-off situatiom.

She nodded again. "He was telling me about it. I figured I might be okay at handling myself in a pinch, but I was prob'ly better not putting myself in danger where someone might have to rescue me."