The Hummingbird

The sun shone down outside the cafe windows, illuminating the remnants of dew on the soft grass so it twinkled softly in Vivian’s peripheral vision. “Your no foam almond milk hazelnut shot latte, Miss Jones,” she said smoothly, setting it down upon the table, shooting a curious look at the vase full of flowers on the table.

Taking a tentative sip, the fussy guest deliberated for a moment. “It’ll do,” she decided with a sniff. “Thank you. And you can call me Illiana, Miss Jones is my divorced older sister.”

“Of course, Illiana then. Let Isabella know if there’s anything else, I’ll be taking my lunch break outside. You’re welcome to join me if you wish,” Vivian invited her. “It’s beautiful outside today, isn’t it?”

Illiana looked outside and shook her head. “Maybe if there were more flowers. I like my gardens to be big, bright and beautiful, to distract from my own beauty.”

Vivian nodded as if she understood, taking her leave and exiting the cafe through the double doors. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she walked out onto the lawn with a smile on her face. Thinking more upon what Illiana had said, however, caused that smile to fade. Maybe their garden needed a little work, to look more inviting and attract more customers? Taking a cursory look around the garden, she spotted just the person to talk to about it.

“Adam!” she called, hand over her eyes to better see him as he sat in the sun, head down as he looked at a sketchbook in his hands. “Got a moment?” she asked, walking over.

“Vivian!” Adam whipped his head up, sketchbook snapping shut as he hastily moved to conceal what he had been doing. “Sure, what is it you need?”

“You wouldn't happen to know who it is that’s putting fresh flowers on the cafe tables, would you?” Vivian questioned, a teasing smile on her face.

“Well, I think it might’ve been that garden guy that keeps getting dirt on your foyer carpet,” Adam said. “Want me to have a word with him? I can get him to stop.”

“No, no! I love them, they’re beautiful,” Vivian reassured him, taking a seat next to him. “I just wondered why you hadn't said anything.”

“Well, you know, giving flowers to a woman is a romantic thing most of the time,” Adam admitted. “I didn’t want to weird you out, in case you thought, well…” he trailed off.

“Oh!” Vivian’s cheeks coloured rapidly. “It’s fine. I've never gotten flowers from anyone before, that’s all.”

“That can’t be true,” Adam argued good-naturedly. “You must've had at least one little boy give you flowers, trying to get you to kiss him.”

“Nothing of the sort. Small town, you know almost everyone if you’re born here,” Vivian explained. “Not sure how you escaped my notice.” It was Adam’s turn to blush, coughing to try and disguise it. Deciding to take mercy on him, Vivian asked “So, what’s in the sketchbook?”

“Oh, it’s nothing important,” Adam replied quickly, shifting it so it was at his side.

“Okay, in that case we can talk about the garden then? Our guest made a good point to me just before,” Vivian started. “It’s beautiful as it is, don’t get me wrong, but I think it just needs something more. A garden is a big draw for potential customers. Do you know what we could do to bring it up a little?”

“Actually, I’d love to do more,” Adam confessed, turning to face Vivian fully. “I never had the chance before, with Aunt Lemay, because I was having to help out with my grandmother’s shop. But there’s so much I could do here, and now that I’m getting a wage from you, I can.”

“That’s great!” Vivian exclaimed. “What were you thinking of?”

“Themed gardens?” Adam suggested tentatively. “Certain flowers to bring a theme together, and they bloom at different times of the year? We could close off the off-season ones so guests don’t see them when they aren't in season.”

“Well, that’s amazing,” Vivian laughed, “I love it! Can’t believe you’ve been keeping this all to yourself.”

“I didn’t want to overstep any bounds,”” Adam said. “But imagine if we got customers because of how beautiful the garden is! I’d feel so proud if that happened. Of course, it’s all theoretical at this point.”

“I think it’ll be true. I mean, if you can do this on just volunteering,” Vivian gestured to the surrounding garden, “what you can do whilst being paid for it will be beautiful.”

“Thanks,” Adam smiled genuinely.

“So, let me hear it,” Vivian said excitedly. “What themes are you thinking of?”

Adam grabbed his sketchbook again and opened it to the previous page he’d been working on. “I only have a few, but I thought a rose garden would sit well over there,” Adam pointed to a part of the garden that caught the morning sun. “Get Christian to help us build a gazebo, and have climbing roses set up around it so they’ll grow on and over it. And traditional roses dotted around the garden. We could even have the Silverlea Rose.”

“That sounds lovely,” Vivian assured him. “What about over there?” Vivian looked at a section of the garden that was very shaded.

“I thought a pond might look good there. Have some plants that grow in water. I know a place that I can get water lilies from,” Adam answered. “Maybe even get some fish to be in there?”

“Gardens and animals go well together. Can you tell me about that bit of your drawing? It looks… interesting.” Vivian squinted to try and see it better.

“A scent garden, it’s something I’ve been reading about online,” Adam began to explain. “You plant sweet-smelling flowers for the purpose of not looking at the flowers, but smelling them.”

“Oh, maybe I can even use some of them in things for the cafe.” Vivian was lost in thought for a moment. “Sorry! What else have you got?”

“I've got to do some more work on the other ones,” Adam closed his sketchbook again. “Thanks for listening to me though.”

“Why wouldn't I? I’ll talk to Delilah about improving the garden. I think if you show her what you’re thinking for it, she’ll love it like I already do. Good job Adam,” Vivian praised, watching Adam stand up and brush off any lingering grass. Holding a hand out, she asked “Help me up?”

Adam grinned and rolled his eyes, pulling Vivian up quickly and causing her to smack into him. “Sorry!” Vivian squeaked, stepping back and avoiding his eyes.

“It’s fine,” Adam laughed, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Vivian nodded. “I’ll talk to Delilah tonight!” she promised.