Date with Winston

Myth startled awake as a bag of soil was dropped nearby. She peered out from underneath her bangs, breathing heavily from the surprise of being startled from her sleep. She hadn’t even realized that she’d nodded off and yet here she was, looking up at Winston who was giving her an expression of amusement. 

“Am I really that boring?” 

“N-no!” Myth stumbled, standing quickly and brushing herself off, blushing brightly in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I just didn’t sleep all that well last night I guess…” 

“It’s fine. I get it. Gardening isn’t as exciting for everyone else as it is for me,” Winston teased, moving over to his tools where a few larger bushes seemed to be in need of repotting. “You had mentioned wanting to learn more about gardening though. I was a little surprised.” 

“Really?” Myth let one of her claws play around carefully with some of the leaves of one of the bushes. Some blue berries growing in a crescent shape were on the bush, looking like little moons. 

“Yes. You haven’t seemed all that interested before. It’s nothing against you! I don’t expect everyone to feel the same satisfaction as I do from digging around in the dirt.” Winston’s words were warm as he began depotting one of the smaller bushes that didn’t currently have any berries on it, working to move it to a larger pot. 

“Oh well… It’s not that.. I just…” Myth struggled to find her words, as she often did, her shyness beginning to get to her. She wished her girlfriend was here. She always knew what to say and how to work out the muddled thoughts in Myth’s mind by asking the right kinds of questions. 

“Don’t worry. Take your time,” Winston replied gently, focusing on the task before him, reaching for another cup of soil to add to the new pot. 

Myth took a couple deep breaths to steady herself. “I don’t think I’ll be very good at taking care of plants,” she finally said, her voice quiet. “But I still want to learn more and maybe figure out what different berries do.”

“Everyone can take care of plants. It’s like taking care of pets, you just need to learn what each plant likes. Instead of giving them toys, special food or vet bills, you give them things like more or less sunlight, water and fertilizer.” Winston was clearly very passionate about his gardening which made sense, since it was his profession. It almost made Myth feel guilty for taking up his time in asking for a lesson. But she’d eaten so many berries in the past without knowing their effects and had ended up seeing the results appear before her very eyes. Literally. A whole arm and leg of them now, ever since she’d eaten that strange blue berry. 

“Well, sometimes pets don’t like me either,” Myth murmured. Winston chuckled. 

“It’s all a matter of learning. It just takes time, patience and a desire to learn. That’s why we’re here. So, let’s start getting your hands dirty and when we’re done, I’ll give you a book to study up on to learn more about berries. Sound good?” The man’s smile was warm, making Myth feel a little less ridiculous and self conscious. With a deep breath, she began following his direction to care for the beloved plants in the greenhouse. Who knows? Perhaps this would be the beginning of a whole new passion in her life. Or, at the very least, she’d get to borrow a book. Maybe if she was good, her girlfriend would read the book to her tonight as they snuggled together and drank some tea. That sounded like a perfect evening indeed.