It had been Dani’s idea, initially.
She had seen how tired Jamie was from a long work week, so on Friday morning she had told her girlfriend to stay in bed while she handled the shop for the day. Jamie had only protested for a minute (Dani can be pretty convincing), but after a few sleepy kisses and stifled yawns, she couldn’t resist the option to stay warm in bed.
“Thanks, love,” she whispered as Dani got dressed into one of Jamie’s work coveralls. Jamie smiled against her pillow, amused at how cute the blonde looked in it.
“I promise, when you come home I’ll have your favourite dinner ready and all the chores done, yeah?”
Dani smiled sweetly and gave Jamie one last kiss before leaving, pulling the covers up to her chin. She couldn’t help stealing one last gaze at her girlfriend tucked up in bed; dark curls a wild mess around her face, pink lips parted, brown eyes
“If I get back and you haven’t been relaxing, there will be serious consequences,” Dani smirked, repeating the lines Jamie said to her all those years ago at Bly. She heard the brunette laugh as she left the apartment.
Jamie sighed at the sound of the door closing behind Dani, but exhaustion took over and she was soon fast asleep again.
——————
When Jamie wakes, sunlight is streaked across the bedroom and she’s tangled in a cocoon of blankets. She yawns and rolls over, expecting to be met with the sight of her girlfriend sleeping soundly beside her (one of her favourite sights in the whole world). Instead, the bed is empty, and it takes her a moment to realize why. Slowly, she remembers the events of the early morning, and Dani leaving for the shop. Her heart aches with love at the little sacrifice Dani made for her, and she appreciates the gesture (and the extra sleep) more than she expected. She promises herself she will get lots done around the apartment today, so they can both enjoy a relaxing weekend together.
It’s not that The Leafling isn’t a shared responsibility, but they have different roles that require different commitments. Jamie, with all her experience, deals mostly with the plants; caring for them, transporting them to customers, repotting them, nursing them back to health. She often spends long days driving around town, delivering and setting up plants or flowers.
Dani, on the other hand, mostly works managing the store; cleaning, contacting customers, keeping track of orders, arranging plants. Both equally important roles, but different skillsets and knowledge required.
Jamie wonders how she’ll get along with it all today, but she doesn’t doubt her ability to handle it. She feels bad, staying up here while Dani works, but she knows that this is what Dani wants, and she would probably march her right back up to bed if she tried to go help. Maybe it’s for the best. Jamie’s body is sore from a particularly big order yesterday, and she notices there’s still dirt under her fingernails. First item on her to-do list: shower.
She rolls out of bed, wandering to the kitchen to make a coffee. She’s shocked when the clock on the stove reads 9:30, she rarely sleeps past 6:30. Even on weekends she’s awake by 7, but stays in bed longer at Dani’s request.
She pops a slice of bread in the toaster to have with her delicious, properly-made coffee, and sits down at the breakfast bar. Main Street looks quiet today, except for the regular shoppers and walkers, bundled up in the autumn air. She remembers a few years ago when they first came to Vermont, how unprepared they had been for the cold, used to England’s mild seasons. It makes her happy to think about all that has happened since then, about this home they’ve built together.
After breakfast, Jamie takes a warm shower, longer than usual, and scrubs her tired body clean. She brushes her teeth, and squeezes her soggy curls with a towel, leaving them to dry on their own. Getting dressed, she decides to wear one of Dani’s cozy sweaters, partly for the warmth but partly because she misses her and likes the way she smells. She pulls on a pair of baggy jeans and wanders back into the kitchen, short hair still damp on her shoulders.
The house is definitely strange and quiet without Dani, but she would be lying if she said she didn’t appreciate the solitude just for a little bit. It’s funny how much that woman has changed her, from being a solitary person with only plants for company, to not being able to stand more than a couple of hours away from her girlfriend.
—————
Downstairs at The Leafling, Dani is second guessing her decision today.
Of course she is reassured by the idea of Jamie finally getting the rest she deserves after always working so hard, but perhaps she underestimated her own abilities. Luckily it has been a quiet morning so far, but she’s nervous about it getting busy. Really it’s Jamie who knows which plants are best for which people, and exactly what they need. She has done her rounds, tidying up and sweeping as usual, and she is beginning to water all the plants when the bell on the door rings.
“Hi,” she smiles at the customer, “How can I help you?”
The man clears his throat and smiles. “I’m looking for a bouquet, it’s mine and my wife’s anniversary today.”
Dani smiles kindly at him, “Oh, that’s sweet! Come with me and let’s see what we have.”
She leads him to the section where they keep whatever flowers are currently in season, where people can choose a selection for bouquets. The man hums, considering his options, before pointing to a few. Dani cuts the stems, and carries them to the back room where they keep the supplies. Hmm, surely she could do this. She doesn’t know a lot about flowers yet, but she does know about love. So, she sets about arranging the flowers in a way she would like them, then ties them together with twine. The man seems to like them, he pays and then thanks her nicely.
Dani exhales. That wasn’t so bad, was it?
Now… which plants need the most water again? And which ones was she supposed to move out of the sunlight?
——————
Jamie is confident in one thing: plants. She understands them, she knows what they need, she knows how to take care of them.
When it comes to other jobs, she gives it her all, but it doesn’t always go as planned.
She spends the morning doing some general clean up, things she knows how to do: tidying up, folding stray clothes and putting them away, collecting mugs from various rooms, washing dishes.
And of course, watering their abundance of plants. She also vacuums, after noticing some soil and crumbs on the floor, but gets into a frustrating fight with the hoover. Flustered, Jamie takes a break and curls up on the couch with a book, as she figures she probably should relax at least a little bit.
An hour or so later, Jamie starts counting down to Dani’s return home, because she’s starting to miss her more than she expected. She thinks about what she could do for when Dani gets home, and smiles at the thought of surprising her with a romantic dinner, maybe a movie night afterwards.
She makes her way to the kitchen, reaching into the cupboard above the stove to pull down the few cookbooks they own. Cooking is definitely not her strong suit, but she’ll give anything a go for Dani. She sifts through the pages, smiling at the ones that stick together, or the ones that Dani has scribbled notes on. Finding one that is a special occurrence is tricky, but she settles on a Fettucine Alfredo pasta with Caesar salad. Can’t be too hard, right?
——————
“How often should I water it?”
The young woman at the counter asks, holding her new spider plant.
“Umm… once a week should do it!”
Dani pastes on an exaggerated smile, hoping it’ll be convincing. The woman thanks her and leaves, just as the bell rings to announce another customer’s entry. Dani takes a deep breath, preparing to try and answer more questions she isn’t 100% sure of. She can do this, right?
“Hey, we just moved into an apartment so I’m looking for a houseplant that will do well without much sunlight, and that’s easy to take care of.”
Dani’s face scrunches, thinking. “Hmm okay, let me see what we have!”
She tries to focus on the task at hand, ignoring the other customers in the store for a minute. She thinks she recalls Jamie’s voice the other week… “String of pearls, aren’t they gorgoeus? Couldn’t kill ‘em if you tried, either.” Yes, she definitely thinks she remembers that.
“Here,” Dani says, pointing to the hanging plant, “String of pearls. Couldn’t kill them if you tried!”
The customer laughs before picking it up to examine it, and she takes that as a good sign.
The next one is a little harder… an elderly woman comes in with a yellowing, dried up plant asking if (and how) she can revive it. Dani recognizes it as lobelia, but she can’t remember how you care for them.
“Just one minute,” she smiles, rushing to the back room to fumble through the pages of one of Jamie’s plant books. Thank god it’s in alphabetical order, because she’s able to find lobelia in a few seconds. She skims the page quickly, taking in all the information she can before returning to find the lady.
“Okay,” Dani beams again, trying to sound confident. “It looks like it’s had too much sun, and you said your husband forgot to water in while you were recovering? So, it needs repotting because the soil has dried up…and keep it out of direct sunlight if possible. I would suggest watering it every day until it starts to perk up.”
Dani takes the plant to the counter, finds a small pot, and fills it with fresh soil from one of the bags. She repots the lobelia, careful not to disturb the roots, like Jamie once showed her. She waters it at the sink in the back, not too much, hands it back to the woman who smiles and thanks her. Dani waves as she leaves, feeling pretty proud of herself.
———————
Jamie isn’t having much better luck at home.
She’s managed to scrounge all the ingredients from cupboards and the fridge, they have the wrong kind of cheese but she assumes it’ll taste the same. The first direction is easy, she just has to boil a pot of water and add the pasta. She sets the timer for 8 minutes and starts to make the sauce. Melt the butter and cream together. Ok, she can do that. The hot pan spits at her when she adds the cream, and she curses under her breath. How does Dani always manage to look so graceful in the kitchen?
She’s leaned over the cookbook when she hears a sizzling noise and whips her head around to find the pot of pasta boiling over.
“Shit!” She mutters, rushing to twist the dial down to low. Hot water drips onto the flames of the burner, but once it’s settled she leaves the lid off the pan and gives the pasta a stir.
When she goes to stir the cream and butter, she finds it browning and sticking to the bottom. And then the smell hits, and she knows she’s burnt it. Fuck. She sighs in frustration, scraping the contents into the garbage. She’ll have to start again, she just hopes she has time.
Once she has restarted and the cream and butter are combined, next is to add the spices to the sauce, which she does carefully using the metal measuring spoons. Salt, pepper, garlic (which she pretends doesn’t spill over into the pot). She recalls Dani telling her to always measure ingredients over the counter, not the bowl, instead of spills. That makes more sense, so she does that for the rest.
The timer beeps and Jamie jumps, grabbing the pasta pot to drain it and trying to keep an eye on the sauce simmering. Steam rolls up into her face, and she waves it away frustratingly. She never noticed how hot you get when you’re cooking. Returning the noodles to the pan, she adds in the (second attempt) cheese sauce and mixes them together. She notices the pasta is sticking together a little, and wonders if that means it’s under or overcooked. Oh well, at least it’s not crunchy.
She decides to keep the pan over low heat until Dani gets home so it stays warm, and turns to start setting the table. She’s shocked at the mess she’s met with: the counter is piled with utensils and ingredients, splashes of sauce and cream dot the floor. Guess she’ll have to deal with that first, the last thing she wants is for Dani to come home to a dirty house.
By some miracle, she gets the kitchen cleaned up in time, and managed to set two plates out for them. She lights the various candles around their apartment, and places two in the centre of the table. She’s wiping her sweaty forehead and pouring two glasses of wine when she hears the door handle turn. Thank god.
——————
Luckily, the last hour of Dani’s shift is pretty quiet, so she can finally get a second to breathe. The only customers are a man placing an order of roses for a wedding and a woman who knows exactly what plant she wants.
At 5:30, she sweeps the floor and tidies quickly, before locking up and heading upstairs. She is beyond relieved that the day is over, and there’s nothing she wants more than to spend a relaxing weekend with her girlfriend.
Dani can smell food before she even opens the door, and her heart swells at the sight she’s met with when she finally does. The apartment is romantically and dimly lit by candlelight, and Fleetwood Mac is playing on the record player they found a thrift shop a few weeks ago. And there’s Jamie, apron tied around her little body, scrambling to set the table perfectly.
As soon as Dani is past the threshold, she practically runs over to Jamie and throws herself into her open arms, pushing them both back against the counter.
“Well hello to you too,” Jamie laughs, hugging her girlfriend close.
“God, I missed you,” she hears Dani say, her voice muffled into Jamie’s neck.
“I missed you too, Poppins,” Jamie grins as Dani lifts her head for a kiss. Jamie sighs into it, and Dani can tell that she is relieved as she is that they are back home together.
“Look at all this! Jamie, you didn’t have to do this, baby,” Dani gasps, nuzzling back into Jamie’s neck, and she thinks she sees the brunette blush for just a second.
“How was the shop today?” Jamie asks, rubbing a hand lovingly along Dani’s back.
Dani exhales, frustrated.
“Oh Jamie, there’s definitely a reason we stick to our own jobs. I wanted to handle everything so you wouldn’t have to worry, I thought I could do it all but it turns out I was wrong. I forgot the names of so many plants and I didn’t know how to fix them and I’m pretty sure I gave one lady advice that will kill her lobelia-“ Jamie cuts her worried rambling off with a kiss.
“I’m sure you did fine, love. I’m proud of you for working so hard. And if I’m being honest, things didn’t exactly go smoothly here either.”
Dani laughed. “What did you do, Jamie?” She asks her, smirking.
“Nothing! I mean… I may have had to throw out the first attempt at sauce, and the pasta might be slightly overcooked…. Why are recipes so fucking complicated? I mean, I’m 30 years old and my cooking’s still shite.”
Dani laughs, tucking a stray curl out of Jamie’s face.
“I love you. You’re perfect,” she whispers against her lips, and she can feel their adoration for each other pulsing between them.
“I love you too,” Jamie says, kissing Dani softly, lingering just a moment longer. “But how about from now on, you stick to cooking and I’ll stick to plants, yeah?”
“Deal,” Dani laughs.
“Now let’s eat before this bloody pasta gets cold,” Jamie says, and Dani whines a little when she pulls away to walk to the table.
She hears Jamie snicker, and she grabs Dani’s hand to kiss it.
“Don’t worry Poppins, I’ve got plans for dessert,” she winks, and Dani doesn’t know if she can wait that long.