Flowers, flowers 3
There's not much to clean up, but Shelly stays behind to do so anyway. Dim sunlight filters through the glass ceiling in her favorite exhibit, where fossils are featured. She smiles as she sweeps the floor around the exhibit, going over facts of each fossil she passes.
When she leaves, the sun is nearly below the horizon. She closes her museum behind her with a satisfied sigh.
Vee waits in the parking lot.
"Oh! Hi Vee!" Shelly beams, running over to her. "How long have you been waiting?"
"Doesn't matter. Ready to go home, or is there somewhere else you need to stop first?"
Shelly links her arm in Vee's, still smiling. "Let's go home."
They walk together, leisurely. Neither seem to mind the somewhat slow pace even as dusk settles over the town around them. Vee begins to light their path with her glow.
Near their house, there's a garden growing by the town park. It's lush with flowers.
Shelly points out some. "Chrysanthemums. Azaleas. Sunflowers. Magnolias."
Vee nods. "Right."
Shelly inhales. "It smells so good here."
"Should we have more plants at home?"
"No." Shelly shakes her head. "We have a whole garden out here."
Vee reaches out and pulls one of the flowers from the garden wall as she passes. She scans the flower. "Lily," she says. "Its bloom time is almost over."
"Lilies have been around almost as long as magnolias," Shelly remarks.
"They must be resilient."
"What do red lilies mean, again?"
Vee scrutinizes the delicate flower in her hand. She gives it to Shelly without a word, who takes it with a giggle. "Thank you." She sniffs it; it's fragrant, and since Vee gave it to her, it smells even better than the garden they just passed.
"You're welcome."