The Prince and the Plant Whisperer

Even Tho Yeah It's A Date

[~Posted 7/30/21]

A black Subaru Forester already sits on the street outside Gaffigan that night, as Kai swipes her keycard and pushes open the wrought iron gate to the sidewalk.

Earlier, in her dorm room, she wasn't sure how to dress. Lukas revealed so little about their plans. But she'd wrangled her wild hair into a braid, pulled on her tidiest pair of jeans, and thrown a sweatshirt on between her flannel shirt and her navy coat. It was chilly that night. She needed the extra layer.

The car door opens. Lukas is there. In the dusk light of the car, his face is half in shadow. His left hand rests on the steering wheel. The radio's on, but it's quiet. Only the faintest chatter of talk-radio-hosts is audible.

She slides into the leather seat of the car and tries not to be nervous.

I know this man, already, she tells herself.

Meanwhile, watching her, he thinks to himself, she looks skittish. It's my fault. I need to put her at ease.

Out of the blue, he reaches his hand around her neck. He pulls her forehead toward him. As she's bent toward him, he plants his mouth on the top of her forehead. A playful kiss. Then he pulls away. She straightens back up and puts her hair back in place.

He said he'd have to kiss me, she says, overjoyed. That was it!?

"There," he says. "I warned you and now it's done. You don't have to worry now."

I'm off the hook! Kai thinks, and starts laughing almost in hysterics. "I'm sorry," she says "I'm a ball of nerves. It's been—"

... a hard month.

He says, "I know. Don't worry." As they start driving, his eyes are on the road. But there are reserves of warmth in his voice.

Before she knows it, Lukas is heading in a direction off campus she's never been before. Kai crack the window open. Even though the November air is starting to be nippy, she wants to know what this part of town smells like.

The night sky is a deep purple-red with the city lights against the clouds. And actually, everything here smells alive. Like dirt. Mulch. It's getting quieter as they leave campus. The car winds through streets lined with old Victorian houses.

"I'm taking you up to East Rock," he says.

She's never heard of it.

When they stop at red lights, he takes little glances at her, staring out the open window. She has that warm excitement on her face—just like that first time he'd seen her outside the post office, holding that hibiscus plant.

Soon they arrive at a parking lot at the foot of a hill.

"The road up to East Rock—it's closed to cars at night," he explains, "But I want you to see the view, so... I'm going to bike us up there. So we can get around that gate."

He points to an automated gate, with red and white stripes, that blocks most of the road.

"You can bike me up there?" she says incredulous. She and Beth used to bike each other around. So she knows: it's surprisingly hard work, biking with another person on your back wheel.

Not to mention—a hill!?

"I'm fine walking!" she protests.

"Don't worry. I think it'll be nice if we bike."

To be honest he knows he's incredibly fit. And to be honest he wants her to see how strong he is, maybe, just a little bit.

They park on a quiet street next to a cliff overgrown with vines. Lukas swipes a branch aside with his foot, then removes his bike from the trunk of his car.