Through Her Eyes (Camren)

Chapter 30: A Beginning

The garden grew.

Camila had always told her it would, so it was ironic that Lauren was the first to notice.

Lauren was having a silent but companionable conversation with a light bulb that was only half buried in the garden (so the bulb could see the sun and would have a positive role model, Camila had explained) when she noticed a sprout of green poking out of the soil.

In the lumpy dirt between one stagnant seed and the next a tiny life had begun to grow.

Lauren stared.

The tiny sprout simply sat there defiantly. I told you so, it seemed to say.

“It was day and now it is dark,” Camila mused as she teetered on the doorstep, one of Lauren’s hands resting protectively on Camila’s hip and the other cupped over her eyes. “Time moves so quickly.”

Lauren tapped her thumb against Camila’s forehead with a soft snort. “There’s no way I’m falling for that.”

Even standing behind Camila, Lauren could tell she was pouting. “My eyelids aren’t pretty, Lauren.”

“You think everything is pretty,” Lauren teased. “Stop trying to peek. You’ll get to see it in a minute.”

Camila would be thrilled when she saw the tiny plant, Lauren was sure. Of all the things Camila was so sure would grow in the garden, the ones she insisted were growing even when no one could see them, something finally was. Something she could touch.

Lauren wasn’t sure if it was the thought of Camila’s excitement over the plant that did it or if being around Camila had simply made Lauren appreciate the strangest, smallest things, but it made her heart flutter happily too.

With an encouraging push against Camila’s back Lauren led them through the door frame and across the yard as Camila continued to make fussy noises at her.

“Lauren,” she said, tone scolding. “I can’t see with your hand over my eyes.”

Lauren laughed, twisting over Camila’s shoulder to place a kiss on her lips. As expected, Camila melted under Lauren’s affection, docile and malleable as Lauren led them the final steps across the grass.

When they were both settled on the lawn Lauren cleared her throat. “Okay. Okay, are you ready to see?”

Camila made an impatient noise, a clear indication she’d been ready to see the surprise ages ago, and Lauren swept her hand away.

The sun was shining; warm rays that made Camila squint. She looked around for a long moment, taking in their whole back yard. The yard was no different than usual, yellowed grass and peeling paint on the fence. Camila looked supremely impressed with it.

She turned to Lauren with a radiant smile. “Oh, I like it,” she whispered, nudging Lauren’s cheek with her nose.

Of course Camila would. Lauren laughed warmly, tilting her chin downwards. “There, Camz.”

There in the dirt of their garden was the seedling. The first of the rose seeds they’d planted together was beginning to grow, a tiny bud of green. A diminutive beginning that would someday bloom.

Camila reached out a hesitant hand with a strange expression. Her fingers brushed the tip of the plant.

“It’s a rose,” Lauren said. “From the seeds we planted together. You said we’d grow roses someday, and… it’s growing for us. Right?”

Camila’s breath caught in her throat, her fingers just barely brushing the plant before pulling back, caressing Lauren’s cheek with the same tenderness. She sniffed loudly but there was no telltale shimmer to her eyes and Lauren breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes,” Camila said, her voice unusually serious. “For us. Just for you and me, Lolo.”