The Gardens Part 2
☕ Coffee, Pie & Surprise
Part Seven: A Place at the Table
The excitement over the missing roses lasted most of the morning.
By lunchtime, the story had developed several new versions.
In one, Lucinda had stolen a wheelbarrow full of flowers and fled into the woods.
In another, the roses had willingly followed her.
The second theory had become Mateo’s favorite.
“I’ve worked with flowers long enough to know they make choices.”
“They absolutely do not.”Ravi said.
Mateo shrugged.“Agree to disagree.”
Across the café, Finch was still mourning.Not as dramatically…..But, just enough to make everyone still laugh about the incident.
Every fifteen minutes he wandered over to a window and stared thoughtfully toward the rose garden
.Lark had stopped asking questions…
The Greenhouse Café hummed with the usual afternoon rhythms.
Coffee.
Music.
People coming and going.
The gentle feeling that nobody was ever really in a hurry.
Lucinda liked that.
A lot.
She’d spent most of the day drifting from table to table.Talking with whoever happened to be sitting nearby.
Listening to the stories.
Collecting names.
Learning new things.
By three o’clock she had ended up helping Iris sort herbs.
“This one?”
“Lavender.”Iris replied.
“And this one?”
“Rosemary.”
“And this one?”
Iris smiled.“That’s mint.”
Lucinda stared at it.
“Why does it smell so judgmental?” Iris tried not to giggle…Then she completely failed and gave a little snortle too.
Across the room, Violet smiled over the rim of her coffee cup.Ever since arriving, Lucinda had approached life with the enthusiasm of someone who had just discovered the world existed.
Coffee fascinated her.
Plants fascinated her.
Cats fascinated her.
A hummingbird had nearly stopped café operations entirely because Lucinda discovered it.
She was genuinely delighted….By everything!!
The thing that surprised Violet most was how quickly Lucinda had become part of The Gardens. She shines like a new piece of a puzzle nobody realized was missing.
Eloise adored her.
Mateo had started setting aside coffee for her already.
Iris looked genuinely pleased every time Lucinda wandered into her herb garden.
Even Ravi had stopped introducing her as “the fountain ghost.”Now she was just Lucinda.Which felt important somehow.
Outside, Theo sat beneath the willow tree tuning his guitar.
Maren sat nearby pretending to read.
Every few minutes one of them would say something.The other would smile.Then both would return to their respective activities.Neither seemed aware of how obvious they were.
Lucinda watched them through the café window.“Do they know?”Violet followed her gaze.
“No.”
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“They’re behaving like people at the end of a romantic comedy.”Violet smiled.“They’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks.”
“Then they’re behind schedule.”That answer made absolutely no sense.Yet somehow Violet understood exactly what Lucinda meant.
Outside, Theo said something.Maren laughed.The sound drifted through the open café window.
Lucinda smiled.“I like them.”
“So do I.”
Neither ghost looked away from the window.A comfortable silence settled between them.The kind that no longer needed filling.
The Gardens stretched lazily through the afternoon around them.
Somebody watered flowers.
Somebody practiced piano
.Somebody forgot their mail and had to come back for it……Twice.
Life happened quietly here.In small moments.
Lucinda rested her chin in her hand.“We should help.”Violet looked over.Immediately suspicious.“Help who?”
“Everybody.”
“Oh no.”
“What?”
“I know that look.”
“You do not.”
“I absolutely do.”
Lucinda smiled into her coffee mug.The smile alone was enough to cause trouble.
“We’re in a magical neighborhood.”
“Yes.”
“We’re ghosts.”
“Also yes.”
“We should be doing more.”
Violet groaned softly.“There it is.”
“What?”
“The bad idea.”
“It isn’t a bad idea.”
“What is it then?”
Lucinda looked around the courtyard.
At Theo.
At Maren.
At Iris.
At Eloise feeding birds.
At Mateo carrying muffins to a table that hadn’t ordered them.
Then she smiled.
“A community project.”
Violet laughed so hard coffee nearly went up her nose.
The sound oh her choking on her coffee startled a nearby pigeon.
“A community project?”
“Exactly!!”
Lucinda announced proudly.
“We’re ghosts.”
“We’re helpful ghosts.”
“We stole roses.”
“A helpful beginning.”
The laughter came easier now.It seemed to live closer to the surface these days.
Lucinda noticed Violet’s eyes dancing with the thoughts of helping now..Of course she noticed.She noticed everything!!
The afternoon sunlight slipped through the ivy.Inside, the café glowed with warmth and conversation.
Somewhere nearby, Iris was explaining the difference between rosemary and sage while Mateo argued passionately with a new muffin recipe.
Lucinda looked around.
Really looked.
Her expression softened.
The café.
The courtyard.
The residents.
The ghosts.
All of it.
“I think I belong here.”The words escaped so quietly that Violet almost missed them.
For a moment neither spoke.
Then Violet smiled.
A small one.
A real one.
“I think you do too.”
The answer seemed to settle something.
Not completely…..Yet, just enough.
A breeze drifted through the open windows.
The fountain sparkled outside.
The afternoon was stretched ahead of them.
Then…
Lucinda sat up suddenly.“I’ve had another idea!!!”
Violet sighed.
“Of course you have.”
And deep down, Violet was honestly looking forward to hearing it.🌹☕👻❤️✨
❤️💲Can’t get enough of me??👀🔮🤩💲Use code $AuntieGabi666 On cashapp if you’d like to donate or buy me a cup of coffee💖☕️🥰💲💲
Discover more from It's the World According to Gabi !! 🔮💖
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
