Catalina spent most of the week avoiding Theo and Alexandru. Theo didn't want to elaborate on the details with Alexandru, but it was kind of hard to given how passive aggressive she was being. Alexandru knew Catalina had romantic feelings for Theo for the longest time, but Theo always made it abundantly clear that he wasn't interested. Really, he had never been interested in anyone. Alexandru knew the sudden interest in the human definitely came out of left field for Catalina.
"So tell me again, she called the humans blood bags?" Alexandru chuckled and continued, "I want to know where she even thought of an insult like that."
Theo was unamused by the entire argument. He didn't want to spend too much time giving energy to this. After all, he figured she'd get over it soon enough. With this argument behind him, he knew he had to see Colette after school. He made his way over to the library entrance. As he approached the entrance, he could see her attempting to do something by one of the shelves.
What is she doing? He thought as he walked into the library. Colette was trying to replace a book on a shelf that was clearly way too tall for her, struggling on her tiptoes and everything. He was wondering how long she'd allow this to go on for before giving up. It's kind of cute, to be honest. He figured he could probably leave her be, but where would the fun be in that? He came up behind her and reached his fingers just over hers to push the book into place.
Startled, she turned and looked him in the face. He was a little closer than she expected him to be.
"Oh…h-hey, thanks…" she mentioned as she reached for another book to put away. Apparently, it also had to go on the top shelf.
"What are you like 5 foot 2? You should grab a stool to reach something that high up." He teased as he continued to stock the book on the top shelf.
"Well, we can't all be lucky enough to be six feet tall like you. It's a struggle for us little people."
"So about Saturday?" He asked as he walked through the aisles to replace more books with her.
"Oh, right…so I was thinking of heading over to the botanical gardens in the city. They still have their fall displays out, so I wanted to check it out. They have early bird specials before noon for discounted tickets. So, I was thinking we could take the bus to the city around 10am, and get in by 11. Do you remember where my house is? The bus stop is just across the street if you want to ride together."
Theo set a reminder on his phone. "Sure, I'll meet you there."
"Okay great! So Saturday it is then!" Colette excitedly hopped towards a cart full of books that were still due to be returned to the shelves.
Theo grabbed onto the cart. "Let me help you with this before I go."
"You really don't have to."
"Well, I want to. At least let me put the books away that go on the top shelves."
Colette puffed her cheeks, "fine."
*****
It was finally Saturday morning and Theo was restless. Although he wasn't much of a breakfast person, he drank blood to hold him off until late afternoon. He didn't want to have to drink blood in front of Colette. Picking an outfit was also a chore that morning. He had to have changed his mind on his outfit at least five times before deciding on a hoodie and joggers combo.
Theo headed to the bus stop early. Between his excitement and anxiety, his body was mostly on autopilot. It was about 9:45am when he approached the bus stop, but he wasn't alone. Colette was already waiting there, scrolling on her phone. She was wearing a grey knit sweater, a black pleated midi skirt, a cross swing bag, and white tennis sneakers. He'd never seen her outside of school uniform before, so it caught him off guard.
"Someone's early," he snickered to Colette to get her attention.
She looked up from her phone and immediately exclaimed, "I know, I'm super pumped today! I haven't been to the botanical gardens in over a year. The botanical gardens during the fall are a real treat because we'll get to see the foliage during its colorful transition. I can't wait."
He'd never seen her this animated before. Theo enjoyed getting a glimpse of a different side of her personality. Before he could make it too obvious that she enchanted him, he asked, "So, when's the next bus?"
Colette scrolled through the transit app to pull up the upcoming bus zone schedules. "The next bus is at 9:50am, so since we both made it early, we might as well board that one."
The bus that arrived was relatively empty for a Saturday morning commute. Colette put a headphone in her left ear. "I'll be listening to a podcast for the ride over. It's going to be about a 45-minute ride." Not that Theo was eavesdropping, but he could hear references to 'retiring with purpose.' He wondered why a sixteen-year-old was familiarizing herself with retirement strategies.
When they arrived in the city, they made it over to the subway station. It would take 5 stops to make it to their destination. Unlike the bus ride over, the subways were densely crowded. Almost to the point of being packed like sardines. They positioned themselves so that she was closer to the doors, with Theo blocking her from other people. Their proximity made him more self-conscious of the effects of the imprint. She swept her dark brown hair behind her ear, revealing her bare neck. The gentle pulsations of her veins drew Theo in, creating faint vibrations only he could sense.
Halfway through their trip, the subway car made a sharp turn, jostling all the passengers. Colette had little to grab onto, so she quickly reached out to grab onto Theo's hoodie for balance. Surprised, he used his free hand to block the other passengers from bumping into her. The subway car rocked again, this time sending her face flying into Theo's chest.
The screech of the subway rails announced they were reaching their destination. Once the noise settled down, she could hear Theo's heart racing. Or maybe it was hers. It was honestly hard to tell.
"Are you okay?" Theo asked.
"Oh, uh yeah thanks…"
"Okay, because you're still holding onto my hoodie." Theo mentioned bashfully.
"Oh! S-sorry!" She instantly released her grip but was too embarrassed to look back his way.
"Its fine - and it's also our stop…lets' make our way over to the botanical gardens." His heart was still racing, but he was hoping she wouldn't notice.
They had finally arrived at the botanical grounds entrance. They flashed their tickets for entry and entered the grounds. Theo had never been to the botanical gardens before, but there was a charm to it he'd never experienced.
Crisp air carried scents of damp soil and decaying leaves. The season's colors—crimson red, golden yellow, and blood orange—stained the once-green foliage. The veins on the leaves still beat with life as they clung on to the last specs of green. Between the thinning canopy of trees, sunlight filtered through, leading the way for their path. He saw Colette mesmerized by the view.
"Theo, let's go! We have a lot to see today!" She exclaimed with a cheesy grin.
They paced themselves as they wandered through the grounds. She stopped often to take several photos of their surroundings. He noticed humans loved to take photos to record their memories. Reminiscing on the past was a pass time that humans favored. Life was short, so capturing those moments meant a lot to them.
They approached a sea of colorful mums. Colette bent over to the mums and stated, "I'd love to plant these but alas I can't just yet! I'll keep you on my list for later!"
Colette took some notes on her phone and proceeded down the path.
"Why can't you plant these now?" Theo wondered.
"Oh well, I live in an apartment complex without a backyard. The space isn't huge and I really can't create a garden space without rich soil. I have two house plants though," she declared proudly.
Theo walked over to Colette's side and continued, "So, you want a garden?"
Colette remained crouched down touching the mums, "Well there's a lot of things that I want now that I can't have just yet. That's why I'm planning out my retirement now." Colette flipped through the notes on her phone that looked like a novel of retirement plans. From travel plans to gardening ideas, it was a well thought out itinerary that she had for herself.
"Why do some of these plans have to wait until your retirement?" Theo asked.
"Well, I suppose they don't. But I'd like to think that I am living a life full of hard work and dedication now to reward myself later." Colette got quiet for a moment and continued, "To me, retirement just means I've aged and left a mark on others, whether that be friends or family. I'd like to think that I left something meaningful behind for others."
Theo's ears picked up on her heart rate changing to match her sudden mood shift. He didn't understand why his question elicited such a gloomy expression. Theo wanted to investigate further, but he didn't want to risk giving up anymore of her happiness.
"Shall we continue? There's a lot left to see." Theo attempted to change the subject.
Colette shook off her skirt and smiled as if he'd offered her exactly what she needed.
Two more hours passed, and they made it through the entire garden. They stopped at a cafe where she went through what seemed like 100 photos. She was scrolling and zooming in on the photos with intrigue. She even stopped to show Theo a few. At least she's back to her usual self,he thought.
There was a gift shop next to the cafe that was selling pumpkin carving kits. She picked it up and inspected it with intrigue, only to return it to its shelf and walk away.
"Hey did you want that or something?" Theo questioned.
"Well, yeah…I'd love to try carving pumpkins, but I don't really have a place to do it."
Theo picked up two of the kits. "Do you have time after this? There's a store right by my house that was selling pumpkins. We can carve them in my backyard."
Colette's eyes gleamed. "Seriously?!" she exclaimed. "We've got to hurry back then."