You Already Know

The moment we forgot we were just good friends

I moved my arm, her face went red again

Bombay Bicycle Club

Tomatoes. Nick was growing tomatoes.

He was excited about it. He spent a good chunk of change at a small, organic floral shop, assured by the dreadlocked attendant that the seeds he was buying were of the most wholesome quality. He enthusiastically bought a plant pot at Lowes, doling out money to encourage the growth of his tomatoes.

Why did he choose tomatoes?

The morning of his presentation to his roommates, Jess had come out of the bathroom, overhearing him practicing his lines. Russell had spent the night. Nick assumed she got up early to shower.

Her hair was in a big clip, dry, and she was in a green and yellow pajama outfit. She cracked four eggs in a pan, separating the yolk from the white. Dicing mushrooms, she struck Nick with typical early morning conversation.

He as huddled over a gardening book, his hair dishevelled and his sweater streaked with dirt.

"I'm planting a garden," Nick told her, after she'd asked what he was doing. "Tomatoes."

"I could use tomatoes in these eggs. Any chance one has sprouted up already?"

"I don't think it happens that fast."

"You sure?"

"No." He groaned, rifling through the book for an answer. "So far I've just watered them and touched the soil a lot."

Jess laughed and reduced the heat on the stove. "Baby steps. Want some eggs?"

Nick paused briefly, glancing up at Jess with her pan tilted forward in offering. She divided the scrambled eggs into three portions, handing one to Nick. He hadn't agreed to eggs, but he got them.

"Where are you growing this fruit, anyway?"

"Upstairs on the roof." Nick paused. "Did you say fruit? I thought tomatoes were vegetables."

Jess forked herself a scoop of eggs, chewed, swallowed, and rolled her eyes. "No, Nick they're fruits. Something about seeds." Jess tapped her chin with the non-pronged end of her fork. "Doesn't your book say? I bet that it's the first sentence."

"I've been reading this book for a half an hour and it does not…" Nick flipped back to the first page. His face fell. "Oh. Introduction: Like any vegetation that produces a fruit, tomato plants thrive best with care and attention." Nick snapped closed the book. "I think I got confused over 'vegetation' and 'fruit' in the same sentence. Sneaky bastards."

"Promising start." Jess started to move back to her bedroom, taking Russell's plate of eggs in her other hand. Nick stopped her, holding his hand up.

"Wait, wait. Be on the roof in fifteen minutes. I want to show you guys the garden I've created. It's more like a haven, really, for my tomatoes. A destination."

"Wow, Nick, sounds pretty swanky." Her voice was thick with good-humoured sarcasm. "Is that the speech I heard you rehearsing this morning?"

Nick proudly grinned, gave her a thumbs up, and finished his eggs. "Pretty good, huh? Paints a picture. I'm gonna lay down some facts about tomatoes after. The last page in this book has tons of interesting facts."

"Maybe lead with the proper food group."

"Ha-ha, yes, I get it now. I was thinking sort of a… rap, if you will."

Jess set down Russell's plate. "A rap?"

"Yeah, you know, like… maybe to the tune of Step by Step?" He started humming New Kids on the Block. "You know that part of the song where they break it down? Like, step one (one, one, one): we can have lots of fun, step two: (two, two, two) there's so much we can do…"

"Nick, god, please, don't. That's… no, that will not go over well."

"I think it kind of warms up the crowd." Nick got up and took his plate to the sink. He flicked on the coffee pot and measured the grounds. "You want some coffee?"

Jess dragged the book over to her and flipped through the pages. "Yeah. I just don't see a New Kids on the Block parody really getting across the importance of growing food, you know? I mean…" she glanced up at Nick, smiling, "great intentions, great song, and you know how much I love musicals, but…" She shrugged, laughing. "Sort of weird."

Nick nodded. "A little weird, okay." He tapped the counter, letting the coffee brew straight into Jess's mug. He turned around and snapped his fingers in excitement. "I also had a really cool idea where I wait until evening to show the guys my garden and have the Jurassic Park theme song playing in the distance, and we all sit down and get real earthy about it."

He poured in a splash of milk and a dollop of honey into Jess's coffee. Exactly how she takes it.

He slid the mug over to her.

"Thanks." Jess lifted the mug to her lips. "Jurassic Park is perhaps more the direction you want to take this. Why do you want to grow tomatoes, anyway?"

Nick put his own mug under the coffee drip. "I don't know. Sandwiches, I guess. Maybe make my own ketchup." Nick stirred a teaspoon of raw sugar into his coffee. "I was thinking I could get into canning."

"This has nothing to do with …" Jess raised her eyebrows. "Emotional therapy?" she sipped her coffee.

Frowning, Nick said no, it absolutely was not. Jess mirrored his frown, tilting her head, holding her mug up. "You know it's healthy to do that, Nick. To do things for yourself?"

"Jess, did not you not just hear me?"

"No, no, no, I heard you. I'm just saying, hypothetically, if you're trying to take a more therapeutic approach…." Nick looked uncomfortable, "… I think that's really great." She smiled. "Really, I do."

Nick shrugged uncomfortably. He smiled, softly, and took a sip of his coffee. Neither said anything. Just soft smiles and eyes down on the brown liquid in their mugs.

.

Why tomatoes?

Nick knew why. Jess knew why.

Fin.