Chapter Eight
Nicole returns to her shop late one night after a long, blisteringly hot day of local landscaping. The general store had hired her to plant their flower beds, and Nedley had found her outside, shovel in hand, and asked her to consider planting hanging baskets for all the streetlights in town. She had agreed, not wanting to disappoint the man, despite the giant commitment it would be. After that encounter, she had to do a few houses in town, and the hot sun had quickly become tiring.
She was covered in dirt and sweat, and the grime under her fingernails was making her shiver. She steps into the shower, sighing happily as the cool water hits her sore, tired body.
Nicole scrubs under her fingernails, a bit disgusted with the amount of dirt that she gets out. Maybe she should invest in a new pair of gloves...
She turns the shower off and steps out, drying her hair off with her towel. The tall woman wanders into her bedroom, shrugging on some sweatpants and an old t-shirt from her high school softball days. She almost can't believe that she still owns this shirt- or, really, anything from back in her old life.
Nicole sighs, trying not to stay focused on that part of her life. She sits on the edge of her bed, grabbing her laptop from the bedside table. She logs on, immediately checking her email. Earlier in the week, she had emailed a garden supply store a few towns over, hoping to buy some bulk supplies. She also hoped to get some information about any local farms that she could source some cut flowers from.
Much to her surprise, she had received a lengthy email back from the shop. They were willing to sell her bulk seeds, soil, and potting supplies, which would greatly cut down on her overhead. They had also provided directions to a flower farm about four hours away from Purgatory. Certainly not an ideal trip, but it wouldn't hurt to have a source for major holidays.
She sends a quick email back to the store, thanking them for their reply. After, Nicole checks the rest of her emails, finding only spam and various coupons for online stores. Sighing, she shuts the laptop and wanders into the kitchen. Calamity Jane is napping in a box that Nicole hasn't bothered to toss yet, but she springs up as soon as she hears the can of salmon-flavored wet food crack open.
Nicole chuckles, giving her cat a scratch between the ears. She fixes herself a quick quesadilla and sits at her little round kitchen table, propping her phone up against the little pot of Oxalis on it. She plays an episode of Criminal Minds to provide some sort of background noise while she eats.
There's just enough light left outside after she finishes her dinner and washes her plate that she heads to the backyard to relax for a moment. She sits at the table, smiling at the little greenhouse they'd built. It felt like just another step towards making this place feel like home. It's odd- she'd never really felt like this anywhere else. Despite the relatively short amount of time she's lived in Purgatory, it just feels right.
Nicole stretches her legs out, listening to the soft chirp of birds in the trees above her. Her mind eventually turns to Waverly, that sweet little spitfire that really goes a long way towards making this little town feel like home.
The sun slowly starts to go down, giving Nicole a chill. She heads back inside, shutting off all the lights on the ground floor. Nicole absentmindedly waves a goodnight at the tables full of plants before heading up the stairs.
Night is, by far, Nicole's least favorite time of the day. It's too quiet, too dark. She has too much time to think about... everything. As she sits in her bed, trying her best to read a book, her mind turns to her past. She knows that, eventually, she'll have to tell Waverly about at least some of it.
Nicole groans, setting the book down and shutting her lamp off. This is certainly not going to be a productive night, her mind has already wandered off too far to focus on much else.
Nicole wakes early in the morning, brushing her teeth and feeding CJ her breakfast. She scarfs down a bowl of Cheerios before getting dressed for another day of work. She throws on a grey t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans, the legs cuffed. Her work boots are scuffed from years of use, but they're still truckin' along.
She heads downstairs, firmly locking her door behind her. She flips the sign in the window so it reads open, then spends about ten minutes watering the flowers. Luckily, the space she found has concrete floors and a conveniently sloped floor leading to a drain. Occasionally, Nicole wonders what the place was before she moved in with Purgatory Blooms.
She spends most of the early morning quietly, pruning her flowers before moving to the back room to get started on those hanging baskets for the street lights. She's decided to go with a base of petunias of various colors for various baskets, with some bacopas as a filler. Simple, but seeing as it's her first season in Purgatory, she wants to keep it relatively safe. Plus, these are easy flowers that will be able to handle the unpredictable Purgatory weather.
She gets through a few baskets before the bell on the door rings. Nicole strips her gloves off, wiping her arms off on her apron. She walks into the main room with a smile on her face. A woman is glancing around with a young girl trailing behind her.
"Hi there, welcome to Purgatory blooms. Is there anything I can help you gals find?" Nicole approaches them, giving a small wave to the little girl, who pauses her soft petting of one of Nicole's flowers.
The woman describes her vision for their porch, and Nicole helps them pick out some nice pots and flowers that would work out well in partial shade. They leave happily, the little girl toddling along while holding a small pot of torenia.
The business has been growing steadily, which pleases Nicole. For a last-minute, impulsive decision, it's surely turning out to be quite the pleasant existence.
Nicole sits at the stool behind the small counter, pulling her small notepad and pencil towards her. She'd been keeping a list of jobs and goals for the future of the shop. For now, she was caught up on all of the jobs except for Nedley's plan for the city. Her goals page is short at the moment. Really, the only two entries are 'build a greenhouse' and 'find/build nicer tables.' She'd triumphantly crossed the first goal off the night that they finished.
Nicole stares at the page, tapping the eraser against her chin. After a moment, she puts the pencil to paper and begins to add goals. First, she writes 'visit supply store', 'visit farm', 'start herb and/or veggie seeds', and finally, 'get succulents?'
Nicole helps a few more customers until she closes for a quick lunch break at noon. She heads upstairs and makes herself a peanut butter and jelly. She adds some carrots and green pepper slices on the side, Waverly's constant reminders to eat a healthy amount of vegetables every day ringing in her head.
Nicole heads back down to the shop after giving CJ a couple of treats to hold the furry little beast over until dinner. For a couple of hours after lunch, the shop is pretty quiet. Perfect for Nicole to more of the baskets done for Nedley. He had asked for 20 initially, which is making a pretty big dent in Nicole's supplies, but she figured it would be worth it for the payday he had promised. Of course, this also opens up the possibility of securing this job for years to come. Although, it does also bring up the question of how the hell he plans on getting them watered. Maybe she should have talked this through with Nedley before agreeing...
Oh well. She supposes that he can try to get the fireman to help or something. Nicole sighs, deciding to finish the last few baskets tomorrow. She hauls the trash outside before sitting back down at the counter.
Nicole pulls her phone out of her pocket, shooting a 'hi, I miss you' text to Waverly. As she waits for a response, she doodles tiny flowers in the margins of her notepad. Her heart races when she hears her phone ding.
'Hi, I miss you too. slow?'
'Meh. Steady. Tired of doing baskets for Nedley for today. you?'
'few appointments today, few walk-ins. when u coming in for your tattoo? ;)'
'hahaha. when I don't have to work.'
'come over tonight and ill give you a stick n poke'
Nicole laughs at this. 'hmm i would probably prefer an actual tattoo gun'
'fair enough fair enough. the offer to come over tonight is still open tho?'
'cool cool coolcool you might just see me then'
Nicole smooths her shirt down, eyeing the Earp homestead nervously. She reaches over to her glove compartment, grabbing a piece of gum.
"Okay, okay... Uh, hi Wavely! How was your day? No, no, Nicole... Hey, Waves. It's nice to see you. Ugh... That's bad."
Nicole is startled by a loud rap on her window. She looks over to find Wynonna leaning down, one eyebrow raised at her. Nicole curses quietly, rolling her window down. "Wynonna! Hey, uh, whatcha doin' here?"
"I live here. What are you doing here, Haught Tamale?" Wynonna leans down, her face getting far too close to Nicole's.
She leans away from Wynonna, stammering slightly. "I, uh, your sister- your sister asked me to come over."
"Okay, I figured that, but what are you doing sitting in your car talking to yourself?" Wynonna stands up, striding over to Nicole's passenger door. Nicole sighs, unlocking the door to let the older woman slip in.
"I got nervous," Nicole admits, leaning her head back against the seat. "I wanted to sound... cool?"
Wynonna pats Nicole's shoulder in something approaching sympathy. "Kiddo, you sound like a high schooler picking up their first girlfriend for prom."
"I know," the redhead groans, covering her face with her hands. "I just really really want her to like me, Wynonna. Like..."
Wynonna turns in her seat, gripping Nicole by the shoulders. "Are you serious? I swear to god, you have got to be the blindest person I've ever met. Waves has talked about nothing but you for months now. She hasn't shut up about you since the day she met you!"
"Wait, are you serious?"
"I'm not talking to you anymore. Go see for yourself. Oh, and I'm going to be gone for the rest of the night, so do... stuff."
Wynonna gets out of the car, slamming the door far harder than Nicole would like. She gets into her truck and speeds away, the tires catching on the dirt and spraying it everywhere.
Nicole nods to herself, Wynonna's words encouraging her. She steps out of the car, exhaling slowly. She approaches the door, one of her dimpled smiles spreading across her face.
She knocks on the door, clearing her throat. After only a moment, the door flies open and Waverly's arms fly around Nicole's shoulders just as quickly. Stunned, Nicole wraps her arms around Waverly's waist.
"I- uh- hi!" Nicole laughs softly, pulling away just a tad from Waverly. "How are you?"
"Great! Come in, Nic," she says, pulling the woman along with her. Waverly leads Nicole into the kitchen, where the table is set for two and a candle softly flickers in the middle of the table.
She pulls out a chair for the taller woman with a flourish. "Care for a glass of wine?" Waverly asks, grabbing a bottle of white from the counter.
"That would be lovely," Nicole responds, utterly enchanted by the setup. Waverly opens a cupboard and pulls two wine glasses out, setting them on the table in front of their places. Waverly pours them both wine before recorking the bottle and setting it back down.
"What's all this about?" Nicole asks, watching as Waverly pulls a casserole pan out of the oven just as the timer goes off. "Smells phenomenal, by the way."
"Ta-da!" Waverly sing songs, setting the pan down on two pot holders on the table. "Eggplant parmesan! I wanted to do something nice for you. And I wanted to try this recipe out, but it's mostly that I wanted to do something nice."
Waverly turns, pulling a long bundle of tinfoil out of the oven. She sets it on the table as well, opening it to reveal the most delicious smelling garlic bread that Nicole had ever encountered.
"Lord, I think you're some sort of angel. I haven't had a good meal like this in a long time," Nicole sighs, the scent of the garlic mingling wonderfully with the slightly acidic scent of the tomato sauce.
"I am a virtuoso in the kitchen, Ms. Haught," Waverly says with a hint of a smirk. She scoops a healthy portion of the eggplant parmesan onto Nicole's plate, handing her a slice of garlic bread as well.
Waverly dishes herself up as well before sitting down across from the other woman. "I can certainly beleive that," Nicole responds, blowing on a forkful of the cheesy, saucy eggplant.
"Vegan cheese," Waverly adds just as Nicole takes her first bite. The redhead shrugs, chewing slowly.
"Yeah, I figured," Nicole says after she swallows her bite. "Fantastic anyway. God, I've never had better eggplant parm."
They eat between discussion of their days and sips of wine. Once they're done with their dinner, Waverly sets the casserole dish on the counter to cool. She moves the plates into the sink, ignoring Nicole's insistence that she'll wash them.
"Later," Waverly insists. "We have to have dessert first!" She moves over to the fridge, pulling a glass pie plate out of it. "Chocolate cheesecake!"
"Wow. At this point, I might have to hire you to be my own personal chef." Waverly chuckles, slicing the cheesecake for them.
"There are plenty of ways to ensure that I keep cooking for you. None of them include you paying me, though." The small woman sets the plates down on the table, handing Nicole a fork.
"Yeah? Can I know what those ways are?" Nicole asks, taking a bite of the cheesecake. It has the telltale, slightly nutty flavor of a vegan dessert, which Nicole supposes that she'll get used to.
Waverly takes a few bites, chewing slowly and thoughtfully. Nicole can tell that she's trying to build a bit of suspense, but she only succeeds in getting an adoring look from the redhead.
"You could promise to keep landscaping my house year after year, for one. That's still a lot of work, though... Hmmm..." Waverly taps her chin, pursing her lips. "Oh, I know! You could be my girlfriend!"
Nicole coughs, a bite of the cheesecake getting caught in her throat. Her face quickly heats up, turning almost as bright as her hair. She takes a swig of her wine, trying to dislodge the thick cheesecake. Waverly's face drops quickly as she pushes her chair back, the legs screeching on the tile floor.
Nicole coughs again, smacking her chest with an open palm. "I'm okay, I'm okay," she rasps, taking a deep breath. "I'm okay." "Are- are you sure?" Waverly stammers. She looks utterly devastated as she covers her face with hands.
"I'm okay, Waves. Could I just, um, have a glass of water?" Waverly nods, sighing softly. She stands on her tip-toes to grab a glass from the cupboard, filling it up with cold water. She hands it to Nicole, who gratefully takes a few sips.
"You kind of caught me off guard with that," Nicole admits, her voice still a little raspy. "But... if the offer is still on the table, I'd be more than happy to."
"Oh," Waverly whispers, a small smile spreading on her face. "Are... You for sure?" Waverly stands in front of the other woman, her hands twisting together nervously.
Nicole stands, placing one hand gently on the small woman's hip. "I'm very for sure. This... I don't think that I've been this for sure about anything in a while."
Waverly throws her arms around Nicole's shoulders for a second time that night. She meets Nicole in a deep kiss, sighing happily.
Nicole slides one hand into Waverly's soft, wavy hair. Her other hand tightens on the other woman's hip, pulling their bodies tighter together.
Waverly breaks their kiss, moving her lips to Nicole's jaw. Nicole leans her head back, giving Waverly ample access to her neck. She gladly takes this opportunity, gently nipping at her pulse point.
Nicole whimpers softly, her hand unconsciously gripping into brunette hair. Waverly's breath catches in her throat, her nails digging into Nicole's shoulder.
"Do you want to go up to my room?" Waverly whispers against Nicole's throat, sending shivers down the redhead's spine. She nods almost desperately and Waverly pulls away, the sudden loss of contact feeling almost painful. Nicole follows closely behind Waverly, her feet getting caught on a step. She stumbles but catches herself on the handrail.
Waverly's room is nice, three of the walls painted a soft white color, while the fourth is a soft lavender. The bed is spacious, covered in a soft cream colored blanket. They fall onto it together, with Waverly placing her knees on either side of Nicole's hips.
Waverly brushes her long hair to one side before leaning down to kiss Nicole again. The taller woman brushes her fingers gently down Waverly's back, eliciting a shiver.
"God, Nic," she whispers, their eyes meeting. Both of the women's pupils are wide, any color almost vanishing. Nicole grins, wrapping one arm tightly around the small woman's waist. She flips them over, Waverly's back hitting the bed with a soft thud.
"I know. Can I take this off?" Nicole whispers, her fingers gently brushing against Waverly's trembling stomach. As soon as she gets a nod, Nicole pulls the soft pink tank-top off of her.
Waverly, in turn, moves her hands to the top button on Nicole's shirt. Nicole nods, her eyes falling shut as talented hands slowly unbutton her shirt.
"You ready?" Nicole whispers, her fingers gently trailing above the waistband of Waverly's jeans. She responds by slamming their lips together, whimpering softly.