"that's good to hear. he's doing some work on the property. good to know he has merit." she wouldn't have doubted it regardless. she trusts her instincts when she meets people and greyson had passed her test with flying colors. meeting him at a volunteer event to clean up local habitats had certainly been a plus. 

silence lapses. it's not uncomfortable, per se, but it leaves her wanting. this is her chance to get to know the family she'd missed out on - the family roman's missed out on. 

a chikorita dashes across the pathway, only to stop halfway through to stare at them. she stands her ground firmly and willow admires her spark. elisabet moves on ahead to take her stance, antennae rattling in warning towards the grass-type. 

willow leaves them to their scuffle. "and what about caden? what's he up to these days?"

CIAN MAHER
catching chikorita (resolving battle next post)

☉

the tension dissipates and all is right with the world again. she braces herself against the boards. mamo's large feet shuffle; the beast is a little on edge around the fire-type. it's not very often they're exposed to them, especially around the property. 

"aw, i've taken care of a few comfey patients. they're remarkable creatures." she'd dallied with the idea of getting a couple for herself because at the end of the day, when they were feeling tip-top, they were the ones healing her other clients. 

he strikes again and the nail buries cleanly. she draws back just a little bit, testing the structure, and then motions to his delphox to help get another board in place. 

"have some faith. i've got a couple of tricks up my sleeve. and 'sides, i'm sure they'll see all the work you've put into it and be overjoyed. most of the pokemon i care for are almost never put into their capsules. they're happier that way, i think, and i don't see why the queens will think any different."

Greyson Connors

☉

it's a little chilly. the greenhouse is usually cranked with heat, but its priority tends to leave the flower shop a bit on the cold side, especially since people come and go all day long. so she's glad she pulled on one of her nicer sweaters (one she hasn't worn in well over a year, in favor of all her comfy long-sleeves and flannels).

she helps elisabet rearrange some of the flowers, filling their buckets with water where they'll sit overnight. there's only an hour left in her business hours and she worries, briefly, that he may have changed his mind. 

but no sooner does that thought enter her mind that the door opens and he's there. she grins and gestures to the empty cake stands, where only crumbs remain. 

"i'm sorry, sir, but i'm afraid they're all gone. i do have some kept warm in the oven, but i've already promised those to someone else. a handsome man who helped me pick the blackberries himself."

she thinks, i haven't done this in so long and my god, what am i saying?

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

her coy attempt to watch him stumble, if only for the sake of easing tension, actually doesn't go the way she'd expected it to. and she realizes, after finally turning to him, that he's just so nervous. she chews the inside of her cheek and demands her ego or id or whatever it is to get itself in check. 

he's trying. she reminds herself for the hundredth time, but finally it sinks in. she's been so busy wrapped up in the trauma of what if he leaves again? that she hadn't stopped to consider why he's walking on eggshells. 

because he'll respect her wishes if she asks him to leave. 

"i'll have the caprese sandwich and your brown sugar latte," she says to the service gal. "if i could do a side of fruit instead of chips, that'd be lovely."

after bo orders and pays (allowing it with a nod, acknowledging she'd stepped over his request back at the cab), and after they've been handed an ugly number on a stick, they find a table by the window.

"shame they don't have the almond scones anymore," she says, offering a smile. "i still dream about those sometimes."

boruta maher

☉

at her wit's end. that's what led her to adopting the bonded pair of tauros while roman was missing. she'd needed a hassle, something to stress and worry over that wasn't her missing son. and so far she's gotten nowhere with them. she's had to reinforce the fence several times now. 

adelaide offers to supervise roman at the house with her mother so willow can finally have some peace of mind, but she declines the offer. because for the next week, she doesn't plan on letting roman out of her sight. 

she'd checked in on his room all throughout the night just to make sure he was still asleep - that he was home and it was real. 

now, she shucks on her work boots and points to roman's own. 

"time for you to meet the new cattle i got for us. i think you'll like 'em."

Roman Maher

☉

the boards waver as she jostles them accidentally. "oh, don't be. please." her cheeks redden. "i didn't mean to overshare or get ahead of myself. i'm fairly open about my life. sometimes i forget others aren't." 

she chuckles and smiles apologetically. "a habit of only talking to plants most of the time i suppose."

the nail goes in cleanly and willow nods her approval, readjusting her grip on the planks so he can maneuver around her. 

Greyson Connors

☉

a date. she has a date. normally she'd have pestered Roman Maher to help her with her baking, but adelaide had offered to take him into town and keep an eye on him. and, well, she hadn't said no. because she wants today to be about her. 

(deep, deep down, she knows it's really because she doesn't want roman to ruin this for her.)

but she shrugs all of that out of mind and makes a point of focusing on herself. the store's all set up early in the morning, early enough where she can make herself a recluse for a couple of hours. she spends time meditating in her shed, plucking at her guitar, and then finally doing her rounds in the greenhouse. 

the pies, she'd prepped the night before. all that's left is to put a crumble on half of them, lay strips of rolled dough on the other. flour dusts her palms and her elbows and the kitchen smells like autumn as she finishes up. 

there's still a fair bit of daylight left. she wraps a few slices up and keeps them in the oven at a low temperature - a promise kept - and takes the rest down to the shop. 

a couple of regulars come in for a chat and buy a few slices alongside their bouquets. and she enjoys their company, but she's half there, checking her watch, wondering what constitutes as evening for someone like lance. 

and if, perhaps, she should have given him her phone number in case he couldn't show. 

LANCE VOLLANS
sleepless in slateport

☉

a thrill goes through her and she feels like a teenager all over again. her dating history, to be quite frank, is almost entirely nonexistent. having a toddler at your hip before you're of legal drinking age will do that to a gal. it's never really bothered her, per se, but standing here right now, she feels a little bit ridiculous smiling like she is. 

"tomorrow then. i'll make sure to keep a piece warm for you." she gestures towards the nearly filled-to-the-brim blackberry basket. 

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

she appreciates the lack of questions. it's a strange predicament she finds herself in - before the past couple of years, she's been able to claim the position of single mother and that had been enough for others. many don't understand bo's comings and goings, or maybe it's just that she doesn't understand it herself. 

"stunt, huh? can't say i much keep up with his career as a trainer." she shrugs her shoulders, grunting again as she helps lus pull up one of the boards and work it into place. 

"we separated shortly before roman was born, reconnected the past couple years. i don't even know what cian is up to these days. last i knew, he was on track to become a professional athlete at our high school." 

she shakes her head and then juts with her chin to the toolbox she'd set out beside her. he'd had to gather most of their building materials, but all the tools they'd need had been stored in her greenhouse. they'd built up a fair amount of dust over the past few years; after her father passed, she lost a lot of drive to do any big projects or maintenance on the house. 

"i think we'll be alright so long as you hammer these nails in properly." 

Greyson Connors

☉

it seems, while willow's been wrapped in her small bubble her entire life, bo and his brother have gone out of their way to make a name for themselves. there's a little bit of pride, a little bit of tension, that makes her straighten a bit when he asks her. 

"yeah," she says. "bo's his father. he -" she starts, pauses, "comes around sometimes to lend a hand in the greenhouse and see roman." 

she unloads some of the boards from mamo and places them down on a tarp she'd set up before greyson had arrived. a few holes dug into the ground wait just as well; really the only thing they need to do is start construction. 

she fishes her copy of her father's schematics out of her pocket and stretches it out over the hood of greyson's truck.

she sticks a finger in the corner of her mouth and gives a high-pitched whistle. the trees to the east rustle and then a beetle-like pokemon flits over the property and scuttles up next to willow. 

"lus'll help us get the boards into place. if your delphox is up to it, she'll be helpful to hold 'em steady while we nail them in." she grins over the paperwork. "ready?"

Greyson Connors

☉

there's no shortage of places they'd never been to back when they were kids. willow liked their places. the sparse lining of blackberry bushes on the western part of town near the coast - their go-to spot for a picnic. antonio's to the north when they wanted pizza. and margo's, when they wanted breakfast and coffee. 

all these memories come flooding back to her. she hides her shaking hands by thumbing them into the pockets of her jacket. her cheeks redden, but that has more to do with the warm air that greets them inside after the nippiness on the other side of the threshold. 

and again, she thinks there are so many other cafes around here, and bo frequents this one? the implications shadow that moment in her shed, where she'd told him nothing could happen, that he'd promised that wasn't what this was about. 

the interior has changed quite a bit and so she wraps herself up in that. the rickety chairs she'd once known have been replaced with unfinished wood. well-worn traditional orrenian rugs have been replaced with purple art deco, matching the new faux gold fixtures.

she doesn't recognize any of the employees; most of them are adolescents. the menus are laminated and even the logo's been changed - margo's own flowing script replaced with modern block letters. 

"i can't believe it's changed this much," she says, almost troubled. she feels so alone right now as she tries to imagine what it used to look like, what they used to look like. she craves her familiarity, the warmth of her greenhouse, the smell of her flowers. 

in an attempt to lighten the mood, to stop from souring their lunch, she finally meets bo's eyes, offering a smile as they're greeted by the counter - 

"do you remember my order? it's still on the menu."

boruta maher

☉

she likes to think she's not shallow enough to let flattery make her swoon, but his appreciation of her life's work fills her with a joy that has her brimming from ear to ear. with the boards shoved into mamo's waiting tusks and the rest of the materials floating about them, willow hops out of the back of the truck, hitting the dirt with a grunt. 

she pushes up the back for him and then directs mamo back around. man, if his delphox - autumn, that is - continues to be as agreeable as this, the construction ought to be a piece of cake. 

her nose scrunches at the term. "neighbor, partner, whatever. unless you want me to start collecting rent." her lips twinge in a smile. 

and then she pauses, pats mamo on her leg. "you're welcome to come around whenever you'd like, by the way. within reason of course. my schedule's fairly tight, but i don't mind you having the run of the property while i'm busy.

"and one more thing. my son, Roman Maher, will be out here sometimes. he should leave you well enough alone, but just let me know if he doesn't and i'll knock some sense into him."

Greyson Connors

☉