Spring has sprung, and with it, smiley faces. When yellow crocuses bloom all over town in the shape of an emoji during April’s first warm days, reporter Nero Storm is sent out to discover their meaning and origin.<br><br>Nero has little to smile about himself, what with dysfunctional family drama and a tragic love life. The previous fall, it seemed as if he might have finally met the man of his dreams in dog daddy, ride share operator, and charity organizer Z. Though the two spent but ten morning and evening car rides together, sparks flew. Unfortunately, at the end of that time, Nero witnessed a crime, and Z disappeared.<br><br>Now, as the rest of the world looks forward to a new beginning promised by spring, Nero is left to wonder. Are the smiley face flowers a message for him, and will he ever see Z’s smile again for real?

21 Smiles

It sped up more when she dialed, and I could hear every beat in my ears when she spoke.


“Hi. My name is Carmen Mendez. I work for WTWN Channel 9 News. Is this Daisy?” Carmen nodded at me. “Hi, Daisy. We’re working on a story about the crocus happy faces that popped up all over Westchester today, and one of the people we interviewed mentioned your name. We were wondering if…Hello?” Carmen seemed genuinely amazed. “She hung up on me.”


I thought for a moment my heart had stopped. “Oh.” But I could talk, so I figured it hadn’t. “Well, there ya go. All I could think early on, any time my mind tried to tell me the happy faces were for me, was, ‘Man, what an egotistical ass you are.’ Now, I’m pretty sure if Z was the one who planted them—”


“Z definitely was the one who planted them.”


Chapter 35