Tulips (1)

The next day Kevin went to his sister's house to collect the fifty dollars he had asked for, she was in the middle of watching a murder mystery when he rang the doorbell. She got up, still wearing her pajamas and opened to door. She smiled at her older brother, still tired from the day before.

"You're here!" She let him in. Her home wasn't very grand but it had nice homey feel to it. It was only her and her husband living there. Her husband, Joseph, worked for a small company. It didn't bring much cash in but it was better than nothing. Amelia worked in a daycare so she was constantly exhausted.

"Yes, sorry it's a bit late…" Kevin said before sitting on the black couch.

"No, no. It's alright. Water?" Before he had a chance to answer, she was getting the pitcher and filling a glass for him, which she handed to him. "Joe's still at work so it's just me. I'm glad you're here, I was starting to get lonely," she let out a little laugh.

"Can't imagine… how's everything?" Kevin didn't know what to talk about. He and his sister haven't had a decent conversation in a few years. It had always just been small talk, nothing more and this time was no different.

"Same as usual. Busy and tired, those kids don't give me a break! One of them had started eating glue out of nowhere, utterly disgusting and a disaster," she placed a hand on her forehead as she remembered the incident. She had no idea how she kept working in such a place everyday. "What about you? Anything new? I mean… besides losing your job…"

It got quiet for a bit, she was worried she had struck a nerve but relaxed when she saw him smile brightly, she hadn't seen him smile in awhile. Her eyes widen in amazement, "What's happened?"

He shook his head, "I got a job yesterday!" He couldn't contain his happiness, he had no one else to share this spectacular news with and just let it out when his sister asked.

"A job?! Kevin, that's great! How'd you get it so fast?" She didn't want to ruin the mood but she was really curious. Just yesterday he had been a sad man who'd lost his job but now he was smiling without any worries, with a job.

"A woman offered it to me. I haven't started yet but she said she would contact me when the time comes." He replied happily, then took a drink of water.

Amelia still had questions but she didn't want to keep prying and ruin this rare happiness from her brother. She opted to just nodding and taking a sip of water. It just sounded sketchy to her and couldn't help but worry. Her brother had never been the luckiest of men.

"I'm hoping I'll be able to start soon," he said abruptly. He still couldn't get the guilt of asking of money out of his system, "so I won't have to ask you again… for money."

Amelia almost spit out the water in her mouth, she didn't think he'd been so caught up with what happened yesterday, "No Kevin, it's okay. You really didn't ask for much anyway, if you ever need help again. I got you," she didn't want him to continue to feel bad. She got up from where she had been sitting, walking towards the bookshelf right next to the TV and pulls out some money from a book.

"Secret stash?" He asked her.

She smiled and nodded, walking back to where she had been sitting, to Kevin's right side on the couch and took his hand, placing the money in his palm, "here you go… if you need money again in the future. Don't be scared to ask me, I'll gladly help you," she said making sure to make eye contact with Kevin. Her voice turning serious.

He nodded, taking the money. He ended up spending an hour with his sister, talking about their childhood and what they want to achieve in the future. Amelia wants to go back to school and become a teacher because although the kids at the daycare like to give her trouble and wear her out, she loved them very much. Kevin thought it was very fitting for her. When it was Kevins turn to speak, all he could say was, "I hope to keep a job longer than a month. Perhaps two. That's all I want for my future right now." He didn't want to ask for too much. She had nodded and didn't utter a word.

Kevin left feeling relaxed, it probably had to do with the fact that when he was talking to his sister, he had seemed to forget about all his worries. He had forgotten how nice it was to talk to someone about anything. Maybe one day, he'd gain a friend that he could talk about everything with or perhaps a lover. That would be nice.

Kevin walked to the nearest store to buy some groceries for his dinner. He had to celebrate a new job, even if he was alone. Walking into the store, he could smell the familiar sent of fresh flowers at the entrance. The store always made sure to put the freshest flowers at the front of the store to catch their customer's attention. It caught Keven's, he went and grabbed a bouquet of tulips, bringing them up and smelling them. Smiling softly.

How he'd wish he had a vase at home or someone he could give them to, to tell them that they're the most beautiful person. That these tulips deserve the best care, like the person receiving them. He frowned, a little pout on his face as he put the tulips back but he doesn't have either.

Just as he's about to walk away from the flowers, he walks into a hard object. It doesn't take long for him to realize that it's a man. A very tall, built man. He takes a step back, feeling his face grow hot from embarrassment unable to look up at the person he had bumped into before apologizing, "I'm very sorry. I should have been watching where I was going…" then thought, I didn't expect for someone to be standing behind me.

"It's fine. Just watch where you're going next time," the man replied. His voice calm and deep.

As Kevin was deep in embarrassment, he suddenly realized something after the man spoke. He looked up and met the man's gaze. It was the same man from yesterday! The man whom he had bumped into! The very handsome, rich man. How had he managed to bump into him twice now and now in a grocery store for crying out loud! His bad luck must be the root cause of it. Luckily the man didn't seem to remember him, it was understandable. Kevin was very average, if this was a drama and they had bumped into each other, it would have been the main protagonist bumping into the background character but the background character had his face blurred out because he was so plain. No, he didn't even need to have his face blurred. Curse his plain genes.

He moved over to the side to let the man get what he needed, he wondered if the man had someone to give flowers to. Perhaps a beautiful woman he loved and adored. The man grabbed the bouquet of tulips Kevin had been holding right before, then walked off.

Kevin didn't know why he had been standing behind the man the entire time staring, it was almost as if he was caught in a trance by the man's elegance. His long slender fingers, reaching out, grabbing the flowers. The way he held them so delicately, like they would turn to dust with one wrong move. It was beautiful yet he hadn't done a thing.

Kevin quickly shook himself from his reverie and realized the man was gone, "Why was I staring…" he muttered to himself before walked away to the vegetable section.

It didn't take long for him to gather everything he needed to make his celebratory meal. He was going to make something simple, a soup since it was cold out. He never really cooked actual meals, one could tell with the packets of ramen in his trash can that were piling up at home. He sighed, trudging to the checkout, hoping the total cost wouldn't go over the limit he was willing to spend for a meal. Surprisingly it didn't.

Just as he was exiting the store, he tripped. There was a pothole in the concrete and with the luck he had, he hadn't noticed it. He knew he was falling but the only thing he was worried about were the groceries he had just bought, knowing he couldn't save them, all he could do was cry in his thoughts. He didn't feel the floor, nor did he hear his poor groceries hit the floor but he did feel a strong arm wrapped around him. The first thing he thought was, how strong the person was and how quick their reflexes were to catch him in one arm and grab the groceries in the other.

Turning his head he was met with tulips and his eyes grew wide.