A surprisingly nice gardening experience

Mrs. Odenfell was a surprisingly fun person to talk to. Anthony had only ever interacted with the woman in passing, usually with his mother close by. Now that they were talking one on one, Anthony realized this little chore his mother assigned him could actually be a lot of fun.

"Alright, the garden has been weeded and tilled and we should be good to go," Mrs. Odenfell said cheerfully. "Now it's time for your first job. Do you have the seeds?"

Anthony felt a strong pang of guilt. This old woman had been so kind to him today and he was about to spit in her face.

"Is something wrong, Anthony?"

Anthony nodded his head yes. "I'm sorry Mrs. Odenfell, these aren't the seeds you wanted. I forgot to order them and it was too late by the time I remembered. These seeds are a replacement and I'm hoping they'll be okay. I think they will be. I guess what I'm trying to say is sorry."

For a moment, Mrs. Odenfell said nothing and Anthony was sure he was screwed. Then a bright smile spread across the woman's face.

"First, stop calling me Mrs. Odenfell. My name is Lynn. Secondly, I respect that you were honest with me. Thirdly, I don’t really care about the seeds.”

“Wait really? But my mom said—“

“Honey, I adore your mother, but the stick up her butt belongs in the redwood forest. I’m an old hippy lady, I like to go with the flow. Now let’s see those seeds.”

Anthony handed Mrs. Odenfell—Lynn the packet of seeds. The older woman brushed her long gray hair back and took a closer look at the packaging.

“Extra exotic seed blend. Plants you never imagined existed,” she read. “I guess we’re in for a surprise.”

“Again, sorry about the seeds.”

“Nonsense, we’ll have fun either way. Why don’t you do the honors.”

Lynn gave Anthony instructions for dispersing the seeds throughout the small garden plot. They then spent the next fifteen minutes talking while Anthony carefully sewed seeds here and there.

“I missed this. Every spring, Harry and I used to grow vegetables every spring. It was something special we did together.”

“I’m sorry, Lynn.”

“I am too,” Lynn looked off into the distance. “So you’re a young guy, I’m sure you have a sweetheart.”

“Not really.”

“I find that hard to believe. A charming young man like you? Come on, there must be someone.”

“Well there is someone…but we aren’t a thing. Not really.”

“Tell me about her! Or him, if that’s how you swing.”

Anthony blushed hard. Then he proceeded to tell Lynn about Bonnie, falling more and more into a daze as he did so. He always felt lightheaded thinking about Bonnie’s lovely chestnut curls, her soft lips, her—

“Ow!”

While reaching for some seeds, Anthony managed to give himself a nasty paper cut on the bag. He watched as little crimson droplets rained down on the ground along with a batch of seeds.

“What’s wrong? Oh dear, that’s a nasty cut. Let’s get you inside and mend you up.”

“What about the rest of the seeds?”

Lynn took the bag and dumped the rest of the contents on the ground.

“We were pretty much done anyways. Besides, an old bird like me knows that good health is more important than pretty much anything.”

Reluctantly, Anthony threw in the towel and followed Lynn into her home. The rest of the afternoon was spent drinking tea and chatting. It was actually really nice. For the first time in a while, Anthony felt optimistic about the future.

Meanwhile, something strange brewed in Lynn Odenfell’s garden plot. The seeds soaked in Anthony’s blood, breaking down and analyzing the menagerie of chemicals contained inside it. Hormones of passion and desire, love and lust. The walls of the seeds ruptured, giving way to fresh growth. It was going to be an early blossom this year.