Chapter 29
Ben: Hey, pretty girl.
Ben: I'm working nights every day this week so I won't see much of you unless you set something on fire. If you do that, stay away from the gas. You really need to know what you're doing to do it right.
Magnolia: Firefighter humor is…dark.
Ben: You don't know the half of it.
Magnolia: Does that concern you?
Ben: What do you mean?
Magnolia: I mean, I don't know much about you or your work. Does that concern you?
Ben: There's an emergency, I show up. There's a fire, I put it out. Not that complicated.
Magnolia: Okay, yeah, I get that but…we could still talk about it. We don't talk about a lot of things. You know?
Ben: Hadn't really thought about it.
Magnolia: No worries. It was just a random thought.
Ben: Yeah. It's all good.
Ben: Hey look I gotta go. Talk later.
Magnolia: Take care.
Rob: Hi, love. I'm just getting home but I hope you're in bed already.
Rob: I have a crazy early call with London in the morning. Morning for them, I guess.
Rob: I know I'm going to be tied up from that point forward but I wanted to make sure you got a good morning message before I stumble/sleepwalk into the office at 4 a.m.
Rob: I also wanted to mention your notable absence in my bed right now.
Rob: It is not the same without you.
Rob: I'm not the same without you.
Rob: In case you need proof, I bought a potted plant on the way home from that stupid long business dinner. There was a little flower shop I'd never noticed in the South End before. I didn't know they were open so late but I went in and picked out a green thing.
Rob: The lady working there said it was a peace lily but I don't see any flowers.
Rob: She also said it's toxic for dogs. I'm sure you know that. I don't know where to put it but Gronk can't climb so we'll find a good spot.
Rob: Right? He can't climb? I wouldn't put it past him though.
Rob: Anyway, yeah, I bought a plant.
Rob: Have an amazing day, love. Feel free to warm my bed and teach me how to deal with a plant tonight.
Magnolia: lol no, he can't climb
Magnolia: His vertical leap isn't bad but he also knows he's not supposed to eat plants so that helps.
Rob: Why are you awake, my love? Are you thinking about how much happier you'd be sleeping with me?
Magnolia: You do have central air and it is hot as balls so…yes.
Rob: That's fine. Use me for my HVAC. I'm good with it.
Magnolia: How was dinner?
Rob: Stupid long.
Magnolia: Other than that…
Rob: Fine. Closed some new business and picked up some good info that will keep the air conditioning on indefinitely. Had some nice roasted brussels sprouts with that sweet vinegar glaze stuff you like.
Magnolia: And you bought a peace lily.
Rob: Apparently.
Magnolia: It's a gateway houseplant, you know. First it's a peace lily and then it's a pothos and a spider plant and maybe an orchid or two. Soon enough you have 9 different types of ferns, a fiddle-leaf fig, and a rubber tree.
Rob: A rubber tree? You're making that up. That's a landscape architect joke, right?
Magnolia: The sap is latex.
Rob: My mind is blown.
Magnolia: You've had a late night and you're looking at an early morning. Go to sleep. We'll talk about green things tomorrow.
Rob: Dinner?
Magnolia: Sure. I'll text you later.
Rob: Sounds good, love. Sleep well.
Magnolia: You too. Enjoy that air conditioning.
Rob: I'd enjoy it more with you.
Magnolia: Same.
Ben: I know it's the middle of the night and I really hope this doesn't wake you up.
Ben: You told me you've had your phone on silent for something like 19 years once so I figured this wouldn't make a sound but now I'm not sure if it will vibrate.
Ben: I hope you're not awake because this is a god-awful hour of the night.
Ben: I shouldn't even be typing this right now.
Ben: But I'm on nights so I'm up and I can't stop thinking about what you said.
Ben: We don't talk, do we?
Ben: We talk about paint colors and your dog and my complete inability to hammer a nail straight but we don't talk about anything important.
Ben: I was trying to figure out why that is and I don't think I can talk.
Ben: Right now. I can't talk right now.
Ben: I think I'm really fucked up and the deepest thing I can handle is bashing the shit out of a nail and then yanking it out and doing it all over again because you won't let me fuck up.
Ben: Maybe that's what I'm supposed to get out of this. You won't let me fuck up the only good thing I ever tried to do.
Magnolia: I'm sure you've done plenty of good things.
Ben: Fuck I woke you up.
Ben: I'm so sorry.
Magnolia: I'm awake because Gronk had to go out. There was a squirrel taunting him.
Magnolia: Or a ghost. I'm not sure which one.
Ben: Do you believe that? Dogs can see ghosts?
Magnolia: Ummm…I think so? There are times when he barks at empty rooms and I refuse to believe he's hollering at the termites.
Ben: I like that.
Ben: I wish I could see ghosts.
Magnolia: I know, sweetie. I know. I'm sorry you're going through this. That house isn't the only good thing you've done. I'm sure of it.
Ben: I didn't do anything. That's the problem.
I had this big idea and thought I was going to pull off this whole remodel in a goddamn weekend or something and I could've spent that time with my grandmother.
So, now she's gone and I didn't give her a nice place for her last days and I didn't even spend those fucking days with her.
Magnolia: Did she know you were working on a house for her?
Ben: Yeah.
Magnolia: I'm no expert on the matter but I think that gesture probably spoke volumes to her.
Ben: Maybe.
Magnolia: It's okay if you can't talk right now. There was a time when I couldn't talk.
Ben: When? What happened?
Magnolia: I made some bad choices a few years ago. I thought something was real but it really, really wasn't. I ruined a dear friendship, one I'll never get back.
Ben: I don't believe that.
Magnolia: lol which part?
Ben: I don't believe that you ruined anything.
Magnolia: Believe it. I've ruined more things than I've preserved. Ruined myself once or twice or a dozen times.
Ben: I don't believe that.
Magnolia: Well…it's true.
Ben: What happened?
Magnolia: Which time? There's the time I dated a guy for YEARS even though he stole absolutely everything from me.
Magnolia: Including my dog.
Ben: First of all, he ruined that situation.
Magnolia: And I let it happen. I saw it, I knew it, and I just let it happen.
Ben: I'm gonna call bullshit on that.
Magnolia: Your second point?
Ben: Oh yeah. I'm gonna need his full name. An address if you have it. I have a rubber hose and I'm in the mood to teach some manners.
Magnolia: Don't bother. Not worth your time.
Ben: What else? What else have you ruined? Because I don't think you have it in you, pretty girl.
Magnolia: Ha. How about flunking out of college two times? Mostly because I just didn't show up or do shit.
Ben: You know what they say. Third time is the charm.
Magnolia: Uh, not really. I just got tired of my own bullshit and didn't like working the drive-thru line at Starbucks and found something I actually wanted to learn.
Ben: I'm not sure I could get tired of my own bullshit. I kinda like it.
Magnolia: Yeah. I know.
Ben: What else? Give me your worst.
Magnolia: There was a guy who helped me when I was first starting out in landscape architecture. I misunderstood a few interactions and signals. Or, I took those interactions and signals and I invented something that wasn't there.
Magnolia: Then I truly strangled the shit out of that relationship with both hands. Mentorship, gone. Professional relationships, gone. Business engagements, gone.
Ben: I will also need his name and address.
Magnolia: I would've given you both a few years ago but the best recovery from shitshows like that one is moving on and doing well.
Ben: All right. Listen. You're pretty and nice and I like the hell out of you and you have worked more than your share of shitshows but you haven't spent your grandmother's last days on earth fucking around with a house that needed months of work.
Magnolia: You're right. I haven't experienced that.
Ben: You're not carrying that kind of regret around.
Magnolia: No. Again, you're right. I'm not carrying that specific regret.
Ben: Not trying to be a dick.
Magnolia: I don't think you're being a dick. I think you're hurting. A lot.
Magnolia: And I wish there was something I could say to make it better but I'm not sure I can do that for you.
Ben: It's okay. It's not your job to make it better.
Magnolia: Any interest in an espresso martini lunch?
Magnolia: Because I could use an espresso martini today.
Andy: Your Wednesday is going that well, huh?
Magnolia: My Wednesday started at 12:45 a.m. when I got up to get a cookie and found a bunch of texts from Rob.
Andy: Is he losing his shit?
Magnolia: Actually, no. He was perfectly charming. But we talked about plants and air conditioning for 20 minutes. Then we made dinner plans for tonight.
Andy: Okay…
Magnolia: But I woke up 4 hours later to a fuckton of texts from Ben and he was losing his shit.
Magnolia: I made an offhand comment to him earlier in the day about how we don't really talk about things.
I said something about not knowing anything about his work.
Like, I know he's a firefighter and I understand the basics of that but…
there's gotta be more, right? Or anything?
Or doesn't he want to tell me about his daily life?
Magnolia: He stewed on that for approximately 12 hours and then opened up about losing his grandmother and his regrets and how he's just super fucked up right now.
Andy: Which we knew…
Magnolia: We did.
Andy: Regardless, you had a tough night.
Magnolia: Yeah. A lot of feels.
Andy: So many feels.
Magnolia: Espresso martini lunch?
Andy: Sorry I thought the answer was obvious.
Andy: Yes. We need to sort you out before dinner.