17. A Distraction
Snapping back to the present,Gia lifted the phone and gazed at the notepad application that housed the login information for Only Gardeners. She rolled her eyes. Seriously?
Account Name: DirtyHoe39
Password: GiaDates12345*
Original. With a screen name like Dirty Hoe, was it any surprise thatthe men were running to her profile in droves? Gia knew it was a play on words—a garden hoe, not a skanky ho—but, just the same, she made an internal note to yell at Carla for it later. She took a deep breath, held it for ten seconds, and released it through her mouth. She’d been working on deep breathing techniques for several months, trying to reduce her stress and remain calm during trying moments—single parenting was hard!
Gia clicked into the app store on her phone and searched for Only Gardeners, quickly finding it. “Here we go,” she said as the application began downloading. When a prompt popped up, she tapped ‘install’ and quietly waited for it to finish. Then, she opened the app and looked at the login info again, entering it into the appropriate locations and hitting ‘submit.’
And I’m in,she thought as the member landing page opened. Unfamiliar with the site, she got herself situated, figuring out where messages were, where her profile could be viewed, how to make changes and whatnot. After all, who knew what Carla had written about her after giving her a name like ‘Dirty Hoe.’ Her first step was to “hide” her profile since she wasn’t interested in accumulating any more “likes” at this point. Then, she opened her own profile—as created by Carla—and sucked in a breath as she prepared to review the content.
Wow. Not bad, actually.
As it turned out, using the photos of Gia in the garden and removing the kids had been a brilliant idea. Not only did the profile fit perfectly with the Only Gardeners theme, but she had to admit she looked good, too! She noticed several areas where Carla may have overdone it a bit with the photo editing and filtering, but all in all, it worked—and none of it made her cringe. In truth, even the descriptive portions and ‘What I’m Looking For’ were pretty spot-on. Finding most of it acceptable, Gia made no changes. It was hidden now, anyway!
Moment of truth, Gia thought. The messages. She navigated to the right page on the site and saw it was jam-packed with greetings from a wide range of men. Some looked like actual farmers and gardeners, donning overalls, some more like lumberjacks in thick flannels, while others looked as far removed from a garden as they could possibly get—leather jackets and tight jeans. I guess anyone can be into gardening. Gia ignored them all, scrolling down with only one name on her mind—and there it was.
“… Ben,” Gia said aloud, more breathily than she’d intended or anticipated. There, in the messages section, was one with Ben’s profile image beside it. He looked good. Older, sure, but no less handsome. With one click, she would see the back-and-forth between him and Carla/Matt, which, as far as Ben was aware, was a discourse with Gia herself. Her hands felt frozen and heavy, but she managed to make them move to click open the series of messages.
As Carla had promised, there wasn’t much to see. It was confirmed as no more than some initial pleasantries and the repeated suggestion by Ben to meet in person… and to discuss Aiden. Now, though, it was time to see where this would lead. Shaking, Gia began to draft a message. Her first real message to Ben since he’d left for Brazil after high school—since he’d left her alone and pregnant with his child. She couldn’t find the words to say anything of much consequence, so she kept it simple.
Ben,
We can meet if you want. Do you still drink coffee?
Gia
Gia glanced at the status circle that indicated whether Ben was online—he wasn’t. With no telling when he would get on to read the message, Gia figured she’d better find something to do to keep busy, given that she had the whole day without her children. While weeds were a constant struggle out in the garden, she’d managed to pull a significant amount before Carla arrived, setting this new chaos into motion. She thought for a moment, then decided it was as good a day as any to harvest the basil for pesto, her favorite. After many smaller harvests that year, the plants had gotten somewhat out of control. What she loved most about basil—besides the flavor, of course—was that the more often she harvested it, the bigger and more robust the plants grew.
Being out in the garden earlier, Gia was already dressed for the task. She walked to the back door and pulled on a pair of waterproof gardening clogs. They weren’t the sexiest footwear, but they were her favorite for days in the garden. She only planned on spending a short amount of time out there, and then she’d come in and prepare the pesto.
Gia walked across the yard to a small, fenced area with a wooden gate. She swung it open and walked into the herb garden. As she paced down a row between two raised garden beds, brushing against several plants, the intoxicating aromas of fresh herbs greeted her. Lavender and sage wafted through the air, triggering her to pluck a sage leaf and crush it between her fingers, closing her eyes for a moment as she raised it to her nostrils to inhale the scent. Herbs held a particular sort of magic to her. Not only were they delicious—each in their own way—but she found that their scents grounded her, giving her a deep sense of comfort and well-being, even during the most challenging days.
Gia was convinced of the healing power of herbal remedies, in addition to their food and aromatherapeutic benefits. Peppermint could not only refresh and invigorate the senses, triggering deeper focus, but it could also ease a stomachache. Its essential oil, which she’d long ago learned to make from her plants, could stop her headaches in their tracks when rubbed on the nape of the neck and temples. Crushed, dried lavender in a sachet or infused into a room and linen spray promoted high-quality sleep. She could go on and on about using herbs—to anyone who would listen—but for now, she needed basil for simple, delicious, organic, garden-fresh food!
Gia took one last whiff of the sage in her hand, popped the leaf into her mouth, and headed to the back of the fenced area where she had several basil plants. It didn’t take long for her to harvest a whole basket full of the herbs, so she grabbed several bunches of chives, garlic chives, and scallions while she was out there. Each could be added to the pesto to up the flavor profile a notch. There was no recipe, and the tangy herbal mixture could be used as a dip, a spread, over pasta, or in various other ways.
Gia typically just tossed in what she thought would make it work, and it came out delicious every time. The only thing to be mindful of was the ratio of liquid—in the form of high-quality olive oil—to solids to ensure the right texture. Usually, she added basil, a few other herbs, garlic she’d harvested previously, pine nuts or sunflower seeds, parmesan cheese, and whatever else struck her fancy! However, she’d made pesto using a variety of greens—from foraged mustard greens or nasturtium flower leaves to spinach or arugula.
Finally, Gia had what she needed. She gathered her herb-cutting shears, gardening gloves, and the basket laden with various herbs, mostly basil, and carried them out through the wooden gate. The cell phone in her back pocket buzzed as she reached the other side and closed it behind her. Out of habit, she pulled it out and checked the notifications…
“Ben,” Gia spoke aloud, her breath catching in her chest. Glancing at the phone a second time, just to be sure, she confirmed it. At the top of the cell phone screen was an icon of a gardening hoe—the Only Gardeners app icon. She swiped up to see the complete notification and read to herself: You have a new message from Ben.
Gia took several steps away from the gate, landing in a seated position with her legs swung to the side of one of the lounge chairs she and Carla had spent many an afternoon on, laughing and drinking wine. She clicked open Only Gardeners and braced herself for… she didn’t even know.