How Green Becomes Wood

"The flowers are dangerous, if Ivy starts calling flowers the wrong thing, Daizi will hold a grudge over it," Dark lightly teased, handing the pot holders back over, "She's up in our bedroom."
 
"Then it's a good thing it'll be a while before Ivy can read," Alec said brightly. "How is she? Should I go say hi?" He started to walk in the direction of the stairs and then stopped. "Maybe I shouldn't. She needs rest, after all. But what if she's lonely?" He frowned, truly conflicted.

"Go say hi. She said she'd be expecting you," Xander said blandly.

Alec brightened. "Really? Okay!" He ran up the stairs, pausing by his room to toss the pads onto his bed to be sorted later. Then he hurried to his parents room and tapped very cautiously.
 
"She will be glad to see you," Dark promised, walking away mid conversation because the living room had gone quiet, which was never a good sign anymore. Luckily, it was just because Amty Zeinab had stepped onto the back porch with Ivy for a moment.

Hearing the sound of footsteps rushing up and down the hall, Daizi sat upright in bed and when the knock came she chuckled very softly and said, "You can come in, Alec."
 
Xander grumbled about more junk getting dropped off in his room and wandered off to find a quiet spot to do his homework.

Alec opened the door and stuck his head in. "How did you know it was me?"
 
"Dark and Xander would only run up and down the hallway if there was an emergency, and if there was an emergency, they wouldn't knock. Amty Zeinab doesn't run and Ivy can't. It only could have been you," She explained, scooting over to make room for Alec as if it were possible for there not to be room with just her in such a large bed.
 
"I did! Oh!" He shifted to find his pocket and pulled out a highly crumpled flower. "I got this off the floor for you. And I think I sat on it. But it smells lovely!" He held it on his palm near her face so she could smell the scent of the flower. "It's a really nice smell, I think."
 
"That sounds like very wise advice, indeed," Alec giggled. "Sorry. It was one of the blooms on the floor that I swept up, and I wanted to show it to you. Then I forgot it was in my pocket."
 
Alec started to tell her about his conversation with Tristan about goals, but then he hesitated. Daizi seemed to be feeling better, but what if she was putting on a good face for him? He didn't want to burden her with his troubles when she had so many of her own no matter how much she said he could. What if she was feeling really delicate, and if she didn't have an answer or something she would take it too hard? Maybe he'd wait to make sure she was actually feeling better before talking about that.

"It was a really good day," he said instead, and he was not lying. "It was a little rocky a couple of times, but overall it evened out to a good day. I think I did well in school today. Our English teacher handed out a pop quiz, and I almost aced it!" He told her more about school, the fun things that had happened, about Becky and Tom getting into the next play, about all the random gossip. There were still a few stories about Dark floating around, but not as many as there used to be. Now he was being commemorated into legend!

Then he told her about work, about all the odd customers that had come in, the nice ones and the weird ones. One lady had insisted on smelling each individual bloom before accepting a bouquet and had even rejected a couple for smelling "wrong." Tistan had accommodated her even though it had held him up a bit. Another one had tried to return a bouquet that had been bought weeks ago. The return had been politely but firmly refused. One lady tried to return a vase that Tristan would have refunded her for... except it hadn't been bought at his store. It was from Walmart. She'd at least looked incredibly embarrassed and didn't push the issue.
 
Daizi chuckled softly as she listened to Alec's stories, occasionally asking a question, but mostly just listening, staying leaned up against him. She definitely wasn't really herself, at least not completely. She was much quieter, more withdrawn although she tried not to be, and she didn't laugh as much. But she listened to every word, even if some of her responses were delayed or her answers were shorter than they'd normally be. Even now, wearing her husband's big sweater, having spent most of the day in bed, she was trying to be there for him.
 
Ultimately, Alec did not bring up the conversation. Primarily because he forgot about it. It was nice snuggled up here on the massive bed talking to his mother. She was clearly a bit low-energy right now, but she seemed better. At least, a little bit better, and he was relieved. She was getting better! She'd be fine in a couple of days, especially once everyone left. He'd miss Amty Zeinab, and he had no doubt she would, too, but once all the pressure was off, she'd be fine! Just like she always was. So, he chattered away, answered questions, and even attempted to make his voice different for the different characters in the stories he was telling her about his day. Right now was good. He liked good. A lot.
 
After they were well into the conversation, Dark came upstairs and knocked lightly on the door before stepping inside, "Dinner is ready downstairs, if you are hungry."

Daizi thought about it for a few moments, "I am hungry... "

"I can bring some up for you, if you like."
 
Alec squirmed ans flopped himself out of the bed and brushed himself off. "I could bring it up for you, Mama. We could have a picnic on the bed!" He paused and glanced at Dark, thinking of the crumbs. "Or not."
 
"Okay. Then we can bring you something," Alec promised even though it was what Dark originally promised. "Rest well." He headed out and downstairs, pleased that at least Daizi seemed a little better.
 
"Thank you, habibi," Daizi said, squeezing his hand, "Thank you for sitting me. I'm proud you did so well on your quiz."

Dark waited in the room until after Alec had left, when he asked, "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Daizi replied, "It's nice how many people want to sit with me, although it makes me a little bit like I'm on my death bed in the 1800s. It's sweet."
 
Xander was sitting in the living room doing his homework on the coffee table, and he left it there to go to dinner. Alec dropped his homework off in the same area so he could do it after dinner, and the pair went to the dining room for food. They ate quickly, Alec's appitite back up to almost normal, and thanked Dark and Amty Zeinab before heading to the living room to finish their homework. Xander was almost done, but he stayed to help Alec.
 
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