Page 10 of Familiar Things New
“Thank goodness,” Andrew said through a relieved-sounding exhale, some worry leaving his face. “I really never meant to make such a mess.” He touched one of the orchid’s petals, brushing it lightly with his fingertips. “Poor little fellow,” he whispered softly. After a pause, he looked back up at Edwin and cringed before huffing a short laugh. “Sorry.”
Warmth unfurled in Edwin’s chest, and he laughed a little, too. Andrew’s obvious concern for the orchid was incredibly sweet.
Sudden, fast footsteps caused both Edwin and Andrew to startle. In an instant, William appeared in the entryway, his face scrunched up in what looked like confusion.
“Huh. Interesting.” He looked at the broken planter. “What happened here?”
Andrew practically leapt to his feet.
“I . . . knocked it over,” he confessed. He pushed a hand through his hair and then scrubbed the back of his neck, staining his skin brown with the dirt that was still clinging to his palm. “I really think I must be the least coordinated person on the planet. Given that, I really shouldn’t have even been in here in the first place.”
William snickered.
“Why were you in here?” he asked curiously, sounding more amused than mad.
“I needed a moment to myself.” Andrew frowned. “Please don’t be upset with your nurseryman. This whole thing . . . it’s entirely my fault.”
Edwin pushed himself to his feet.
“No. It’s not,” he said. “I was the one who put the planter on the overly crowded table in the first place. I thought it might look nice there, with the other orchids.”
Humming, William nodded a few times, his lips pursing as he did. Edwin wondered if he was debating whether he ought to set fire to the conservatory now or later, after Andrew was finished with the photographs.
Finally, William simply shrugged. “Oh well.” He turned to leave. “I’ll be in the library. Not the one where we’ll be taking the portraits, though. It smells a little funny in there. Come find me when you’re ready, though, Andrew. After you wash up, you can take my photograph and then we can chat for a while. It’ll be a bit longer before my parents are ready to sit for a family portrait.”
Edwin lunged forward and caught William’s arm.
“What should we do about the planter? I thought you said it was from India.”
Cocking an eyebrow, William said, “It is.”
“Well, won’t your parents be mad?”
“Oh, they won’t notice,” William replied with a flippant flick of his wrist. “I’ll just tell them that I asked you to switch the orchid to another one.” He looked over Edwin’s shoulder, probably at the new planter. “Hm. You ought to find a prettier pot, though. Dump out one of the sweet peas, maybe.”
Edwin’s eyes bulged. “I can’t kill one of the—”
“You know what I mean, Edwin,” William said with a roll of his eyes. “Switch one with the orchid. I’m not suggesting that you throw a pea plant out on the lawn.”
Edwin worried at his bottom lip, his hand still clutching William’s sleeve. William shrugged Edwin off with a chuckle and then turned to face him, planting one hand on either of Edwin’s shoulders.
“Edwin,” he said in a falsely stern tone. “Everything is fine. It was a silly, little brown planter. One that wasn’t even that nice. And the orchid itself seems like it’ll survive.”
“It will,” Edwin confirmed. “I think.”
“Good. Because my parents will notice if that goes missing.”
Unease clawed at Edwin’s insides. His resulting facial expression must have been a sight because William laughed some more and began patting his cheek.
“Poor Edwin Beasley. Forever fretting about one thing or another.”
Edwin swatted him away. William tried to pat Edwin’s cheek once more, but Edwin playfully shoved him back a little. William’s continuous chuckling and their pretend tiff stripped away some of Edwin’s lingering worries, and he found himself laughing too.
“Go wait for your portrait,” Edwin scolded.
“Gladly.” William looked at Andrew. “I’ll find us a couple of pints of beer, too, like I promised. Unless you prefer to enjoy one of your solvents?”
Edwin arched an eyebrow. Behind him, Andrew huffed a light laugh.
