‘Wanna take a ride with me?’ she asked, smiling coyly.
‘Definitely,’ he replied, kissing her again. ‘But first, I’ve got something for you.’
She raised an eyebrow at him before he put one of his hands over her eyes, resting the other on the small of her back.
‘Ready?’ His lips brushed her ear.
‘What are you up to?’ She held on to him tightly as he guided her off the verandah.
‘Okay. Open.’ Oggi took his hand away from her eyes. Alice gasped.
The peeling, mint-green Volkswagen Beetle had a rusted bonnet and was missing one hubcap. Around the rearview mirror was a lei of fiery petals.
‘Oggi,’ Alice exclaimed. ‘How did you do this?’ She opened the door and sat in the spongy driver’s seat, running her hands over the big, thin steering wheel.
‘I worked extra shifts at the timber yard.’ He shrugged. ‘And … I might have gotten it for a good price over the bar.’
She burst into laughter. Earlier that year Oggi had picked up night work at the local pub.
‘You swindled a drunk out of a car for me?’ She leapt up.
‘The very least I would do,’ he said with a half-smile as he pulled her close.
‘But what if I didn’t pass my test?’
He ran a fingertip along the bare skin peeking between her singlet and skirt, hooking his finger over her waistband to graze the top of her knickers. Warmth tingled the inside of her thighs.
‘I just knew you would,’ Oggi replied.
Alice kept her eyes open while she kissed him, wanting to remember everything she could about this moment, wanting to keep it in its wholeness forever; the bright, lucid light, the sound of the butcher birds singing, and the green river flowing behind them. The heat and hunger spreading through her body for the boy, the person, she loved most in her world.
Alice drove home in her new Beetle with Oggi and Harry following in the farm truck. She couldn’t believe she was driving a car Oggi had bought for her. It was perfect. The peeling mint-coloured paint, and the solid thunk of the doors when she closed them. The big steering wheel, bouncy little seats and springy pedals. Most of all, the rumble and vibration of the engine, so loud she almost couldn’t hear the stereo. All the hours of work it must have taken for him to save enough money. All for her. A thrill rippled through her body as she relived moments from the hour they’d just spent by the river. She couldn’t get enough of him.
When she pulled up at Thornfield Alice pressed the middle of the steering wheel, laughing at the cheery beep of the Beetle’s horn. Oggi pulled up beside her. The Flowers hurried down the path between the house and the workshop to greet them.
‘You did it, sweetpea!’ Candy squealed, a streak of batter on her chin, wrapping her in a cinnamon-scented hug. The others huddled around, exclaiming over the Beetle.
Twig came up behind them. ‘Hey, you did it,’ she said. ‘Congratulations, Alice.’ She kissed Alice’s cheek.
‘Thanks,’ Alice said uncertainly. She searched Twig’s eyes. ‘What is it, Twig?’ she asked.
Twig looked at Oggi and then to Alice. ‘June’s, um, she’s —’
A backfiring motor interrupted them. June drove a restored Morris Minor truck out from behind the house. It was painted a bright and glossy yellow, with white inner rims on polished hubcaps. As June turned to park, Alice read the lettering on the door.
Alice Hart, Floriographer. Thornfield Farm, where wildflowers bloom.
Her heart sank. When Alice turned seventeen, June had started talking about her taking a managerial role at Thornfield once she’d finished school. It wasn’t the idea that bothered her as much as the fact that June never asked if it was what she wanted. And it wasn’t lost on Alice that June always ignored Oggi in any talk of her future.
‘A gift from us all,’ June said as she got out of the truck. ‘Everyone chipped in.’
‘Oh, it’s … it’s …’ Alice faltered. ‘It’s amazing, June. Everybody. Everyone, thank you so much.’
June met her eye. ‘And what’s this?’ she asked, gesturing to the Beetle.
‘You won’t b-believe it,’ Alice stammered. ‘Oggi saved up and bought it for me.’
June’s smile didn’t waver. ‘Oggi,’ she snorted. ‘What an extraordinary gift for you to give Alice, when you can’t afford a car of your own. How lucky we both had the same idea! So, Alice can have the Morris, and Oggi, you can keep the VW. Everyone wins.’ She clapped her hands together. ‘Well, Candy’s spent all morning making a veritable feast …’
‘Yes,’ Twig said, too loudly, rushing forward. ‘Yes, everyone, let’s eat.’
As the group turned towards the path, Twig sidled up to Alice. ‘Just give her some space,’ she cautioned. ‘She’s been planning that surprise for six months, and she’s just taken aback a bit, that’s all.’
Alice forced herself to nod. But why is it always about her? She wanted to scream.
When Oggi came to her, Alice couldn’t bear to look at him. He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. Kept squeezing until she looked up. Despite the humiliation she knew he must be feeling, he winked at her. After a moment, she squeezed his hand in return.
Following a tense brunch, Alice and Oggi slipped out of the house and ran to the river. They sat on the bank. She made a chain out of wildflowers. He polished white river stones on his shirt and skipped them across the water. She felt the intensity of his sidelong glances but she couldn’t bring herself to speak. She didn’t know what to say. How to apologise for June’s behaviour. How to apologise for not standing up for him and his beautiful gift. How to apologise for not standing up for herself. Eventually, he broke the silence.
‘She can’t get away with it, treating you like this. Like you’re just something in her garden that she can tell when to bloom or not.’ Oggi didn’t look at her.
Alice knotted daisy stems together.
‘Sometimes it feels like that,’ she said. ‘Like I’m just one of the seedlings in her glasshouse. I’ll never get out from the protection of her ceiling. My future is written.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘It feels like my destiny is decided. You know? Like, this is it. I’m where I’ll always be.’
‘Is that what you want?’ He studied her face.
She snorted. ‘You know it’s not.’
After a long time, he cleared his throat. ‘So, I’ve got another surprise for you.’
Oggi reached into his pocket and took out a dog-eared postcard. Offered it to Alice. She took it from him, and recognised a scene from his stories. The Valley of the Roses.
‘The thing is, by the time you turn eighteen next year, we’ll have enough saved up for our flights.’ He rubbed his thumb over her ring finger, sending warmth up the underside of her arm and into her heart. ‘We could fly into Germany and catch the train to Sofia. We could camp under the stars. Drink rakija to keep us warm, and make pear stew from the tree in my grandmother’s garden. I could farm roses and you could sell them at the markets. We could be different people and live different lives. We could be together, just us.’ He held both of her hands in his. ‘Alice.’ His eyes searched her face for her answer.
Alice’s lungs expanded with longing for lands covered in snow, cobblestoned cities, and rose gardens that grew from the bones of kings. She didn’t understand why Oggi was laughing until she realised she was nodding.
‘Yes,’ she said as he drew her close. ‘Yes,’ she laughed, into his ear. He wrapped his arms around her, shaking slightly. The sun speckled Alice’s face with warm light. Oggi kissed her forehead and her cheeks and her lips. He named more places they would go and things they would do in their new life. Together.