GRAVITY | R. DIAS

• 25 •

February 14, 2024

"So are you dating Dele now or not?" Alex asks, putting his phone down on the kitchen counter. He's here because he needed Martha's help for Dan's Valentine's gift.

Martha sighs loudly, "How many times do I tell you? We're just friends?"

"Well it's hard to believe if he's publicly announcing he's getting you flowers and you sending him heart emojis," Alex grins.

Before the girl can answers, the doorbell echoes through the house. Martha takes of her oven gloves, she had just put them on to take the cookies, Alex and her baked, out of the oven and walks to the front door. Her best friend hot on her heels.

"Well that was quick," her best friend proclaims, when Martha opens the door and they're greeted by a man holding flowers.

The deliverer confirms Martha's name and then hands her not one, but two bouquets. One with a dozen of pink and white roses and loads of other flowers, another much simpler with yellow tulips.

"Two?! Martha just marry the guy already!" Alex screams out after the girl closed the door.

Martha hands the one with the tulips to Alex and picks out a card from the bigger one. "They aren't from Dele," she says once she reads the content of the card.

'Happy Valentine's Day Martha! We want to invite you to our game next saturday and Nathan's birthday party afterwards.

Jack, Erling & Nathan (and the rest of the team of course)'

"Another party?" Alex peers over Martha's shoulder to read along. "Can I come this time? Please?" Martha turns to look at her best friend, who's giving her his best puppy eyes. "I also want to party with hot footballers,"

"I'll ask Erling or Jack,"

This answer seems to satisfy Alex and he  focuses back on the bouquet of tulips in his hands. "Are these from Dele, you think?" he inspects the flowers closely, spotting a card between them. He picks it out and starts grinning widely reading the name on the bottom of the card. "For god's sake Mar, how come you attract footballers left and right? Is it a family thing?"

"Who's it from?" she pulls the card from his hand and starts reading it.

'Martha, I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to be friends and I still hope that one day we can be just that.

Happy Valentine's Day,
Rúben'

"You can take them home if you want," Martha says after she finishes reading. Did he really send her flowers on Valentine's Day? If he really wanted to apologize he could have sent them any other day, just not today.

"Are you sure? They're one of your favourite flowers in your favourite colour," Alex asks. "How does he even know that?"

How does he know that? Martha gets a flashback to the hospital visit, where Ethan let it slip that she loves the colour yellow. Did he really remember all this time?

This proves even more that she needs to keep her distance from him and that starts with getting rid of these flowers, so she won't be reminded of his existence.

"Yes take them, I already got enough flowers,"