Lost in Translation

Chapter 8: Butterflies

———Ben———

Sunday, May 5th, 2019

"Uh, hi," I said weakly.

Anthony stared at me for a few seconds, mouth agape, and looked me up and down twice before clearing his throat and stepping back to usher me inside, ears reddening. The butterflies in my stomach switched from a light flutter to a mad thrashing as I crossed over the threshold.

"Ben, sorry, I— you caught me by surprise," he managed to croak out.

"Sorry, I got here a little early. I– I overestimated how long the walk would take," I said, rubbing the back of my neck with my free hand. In reality, Val had shooed me out of her house early when my frantic pacing became too much, but I absolutely was not going to admit that.

"No— no problem," Anthony said, voice still a bit breathy as he led me to the kitchen. I hadn't taken in much of my surroundings since I'd come in, my gaze mostly focused on the hardwood floor with the occasional nervous glance up at Anthony, who seemed to be doing the same.

"Oh, uh, here," I said, thrusting the bundle of flowers towards him.

"Oh. Thank you. I'll, uh... I think I have a vase around somewhere. Hold on," Anthony said, stepping away from me without taking the flowers. I pulled my arms back in, feeling a little embarrassed. Anthony flung open several cabinets haphazardly, swearing softly to himself as he dug through them. On the fourth one, he emerged, clutching a narrow vase triumphantly.

"Found it," he murmured with downcast eyes. "Here, I'll take them." I extended the flowers again, almost dropping them when our fingers brushed. Anthony inhaled sharply but otherwise kept his cool as he took the bouquet from me gently. I felt heat rush to my face, embarrassed by my own reaction.

"Thank you, again. You really didn't have to... go through the trouble," Anthony said awkwardly. "They didn't, um, come with a little packet of plant food or anything?"

"Oh, um, no, they, uh.... they didn't come with anything. I— I kind of, um, grew... them, myself..." I said, my voice trailing off with a whisper. I don't know why I felt so embarrassed. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Val said it was a good idea, but now it just seemed over the top and stupid, and—

Anthony's hand slipped, and he almost dropped the flowers and the vase. I jumped forward to catch them, but Anthony managed to keep his grip just barely. His eyes flashed up to me with a swirl of emotion that made me suck in a quick breath before looking down again and clutching the vase closer to his chest.

"Oh," he breathed out, rushing towards the kitchen table. "Shit, I'm sorry, let me set these down." He placed them carefully in the center and stepped away lightly, not looking away until he had straightened up completely.

"I didn't... I didn't know you gardened," Anthony said softly.

"It's not much," I mumbled.

"No, it's... it's something you put effort into," he replied sheepishly. "I'm sorry for almost dropping it."

"I just like flowers, is all..." I said. "It's good exercise, too."

"Yeah, you were always... athletic," Anthony muttered, almost sounding angry. I looked up in surprise, not sure what caused the change in tone. Before I could ask what he meant, I was interrupted by the front door flying open with a bang.

"Fucking shit, Ant, I got all the way to the checkout line before I realized I left my wallet by the—" the voice stopped as a tall, thin, red-haired man appeared in the door to the kitchen, looking disheveled and out of breath.