in this velvet daze

Venus As Boy

There is probably no other place that makes Avery this happy and fills her soul with so much peace and joy. If there was a Utopia, a paradise on earth, it would be this very place.

Ikea.

And that's why she can't stop smiling. And also because Felix is putting his whole heart and soul into every little made-up scenario.

"Well, I'm not so sure about this green."

Felix gasps, clutching his chest dramatically. "That's the whole point of this kitchen. It has character."

"True, but what if we get bored. You can't change it easily, you can't paint over it, right?"

Felix stares at her for a beat too long, then turns to the oven in front of him. "I don't want a white kitchen."

"Me neither."

Their goal for the day was to find the perfect French press, a task Felix had adopted as his own since Avery had mentioned wanting to make her own coffee at home. He's been talking about some Arabica or that every single day, undertones, aromas, or whatever new thing he read on the internet.

They make their way around the store, acting out various instances of domestic dysfunctionality and bliss. After a late lunch of Swedish meatballs and apple pies they finally find what they came here for.

"It's 20 pounds," Avery reads the tag.

"That's it, we found it," Felix announces, throwing his arms up.

After Felix spends a good 30 minutes dilly dallying at the plant section, trying to find a cute little plant for his room, they leave.

"We need to name them," Felix says on the bus, holding his plant carefully in his lap. It's a little succulent.

"Okay. You need to get a pot for your child.Do you have any soil at home?"

Felix looks dumbfounded. "Umm, no?"

"We'll buy a small bag somewhere."

"How do you know all this?"

"All this? I think everyone knows when you buy a plant you need to re-pot it or whatever."

Felix stares, pursing his lips, confused as ever.

"Don't you have any plants at home?"

"We do. But I never took care of them."

"Okay well, we can google about this plant, I'm sure it's easy, plants without flowers are easier, and I'll remind you to water it and everything."

Nothing from Felix.

"Not that you would forget! Just saying, I can remind you if you want."

He nods without looking up, and turns to the window. They travel in silence, getting off the bus and walking towards the Ivy almost automatically.

When he finally speaks, they are walking down Maple Avenue, with huge trees on both sides, white flower petals covering the hot asphalt.

"I never saw your house."

"Yeah?"

Felix stays quiet.

"Do you want to see it? There's not much really."

Felix doesn't say anything, and when he does a while later, Avery wishes he didn't.

"I wanted to be friends with you," he says quietly.

"Why?"

Felix shrugs.

"Why? I wasn't even nice to you."