recognize / b.simmons

33

amari and ben have been, so far, one month strong. ever since that day at love park, amari feels like everything finally clicked into place and set things in motion. she's calmed down a lot, has barely went out, and is focusing on her job, herself, and her relationship.

it's october, which means that the NBA season is right around the corner for ben. he's been working out everyday for the last month with the team preparing for the season, but he's managed to balance it out with amari.

amari zips up her green corduroy jacket closer to her chin as she shivers in the cold chicago air. she regrets not wearing her hair down, being that her exposed face and neck are now the coldest parts of her body.

she shoves her hands in her pockets and walks as quickly as she can in her tall boots. her phone buzzes and she quickly pulls it out and presses 'answer' without looking at the caller id. "hello?" she says into the phone, keeping her pace and hoping that she didn't answer the call of a killer.

"you almost here, girl?" her coworker and friend, camille, asks.

amari holds her phone between her ear and shoulder and she finally zips her jacket up all the way. "i just got off the subway, i'm about two blocks away," amari says and then switches the phone to the other side. he car was currently in the shop because one day it just wouldn't start and she wasn't able to figure out why, so the subway has been her friend for the last week.

"okay, just a heads up that anderson is being anderson," camille says. anderson is their boss and he's always uptight about something and is the type of man who needs power to survive. a giant egomaniac.

amari scoffs and crosses the street, her building coming into view. "thanks, cam. see you soon," amari says, hanging up and picking up the pace so she could get there sooner.

her shins and calves hurt by the time she gets into the lobby, but she ignores it. she fishes her badge out of her purse and scans it. "hey, dorian," amari says as she passes by the front desk.

"good morning, sweetie!" she replies. dorian is an older black woman who used to be a nurse, but recently quit because she's almost 70 and it was becoming too much of a stress.

amari smiles at her and walks to the elevator and clicks the up arrow. she waits about 10 seconds before the elevator doors open, and she steps in and clicks her floor.

exiting the contraption, she beelines it to her desk, camille and vanessa talking around it. "hey, ladies," amari says, setting her bag down on her chair. the two women jump up from her desk, allowing for a vase of flowers to be seen. amari furrows her brows. "when did this get in?" she asks, looking at camille since she sits right next to her.

"about right after i called you," camille answers, unable to hide her big smile. amari skeptically looks at the flowers and then at vanessa.

"is today a holiday?" amari asks, mostly to herself. it was october 14th, and if valentines came early this year, she had no idea. amari grabs the vase or flowers and holds them up to her nose.

it was a bouquet of peonies: white, pink, and orange. they were beautiful and her favorite flower.

there's a note attached and amari opens it:

Just because, hope you like them.
Miss you.

B

amari smiles at the card and tucks it back in the vase. ben was sweet for no reason. he just woke up thinking about her and felt like he needed to send her flowers—her favorite ones at that.