“The Flowers”

“When they arrived, she stood to the fore extending a handful of flowers. “Oh, aren’t they absolutely beautiful?” Windy asked, as only she could, a question that had been put a million times before in a million similar situations, but never with such genuinely honest questioning, with a real desire to know if the others saw the lovely little blooms in just the way she did, as evidence of a generous God, as gemstones born from seed, as color welcomed into life as it could be only on a rainy English night where there was not much of it to be found. Windy hugged her friend and pulled away to look radiantly into her eyes, thanking her with the gleam of her own. She pulled Annie into the vestibule and then stood on her tiptoes to give Keegan an embrace as well. “These look like you picked them out yourself, young man,” she told him with mock authoritativeness.”