The Curious Swan

by Kenzie Hart

  “Thank you for the tea,” Eddie says, unsure of what to say as he retrieves his bike from the gravel drive.

  He’d like more time to talk with Klara, but if he isn’t on time, his father will be furious, and he isn’t in the mood today to be scolded like a child. It has been too nice of a morning to ruin it with a fight at home.

  “I’m so happy you got to come by,” Klara says with a smile.

  “Me, too.” Eddie smiles back at her.

  He’s about to ask for her number when Klara says, “Eddie?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Once a week, I go out into the meadow and pick flowers. Grandmother loves her wildflowers. She says they add a touch of wildness within the house. Would you like to join me tomorrow?” she asks, her doe eyes bright and wide. She wants him to say yes, but little butterflies in her stomach make her feel unsure of his answer.

  “I would like that very much.” Eddie smiles at her, relieved and elated.

  Eddie hops onto his bike and is speeding off down the gravel road, feeling as though he could fly. He turns his head back, looking over his shoulder at Klara. She is standing in the oversized doorway with a huge grin on her face, its brightness matching his own.

  “Hey,” Eddie says, answering a phone call from his mate Mattie.

  “Your mum came by the shop this morning when I was working. Asked where you were,” he says flatly.

  “Shit,” Eddie says, pissed at himself for not thinking ahead. Mattie’s family owns a shop in town that his mum always frequents.

  “Don’t worry; I covered your ass. Told your mum you were at my house when she seemed surprised and concerned that I wasn’t with you.”

  Eddie instantly feels relief. “Thanks.”

  He isn’t sure why he lied to his parents. It’s not that he is embarrassed. The opposite is true really. Klara is beautiful and sweet. But, after the reaction his dad had to him talking with her, he didn’t want to deal with the drama this morning.

  Mattie lets out a snort. “Now, fess up. Who were you out with, you sod?”

  “Leave it, Mattie. I wasn’t out with anyone you know. It’s just a girl I met.”

  “Please tell me it was Victoria.”

  Eddie can’t help but roll his eyes at the comment. “You already know it wasn’t Victoria. I have no interest in her.”

  “You need to stop being selfish,” Mattie banters back.

  “I’m being selfish? That’s rich, Mattie.”

  “All you have to do is take her out and invite her friend along. I’ll win Samantha over if we’re alone.”

  Eddie has to hold back a laugh because there is no way Mattie is winning Samantha over. She is the girl he has been pining over for years, and it has become Mattie’s mission to get with her. She’s the one girl at school who isn’t impressed with his smooth talk and charm. So, of course, he wants her.

  Eddie doesn’t bother responding, so Mattie adds in, “Whatever. Tomorrow morning, some of the team is getting together to play a match. You’ll be there, yeah?”

  “Sorry, Mattie. Can’t. But I’ll see you at practice,” Eddie replies as his mum walks through the door. He clicks the call off, shoving the phone into his pocket.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Eddie balls his hand into a fist and taps lightly against the front door of the Kentwood Estate. He’s surprised at how excited and flustered the thought of coming back to see Klara has made him. He normally isn’t one to fuss over much of anything, honestly, yet he found himself stripping on and off different shirts this morning, feeling a little unsure. He knows Klara finds him attractive. After all, she openly blushed when he complimented her, and she got slightly closer than necessary the day before. But she is a wild card. He never knows what he is going to get when it comes to her. The way she thinks and processes things is a mystery to him. Every time he feels he has figured out a little more about her, she surprises him.

  “Eddie!” Klara smiles warmly, pulling the door wide open. She is delighted to see him. “You brought a football?”

  Eddie grins at her, pushing back his hair. “I thought it might be fun to kick it around.” He brought it so that he could get in a little practice since he was missing the pick-up match this morning, and because he thought it might impress Klara.

  “That sounds wonderful! Come on, let’s walk around to the back,” she says, stepping out onto the drive.

  Eddie watches as Klara moves next to him, holding a basketful of seeds in her hand. She is wearing a hunter-green knit sweater with a printed skirt falling halfway down her calves. Her hair is loosely tied back in a cream-colored ribbon, and she has on ruffled socks that stick out above her oxfords. Interesting is the first word that comes to mind in Eddie’s head when he sees her. But the second word that comes to mind isn’t even a word. It’s a feeling. And he feels as though he might burst with happiness. She looks young. And carefree. And happy. And Eddie can’t help the smile that spreads wide across his face as he walks beside this beautiful girl.

  “Good morning, Peter,” Klara sings softly to the chicken, spreading out food in front of him. The morning air is light against her skin, and it pushes her hair, causing it to dance around her face. “Come get your food,” she calls out to Tink and the other chickens.

  She hands Eddie a handful of seeds, and he sprinkles them onto the ground. Once the basket is empty, Klara moves alongside the fence, working her way toward the meadow. Eddie walks silently beside her, taking in the large mound of wildflowers. It is the same hill where he first met Klara two days earlier.

  “If we fill this entire basket with flowers, it should be enough to fill up all the vases in the house,” Klara says, trying to decide which flower she wants to pick first. The scents are numerous, and they meander their way into her nose.

  Eddie crouches down, pulling a single flower from the earth. Its fuzzy yellow petals surround a green stem, and they are stacked one atop the other, a few inches apart.

  “It’s lovely.” Klara breathes in the flower’s fragrance. “What is it?”

  Eddie smiles, admiring the flower. “A yellow archangel.”

  “You know quite a lot about flowers, don’t you?” Klara asks even though she already knows the answer. She could tell he looked at the flower with a certain sense of recognition. A mutual respect. She saw the smile that came to his face as he popped it from the ground. It is the same look you give to an old friend you’re visiting with again.

  Eddie nods his head, not shrugging off her question like he could. “I like to explore the woods and fields. Sometimes, I take samples home, so I can find their names. I have a few books with labels.”

  “How marvelous! You’re just like my grandfather. Well, my great-grandfather. He was a self-taught naturalist. He loved the land and was always out, documenting new species and flowers he found.”

  Eddie’s eyebrows perk up. “He sounds like he was an interesting man.”

  “Oh, he was. I’ve always wondered why he and Grandmother weren’t madly in love. But part of me truthfully thinks he couldn’t love someone as much as he did nature. Sometimes, he would leave before dawn and not come home till well after sundown. He would be covered in dirt but have his hands filled with journals and samples.”

  Eddie gets slightly giddy at the thought of seeing some of those journals. They must be filled with all the things he is most interested in.

  Klara bends down, grabs a handful of delicate bluebells, and places them in the basket. Their petals are curved outward, and it looks as though they could float along with the wind if released from the stem. Klara pictures them as nature’s ballerinas, dancing their way around the fields.

  “Did you get to know your grandfather well?” Eddie asks, placing a few more flowers into the basket.

  They move slowly through the field, stopping often to sort through large patches of flowers and towering weeds.

  “I did not. He passed before I was born actually. But Grandmother has told me many stories about him. And I’ve spent
a lot of time in his library. I’d like to take you there today. I think you’d quite like it.”

  Eddie smiles at the thought. “I would love that.”

  Eddie’s mind wanders back to Klara. About how many people she has already lost. All she has left are her father and great-grandmother, and from what he can tell, her father isn’t in her life at all. What will happen to her when her grandmother passes? Who will she have then? His eyes soften, and he feels guilty for having such a horrible thought.

  “Oh, look!” Klara exclaims, picking up a single foxglove.

  “It’s beautiful,” Eddie agrees, admiring the deep purple flower.

  “They’re my favorite along with roses. I named our swan after it. Actually, I think you will get to meet Foxglove today.” Klara delicately places the flower into her basket.

  Eddie bends down and picks a few more, adding them to the basket.

  “They look like little trumpets, don’t they? It’s as though they are calling out to the rest of the meadow. Calling to the wind.”

  “Maybe they are.” Eddie is a little shocked at his response.

  If Mattie or any of his mates had heard his answer, they would have given him so much shit. But he doesn’t care. To Klara, his answer was honest. Maybe they are calling out to the rest of the meadow. Maybe they aren’t. But it doesn’t matter because, to Klara, they are. That is the only thing that matters. If she believes in it, who is he to say she is wrong?

  Klara whips her head around, grinning at him. “They’re in their own little world.” She moves closer, so she is almost whispering in his ear.

  Eddie gets goose bumps that move from his cheek and all the way down to the tips of his fingers.

  “And, sometimes, I think I can hear them calling to me. It’s as if I’m allowed into their world every once in a while, so I can experience their magic.”

  “Are you ready?” Eddie yells at Klara from across the grassy field. He has the ball placed in front of him and a sparkle in his eye.

  “All right!” she yells back.

  She has never played before, but Eddie said they would just kick the ball back and forth for a while. She watches as he appears to give it a soft kick, but the ball comes flying fast across the field straight at her. She doesn’t have to move far to catch it with her foot.

  “Look at you!” Eddie laughs out, surprised at how easily she stopped it. Even some of his mates fall to the ground, trying to go after a ball.

  Klara giggles, and she kicks the ball back to him. It has some nice distance, but it goes in the completely wrong direction. Eddie chases after it, jogging to the spot where it lands.

  They volley the ball back and forth between the two of them for a nice while, and it takes Klara’s breath away.

  “I see why you love it! That was fun!” she says, running over to him still trying to steady her breathing. She strips off her sweater, tossing it down onto the grass, next to the basket of wildflowers. She has on a scallop-collared T-shirt, and the cool air against her skin feels wonderful.

  Eddie is pleased with how much fun she seems to be having, and he takes the ball, bouncing it between his knees. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. It was nice just to mess around. Most of the time, when I’m playing now, it ends up being so serious. Drills and matches, even casual ones with Mattie, become competitive.”

  “I thought you liked the competition?” she questions, sitting down in the grass.

  Eddie follows, sitting next to her. “I do, of course. But it’s nice to just play around, too, and remember why I fell in love with it. It’s fun, yeah?”

  “It is.” Klara smiles at him. “It’s a rush. It’s the same feeling I get when I’m running through the woods. Or chasing after the ducks.”

  “Exactly.” He laughs.

  “Eddie, why don’t you want to play at university?” Klara asks as she lays her body back onto the grass. It forms a soft bed beneath her, and she could lie here for hours. She has done so many times in fact.

  “I’ve never considered it to be an option really,” he states truthfully.

  “Do you do bad at your coursework?” Klara asks curiously, leaning up on her elbows.

  She catches Eddie’s eye, noticing he looks a little saddened.

  “I don’t do great,” he admits.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t try to. University just isn’t in the cards for me,” he replies. His forehead has a crease in it that usually isn’t there, and his brows are pinched slightly.

  “Why do you think that?” Klara wonders. Surely, there is a real reason he thinks this is true.

  “I just … I’m supposed to take over the family business. It’s what my parents want.” Eddie stays sitting up and looks at Klara propped on her elbows.

  “Is it what you want?”

  He considers the question for a moment. “Honestly, I don’t know. I do quite enjoy parts of it. I like choosing the plants and helping design new landscapes. And being outside.” Eddie looks at Klara, and she urges him on with a nod. “But I don’t enjoy the manual labor. The constant upkeep and repetition. But my father does. Being outside, working with his hands, it is enough for him. And it’s what he wants for me.”

  “Will you do something for me?” she asks, wrapping her hands around Eddie’s. She can tell he is confused about the way he is feeling. Sometimes, she feels that way, too. She has never told anyone such, as it wouldn’t do much good, but she doesn’t like seeing Eddie struggle this way.

  Eddie nods, but his eyes drop down to his hands. Seeing Klara’s wrapped around his is distracting him—not to mention, the way it heats his insides.

  “Will you go home tonight and think about what would make you happy?”

  “All right,” he says with a sigh, as though something were falling off his chest. And maybe it is. Even though he doesn’t know what he wants and doesn’t know how to tell his dad that he doesn’t want the same life as him, at least he has someone to talk to about it. Someone he can be open with. Be serious with. But also have fun with. But Eddie doesn’t like the heavy mood, as it is hard on his heart, so he looks up and gives Klara a sideways grin.

  “What is that for?” Klara asks, taking notice of his sudden mood change.

  “I’m having a wonderful day with you,” he says, moving his hand, so only one of them is connected. He entwines his fingers through hers and brings her hand to his lips, placing a kiss on it.

  Klara can barely help herself when her breath catches audibly, and her cheeks become instantly rosy. She lays her body back down onto the ground, prompting Eddie to do the same. Her heart beats heavily against her chest as he slides his thumb back and forth across the top of her hand. And she can’t help but notice from the corner of her eye that Eddie’s lips are perked up to the side in a sweet grin.

  “What do you think?” Klara asks, stepping back to look at one of the vases she filled with flowers.

  “It looks great,” Eddie says with a nod of approval.

  Mrs. B had all the vases set out on the wooden table in the corner of the kitchen, ready for Klara to refill.

  “I agree,” she says happily, taking another handful of flowers out of the basket and starting to place them into a new vase. “You can fill some, too.” She smiles at Eddie, who is sitting at the table, watching her place a rose in the mix.

  Eddie stands up, sorting through the vases until he comes upon a blue-and-yellow-patterned vase. It’s one of the few that isn’t crystal, so he picks it up. Grabbing a handful of flowers, he carefully arranges them in the vase. “For your room,” he says to Klara.

  Klara looks up, and her smile drops at the sight of it. “That vase is from my mother’s room.” Her eyes pool with water, and a tear escapes. She fans her face as she notices the flowers held within it. “You chose foxgloves.” She smiles, her tears drying up as quickly as they came.

  “I’m sorry,” Eddie says, his eyes going wide. “Should I move them to a different vase?” Great job, Eddie.

  �
�No, I love that you chose that vase for me! And those flowers. It was very thoughtful.” She moves next to him, grabbing on to his hand. “Thank you.”

  A wide grin forms on his face. He likes making Klara happy and seeing her tears dry up.

  Klara dances around the corner with a single flower in her hand. Eddie is following behind her, trying to dodge tables and antique chairs that jut out from the walls as they pass from room to room.

  “Grandmother,” Klara sings, skipping lightly into the room Cordelia is reading in.

  Her spectacles are in their usual place, resting at the tip of her nose, and her green eyes peer up over them. Before she has time to respond, Klara places a kiss on her cheek and pushes a single flower behind her ear.

  “Oh!” Grandmother exclaims, taken aback by Klara’s mood. She isn’t sure how to react.

  Klara, of all people, is always light of heart. But, today, it seems even lighter. It’s then that Cordelia notices Eddie entering the room.

  “I see,” she comments to herself.

  “Pardon, Grandmother?” Klara asks.

  “Nothing, dear,” she replies. “I see you’ve been out picking flowers this morning.”

  “We have! I hope you love the flowers we’ve arranged for the sitting room,” she says as Eddie places one of the crystal vases onto the table.

  The sight of a crystal vase full of wildflowers brings a smile to Cordelia’s face as she takes in their wonderful aroma.

  “But we are just stopping by,” Klara says, moving back toward the doorway. “We don’t want to disturb, and I’m going to give Eddie a proper tour of the house.”

  “Thank you for the flowers,” Cordelia says, looking between Eddie and Klara.

  It feels nice, having another person in the house. It brings a certain brightness back into the estate. Just this morning, Klara was opening all the windows in the sitting room, so Cordelia could get a breeze. It wasn’t a profound action or even a new one, but her demeanor has been changing. Excitement, and possibly love, has come to the Kentwood Estate, and Cordelia is enjoying watching it unfold.