Gemotions

The morning sun slanted across the freshly-cut lawn, a perfect rectangle of green that, until yesterday, had been an ordinary patch. Now, that green was just… better. Amelia bounced on her toes as she strolled down the sidewalk, craning her neck to get a peek at the freshly installed koi pond in Mr. Henderson’s backyard. He’d always seemed so… unassuming. The quiet man with the perpetually rumpled khakis and the small, slightly overgrown garden.

Her own garden, suddenly, seemed tragically inadequate. Her brow lifted as a smile crept onto her lips and her eyes sparkled like the newly polished pebbles surrounding the pond. Today, she’d bring over a casserole, a welcome gift for the new neighbors. Mr. Henderson would surely appreciate the gesture.

Her fingers danced over her phone, scrolling through recipes. Maybe a mushroom and leek tart? Something elegant. Something worthy of the neighborhood's new, elevated status. She grinned.