Many thanks for Rochelle Wisoff-Fields for hosting Friday Fictioneers!

PHOTO PROMPT © Rowena Curtin

Haley followed the sunrise tap of the woodpecker into her tidy garden. She didn’t mind being alone, she insisted. She heard the neighbor’s back door click closed.

Their yards matched, minus the petunias. She called them frumpy. No, he protested. Friendly. 

Stray cats gathered, meowing for breakfast. Walking towards their bowl, Haley froze. What…? Petunias?

“Lunch today?” The note read. “Anything’s better than petunias. -John”

She laughed.

…

John answered the door at noon. “I’m glad you came.” He winked. “Feel free to return the petunias.”

“Crazy thing I realized today.”

He raised his eyebrows. 

“Sometimes our tastes in flowers change.”