Chapter 2

Diane leaned out of her window as her vehicle sat perched in the nursery's sandy parking area. Jasmine stood facing her friend, with her navy blue leather handbag dangling from a strap that wrapped an elbow on one of her folded arms. Jasmine's swarthy legs were braced apart in a taunting, yet argumentative posture and she unconsciously flexed her gluts to accent her points of the discussion at hand.

"Are you sure it's all right?" Diane asked with a whine and a squint.

When the two women had inspected an antique shop earlier Diane had seen an obsidian statuette of two lovers entwined, that she had wanted. The sculpture had been priced a bit steeper than Diane was willing to pay. As they left the shop, a man had driven up to it. They saw him go inside with a box in his arms. On their way to go shopping for plants, Jasmine and Diane speculated about the man's business and concluded that he worked there. In fact, they had convinced themselves that he was probably the small store's proprietor. Diane wanted to return to the shop and see if she could negotiate a deal on the statue's price.

Jasmine, on the other hand, really wished to be at the nursery. It would soon be raining if the distant grumbles of thunder meant anything. Even more urgent, it would soon be noon and Ron was due to arrive here at any moment.

An older man clad in overalls and a green work shirt was busily spreading and pegging down plastic sheeting over some of the outdoor displays. This was probably in preparation for the looming storm. Both women took a brief second of respite from their debate to regard him as he attended to his labors fifteen feet away from them. Not so much did he warrant their attention, but instead, the break allowed them to consider their options and bolster supportive arguments.

"Sure, I'm O.K. with it. Go bag your statue," replied Jasmine with a saucy twitch of her hips and a wicked smile.

"What if it rains?" inquired the blonde.

"Do you think they'll throw me out?" counter questioned Jasmine. "Besides, Ron will be here real soon. I'll just go along with him."

"I'm not too sure on either of those solutions," Diane retorted with a short snort. Jasmine had shared her apprehensions about her date.

Jasmine turned to the elderly laborer and called, " Hey mister! Excuse me. Mister!" He slowly craned his head towards her, and when she met his pale blue eyes she said, "Would you throw me out into the storm if it starts raining?"

He looked embarrassed as he shifted his gaze and slowly shook his head, returning wordlessly to his tasks.

Facing Diane again Jasmine chided, "Seeee, now you go girl. I'll leave word with the help here when I end up leaving with Ron."

"I'll be stopping anyway on my way back home, just to be sure," Diane promised. She blew Jasmine an overly emoted mock kiss, and beat a hasty route out of the parking lot.

Jasmine smoothed her sundress and set off for the greenhouse at a brisk rolling walk. She dipped her head to get a brief glance back and confirmed that the poor, dear old gent was indeed watching her. Jasmine issued a throaty chuckle. Maybe he would ring up her order later.

The greenhouse was an immense structure, covering more than an acre of ground. The plants in the yard and in the outermost areas of the hothouse did not interest Jasmine at all. She knew that these were the lesser of their products and that the real treasures were kept protected from the elements at the building's center. It was that way at every greenhouse.