a birthday bouquet

orange gerbera, pink tulips, four billy buttons. wrapped in the brown paper of an ordinary shop and brought across town by hand. the card said only the year, and a small drawing of a cake.

the vase is older than anyone in the room. it has held nine birthday bouquets and two weddings. it stands on the dresser between the window and the photograph, slightly off-centre because the cat keeps pushing it.

by sunday some of the tulips will have leaned all the way to the light and you will not straighten them. you will think of your sister at her sink.

field-note — the billy buttons last a year if left in the vase to dry. nobody throws them out. they become a separate bouquet by themselves.

see also: a wedding bouquet · a bouquet for an arrival · cut from the garden · the florist