X-Files Fanfic Challenge 2: One Spring Day...

Author: SyndicateGirl
Archive: Yes, definitely! But please keep my headers attached and let me know where it is if you can. Thanks!
Spoilers:
Rating: PG
Classification:  Response to Fanfic Challenge: CSM goes to a farmers market. Story must include: 1. CSM; 2. A farmers market; 3. Flowers. 500-750 Words. 
Summary: CSM goes to the farmers market to buy flowers for some special ladies.
Disclaimer: The X-Files characters are Chris Carter's and 1013 Productions', not mine, unfortunately; no infringement is intended. Please don't sue - I'm a writer, and have no money! :D

TITLE: One Spring Day

 

The scent of fresh cut flowers wafted past him again.

It was a fairly warm May morning, and the scent of hyacinth was precariously walking the fine line between pleasantly sweet and cloying.

CSM drew in a deep breath, wishing that he had a cigarette, and considered taking off his suit jacket.

Silently, he wondered why he did this to himself every year.

After all, it’s not like either relationship ended well.

Still, it was important to him, and it had become a habit over the decades.

So, through the sea of produce and flowers he waded.

His narrowed eyes scanned the booths.

He had very specific requirements for these purchases, and a limited amount of time to shop, so he needed a booth that would accommodate his needs efficiently.

Finally he spied the perfect booth, filled with flowers.

Every flower had a meaning, and he wanted to choose carefully.

CSM picked up the first basket, and began filling it with fresh cut flowers.

A few hyacinth blooms.

Sweet pea.

A few dozen Freesia.

Soft lavender roses for enchantment.

His mind skipped back for a brief second to his younger days, when the two of them would walk hand in hand through farmers markets a lot like this one.

She loved the farmers market, and he loved it for how happy it made her.

The smile never left her face as they browsed the tables of fruits and vegetables.

Then they’d go home with their bounty, and she’d make him the most amazing meals…He shook his head to clear it of his melancholy memories.

Back to the task at hand. Dark pink roses for thankfulness.

Purple lilac. Pink peonies…

He held the basket at arm’s length and nodded.

It looked appropriately cheery and lush.

He placed the first basket on the nearby table with a nod to the girl working the cash register.

She started ringing up and arranging his purchase as he picked up a second basket, and began piling up the flowers.

Coral roses for desire.

Delphinium. White roses for secrecy and innocence (he knew she would be amused by the irony of the white rose’s second meaning).

Daffodils, she always loved those.

And a full array of colorful tulips.

He couldn’t forget the tulips.

A nod to her heritage.

He liked knowing something about her that not everyone knew.

And he liked letting her know it in unspoken ways.

Silently. The way they often communicated.

He held that basket out, too, nodding at the display that he knew she’d love.

He set down the second basket, “Could I get these wrapped separately, please?”

The girl smiled and nodded as she finished wrapping up the first large bouquet in brown paper.

She did the same with the second overflowing bouquet, and set it down gently on the table.

CSM looked at the 2 distinct bouquets on the table.

So very different, and yet each beautiful in its own way.

Each with its own set of style and pleasures.

So much like the the two women that had him at this farmers market on a May morning.

He paid, grabbing 2 of the small cards near the register, and headed back to the parking lot where he could fill them out in the privacy of his own car.

After rolling down the windows, CSM lay the flowers down on the seat beside him, and turned his attention to the cards.

There had been a point in time when he prided himself on his use of words, but when it came to these women, words always seemed to fail him miserably.

After staring at the blank florist cards for what seemed like an eternity, he gave up and tossed them beside the bouquets.

He started the car, mentally planning the trip so that he could make a stealthy drop off in Greenwich before making the long drive back to Maryland to get to Cassandra’s hospital room before the end of visiting hours.

He wasn’t planning on visiting, of course, but he wanted to make sure that Cassandra got the flowers before the end of the day.He started to pull away from the lot, but stopped when a thought entered his mind.CSM snatched the two cards from their spot on the seat, and scribbled down what he wanted to say.

Just 3 words.

Succinct, and not much to give away his identity, but they would both know what he really meant.

“Happy Mother’s Day.”

CSM: Nothing vanishes without a trace...burn it!