The Art of being Strangers

xiv.

"Then I'll go. I'll tell you everything they said," Basil says.

I was really glad he suggested that. "Sure, thanks."

Basil smiled, probably knowing that I was relieved, and started walking towards them. They were sitting on the grass, on a jacket that kept them somewhat warm. I squinted my eyes and soon noticed it was Ansel's denim jacket. I then shifted my glare to them. Marigold was talking and Ansel just kept nodding.

For the first time in a while, I was glad Basil couldn't be seen by anyone but me. It helped us in this situation. I sat on the nearest bench I could find and waited for Basil to come back.

Smiling at how close Basil got to them, I fixed my glasses that were on the tip of my nose again. I should really get a new pair I thought. Basil was now slowly letting himself fall to the ground, sitting next to them as if he part of the conversation.

But then I suddenly remembered what happened Saturday with Ansel. How he came over to Marigold's house all covered in dirt. The image was still clear in my mind. I haven't talked to Marigold nor Ansel yesterday, even though it was Sunday, and to be honest, I was a bit scared for today. I was worried that Marigold got mad at me over time. If she did, I really couldn't blame her.

I had forgotten to ask Basil about Ansel. I wondered if he knew something about it. I know Ansel already told me the reason why he was looking like that, but I needed Basil's validation to not suspect that Ansel was lying. Basil will surely know if he was lying, right? They were best friends, so I'm sure he would know if Ansel's mother was actually a Gardner. Basil and I got too worked up that evening – talking about what his relationship with Marigold was like – that I forgot to ask him.

I looked over to where Basil was last seen, sitting down near Marigold and Ansel. But he wasn't there anymore. There was an empty place where he was supposed to be sitting.

I suddenly see a dark shadow.

"I'm back," Basil says as he sits down on the bench beside me.

"What did you hear?" I ask him.

"You were right. Nothing important, really. Just some personal stuff."

I scoffed. Of course I was right, yet I still accepted his request to spy on them.

"Then how come you stayed there so much?" I inquired.

He shrugged. "They didn't talk about anything in particular at first, so I had to wait and see if anything interesting would show up in their conversation. However, nothing did."

"Did they mention anything about me? Or about Saturday?"

"No, why?"

"I'm afraid Marigold told Ansel about the picture."

"She probably has."

"I asked her not to. She said she wouldn't tell him, and that it would remain our business," I explained to him.

"And she also said she didn't know me," Basil reminded me.

I sigh. "Yeah, true. I guess I'm just scared Ansel wouldn't be so chill about it. Which would be very unlikely, but I'm not willing to take any chances. I don't want to ruin my relationship with either of them, I hope you understand."

" You're scared about what Ansel will think if he finds out about you going through Marigold's stuff?" he tilts his head.

"Yes, that."