BANALITY : Draco Malfoy

27

As it happens, Graham is free the next day. He calls Ali and asks to speak with me, to make sure it's not some nasty idea of a joke. I had already planned for Tuesday to be a day off this week, thinking I would be hungover from a night with Draco. No matter. We resolve to meet up in the late afternoon and then have dinner together, since later on in the week he is supposed to visit his family for a few days. He texts Ali the address. Amanda knows the location, but won't tell me what the place is called. She gives me the directions, which I write down, so I don't forget them. It's an area nearly two kilometres south of here.

The girls pick out an outfit for me to wear. Amanda lets me borrow a jumper like the one she bought me for Christmas. It's turquoise, yellow, and dark blue. I would never, ever choose to wear yellow, but Amanda says it'll be fine. At least they will be in class when I leave, so I won't have to wrestle Ali out of doing my hair. Niamh thinks it's ridiculous too, and that I should just be myself. Ali vehemently disagrees.

The next day I leave an hour or two after lunch. I notice the books Draco bought me on the bookshelf. I throw them into my bedroom. I'll try to sell them back to the bookstore for what they are worth, but at least for now, they won't be on display.

Even though I arrive on time, Graham is outside waiting. We're at the botanical gardens. There are some plants outside, though many of the trees are tinged with the yellow and brown of fall. Graham looks up from his watch and offers a wave, before joining me.

"I promise it's nicer inside," he tells me. "It's warm enough that they have a section for cactuses to grow." Then, he pauses. "Cacti?"

"Cacti," I agree.

We enter. Admission is free, but I once again donate. He does too, then smiles at me.

"I knew I'd eventually crack you, Jane," he points out. "Turns out all I had to do was become a damsel in distress."

I laugh a little. Honestly, I have been so busy that I forgot about that man who grabbed him yesterday, "you are persistent. I was a little turned off by the idea of an affair."

He furrows his brows, "sorry?"

"You're married to the job, if I recall," I tell him.

Graham smiles and looks down at his feet, "we're just together for the kids. I'm sure she won't mind."

We head into the tropical house since he wants to save the cactus area for the end. He likes cacti a strange amount, I think. He tells me he originally went to UInverness for biology, and botany was his particular interest. He's applied to volunteer here, and if he gets accepted, he hopes to be able to move into an apprenticeship at a florist and work there.

"The lads will definitely make fun of me, but it's my life, so what do I care?" he explains. "What are you hoping to do?"

I tell him about the dentist job that I didn't get. Maybe it's time to look for another job again. There is nothing wrong with working at a hotel for the rest of my life, but I ache to do something else.

It is warm in the tropic house. We carry our coats, but my sweater is even too thick. He is obsessed with all the different florals growing on the ground, on vines covering archways, and on trees. I find myself staring at the colourful fish in the water beneath the waterfall. There are a few tropical birds in here, and they occasionally fly overhead.

"You think they'd notice if we stole one of those pineapples?" he asks, pointing up at one in the trees above us.

I glance up, "I mean, I think we could shove it in my coat and they wouldn't notice, but I think they'd see us climb to get it."