New Beginnings<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first time I opened my front door to Matthew, he was holding a large bouquet of bi-colored daffodils. Their oversized, colorful flower heads leaned in one direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had met once for coffee, a typical location for people who meet online. We bantered. We laughed. We clicked. A few days later, he texted to suggest dinner. My pulse raced. That sounds great, I typed, deeming it too soon for eggplant and taco emojis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCome in,\u201d I said, and opened the door wide so he could pass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese are for you. I hope you like daffodils.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I reached out to take them. \u201cI do,\u201d I said, and then realized it was weird to say I do on our first actual date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll put them in water.\u201d I walked into my kitchen, pulled a milk glass vase from the cabinet above the refrigerator, and filled it with water. \u201cThe yellows and oranges are pretty in this white vase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPretty indeed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I smiled. \u201cThank you. They\u2019re a sweet gift.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re welcome. I cut them from my yard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s cool. Do you grow a lot of flowers?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes. Flowers intrigue me because of their hidden meanings. Did you know daffodils symbolize friendship?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My heart sunk. Friendship? A few days ago, I had been thinking about eggplants and tacos. Had I misread the signals? I shook my head. \u201cNo, I didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYep.\u201d He grinned. \u201cFriendship and new beginnings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My cheeks flushed. I didn\u2019t know what we were beginning, but like the daffodils, I was leaning in one direction.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Beginnings The first time I opened my front door to Matthew, he was holding a large bouquet of bi-colored daffodils. Their oversized, colorful flower heads leaned in one direction. We had met once for coffee, a typical location for people who meet online. We bantered. We laughed. We clicked. A few days later, he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","WB4WB4WP_MODE":"","WB4WP_PAGE_SCRIPTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_STYLES":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FONTS":"","WB4WP_PAGE_HEADER":"","WB4WP_PAGE_FOOTER":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n