Page 48 of For All My Effort
Inside, the same dark floral decorations lined the wall. Hanging from the ceiling was a giant chandelier, the fake flames radiating a warm orange glow which added to the eerie ambiance. There was an older couple inside, looking through all the potential souvenirs off to the side while another female stood behind the desk where the signs all pointed to start the tour.
When we got directly in front of her, she didn’t so much as glance up from her book. Her naturally curly hair was pulled back into a messy bun, although a portion of the back that was meant to go up had been missed so it was still dangling. Even the little brown baby hairs around her forehead were tight curls. The glasses she wore weren’t cute, the lenses making her eyes so big that it meant her eyesight must be really, really bad.
The book she wasn’t looking up from was a literal textbook. By the looks of it, she was probably halfway through, the single image, a diagram on the bottom corner of the page, several hexagonal shapes all linked together with random letters around it. The rest of the page was filled with tiny, printed words, making it obvious why her face was literal inches from it.
And yet, the most shocking thing about the woman was that she was obviously an omega. Her floral scent was distinct enough that it didn’t blend in with the rest of the nearby garden.
Zeke cleared his throat, trying to get her attention politely. When that didn’t work, he said, “Good afternoon.” Still, nothing. “Is this where we start the tour?”
A different voice, a male voice from behind us, said, “Yes.”
That got the omega behind the desk to look up, her gaze immediately finding the male who spoke before her eyes widened as she realized we had been talking to her. She blinked her owlish eyes as she apologized.
“Rosy, will you get them some maps and a mask?” the male asked. He obviously worked there, not only from the way he spoke with the omega—Rosy—but the dark green apron tied around his neck and covering most of his body was a dead giveaway. A tool belt went around the apron, and a heavy-duty mask was dangling around his neck.
“Of course,” Rosy said, shuffling around a lot of things to find what the male asked for. “I’m sorry about that. This chapter was just so interesting, and I got caught up in the dissection of the C18 Carbon. Just a single component and yet it determines the subdivision of a toxin. Amazing, right?”
I nodded, more amazed by her than actually understanding her words.
The male behind us chuckled too.
Rosy opened the map and leaned her face only inches from it as she started to draw on it with a dark marker. “You’re going to start here on your self-paced tour, since we unfortunately are done with our guided ones today. Just follow the path. Remember, don’t lean closer to smell any of the flora and funga. And if it’s in a wire cage, definitely don’t squeeze your fingers through to touch it.”
Next, she underlined a few of the letter and number combinations on the drawn path before flipping the map booklet to the next page. “Here is how you know what you’re looking at. Most plants have a little placard with a description, but the map has all their names.”
“How come the names aren’t out there?” I asked.
“Sometimes people get it into their head that a certain name of a plant might not be toxic, or that it’s harmful in a different way than they think. If you have to read the description first, it’s easier to resist the urge to touch or sniff.”
She was smart. It was a weird thought, but one I could barely get past. This omega worked, she was intelligent, she was literally actively learning.
“We do ask that you keep your masks on the entire time.” The male walked around to the back of the desk, grabbing a water bottle out of a little cooler that must be back there. This close, I could scent his alpha designation, and the fact that he was clearly mated to the omega here.
Zeke and I both declined even though I was tempted to buy one just so I could keep talking to Rosy. An omega with a job? How was that even possible? I had so many questions.
Picking up the map and masks, then handing me mine, Zeke paid, and we made our way to the door with a final warning above the frame about the deadly and harmful plants in the garden.
I was basically bouncing with energy and excitement as Zeke and I put on the matching black masks. They were pretty thin, still breathable, but I figured it was more of a reminder to not lean over and sniff than anything.
As soon as we were outside, I squeezed Zeke’s arm, wondering if he’d noticed she was an omega.
“I did,” he agreed. “The only thing I can think of is that she’s not considered an actual employee. She’s probably not getting paid. But they’re also not having to pay another receptionist. Ingenious, really. Now, put all thoughts of the other omega out of your head. This is our date, yeah?”
I went on my tippy toes to kiss him—realized I couldn’t. Tried to touch our noses, which were also covered. Then, in probably a world record timing for breaking the rules, considered taking my mask off.
Zeke laughed, leaning down to touch his forehead to mine.
With our hands clasped, we started our tour. The cobblestone pathway had been dyed a black color and the walls of the garden were made of stone, making the whole place feel like it was centuries old.
There was a lot more green than I’d anticipated, not only because I just assumed the plants would continue with the dark vibe, but also because it was still winter. Some areas had a solar warmer, others had missing leaves where the elements did finally have an effect. The flowers, though, were beautiful. Colorful and harmful, I was aspiring to be like them.
We took our time through the garden, reading all the plaques, looking up their names, talking about which one was our favorite, laughing at the uniquely harmful consequences of some. Our words were slightly muffled by the masks, but not enough that it made it too hard to understand each other.
A lot of the names were new to me, but some were so infamous that they had a second plaque explaining the history of use.
The garden’s grounds were huge. A tour was only part of the location because in the very back there was an ‘event area’ which gave me all sorts of ideas. We saw a few employees working—one hosing down large gardening equipment, another lying down on their back taking pictures of a flower that was slightly drooping, and even one sweeping the walkway with a broom that looked like it was meant more for flying than cleaning.
When we came to the end of the tour, arriving back at the welcome center, I couldn’t help saying, “This was the best date ever.”