Björn loved the arts.

He spent countless hours in his makeshift studio that he proudly set up in a former spare bedroom. A place that simply had everything an artist could dream of—his talents proved just how much he lived and breathed his work. He was a designer by heart; he loved to make clothing and later branched out to painting and coloured sketches. Handmade crafts were also a favourite of his. A woodworking area was located in his garage where he made everything from birdhouses to large pieces of furniture such as headboards, cabinets, and even a full dining room set. He frequently travelled to shows to sell his work and was now branching out online with the help of an old friend who built his website for him. There seemed to be nothing he couldn’t do.

The exposure did him well but Björn’s time was not cheap. It was expensive to commission him but he was famous with the locals and even in small towns surrounding the suburb he lived in. Because of his reputation, he made good money out of his talents. It was hard to believe that there was a time he had wondered if quitting his office job was the right decision.

That was nearly five months ago. He doesn’t ask that question anymore.

Lately he’s been in the mood to paint. His canvas was always placed in the same spot these days: out by the window where he had a prime view of his neighbour’s garden. His neighbour, a short but bubbly Finnish man named Timo, arrived to the area over a year ago and had been very supportive of his business, even taking the time to help collaborate on some crafts and fashion designs. He was an artist as well and loved to make children stories and comics. This past spring, Timo decided to take up gardening and the fruits of his labour created a beautiful field full of sunflowers in his backyard. Timo wasn’t expecting much but his sunflowers grew quickly and rose to be taller than their shared white-picket fence.

So Timo decided to plant more flowers, all of them the standard easy-to-grow type of flowers. Soon marigolds, pansies, daffodils, and daylilies were joining the family and adding such a strong splash of colour to the scenery. Björn found it peaceful to sit by his bedroom window in the early morning hours with his coffee and could spend hours to staring into the endless layers of colours.

Timo’s garden served as Björn’s inspiration. But lately, he’s been painting more than just his flowers.

He was painting Timo now too.

Björn was infatuated with Timo, and had been for a long time. He couldn’t dare to say such a thing to his friend however. What would Timo think of him then? He was so kind with a big heart. Timo was always a phone call away if someone needed a hand. He loved Timo’s company and was one of the few people in Björn’s life that he could trust. He couldn’t bare to lose a friend like Timo in his life.

So instead, he expressed his love through his paintings. There were some of Timo but nothing that would give any impressions of Björn’s feelings towards him. For that purpose, he used two characters that he designed himself—two little sheep that came from neighbouring farms. They did everything together: taking walks in the fields, sharing food, and watching the stars. In his most recent painting, one of the sheep brought over a small bouquet of flowers for its partner that it loved so dearly. In return, the other sheep nuzzles its partner’s face under a beautiful sunset.

He hoped he could bring Timo flowers one day too. But today won’t be that day. His secret stays a secret for now.

In the kitchen, Timo put on the final touches to his surprise gift. He had spent part of the morning picking out some of the nicest flowers from his garden and arranging it into the best possible bouquet he could muster together. He wrapped it carefully in a fancy white paper and wrapped an expensive red ribbon around the stem area for that final touch. He took a small envelope that was next to his wrapping supplies and placed it inside the bouquet.

He had debated for weeks as to whether or not he should go ahead with the plan but with summer winding down, his flowers won’t last much longer. The weather here was not predictable. It could be summer today but late fall by the end of the week. After all, he took up this project partially because of him.

It was easy to buy flowers from a shop. But growing your own and giving them to someone you liked meant so much more. And that was exactly what Timo had planned to do.

He had been anxious all week preparing for this moment. He didn’t know what to expect from Björn. Would he be put off by it? Or would he graciously accept the gift as a platonic affair? It was hard to predict what was going on in the mind of that Swedish man.

But either way he was about to find out.

He arrived at the door and was hesitant at first but after taking in a deep breath and exhaling, he went ahead and knocked three times. He held the bouquet behind his back as his mind raced while he waited. In what felt like ages, the door finally opened and Björn greeted him.

“Oh, hello!” Timo replied nervously. He noticed Björn was wearing his old blue apron that was stained with different colours of paint. He felt a little guilty that he had come while the man was working. “I’m sorry, I can come back later if you’re working—”

“’m not busy,” he interrupted. Björn noticed some of the large flowers sticking out from behind Timo and he couldn’t stop staring at them. He was in awe of the colours, not even realizing they were the same ones as the flowers in Timo’s garden.

Timo realized that his surprise was busted when he noticed that Björn’s attention was elsewhere. Timo’s cheeks went red as he revealed the whole bouquet to him.

“This is for you.”

Björn was tongue-tied and blushed when he took the bouquet from Timo. No one had ever given him flowers before. It was such a thoughtful gift and so much care went into making it. He couldn’t stop smiling.

“Thank ya,” Björn said. He pulled the bouquet closer in for a quick smell of the flowers. It was then he noticed the tiny envelope hiding in between some of the lilies. He needed the use of both his hands so he placed the bouquet under his arms and pulled the envelope open. It was nothing more than a small index card with a simple sentence:

Would you like to go out with me?

Timo looked away shyly and Björn was at a loss for words. All this time… Timo liked him too? And he had wasted so much time wondering if he liked him too.

“Timo...”

The man was bracing for the worst. He didn’t even wait to let him finish as his nerves took over and he was stumbling over his words, “Ahhh I’m so sorry! It was a silly thing to ask right? I mean, we’re just friends and neighbours after all—”

“Yah.”

There was a long pause.

“Huh?”

“Yah,” Björn replied with a big grin on his face. “I’d like that.”

It took a moment for Timo to register what was happening as he stared at the man dumbfounded. He did not expect things to go this smoothly.

“Really? Do you really mean that?” Timo asked worriedly. When Björn nodded affirmatively, it was Timo’s turn to smile as he felt as if his heart was going to jump out of his chest.

Björn offered Timo to come inside for coffee and cake and he simply couldn’t say no. Coffee and his homemade cakes? That was a date just in itself! He had eventually forgotten all about the paintings upstairs in his studio. But he had much preferred the afternoon they spent together discussing just how long they had liked each other and where they wanted to go for their first date. On the coffee table where hours had passed between them was the centrepiece to their gathering—the flowers from Timo’s garden.