I came upon a display of terrariums and stopped to study them. Though I’d made up my mind that I now disliked the Hidden Fern, they were actually kind of beautiful: gorgeous little antique-looking glass boxes, like miniature ferneries, filled with plants that made me feel like I was in The Secret Garden. No two were the same: some tiny, others larger; some were paneled with pieces of colored glass; some featured distinctive ironwork—a metal bird that roosted on top. One had a stained-glass window, with a green so beautiful it made my heart burst.

They were like little works of art, just like our fairy gardens.

I brought the one with the green stained-glass window up to the front, where Ros was still scribbling.

“I’m almost done,” they said.

“Look at this,” I said. “It’s cool, isn’t it?”

I was downplaying how attached to it I was: It was so beautiful, I felt it in nearly every part of my body, even the parts I didn’t think about, like the curves of my ears or the backs of my knees. The terrarium itself was simple—a rectangle with a steepled roof, and a clever latch that meant you could prop the roof open, creating a kind of escape hatch you could peer into, without anything separating you from the plants within. The inside was even more beautiful: The back side was covered entirely in moss that looked so soft I wanted to lay my head against it. The plants that flourished within were a deep green, their leaves ribbed with white. I didn’t just love that terrarium; I wanted to zap myself with a shrink ray and live inside that terrarium.

“Those are beautiful, aren’t they?” Jess Orlando piped up. “A local artist makes them.…”

Ros finally put their pen down and looked at the terrarium.

“That one’s actually one of my favorites,” said Jess.

But it wasn’t her validation that I wanted.

“Should we get it?” I said.

“For who?” asked Ros.

“For us,” I said. Who else did they think it would be for? “For the Lily Pad.”

“We have enough plants at the Lily Pad,” said Ros. “And I’m sure it’s expensive.”

“At least with these ones you don’t have to take care of them,” said Jess. Why was she suddenly on my side? Was she just trying to make a sale, or was she being sincere? It was distressing how nice she was.

“Get it if you want,” said Ros. They put their pen down and handed their completed application over to Jess. “Hey, thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Jess said back. “What do you think about the terrarium? Should I ring you up?”