“I thought no one else knew about this?”

“Yeah, just the three of you. Jasmine hooked us up with the seedlings from her cousin near Sacramento who’s been growing for years. And Rufus is our computer whiz. But I still want to keep it quiet for now. I don’t want any hurt feelings because I chose you to lead this.” He kissed her lightly. “We’re under some time pressure, though,” he added. “We made a big investment getting the Sanctuary off the ground and we have a lot of bills to pay. I’m counting on you.” He closed her eyes with his thumbs and kissed each of them in turn. When Sero opened her eyes, Micah was looking at her as if she was the most important person in the world—the only person in the world—and the feeling stirred in her was one she wanted to preserve for always.

* * *

The basement could only be accessed by the side door on the exterior of the house, so it wasn’t hard to be discreet. Serotina designated one room of the basement to house the existing plants through their flowering state, which required a twelve-hour light cycle. The second room would house new seedlings through their six-week vegetative state with eighteen hours of light. She and Jasmine calculated how many new seedlings they could accommodate and placed an order for the first two hundred with her cousin, who would drive them down the following weekend in exchange for cash payment from Micah.

On her days off from NatMark, instead of working the fields outside, Sero drove for hours to hydro stores in outlying areas and purchased special lights, irrigation tubing, timers, feed drums and other supplies for their operation, using the credit card her father had given her. If he asked about her purchases, which he never did, she would tell him they were supplies for the Rancheria Community Garden she’d mentioned. She spent fourteen-hour days researching, driving and working. Her arms and back ached from hauling bags of cocoa fiber and equipment, but she felt propelled by the importance of this project for Micah, for all of them.

After the shipment of new seedlings arrived, she and Jasmine meticulously set up the tables, overhead timed lights, and drip hoses for irrigation and feeding solution. “This is amazing,” Micah said when he saw the setup. “You’re amazing.” He pulled her toward him and kissed her hard on the mouth.

Bolstered by his praise, Sero went down to the basement to inspect the seedlings every morning after meditation and yoga. She checked the soil with a copper probe and measured the air humidity, making any necessary adjustments before going upstairs to breakfast. She charted the plants’ growth so she could plan growing cycles and predict yield for the whole operation. It was an unexpected joy to be working with plants again, the way she used to at the Botany Lab, and to use her mind in a way she didn’t realize she’d missed at NatMark. Her days began to have greater purpose, as she felt like she was truly contributing in a meaningful way to this place she believed in so strongly.