I stepped outside this evening to meet a big, full moon on my back porch. My plumeria stood tall in the moonlight, quite proud of himself. He was about eight inches tall with two leaves when I put it in my cart at HEB two years ago. He is now several feet tall and outgrowing his pretty blue pot. I would plant him in the ground, but he doesn’t like the cold winters we’ve been having. He lives inside a few months out of the year, dormant and sad. When I put him outside in the spring, he wakes up within days. Within a week, he is covered in leaves.
An old man stopped me in the paper-plates aisle and commented on my little plant the day I bought it. He asked if I knew what color its blooms were. I did not. He was strangely excited for me; said he got one at that age, like we were talking about kids. I told him that I was surprised how well they do in my town since they are tropical plants. He said his grew magnificently while living in New York. His grew pink flowers, but he wanted red. I still don’t know what color mine will bloom. Maybe I’ll find out this summer.
Side note: he is not the only old man who has approached me in a grocery store. The last one was Pablo, who walked over to discuss the pastries in the glass case I was looking at. That was an interesting conversation that ended with “I’m married” and a sincere apology. I believe the plumeria man on the paper-plates aisle really just wanted to talk about my little plant. That was a nice encounter, seeing as I didn’t know anyone who liked plumerias as much as I do.
I went on a date with a young Pablo in Mexico when I was a teenager. He was kind and nervous. I was, too, and the date didn’t go anywhere. I would have gone out with him again if he had asked, but he didn’t. That was a magical time. No plumerias were involved in that encounter, No pastries, either. Just a warm, summer-night breeze in Cuernavaca, a jeep, and just the right amount of cologne. Polo, I think.
Tropical plants and trees were scattered about the town. Is it a coincidence I gave my plant a Spanish name? I never considered the possibility. The moonlight suits him, regardless.
Another Writer, Another Blog 