Lawn

Zeke does yard work on Thursdays. Three seasons out of the year he mows grass, trims hedges and weeds the small vegetable garden. He plants bulbs in the flowerbeds and fills in with a rainbow of annuals and perennials purchased from the nursery across town where his mother has an account. Every year he chooses a new theme and decides on a color scheme.

His parents are in Japan now and his mother just sent him a book on Zen Gardens. Zeke's been thinking about creating one just off the solarium.

Zeke does most of his gardening inside the privacy of the fenced in backyard - the high wooden fence keeps inquisitive neighbors and classmates out.

He tried letting the front of the house go untended for a few weeks once. It made him crazy thinking about it and he caved before the second week was up. He compromised after that, keeping the front neatly tended but simple - a few ornamental bushes, no flowers. It would ruin his rep to be seen planting marigolds.

Casey's the only one he's ever allowed into the backyard. Zeke trusts him to keep his mouth shut - and really, despite the whole "hero" thing after the alien incident, Casey still doesn't have many friends.

Zeke's been trying to teach the guy a little about gardens. For all his intelligence and creativity in other areas, Casey can barely differentiate between a tulip and a tomato plant. It's kind of amusing to watch him kneeling in the garden, frantically searching through the plant book.

Casey's great with trimmers, though. He works patiently and he seems to enjoy being outside working shirtless in the warm spring air. Zeke's going to miss that when the hot summer sun forces Casey to keep his shirt on to avoid sunburn.

Casey comes over every Friday night and spends the weekend. Saturday is usually relaxation day, although Casey insists on doing laundry. Zeke doesn't mind - Casey's very good at keeping him entertained while they wait for their clothes.

Most Saturdays they take a drive in the late afternoon, stopping to get supplies and pick up some dinner. They eat in the solarium, talking and discussing articles from Zeke's latest supply of magazines until the dark chases them inside.

Sunday afternoon is garden time. Last week they poured sand for the new garden and this week they'll move the huge rocks into place. Or try to anyway.

Zeke enjoys planning out their Sunday afternoon while curled up against a sweaty, sated Casey. They feed each other pop tarts or granola bars while looking over the rough plans Zeke drew during the week.

Casey is very creative when he's naked.

That's another benefit of the weekly sleepovers. Not only does Casey like doing laundry - a chore that Zeke detests - but Casey spends much of the weekend naked. There's something very alluring about watching Casey strip down to nothing and fuss over whites versus colors.

Zeke wonders if he'll ever ask Casey to go out in the backyard like that. He fills some of his lonely weeknights imagining that pale skin against the carefully trimmed grass. It's one of Zeke's favorite fantasies. It plays in his head every Thursday while he mows, moving in regular patterns across the lawn while searching for the softest grass. There's a large patch near the azaleas and Zeke trims it with special care.

Maybe this will be the weekend he asks Casey to try it out.

END

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