It was still very dark in the small upstairs bedroom when the pile of blankets began to stir, a few minutes of soft, rustling movements before the covers were pushed aside so that Jordan could sit up, rubbing at their eyes sleepily. A new day was only a couple hours away from greeting them with a bright, sunny dawn and that meant it was more than time to wake up and get started. There was always so much to do, especially now that they were doing it alone, but they never complained and truly didn't mind staying so busy. If they were so busy all the time there was no time to get lonely or worry about things that couldn't be helped.
Humming softly, Jordan stretched before climbing out of bed and immediately turning to make it back up again. Some people thought making the bed in the morning was pointless, but they found that it was very nice in the evening, after a long day of work, to have a tidy bed that they could turn down the covers and crawl in to have some well-earned snuggles with their pillow.
With the bed made, it was time to go to the wash basin and freshen up, washing their face and hands, then scrubbing their teeth with a minty solution before rinsing. The longest part of getting ready began when they started brushing the long red curls free of tangles, running the bristles through the strands again and again until they were silky and smooth. Jordan decided to tie his hair back with a pretty green headscarf with blue roses today; a matching apron went on after his soft brown breeches and grey linen shirt.
Finally they painted their eyes, making the blue truly shine. Jordan admired their reflection in the mirror for only a minute, quite pleased with how they looked today, but there wasn't time for lingering vanity. The greenhouse was humming when they entered. It was a soft, gentle hum that only they seemed to hear, but they knew the plants were happy and eager to greet the rising sun.
Jordan sang to them lovingly while they watered and tended to them. The rest of the pre-dawn was consumed with taking care of the plants that they adored more than other people. Once the sun was up and smiling the greenhouse became hot and humid, it could even be called muggy. With those chores done they delicately dabbed away a few beads of sweat from their brow and retreated to the cooler interior of the shop. That needed attention too. Shelves were dusted and merchandise was carefully arranged and restocked before the floors were meticulously swept. It was hard to keep dirt off the floors given the nature of their business, but nobody could accuse Jordan of not trying!
At last they unlocked the doors and took the welcoming sign to set up out front. They left the door propped open invitingly as they practically skipped back inside, humming all the while. Today was going to be another good day.
They could feel it.
