Girls like roses.Todd liked girls.Therefore,to get girls,Todd must have roses.This logic launched my thirteen-year-old son into the world of gardening. “Dad,how much do roses cost?” Todd asked one day. “That depends,son,” his father said,lowering his newspaper.“Do you want a plant,or do you just want a rose to give to someone special―like your mom?” “I dunno,” Todd said,giving nothing away.“What do both of them cost?” “Well,you can go to a florist and pay anywhere from two dollars on up,if that’s what you want.” Todd did the math.Two dollars a rose!If you gave a girl a dozen roses,that’d be twenty-four bucks!That’s a lot of money for a girl.Even for a girl named Michelle. “But if you planted a rosebush,” his dad continued,“you could get roses all season.” “How much does a rosebush cost?” Todd asked. “They can be pretty expensive,but I’ll tell you what:If you want to grow roses,I’ll help with the cost and teach you how to care for them.But you’ll have to do the work.” Todd thought about it.How much work was a girl worth,even Michelle,who rode her bike by his house every day?He thought again of how she always waved and said,“Hi,Todd,” and how her laughter made his throat tighten.“All right,I guess,” he said,but he didn’t look his dad directly in the eye. So Todd and his dad went rose shopping.They picked out three rosebushes and his dad taught him how to plant and care for them.Todd fertilized,powdered and fussed over them.They grew and grew.One day he noticed rosebuds forming.“Hey,Dad!Come look what I’ve got!I’ve got roses starting!I’m going to have tons of roses!” His dad laughed at his enthusiasm.“That’s great,Todd.Now,you won’t really have tons of roses,not the first year anyway.But if you keep taking such good care of your plants,you’ll be sure to have some.” One day soon after,Michelle and her friend rode by.“Hi,Todd!” Michelle called out.“What are you doing?” The perfect opportunity!“Oh,I’m just going to check on my roses,” Todd said. “What do you mean ‘your roses’?” Michelle asked,smiling.Gee,she was pretty. “Can we see them?” Michelle’s friend asked. “Sure,if you want to,” Todd said,and they walked to the rosebushes in the backyard. “Oh,come on!” Michelle teased.“You didn’t grow these by yourself!” “Yes,I did,” Todd replied. Michelle’s friend looked at Todd with respect.She was quiet and didn’t say much.She left that up to Michelle.Michelle kept teasing Todd,though. “What are you going to do with them?I bet you’re saving them for someone,aren’t you?Who you going to give them to,Todd?” Todd felt himself starting to blush.“Nobody,really.I just like to grow them.Do you want one?” “Sure,” she said,“why not?Don’t you want one,too?” Michelle asked her friend. Todd wasn’t sure he liked Michelle offering her friend one of his flowers,but what could he say?He took out his pocketknife and selected a big,beautiful red rose for Michelle and a yellow rose for her friend.The friend smiled and carefully wrapped her rose in a napkin she had in her pocket.Michelle laughed.She took her rose,pointed it at Todd’s nose and waved it about.“Who were you really saving them for,Todd?” she asked. The large,special rose flopped up and down in front of Todd.Michelle was still talking,but he didn’t see her.All he could see was his rose bobbing up and down one inch in front of his nose.Didn’t she have any respect for his rose?Those roses were a lot of work! Michelle’s face seemed distorted to Todd.Horrid sounds were coming out of it―her laughter.His chest felt tight.A petal fell off the rose.It continued to wave up and down in front of him. Michelle’s friend spoke.“Thank you for the beautiful rose,Todd,” she said.“I better hurry home now so I can put it in some water.” Michelle and her friend started to leave.Michelle was still talking and flapping her rose around.Todd looked at her friend as she gently held the wrapped rose in her hand,carefully got on her bike and turned to go. “Hey,” Todd called,“what’s your name?”