howard is like a plant
special thanks to sam for being a genius!!!!
Andy is knelt on the grass tending to one of the flowerbeds -- he's putting in some new flowers. It's a sunny day, but not too hot.
Howard steps out of the back door onto the patio holding two cups of tea. He walks over to where Andy is knelt and hands him one of the cups.
"Do you want any help?" he asks.
"No, thanks, it'll only take me a minute. You just carry on photosynthesising over there."
"Can do!"
Howard heads over to the deck chair where he was sat before he got up to make tea. He puts his own cup down on a little table next to the chair and sits back, reclining the chair until he's practically horizontal. He closes his eyes.
"I've just thought," Andy calls out.
"Mm?" Howard cracks open one eye and tilts his head to look at Andy, still kneeling on the ground.
"Maybe that's why we get on. It's like you're the plant and I'm the gardener."
"What, you do all the hard work and I sit there and look pretty?" To illustrate his point, he shifts onto his side, resting his chin on one hand, while placing his other hand on his hip.
"No-- okay, you're very pretty, well done. No, I mean, say I'm the gardener, so I tend to the plants-- I'm imagining this is a vegetable garden, okay? So then the plant nourishes me, and gives me the strength and energy to keep tending to the garden. It's like a cycle, like, symbiosis. I mean, it's not the best analogy, but the point is we take care of each other."
"Okay, that's nice. I like that."
"And you do seem to thrive on sunlight."
"And you're... a gardener. So that tracks."
"Yeah! Exactly! I like plants and not people. Therefore." He gestures at Howard. "Plant."
"It all makes sense now." Howard settles back into a recumbent position and folds his arms over his stomach.