The Poppy Drop

by C L Bauer

  “Mrs. Notte is probably delusional. Her chauffeur drives her to the store usually. Her grandson wants her committed so he can have control over her money and her credit card is monitored by her son in Bermuda because she can’t keep track of anything. So don’t hang your hat on her opinion. As far as Abby, well, she’s young. Let’s leave it at that.”

  “And you are immune completely, right?”

  She didn’t dare look at his smug face. Had he caught her studying him? What an egotist, a bore, a narcissist…what were some other words to describe him? She pretended to look out the window at some tree.

  He laughed out loud in the silence. “I shut you up? I actually did it. I didn’t know it could be done.”

  She knew her face was completely red with embarrassment. “You did not. I just don’t know how to answer your absurd question. It’s just that…”

  He continued to laugh. He was beginning to enjoy delivering flowers.

  “Just what, Lily?”

  “I’m just saying that Mrs. Notte is Mrs. Notte and Abby’s views of life and love are quite limited.” She tried to keep her voice level but it almost sounded like stammering.

  Dev stopped laughing abruptly. He wouldn’t attempt a witty comeback at least not until they finished for the day. He stared out the window at the houses, the trees, the fountains on the parkway, anything to avoid eye contact with the “boss”. He was a well educated man but in one sentence he had learned to never poke this bear again and if he did he might very well pull back a bloody stump. Or he could jeopardize his real job and the reason why he was even with her. Obviously she thought that one must be delusional or limited to find him attractive. She had her secrets too, it was obvious. Apparently her views of life and love were more expansive than he had thought. Who had hurt her?

  It seemed like an eternity of silence until the van pulled into the long driveway and past the wrought iron gates. He was amazed at everything about this area. The drive was as long as the entrance to his subdivision back home and the house itself mimicked a huge plantation house on the James River with its white columns to greet all visitors.

  “Nice house.”

  “Yes and nice wedding. Like I said before, we will get everything in and then I’ll start showing you what goes where. We have a lot to do and they need to be happy, no, overjoyed.”

  “I’m at your service,” he smiled, trying to be as professional as possible since his last mistake.

  “Cute, at your service, very cute.”

  “Cute?” he asked and let it linger in the air. He just couldn’t resist. Lily pretended not to hear him and completed the drive.

  They began to unload as a swarm of women surrounded them. They were all talking at once in a high pitch only dolphins could hear. He speculated that the one with the veil stuck into the back of her head was no doubt the bride and the worried woman to her side was her mother.

  The rest of the younger women looked like the girls he usually saw in the bars in Alexandria, Virginia. They were young professionals on a path to debt or marrying up.

  “They are so pretty. Do you work for Lily? Who are you? Is my bouquet there? Where does this go?” How could she listen to this all the time? He just put his head down and let the boss do her magic. As far as he was concerned he was deaf and dumb, not seeing, hearing or saying any evil.

  Lily was now in her element with no thoughts of burglaries, the Cartel or even an attractive DEA agent. Calmly she told them they needed to unload all the flowers and get them out of the heat and then she would bring them their bouquets. She smiled nicely at her customers and agreed that the flowers were especially lovely this week. She wondered how they were doing and if they were excited. She mentioned it was a beautiful, rain free day with “look at these amazing, magical blue skies”, just like she had promised her very worried bride.

  Dev kept making his trips inside and then back out. He was actually beginning to sweat like he would during a mild workout. She did this every weekend? Lily was sweating too but looked more like a water fowl, calm at top and constant motion below. She just never stopped.

  When they both reached the doorway, Dev blocked her, placing his hands barely on her shoulders.

  “Why don’t you just stay in here? You can talk to them and start to do your thing and I can do the grunt work. Give me the keys and I’ll move the van when I’m done.”

  She nodded appreciatively and handed him the keys from her pocket. She was grateful she didn’t have to go back out into that humidity. She watched him go back out before turning to the flowers she needed. She was feeling a little overheated but the hottest parts of her body were her shoulders. They were on fire. “Laying on of the hands” would never quite have the same connotation. But he had barely touched her and it wasn’t just his touch; his green eyes were sparkling. At her. His concern for her welfare seemed genuine. He was looking at her, not as a subject in an investigation or even as a pretend boss. Her imagination was running wild.

  “Shake it off,” she murmured out loud. She had a wedding to do. Dev made a few more trips in, announced he had checked the van once and then twice to make sure everything was in and now was moving the van. A few minutes later he was at her side removing box lids. She was checking her paperwork when Gretchen Malloy came around the corner and stopped in her tracks.

  “Well, hello. Whose little boy are you?”

  Lily looked up and noticed Gretchen’s view. She might throw up. But she couldn’t. She did have some sort of regurgitation in her mouth and could taste her breakfast cereal. The woman’s voice was like silk, usually it was like sand paper.

  Dev said nothing, preferring to smile and to follow his boss’s instructions.

  “Hi Gretchen,” Lily finally answered. “We’re going to set up the inside first because of the heat and we’ll do the outside last. The girls’ bouquets are over there so just give me an hour to get things organized and then you can ask me about anything you need.”

  Dev could tell Lily was talking through her teeth, her mouth so tight he could see her jaw muscle. Obviously these two women tolerated each other professionally but they definitely didn’t go out together and get a coffee on a day off. The older woman was full of pretense. She reminded him of a male peacock with color galore and knowing it. Her hair color was an outrageous shade of platinum and her face had layers of pasted makeup, more than her years could support. Her dress was print and stuck to every inch of her body. Black Louboutin shoes finished her look, the red bottoms visible as she hit the last step. They clashed with her dress. He knew those pricey gems from a relationship a few years back. They both realized it was over before it started. She had been all country club and he was the caddy shack. It was as simple as that.

  He felt protective of his pretend boss immediately as the other woman snaked her way to his side. She was looking down at Lily, figuratively and in reality.

  She looped her arm around his. “Lily, you do what you need to do, dear, and I’ll just talk to your new man.” She seemed to emphasize the last word.

  Lily really did think she would throw up and if she did, she hoped to projectile right on Gretchen’s pretty shoes. How the heck did the woman work in those stilettos? Lily just kept her head down knowing full well that her comfy shoes, her little black dress and light jacket, her haircut and color, her jewelry not to mention her entire body didn’t add up to the price tag of those shoes. Hmm, wasn’t there a witch who had a house fall on her and a little girl took her shoes? Where was the water bucket?

  But Lily was in charge of her own business. Dev stood completely still as he glared down at Gretchen’s touch. Was he in shock or was he going to body slam her? Lily couldn’t take a chance on the latter.

  She moved to loop her own arm around his other.

  “I need to show my helper where the arrangements go so if you’ll excuse, Gretchen, we have to get working. We can’t just stand around and look pretty.”

  Dev felt a rush of relief. He had felt like a Christian
being played with by the lion. Lily pulled him away from Gretchen’s grip.

  “That woman is a piece of work,” he whispered when they were far enough away from her.

  Lily shook her head. “You have no idea. We tried to warn you but you really must experience her for yourself. Later, I’ll buy you a beer and tell you about the time she was so drunk at a reception that she grabbed the DJ’s microphone and propositioned him."

  “Really? Wow, this could be fun.”

  Lily still had her arm in through his and she tightened her grip. “No fun for you, mister. You are working, remember?”

  “Yes, ma’am. Show me what I need to do.”

  Chapter Eight

  For the next two hours, arrangements were placed, garlands were attached, flowers were pinned on and given out to the delight of everyone in the house. Lily always thought that wedding flowers were like Christmas morning presents… you knew you were going to get a gift that was brightly wrapped but you had no idea what it was or what it looked like. Dev just stood back watch- ing Lily go. The work was her. He knew what that felt like. She was pleased when they were pleased. She smiled when they smiled. She was mirroring their emotions. Then she turned around and the smile and joy had vanished. He saw glimpses of the real Lily, the Lily that had sudden sadness color her face. What was causing that? Had it been some life or love experience that she supposedly had more of than Abby that created pain on a canvas of joy?

  Obviously Lily was tired. He hadn’t realized how physical creating wedding beauty could be. She carried box after box, stood for hours assembling and then she went out and delivered the result, creating an atmosphere of calm and happiness. She was really a force of nature.

  Luckily, she was so in her world that she didn’t notice him watching her. Advantage for him, for now. He liked studying her not for the investigation but for information. She was prey, but not for killing, he truly enjoyed watching her, watching what made Lily, Lily. Then his training checked in and he could feel eyes watching him. Behind him he could feel that coordinator’s searing watchfulness. He could also see her in the mirror on the opposite wall. She seemed fixated on him, well actually she was staring at his derriere. Really, this woman needed to be spayed or given some hormone treatment for overage sexpots. He looked away when he saw her moisten her lips. He just shook his head. Lily would get him out of this safely.

  “So, boss, what else?”

  His boss looked up, catching the view of Gretchen Malloy salivating, eyes fixed on every woman’s favorite part of Agent Pierce’s body.

  “We are done. We are out of here.”

  “Thank God,” he whispered.

  Gretchen stepped in between them. “So, Lily, I need a few of the boxes for later when I take a few things down.”

  “I know you usually need them so I already left them in the garage. I stacked them in the corner. You will see them when you walk in.”

  “Um, so, Lily you never told me who this piece of dynamite is. Is he another one of your relatives or one of Abby’s boyfriends?” Her voice dripped with sarcasm. She was totally insinuating that he couldn’t possibly be her’s. Of course, he couldn’t possibly BE her’s!

  “Well, actually,” Lily began but before she could even begin, Agent Pierce interrupted.

  “We’ve been dating for a few months now so I thought I would help today.” He was nonchalant, convincing with a lie this time and simply distracting to Lily as he moved to her side and slipped his arm through her’s to hold her hand. Devlin Pierce had never touched anyone in an investigation like this, even when he’d been under deep cover. But this felt natural and besides he was fighting for Lily’s honor. He was loving the look on the coordinator’s face.

  Gretchen Malloy was in complete shock and Lily smiled at the priceless look. So Agent Pierce could deceive effectively. His comment and her reaction was worth every cent of sarcasm and degradation, every dollar of inconvenience that she had ever experienced from that woman. She would definitely buy him a beer.

  Finally, Gretchen released a breath and just uttered one word, “well”. And then she repeated it again and again. Finally she looked back as she walked toward the garage and with a wave of her hand, dismissed them from her sight. She said it was nice to meet him and good for you Lily.

  Gretchen Malloy was in shock. She never thought the girl had it in her. She opened the garage door and immediately saw the boxes stacked in the corner. They had been used for the bouquets and personal flowers. She grabbed a couple and moved them nearer her parked car. She turned her ankle a bit and the boxes toppled from her hands. A lid flew off landing near her trunk.

  Inside were two ice blocks long forgotten beneath the colorful tissue paper. Gretchen grabbed them. She wasn’t about to call Lily and her man back in. She’d keep them and use them on future weddings if she needed to but she had another purpose for them in mind.

  “I’ll use them this summer,” she said out loud.

  Lily and Agent Pierce walked silently to the van and closed the doors before they both convulsed into laughter.

  “Did you see her face?” Dev couldn’t breathe. “Oh that was more fun than I’ve had in a long time, to take down someone in one sentence. I wasn’t even nasty. She deserved so much more. Why do you take that crap off of her?”

  “Oh,” Lily laughed, wiping the happy tears from her eyes. “You have to. We live in a social media world and she could kill my business in one blog if I said or did something out of place to her. Or if she even perceived it. But that WAS fun. One sentence, who would have thought?”

  There was a silence in the van again but this time it was comfortable. Lily felt normal with him. Some magical door had opened again or maybe it was just a window but either way there was a nice energy flowing between them. And it felt so good to really laugh again. Times had been tough and she really needed this today.

  “I suppose I really, really owe you a beer now.”

  Dev smiled. “Well, if that’s the case, I’m pretty sure I owe you a date.”

  She faced him at the stop light and her smile faded. He had to fix this immediately.

  “Since we are dating and all,” he quickly added.

  Her face softened and he saw a little of the sadness return that had vanished oh so briefly. “Yah, since we’re dating and have been for a few months. Good one.”

  He supposed he had to turn it into a joke, just like she was doing. And the silence returned, replaced by the air conditioner humming. Then tension had returned and neither one of them felt any comfort in either.

  Once back at the shop, they unloaded the van quietly, each avoiding touching the other by accident. Cheery Abby watched the somber duo.

  “Who died?”

  Dev looked up quickly. “What are you talking about? Something happen?”

  “No. You’d think someone died as quiet as you two are. Did Gretchen do something? Was she a real B-I-T-C-H today?” She spelled out the offensive word.

  Lily shook her head and continued to unload the remainder of the boxes into the storage room.

  Dev handed her a box. “Well, that woman is a trip. I don’t know how you two deal with someone like that. Let’s just say she was interesting and I’m thinking it is safer being on a firing line than doing weddings.”

  “Wow, you really did have a baptism of fire working your first wedding with Gretchen and in one of the biggest houses in Kansas City. Good job. You survived,” Abby patted him softly on the back. “The rest of the day went well…” Abby continued talking as she worked.

  Lily continued to do her clean up and picked up a few words here and there of Abby and Dev’s banter. She’d been warm all the way home, even with the air conditioning turned to high, and the warmth was focused on her arm and hand. Oh Lord, him again. She had to get hold of her feelings. Usually she was pretty good shielding the world from what she was really thinking. She told her sister only occasionally some of her thoughts but it was safe. Her sister was miles away and the phone was her ba
rrier wall. If she only knew all her thoughts or the very dire ones her sister would move heaven and hell to get to her. If she only knew.

  “Lily, Lily,” Abby repeated when she didn’t answer. “I’m going to head out if you you don’t need me anymore?”

  “Sure, sure. Thanks for all your work here today and I’ll see you Tuesday, right?” She came forward from the room to stand with her two employees.

  “Yes, Tuesday right after class. Another week of June weddings! Can’t wait. See you then.” She looked over at Dev. “Will you still be here?”

  “Not sure. We’ll see how the weekend goes.” Noncommittal had never sounded so good.

  “Well if something does happen I want to know all the gory details!” Abby grabbed her purse and quickly left the store when she saw her boyfriend’s car out front.

  Dev leaned up against a worktable with hands in his pockets. “So, boss, now what do you do?”

  She didn’t even look at him but went into the shop to retrieve her bag and other purse from the desk.

  “Now, I turn off the lights, set the alarm, or you do, and then I go home.” He followed behind her and headed for the front door.

  “But then what?”

  “I’ll get something to eat,” she answered as she left the building, waiting for him to set the alarm. “Then I’ll watch some TV and go to bed early. It’s been a long week and next week won’t be any easier, except no Gretchen.”

  “Thank God for that.” He was smiling at her. “Let’s go get that beer and let’s get some food to go with it. I really don’t feel like dressing up enough for some of the restaurants around the hotel.”

  She wasn’t waiting for him as she walked to the car but she could feel him following her footsteps.

  “My car is right over here.”

  “Nope, I’ll drive. I know where I’m going, you don’t.” She was already placing her bags in the back of the car. “In fact, I’ll follow you to the hotel and we can drop your car there.”