The Hibiscus Heist

by C L Bauer

  By Wednesday, Lily was finally back on her schedule. There had been no word from anyone, not the police, the insurance agent, or Dev. God only knew where and what he was working on; he was very good at keeping her in the dark. She liked at least one light on in her house and in her relationship.

  Every flower ordered for this week came in and looked great. Every color was right. Every bride would be happy. She hoped, and she even prayed. She was looking at the computer screen when she saw Saturday evening’s bride’s name on an email. She shut her eyes and pushed the key.

  “Hi, Lily. We are still good with the delivery time. We will be taking a few photos around three, but just get there by four. Oh, and by the way, I don’t need the reception flowers now. Thanks. See you Saturday!”

  “What!” Lily yelled so loud Abby came running.

  “Oh, now what?” Abby asked as she rounded the corner.

  “Our bride for Saturday night just cancelled all her reception flowers!”

  Abby blew a pesky strand of hair from her forehead. “She can’t. We already have the flowers.”

  “I know. There has to be something wrong here.”

  “Email her back.”

  Lily reached for the phone. “Nope. She is getting an old-fashioned phone call. We have an order and she knows she can’t cancel her flowers within two weeks of the wedding.”

  Abby shook her head and returned to work in the back room.

  The bride answered.

  “Jennifer, it’s Lily.”

  “Oh hi. I can’t wait to see your flowers Saturday. I know they’ll be beautiful.”

  Lily took a deep breath. Jennifer was clueless. “Jennifer, I just received your email and well, I was a little confused. We already have your flowers.”

  “Good.”

  “Um, well, we can’t cancel all of your reception flowers now.” Lily heard silence, followed by a hollow scream, similar to a banshee if Lily had ever heard a banshee.

  “I don’t want to cancel my reception flowers.”

  “But you sent me an email telling me you don’t need them now.”

  Lily only heard crying on the other end of the phone. What the heck was going on? Abby and she had long used the term “bride brain” to explain the workings of a woman’s mind planning a wedding. The description of “bride brain” was a combination of forgetfulness, silliness, complete loss of time and money, and even rudeness at times. Abby actually kept a dry-erase board in the back room with a list of symptoms. They added to the list on a weekly basis. Numerous emails and texts to the point of confusion would soon join the list. There would have to be another term just for that affliction.

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it, Lily,” the bride said through sniffs. “I have been doing a lot of crazy stuff. I fired the disc jockey last week. I didn’t mean to, but I guess I did. And then, last night I called my fiancé by the name Rick. Rick was my last boyfriend. What is wrong with me?”

  Lily stifled a laugh. “You’re getting married, that’s what’s making you a little forgetful. Things like this happen. We see it all the time.” Well, they really didn’t happen all the time, but the insanity of “brideitis” and “bride brain” had obviously began to take a toll on this bride.

  “I’m so, so sorry.”

  “No problem. We are good, but could you look at that email, and shoot me another explaining you didn’t mean that? I don’t want anything to go wrong for you.” Actually, Lily was protecting Lily. She wanted no ambiguity, especially not after the week she was having.

  “Thank you. I’ll see you Saturday.”

  Another crisis averted.

  “We still have reception flowers!” Lily yelled back to Abby. She heard a “woo hoo” emanate from the back room.

  Lily smiled, probably for the first time in a couple of days, as she saw FBI agent Tom Fullerton enter the shop.

  “Hello, Tom. I haven’t seen you in a few weeks,” she said as she greeted him with a hug.

  “How’s my favorite wedding florist?” They headed to the table to sit down.

  “You probably heard about my car,” she muttered.

  He laughed out loud. “You know it. Dev couldn’t believe it. Neither can I. Your luck. So, any details yet?

  She shook her head. “Not a one. I know I locked it.”

  “It’s no problem for thieves now,” he said nonchalantly. “I checked the theft records for your neighborhood. Nothing seems to be going on there, but you just may be the lucky first one.”

  She smiled again. Tom Fullerton, although he was probably fifteen or more years older than her, was so comfortable to be around. After last year’s chaos, his friendship was one of the best rewards. Oh, and the tall good-looking agent she acquired.

  “So, you’ve talked to Dev obviously. What is he up to?” She thought she’d ask. He might not answer or maybe she’d get some information on her wayward boyfriend.

  “Oh you know him.”

  Lily frowned at the answer. “Actually, Tom, I don’t think I do. You want something to drink?” She stood up to get something, anything. She needed to check her temper, and a walk to the back room would do it.

  He could see she was upset, maybe even angry. Lily Schmidt really didn’t like her little world upset. He knew that much about her. Something was gnawing at her.

  “Actually, if you have a coke that would be great.”

  She walked back slowly. Soon, Abby was peeking her head around the door.

  “Hi, Tom.”

  “Hey, Abby. How’s the boy?”

  “Jeremy is fine.” Her boyfriend was actually more than fine. Their relationship was flourishing.

  Lily slid past her with two cans in hand as her assistant went in the other direction to finish an arrangement she was working on.

  “I better get back to work before the boss cracks the whip,” Abby joked.

  “Don’t,” Lily warned. “I’m not in the mood, Abs.”

  Tom cleared his throat as she set down the drinks. He reached over for his can and decided to hit it head on. “What’s up, Lily? This isn’t you.”

  “How do you know this isn’t the real me?”

  Tom casually stretched his arm across the table, patting her hand. “I know this isn’t you. This is someone who doesn’t know what she is saying, but that isn’t you. You always know.”

  “Do I, Tom? Dev can’t tell me what he is doing. We don’t live in the same town. He has his job, and I have mine. I don’t know him, and he doesn’t know me.” Lily wasn’t even tearing up. She was stating truths that she had kept tucked away beneath indecision and uncertainty. “I read, once, that irritation is the first word in a paragraph of tired, and frustration is the second word. Do you want me to continue?”

  Truth be told, she wasn’t herself right now. At the beginning of wedding season, every little interruption and hiccup was larger than life. The work-load made her tired, the constant upheaval made her frustrated. Add in the theft of a car and wonderings about a relationship. The result was a very cranky Lily. She didn’t eat. She’d actually lost three pounds in the last two weeks.

  Tom shook his head. The woman was angry and he understood why, but he had to offer the assurance she needed.

  “I don’t believe what you are saying. You two know each other better than most married couples I know,” Tom said sternly, “and Ms. Schmidt you two are good for each other. You need to just sit here, and listen to me.”

  Lily looked down at her Coke can as though it were a classic piece of art.

  Tom sat straighter in the chair and took a deep breath. Lord, interviewing suspects wasn’t as difficult as trying to keep Lily and Dev together.

  “My wife and I think you are the best thing that has happened in Dev’s life in a long time. And I’ve known him a very long time.” He stopped to take a drink, and then fingered his wedding band.

  “This conversation is probably long overdue. I worked a bit with the State Department when Dev was in Afghanistan. I was there when he was
told he couldn’t go home to see his dying mother, and I was there when they told him he couldn’t go home for her funeral. It wasn’t pretty. Lily, he sucked it up and did his job. Not as serious, but just like you every week, no matter what, you do your job. You two are very much alike in that way.”

  He paused and smiled. “And, you don’t need each other. Lord, that boy has dated some needy women. The last one I met in downtown D.C. one night for drinks. Dev wanted me to meet her. She was all upper class. I think she was a Senator’s daughter, anyway she was lovely, rich and needy. She needed to be in the spotlight all the time. That’s kind of hard for a man who thrives in the shadows. You allow him to be him and to do the job he needs to do.”

  Lily put up her hand to stop him. “But Tom, all I really wanted was to hear a few words.”

  “That he loves you? I won’t make excuses for him, but maybe he couldn’t. He was probably on the government phone; he takes that seriously, although a lot of workers don’t. People text stuff on those phones that would make Bill Clinton blush.”

  She stifled a giggle. “I thought maybe he couldn’t for some reason, but sometimes I feel like I’m making excuses for him when I shouldn’t. Believe me, I haven’t had a great track record when it comes to relationships.”

  “Neither has he. You two deserve something special, and I think you will get it.”

  Lily shook her head. “So, you’re telling me to hang in there?”

  “Yes, but don’t cut him any slack either. The man can be infuriating. His self-control alone could rival a monk’s.”

  They both laughed out loud.

  Lily spoke first. “He is too darn perfect. I, on the other hand, have no self-control. If chocolate is sitting on a table, I pick it up.”

  “Yep. I have never seen anyone like him. He’s smart and he’s nice. He could be covered in mud, head to toe, and still look good. And he can sacrifice for the greater good. He makes me crazy.”

  “We can agree on all that, plus he can be very considerate when he wants to be,” Lily added.

  “I probably shouldn’t say this but last year, you remember last year,” Tom added for effect. Lily’s scowl gave him the result he was looking for. “You told him you had never received flowers from anyone. He put that down in a notepad. One night at his hotel, I found his other notes. Even back then, even if he didn’t realize it, his heart or subconscious was telling him what his head didn’t know yet. He liked you from the very beginning. He loved you the moment he had to leave you.”

  Lily pointed at Tom. “Now that’s what I want to hear.”

  “So does my wife but I don’t say anything like that nearly enough. Besides, she’d throw me over for Dev in a heartbeat.”

  Their shared secrets resulted in riotous laughter.

  “I guess I should get my wife some flowers and get on home.”

  “Yes, you should, dear man.” Lily went back to the cooler and pulled the extra lavender roses she had purchased for any foot traffic. Lavender roses held many meanings, but Lily preferred two--love at first sight and an unforgettable experience.

  As she handed the flowers to him she had to ask one more question.

  “Tom, did you know at first sight that you loved her? That she would be your wife?”

  The FBI agent closed his eyes and thought for a second. When he opened them, he smiled. “I don’t really know. I don’t remember. I don’t remember a life without her in it. Does that help?”

  Lily nodded and shoved him out the door. That’s the life she wanted. Would it be worth the risk to obtain it?

  Chapter Five

  Lily had plenty of time to spare at the church. She’d already checked in with her minions, making sure the other two weddings had gone off without a hitch. She was at this one to guarantee the same outcome and with a bride who had “bride brain”, she figured she could use all the help she could get.

  Abby had just texted that she had completed the reception set up of the almost cancelled flowers and was heading back to the shop. She’d meet Lily there, and they’d go out for a nice dinner. Besides, she could even look at the dessert menu. She’d stepped on the evil scale the first thing Saturday morning, and she was now down another two pounds. Stress and depression were better weight reducers than the treadmill.

  Some of the guests were already seated when she moved to the church’s foyer to assist in any way she could. Usually, a bride would hire a coordinator or have a church lady direct them down the aisle. Jennifer, the bride, hadn’t hired a coordinator. The church provided one until last week when the woman fell down the stairs and broke her leg. Lily volunteered to take the woman’s place. She had only one stipulation. It had been a long day, and this wedding would start on time.

  Lily watched the cars drop the guests off at the front door. A light rain had begun. They were supposed to have another thunderstorm later tonight. Fall in Kansas City either brought the most beautiful weather in the world or the mother of all floods. She remembered a Chiefs’ football game in October one year when water rolled down the stairs of Arrowhead Stadium like a raging river. Water rescues had taken place until the morning hours. She’d known a girl who had held onto a street sign stranded for a couple of hours until she could be rescued by the fire department. Even though last week’s storm hadn’t been as severe, its thunder had served well as sound cover for the car theft.

  Her eyes caught a black sedan pulling past the door slowly. She thought of her neighbor’s comment. She’d thought it was a police car. Why would a car like that follow behind an auto theft? Maybe the retired teacher was wrong, or off her meds?

  The minister was ready to begin. Lily shut the guest book, and directed the ushers to herd the guests, nicely, into the sanctuary. As soon as it was calm, she motioned for the singer to begin the mothers’ processional song. Both mothers were ushered down the aisle to their seats. Now it was time for the main attraction starring lovely Jennifer.

  She lined up the attendants, and they began the processional. She stood back with the bride and her littlest attendants, the ring bearer and flower girl. They were the bride’s nephew and niece. The little boy pulled on Lily’s skirt.

  “Hey, I’m supposed to get something.”

  The bride smiled. “Oh, he was told he would get a candy bar. His mother has it for him in the first pew.”

  “Did you hear your aunt? You’ll get it at the end of the aisle.”

  He tugged again. “No, I want five dollars.”

  “Nathan,” the bride reprimanded, “don’t be rude.”

  “No, I want money.”

  Lily rolled her eyes. Extortion from a ring bearer? The flower girl didn’t want anything. She was more concerned if she would throw her petals properly.

  Lily searched her pocket and pulled out a dollar bill. “I only have this.”

  He looked over the bill, grimaced, shaking his head in an exaggerated, negative fashion.

  Lily knelt down to come eye to eye with the criminal in training.

  “Look, Nathan. I really don’t care if you go down that aisle, but let me tell you, I do not negotiate with kindergartners. Take it or leave it.”

  The small extortionist grabbed the dollar and stuck it in his pants pocket. “That’s good. I’m ready now.”

  Little mercenary, Lily thought. And he’d get the candy bar too!

  She made sure the bride’s father’s hand was perfect, his daughter’s arm tucked in through his just so. Lily moved them to the doorway and went behind them to whisper “go”. She fluffed the train and let it catch just enough air to send it flowing out like a parachute swaying in the sky. The bride literally floated all the way down the aisle. Lily took a deep breath, grabbed her bags and headed out into the rain. The week was finally over.

  The two florists were eating dessert at their favorite Mexican restaurant when Lily received a call. She didn’t recognize the number, but heard Dev’s voice when she answered. “Abby says hello.”

  “So, the week is officially over?”
His voice was rough.

  “Yes, and are you tired? You sound really beat.”

  “And you sound like you’ve had a margarita. Wish I was there with you two.”

  Lily took one more bite of the fried ice cream and slid it over to Abby’s side of the table.

  “I wish that too.”

  He coughed a couple of times to clear his throat. “Dust, lots of dust. Have you heard anything on the car?”

  “No, and the insurance agent says they won’t think about a claim until four to six weeks from now.”

  “I need to go, but I’ll try to call in the next couple of days. Take care of yourself and tell Abby the same.”

  “Sure.” Lily stopped talking. He was already gone.

  “That was so yummy,” Abby said as she took the final lick on the spoon. “How is he?”

  Lily looked straight at her assistant. “I don’t know. I’m not sure if he was worried about me, or if I should be worried about him.”

  Abby smiled at her boss. “I just worry about the two of you.”

  “Really?”

  Abby laughed. “Not really, but it seemed like I should say something nice, given the week you’ve had.”

  “There are times when I’m not sure about you.”

  Abby pulled her cell from her purse to check for texts from Jeremy. “I’m not sure about me either, but I just keep going along.”

  Lily barely smiled. Dev sounded worried. He was tired. That combination could place him in danger. Lord, you and I need to have a talk tomorrow morning at church. Keep the man safe, please.

  Dev had made his call from an outdoor bar near one of the deadliest towns in Mexico. He winced as he pounded back the shot of tequila. He looked at his watch. He’d been waiting for Carlos at this table for almost thirty minutes. Waiting always made him careless. He shouldn’t have called Lily. He needed to hear her voice, to make sure she was safe in her little world. He certainly wasn’t safe in his.