“Pretty well. Sasha actually just gave me this huge order. To handle the floral and gardening for a charity ball on Saturday.”
“Oh shit, that’s good, isn’t it? You don’t sound happy.” She accused correctly.
“Yeah. It’s just a lot. I want to do a good job.” I explained.
“Oh, for sure. Don’t even worry about it, your work is amazing. How will you finish the order though?” I hadn’t even thought of that. Every flower in my shop won’t be enough, and it wasn’t even the theme I already had mustering up in my head.
“I hope to ask her about that tomorrow. I’m sure she has a budget and everything.”
“What kind of charity?” she asked. I could barely hear her though, with the background noise and the sound of the microwave.
“A boys and girls club. It was one of the first ones her and her husband opened up.”
“What’s her name again? Wait, this is the same one that’s been buying from you all this time.”
“Yeah. Sasha Hallows. Her husband’s name is Bryan.”
“Oh yeah, they basically built the youth of this city. Whoa, she is like your fairy godmother or something. Except with flowers.”
“Sure, Ivy.” I laughed. “But still, I want to do well. This could open up a lot of doors, you know?”
“Yeah, I feel you. You will do great, don’t worry.” She stifled a yawn. Man, I was tired too. I hadn’t seen her in a few days either. Usually we don’t go that long without at least meeting for lunch or dinner.
“Thanks. You’re tired.” I stated.
“No, I want to talk. Can you bring a plus one to this gala?” I heard the smile in her voice.
“I don’t know. I will definitely ask, I don’t think I could go by myself anyway. Would you be able to go?”
She scoffed, “uh, duh! Why else would I have asked? I would love to be there for you, it’s your first big gig!”
“Aw, thanks.” I smiled to myself, eating the last of my lasagna. I have got to stop eating these things, the sodium is starting to pack where it shouldn’t be.
“No problem. What are you doing anyway?” She asked me.
“Watching that house wives show on Netflix. You?”
“Well I just heated up this pot pie, but I think it’s going to be nasty.” I let out a laugh.
“What time do you have work tomorrow?”
“I don’t. I have to send out a bunch of orders, which I usually do from here.”
“Well you can come over and I can cook. Long as you bring the ingredients.”
“Really? I will literally be right there.” She hung up before I could even laugh.
Yeah, Ivy can’t cook at all. It’s a wonder she has even made it this far. But she had me. We were roommates back in college. The only reason we didn’t live together now was because the design firm she worked for was on the other side of town, there was no good real estate there and I simply couldn’t afford to follow her. Ivy had the support of her parents, but she never saw them because they were career travelers. I didn’t know that was a thing until I met her. I figured I should clean up a little since she was coming, even though she has seen this place messier. But I finally folded the clothes crowding my couch, and it made the whole place look a little bit more organized. All five hundred square feet of it.
Her knock was easily recognizable, I skipped to the door, my sweats dragging the floor as I did.
“Oh, my goodness, what did you bring?”
She was lugging two huge brown bags.
“One bag has drinks. The other has the food.” She explained.
She set the bags down and hugged me tight. Our hugs were always awkward because she was so dang tall. She could model the clothes that she designs too. But she was very pretty; her blonde hair surrounded her sharp and dramatic features; her brown eyes are the most noticeable thing about her. She has that girl next door vibe going on too.
“I missed you. You look great.” I told her. She was wearing a tight pair of dark jeans and a spaghetti strap bohemian top with a denim jacket. I supposed she always had to look ready for the runway.
“Thanks, you look comfy. Can I put something on?” she gestured to my makeshift closet.
“Go for it.” I went through the bag. I guessed she wanted me to make pasta.
I started a pot of water, then I chopped up some onions and sausages. I always added pepperoni for extra flavor. By the time, I got the sauce going, the water had boiled. Ivy put on my favorite leggings and cut off tee.
“Have any ideas for the gala yet?” Ivy asked over the noise of Netflix.
“Yeah. I was thinking since it’s centered around kids it should be colorful and inviting. Something not too adult, if that makes sense. Maybe some peonies, buttercups, and begonias.”
“That already sounds so pretty.”
“Thanks. It’s just a bit nerve wracking. I mean, come tomorrow I have two days.”
I wish I had a longer notice, but things aren’t always perfect. I poured us both a glass of wine, and met her on the couch while everything cooked.
“Thanks. You’ll be okay. And at least Sasha knows you, so she won’t treat you like any other person she hired.”
“That’s true. She has always been so nice. And to think it was a chance meeting.”
I thought back.
This was the hardest day. Even my flowers can’t make me smile. Because she was in them, all over them. My mother was everything to me. And she left so soon, too soon. She loved flowers, every time we were together, she was planting flowers. Our garden was bigger than any other, and the most beautiful. She used to travel a lot, exploring all types of flowers. My father was a botanist, that’s how she got into it.
“Excuse me miss, are these for sale?” Were they talking to me?
I set my clippers down, and turned to face the voice. I shielded my eyes from the sun with my gloved hand. A kind woman stood in front of me, her petty coat looked like it cost more than my monthly tuition.
“Not usually.” I answered simply.
She opened up the small gate I had, and stepped inside. I used the university green room a lot, and I had never seen her. I thought I had seen everyone that comes around here.
“Are you visiting?” I asked her. She continued to look upon the flowers, her cream-colored gloves covered her delicate hands.
She looked like a business woman of some sort. Her brown hair was in a nice pin up style, her petty coat a professional shade of blue, and her slacks opened up at the bottom to a pair of heels.
“Oh, no. I was here for a meeting. I’m Sasha Hallows.” My eyes widened in shock. Could it really be her?
She was the only reason I am at this school. Her scholarship fund was paying for everything. Room, board, books, tuition. My grades earned it, but she definitely made it possible.
“Whoa, I’m one of your scholarship recipients.” I gushed. She smiled as if she knew, but that would be a little too creepy.
“How wonderful…you planted all of these?” she smiled, gesturing to my small cube of flowers.
I had pretty much everything currently in season. Dogwoods, winterberries, heathers, paperback maples, and firethorns. I was still working on getting the camellias to grow right, but they were at least budding.
“Yes, I did. I study botany here.” I took after my dad in that sense.
“That’s delightful,” her eyes strayed past me, “are those winter jasmines?” My breath froze. I couldn’t talk about winter jasmines, I could do nothing but water them every day.
“Um, yes.”
“You could sell these flowers, you know. They’re beautiful.”
“Thank you. I sell them during Valentine’s Day and Christmas, but I never did otherwise.”
“Well, you could. I would definitely buy some. Those jasmines are beautiful.” She stepped closer to them, and I all but blocked her from coming any closer. Her smile quickly faded and I struggled to explain myself.
“The jasmines are…private. W
ell, they were my mother’s favorite flower and she passed away.”
Her hands crossed over her chest as her face softened.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Was it recent?”
I shook my head. “No, when I was twelve. But…it happened today.”
I wondered why I was giving a complete stranger all this information, but something made me feel like I could trust her. Perhaps it was because she was older, and kind of reminded me of my mother in a way. Her eyes had wonder, hope, and believed when others didn’t.
Just like my mother.
“That is so unfortunate, she liked flowers?” She guessed.
“Yes, she loved them. I suppose I grew to love them too.” I offered a sad smile.
“Well, you grow them so beautifully. You should be very proud of yourself.”
“Thank you.”
“Since it is fate that we’ve met, with you being one of my recipients and all, I would like to buy some flowers from you. Are two bundles of alyssums okay?” I nodded eagerly.
“Yes, of course. I’ve never charged by the bundle before though.” I felt like I sounded clueless, not knowing how to price my own flowers. In my defense, it wasn’t something I did often. I gathered the bundles, measured out by the twine, and then wrapped them in the parchment paper.
“That’s fine. Just take this, I insist.” I didn’t look at the folded-up bill she gave me before thanking her.
“Thank you. I hope you enjoy them.”
She lifted them to her nose, sniffing them delicately as she smiled. “I will, they’ll look beautiful in the window seat of my den. I’ll be seeing you later…. oh, I didn’t even get your name!” She spun on her heel before she left.
“Emilia.” I answered.
“Emilia, a beautiful name. See you soon.” She waved, leaving the green room.
I stared after her in awe, wondering what on earth had just happened. I looked down at the bill she gave me; whoa, one hundred dollars! It was too much, but she was too far gone for me to chase after her. I simply tucked it in my wallet and finished my tasks for the day.
By the time I was done, I was almost late for my job at the diner. Waitressing was the only way for me to make a living. Yeah, I had the scholarship. But I needed other things, and I like having money in savings. But all through work, I kept thinking about Sasha. I never thought would meet her in person, but I was glad I did. It really took my mind off the day
I never left her bedside as she got worse and worse, then she was just gone. It always just replayed over and over in my head. But not today, well, it did until Sasha stopped by. I loved growing flowers to stay close to my mom, but now I can make it mean something. I can build something of it.
When I put that hundred dollars in my savings account after work, I imagined saving everything from my job as a waitress, and having enough to open my own flower shop with a greenhouse that didn’t belong to the school. I could make something out of what both my mother and I loved so much.
It seemed unachievable, I had no idea what I would need or what it would cost, but the seed was planted and I can never ignore those. I told Ivy, my best friend, to make it official.
“I thought you were going to be a botanist.” She said initially.
“I still can, but if I open up this flower shop. I know it will make my mother happy. And I think it will be good for me too.”
“I support you, whatever decision you make. But…”
“But what?” She was making that face she does when she is hiding something.
“You might want to enroll in some business classes.”
Chapter Three: Tristan
Vivian, was it for me. I couldn’t deal with that heartbreak again, it wasn’t possible. I hated feeling like this. I would rather be under a bunch of women who will not get attached. And I don’t have to go through that relationship bullshit again. I hated to say it, but Vivian destroyed my trust in women. Can you blame me? She was nice in the beginning, a sweet girl in school to become a massage therapist. She was kind, pretty, didn’t have much of a sense of humor but I didn’t mind that. She fit into my life, maybe that’s why I sort of settled. And she was pretty. The prettiest head of brown tresses, thin body from all her Pilates, and strong features. She looked good next to me in all the photos and interviews. As time went on, after we got married, she quit school. Decided she would be a housewife, nothing wrong with that, but we never had kids. She didn’t really do anything all day. And I was always working late. Maybe I bored her. There had to be something I did to deserve…
My doorbell went off and I knew it was Natalie. I was grateful she pulled me from my dark thoughts. I opened the door to my spitting image. Tall, sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, strong jaw, and a love for Thai Food.
“You went to Thai Cottage?” I asked her.
“Hello to you too!” she yelled, shoving her way in. I shut the door behind her and offered a quick hug, which she turned into a full-on squeeze session.
“Hey, sis.”
She helped herself to the plates and cups. I got the food out, the smell hit me and I realized I hadn’t eaten all day. I was starved.
She got my favorites too; rice, vegetable spring rolls, pad thai, and steamed vegetables. We sat at my breakfast bar with the television from the kitchen on, of course she forced me to watch what she wanted. Some show about house wives in Oklahoma. But by the second episode, I was enjoying it.
“How is everything at the practice?” I asked about her for a change, and it wasn’t just to keep her from asking about me.
For the past few weeks, everyone has been asking about me, and frankly I was sick of it. I would much rather talk about what was going on with the rest of the family.
“Good. I have a lot of new patients coming in. I might be publishing another research paper soon.” She licked her fingers off from the sauce of the spring rolls. I hope she doesn’t eat this way around Kit.
“Oh, that’s great. About?”
She smiled to herself.
“How memories are tied to emotions and not the actual event. It’s developmental. I might only publish a thesis and then pass the research on.”
“Why do that?”
She tucked her legs under her. I’m surprised she can even move in that tight skirt.
“I don’t know. I don’t have a lot of time, and I’m not really built for research any more. Anyway, I’m still thinking about it.” I nodded in understanding.
“I’m thinking about starting another company, but I don’t know.”
“Why? Are you bored?” She nudged my shoulder and handed me a fortune cookie.
“Little bit. But this time I’d do it differently.”
“Do you know what it will be yet?” She pressed.
“Nope. Guess we both have stuff to figure out.”
We watched another episode in silence and had more hard cider, both our favorites.
“Do you need a new tux for the gala? Mom told me to ask you.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t think so. I am sure there is something in there I haven’t worn yet. Is it really formal?”
Sometimes it was more of a three-piece event, complete with a vest and everything. Maybe even a bow tie. And other times I just needed a simple suit and flat tie. Dress apperance was important at these events. They would mentally scold you if you don’t fit in.
“Yeah. Bow tie and everything.” I groaned internally. I am not much of a dress up guy.
“At least I just got a haircut.” I murmured. Silence permeated between us as another episode began. Natalie and I just sat there and watched as we finished up our dinner.
“Do you ever think about what would happen if you didn’t marry Vivian?” Natalie broke the long silence.
“I don’t know.” I said after a while. “Maybe I should have listened to mom.”
“She never like her.” Natalie laughed.
I nodded in agreement. My mother’s intuition was like something out of a movie. Always right,
and never too wrong. Especially when we first met. I waited at least a few months to bring Vivian home, but the day we met will never be lost to me.
Damn Levi and his escapades. My shoulders were stiff, my back tight. How did I let him talk me into a ten mile hike up the mountains?
Good thing I didn’t have class for another few days, winter break was much longer than it was last semester. I could go to the massage parlor downtown, maybe they would have open spots. If I can get out of bed. I laid out for a while, checking my emails. Damned finals dropped my GPA again. If I don’t graduate with a 4.0, mom will be pissed. I begrudgingly signed up for tutoring, then got in the shower.
Was I bruised? I checked in the mirror. Of course, I was. My shoulders, my back. Maybe because I fell a few times and we slept on the ground. Levi wants me dead, obviously. He was already halfway to Aspen now with his family. I made a mental note, never go hiking with your Levi.
I shook up a protein shake, hoping it would help with some of the soreness. I got in my Cadillac and followed the navigation to the university wellness center hoping to get a massage to ease my pain.
“Hey, I need a massage. Are there any openings?” The receptionist was older.
“Yes, just fill this out please.” I groaned to myself. Of course, there was a five-page patient history for me to fill out.
“Here.” I handed it back when I was done. It was a bunch of simple stuff anyway.
“Are you a student here?” she looked up at me through her glasses.
“Yeah. A senior.”
“Oh, congrats. Do you have your ID with you? You’ll get a discount.”
I looked through my wallet. Of course, I didn’t have it.
“Uh no, I left it.”
She pursed her lips and typed a few things in.
“That’s okay. Just go through that door, and follow the signs to the massage center. Also, our massage therapy students are on call today so you might get a student, might not. But they’re qualified, I promise.” She smiled kindly. I’d rather have someone do it right, but if she says they are qualified.
“Okay. Thanks.”
The signs were relatively easy to follow, and I entered in another room. Someone handed me a robe and led me to a private room. I’d had massages before, so I got in position, laying down on my belly. The door opened moments later.
2X The Hear Page 12
