Scandal

by Nicole Elliot

  I made a breakfast of oatmeal and a smoothie, then showered and got dressed in jeans, and a knit sweater. I tied my hair up, which I always tended to do when I had a big project ahead of me, and then headed to the shop. I felt a pep in my step since I opened this place, it had been my dream for so long. Now I just need a steady income to keep it afloat. My savings won’t pay the lease forever. I hoped that this charity event would help me in some way.

  Once inside, I went about the daily task of opening up the sun views, checking the flowers’ water levels, and keeping everything neat. I got a lot of pass throughs, but the business from that wasn’t necessarily substantial enough. I still treated them well, of course.

  But today my mind was on this event. I printed the floor plan Sasha sent me, the place was huge. And so was her budget. You would think ten thousand dollars gets you a lot, but for gardening and a flower arrangement for a party of this size, it was just enough.

  By about two in the afternoon, I had a plan put together. As if on cue, Dan came inside with the check.

  “Hey Emilia, delivery from Sasha.” He pretended to roll out a creed and bow. The kid had a great sense of humor.

  “Thanks. How was school?”

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Horrible. I hate biology. And no offense, plants especially.” He dropped his bag on the counter, and blew out an exasperated breath.

  “I love plants. Let me take a look.”

  He took out his obnoxiously large biology book, and I spent the next hour helping him with his homework. I didn’t mind it, though. I was glad to help him, and he seemed to understand it by the time I was done.

  “Thanks, you’re the best. I was prepared to fail this class.” He shook his head. “But Sasha wouldn’t have liked that very much.” He chuckled.

  “Yeah, what about your parents?” I noticed he never really talked about them, and maybe I was overstepping. But my curiosity was getting the better of me.

  “They work a lot. It’s my grandparents that I live with, actually. It was that or boarding school.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder, signaling he had to get going.

  “Oh, okay. Well just let me know if you ever need help in that class.”

  “I will, see you!” He called over his shoulder, and then the door shut behind him.

  I never noticed his parents weren’t around. I mean, it must be sad. My dad worked all the way over in Barbados, on a botany research project. Something about the water retention in tropical plants. He seemed to be having a lot of fun whenever we talked. We would skype about once a week or whenever he had service.

  I missed my dad too, but that was a situation I couldn’t change. And after mom had died, he was so different. More distant, enjoyed things less. I think it’s why he decided to go on this course when I left for school, that’s how long he has been gone. Ten years.

  I placed the order for everything I needed, and the labor required. I managed to find a company that handled all of that. I was to drop off the check at the time of service, that way I could make sure everything got put in correctly. When I left for my apartment, I actually felt like I had a pretty productive day. Then I remembered the last part of Sasha’s email.

  I was lucky my best friend was a designer. I didn’t expect her to make me anything in twenty-four hours, but maybe she had a massive discount to some stores, or I could borrow something.

  “Hey, Ivy. Are you busy?” I skipped the formalities.

  I was on my couch, just about freaking out with every breath. I couldn’t exactly show up looking like the flower girl, I had to blend in. Otherwise, I would rather not stay.

  “Not in theory. Are you okay? Did something happen at work?”

  “No, not really. It’s just I realized I don’t have anything to wear to this gala. Sasha said, I quote, wear your best gown or something like that. I have nothing!” I shrieked.

  Ivy just laughed, how could she be laughing?

  “Don’t worry, Emilia. I actually just finished a show with my boss, and I think one of the dresses would be perfect. You can wear it and he would never know.”

  I gasped. “Really?”

  “Yeah, I can bring it by later. Just let me finish this up. Deep breaths, girl.” She laughed and then hung up.

  I supposed I could relax more now that I had a prospective dress. I decided to let the rest of my frustration out and then go for a run. I laced up my shoes, and went a few blocks and back. By the time I was back and showered, I had missed a few calls from Ivy.

  “Hey, sorry I missed you.” I called her back.

  “No worries, I was just on my way but I’m literally outside your door now.” On cue, there were four knocks.

  I hung up and opened up the door to Ivy being swallowed up by a black dress bag.

  “Oh, my goodness, there really is a dress!” I exclaimed.

  She rushed in and set the dress on my bed, just a few paces from the door.

  “Go ahead, open it.” She pressed. I looked the large bag over and then turned my attention to her.

  “You look fancy.” She was in a tight skirt and pink blouse. She actually managed to get her hair in a bun.

  “Yeah, it’s from the reveal we had. Open it up, I can’t wait for you to see it!”

  Gently, I unzipped the bag as if I would break it or something. “You’re sure I can wear this?” I double checked before I looked even more.

  “Yes. He won’t know it’s missing. I was supposed to bring it home anyway. Besides, he doesn’t remember half of the designs he has anyway.” She laughed, dropping herself onto my nicely dressed bed.

  “Okay.”

  I bit my lip nervously, pulling the dress from the bag. And my goodness, was it beautiful. The deep blue color was almost black, but the shine on it was amazing. The sweetheart neckline and shaped bodice would bring out my curves in a flattering way. I lifted it up, and was surprised by how light it was compared to how much fabric was cascading down.

  “Try it on, I can hem it anywhere if you need it.”

  I nodded, and stripped down to my underwear to put the dress on. She helped me zip it up. I didn’t have a full body mirror, so she took a picture and showed me. The look wasn’t even completed and I was already in love.

  “You can borrow one of my heels. The length should be fine. It’s nice and dramatic anyway.” She giggled.

  I nodded in agreement, looking down at the fabric. It glinted under the dim light as I moved around. I hadn’t noticed the bottom had intricate etchings on it, almost like flowers. It was so beautiful.

  “This is so perfect, thank you Ivy!” I squealed.

  “No problem, I can’t wait to do your hair too.”

  She helped me out of it and then I hung it up and got dressed in my sweats again. It was like everything was coming together. I had figured it all out, it seemed.

  The plans for the ball were all set up, and I actually had something to wear. I could get used to this relaxed feeling. Sure, it wasn’t over. Setup still had to happen and all that, but I could taste the success.

  Ivy forced me into some jeans so we could go out to dinner. There was this amazing burger place nearby that we always went to, so we sat in there and had a few beers while we watched the soccer game.

  “What the hell are we doing? We don’t watch soccer.” Ivy laughed.

  “I know, but the guys are hot.” I giggled.

  She nibbled on some fries.

  “True. Maybe we should find men. Then we won’t have to use Groupons for dinner.” I laughed at her joke.

  “I don’t care if I ever get rich, I will always coupon.” She clinked her bottle to mine in a cheer.

  “Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I never met Sasha.” I said over the noise of the crowd. It was starting to fill up, so I was glad we picked a seat in the corner.

  “Do you think you wouldn’t have gotten the shop idea?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged, “maybe I would have worked with my dad or s
omething. She showed me what selling the flowers would feel like. I love the feeling.” Ivy looked at me intently.

  “That’s amazing, you know. That you found something that makes you happy. I don’t think you would have been fully satisfied with Botany.” She said with a smirk. I nodded in agreement.

  “Yeah, but you have that too.” She shrugged.

  “Some days, it just pays the bills.”

  Chapter Five: Tristan

  I spent the next few days getting things together for the gala. I had put a rush on a new suit to be tailored. It got there Saturday morning. Mom called to coordinate a limo, I said I would just meet her at the house. When I arrived, Natalie was already there in the foyer.

  “Hey sis, you look beautiful.” I went in for a hug, but she backed away.

  “Don’t wrinkle my dress!” does silk wrinkle? I made a face and she high fived me instead.

  “You look handsome.” She adjusted my tie. She was a perfectionist. Her hair was perfectly slicked up into a bun, her dress a deep gold color that wrapped around her and made a small train at the end. She wore diamond drop earrings, and that was it for jewelry.

  “Where are mom and dad?” I asked her. She pointed to the access door.

  My parent’s estate was something out of a movie. Seven different entrances, if I’m even counting right. Only three bedrooms since we were all gone. But there were three living rooms, two kitchens, a theatre room, and a bonus room. They both had offices in the house as well, equipped with a library. It was the house we grew up in too, they had upgraded things here and there throughout the years.

  “Let’s go then. I want to get this night over with.”

  Chapter Six: Emilia

  “No, no! That goes here!”

  Man, were some people hard of hearing or what? I was at the venue, supervising the set up. Everything was going fairly well, but sometimes things would end up where they don’t belong. Maybe the plan I had created was too hard to follow.

  “Sorry.”

  The man apologized. He was fairly young, and he made no secret of staring at my ass in my shorts. I know I have extra curves everywhere, but it isn’t for everyone’s viewing entertainment.

  “And this one should be a little slanted, so it meets in the center like an archway.” I changed the location of the Daffodils.

  I was so excited already, everything looked beautiful so far. The load in crew were hard at work, and once I got some kinks worked out, I could relax and help when needed. I wanted the main floral arrangement at the entrance to be perfect, so I created that all myself. I was a little scared to be up on a ladder, so far from the ground that if I fell I would definitely die, but the arrangement looked perfect when I was finished, so it was worth it.

  The inside of the ball room was a dark cream color with gold trim. The seating arrangements matched that color, so I didn’t want the flowers to pop too much. I chose a white lilies arrangement. It may seem like the simplest flower out there, but it matched. And the archway was a lot more intricate, so I didn’t want the entire place to be too flowered up.

  Especially the entrance leading up to the main door. There was a cream-colored train that flowed all the way up, lined by five stone pillars on each side. In each of those, I put white rose bouquets, specked with daffodils. As I did a final walk through, I was perfectly content, and a little surprised that I could even pull this all off to begin with.

  But I did. And as I left to go home and change, I couldn’t help but think of my mother. She would have been proud of me, I know it. I just wished she could actually see it. And I was even more grateful that Sasha had given me this chance. I could feel that this party would open doors up for me, and my pay for doing this event alone was enough to cover rent for the flower shop and my apartment for the next two months.

  I had four hours before I had to be back at the venue because I had to be back early, which seemed like a long time but it really wasn’t.

  I rushed through my shower so I could wash my hair. Once out of the shower, I started rummaging through my drawers for a bra and panties. I silently cursed myself for not having the right lingerie to wear under this dress. Ivy was already on her way, so I couldn’t ask her to stop and get something. I probably wouldn’t have anyway. In the midst of me freaking out over the smallest thing, Ivy had arrived and had been knocking on the door.

  “Sorry, sorry!” I tightened my robe and skipped over to the door.

  She had her tote bag full of hair products and makeup. When we lived together, we used to share them, and I never wore it much or used it so I let her keep it when we moved out.

  “That’s okay, what’s up with you? How did set up go?”

  She dropped everything on the bed and looked me over. I was a little flustered from all the running around.

  “It was good, the arrangement looks great—well, I think it does.” I didn’t want to give myself too much credit before anyone even saw it.

  “I’m sure it was.”

  “Hey, you’re not dressed.” I said, taking in her casual jean and tee shirt attire.

  “Oh, yeah. I shouldn’t go. This is your thing.” I furrowed my brow in confusion.

  “What? What do you mean?” I sat next to her.

  “Trust me, with all the attention you’ll be getting, you don’t need to be introducing your best friend to everyone too.”

  I pursed my lips in thought. Maybe she was right, but I would rather her be there…anyway, I’m too grown to need a wing man everywhere I go.

  “Okay.”

  She gave me a quick hug, my damp hair caught under her arm but she didn’t care.

  “Okay, I should start getting you ready now. You know your hair takes forever to curl.” I giggled softly.

  “You want to curl it?” I fiddled with my split ends. Man, I need a haircut.

  “Yeah, it will look really good with that dress.”

  I nodded in agreement.

  “Oh, I don’t think I have the right stuff to wear underneath! I literally only have regular bras or sports bras.” I rummaged through my drawer again for good measure. If I wasn’t sure I never did this kind of thing before, it is even more apparent now.

  “Don’t wear anything. The dress has good support. Just wear some panties. It isn’t like you need to hide a gun or something.”

  “What about my phone?” I asked her.

  “Do you really need it?” I nodded, hoping I would have to take numbers down or something.

  “Well, I don’t have an evening bag. I forgot.” She made a face as she scolded herself.

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure I can leave it at the coat closet or something.” There were always those fancy coat takers at these things, right?

  “True.”

  She tugged me to the living room and we watched some more of the Oklahoma house wives show as she curled my hair. It was times like this when I wished I didn’t have so much hair, but I did. It was curly, full, and long. To top it off, it was the brightest strawberry blonde color. Sometimes I felt like it drew too much attention to me, and most of the time I would really rather hide. I was like that my whole life, I just wanted to keep to myself. It got worse after my mom died. I couldn’t talk to anyone or hold a decent conversation. It really wasn’t until I met Ivy in college that I started to feel somewhat comfortable in my own skin.

  I looked at my reflection in my bathroom mirror as Ivy did her magic. I had complete trust in her and knew she would make me look amazing. I just hoped that my nerves would calm before I was thrust into a world that I never really was a part of.

  Ivy was a goddess, and she made me look like one too. She made my hair into tight curls and then loosened them up so they fell in loose waves. She kept my makeup simple too; my eyeliner was light, and my eyeshadow a dark blue color to offset the dress. My lipstick was such a light peach color, it just looked my own lips that had been air brushed.

  “This looks amazing, Ivy.” I couldn’t stop looking in the mirror. She smiled back at m
e and handed me the dress.

  “Wait until you put this on, you don’t know how good you will look!” She squealed and left me alone to slip into it.

  I called her back in so she could help me zip it up. But I didn’t want to look yet. I wore a simple pair of black flats since the dress was so long, no one would be able to see my feet even if I were sitting down.

  Ivy put some last few touches on my hair and makeup, and spritzed some perfume she got from a release the past weekend. My best friend had the perks.

  “Okay, you have to look now!”

  She took out her phone and snapped a picture of me so I could see the full image.

  Whoa.

  I stifled a gasp. The taffeta was a lighter shade of blue from the tight bodice, which flowed into the darker shade of blue as it cascaded down my body. The sweetheart neckline made my chest look great, and Ivy was right, I wouldn’t have needed a bra anyway.

  “Oh my…this dress is amazing.” I said, gazing at the photo in awe as if it weren’t me.

  “You make it great. The model that wore this dress looked like a blueberry, but you look like a fucking shiny blue solitaire.”

  I giggled at her analogy. Ivy was so goofy sometimes.

  “You are crazy…but thank you so much. I just hope I don’t mess it up or anything.”

  I said, suddenly realizing I was responsible for a dress that could probably buy me the car I have been needing.

  “You won’t. They wouldn’t really notice anyway. I just need it back Sunday afternoon, I think.”

  I nodded in understanding. My phone went off with another email. It was from Sasha.

  Hello Dear,

  I am so anxious to see the floral arrangement you created. I know it is probably impeccable. Please accept the car I am sending to your residence. See you tonight.

  -Sasha.

  I read the words over and over. She was sending me a car? It made me feel giddy and official. I wondered how she got my address, but remembered she had sent Dan here once or twice for a certain plant food I didn’t carry in the stores, and I had shipped flowers to her from here too.

  “What is it?” Ivy broke my reverie.