White Tulips & Wedding Cake

by Jonathan Solomon

  “Not too bad, Sakura, and yourself? No interruption, I’m free for a chat,” said Malik.

  “I’m good, thank you. I have Iris, the commercial landlord, sitting in on this call,” said Sakura.

  “Hi Iris,” said Malik.

  “Hi Malik,” said Iris, moving closer to Sakura’s computer.

  “So Malik, I just wanted to congratulate you on your successful lease application,” said Sakura with a smile.

  “Oh, thank you so much! What a relief! I wasn’t sure if I would be accepted. This means so much to me. Thank you, Sakura and Iris,” said Malik.

  Iris was overwhelmed by Malik’s outpouring of gratitude.

  “I look forward to having you as the next-door tenant,” said Iris.

  “Me too,” said Malik. “I can’t say how happy this news makes me.”

  “Well, congratulations again. I have your email address, so keep an eye out for further updates and documents from me,” said Sakura.

  “Will do,” said Malik.

  “Excellent! Malik, you have a great day,” said Sakura.

  “No problem. Bye Sakura and Iris,” said Malik.

  “Bye Malik,” said Iris and Sakura and Sakura ended the call.

  “That was the easy part. Now we just have to inform the two unsuccessful applicants,” Sakura started typing into her computer.

  “Oh, would you believe it! I just got an email from the Espressability Gallery Café people,” said Sakura. She took a minute to read the email. “Well, it looks like Espressability have decided to withdraw their application as they found Newtown’s night life buzzier and demonstrated higher foot traffic than Oxford Street, especially on the weekends.”

  “Newtown?” said Iris.

  “Yes. I’ll just email back to say that their withdrawal of the lease application has been noted and wish them the best in their future endeavours.”

  Sakura typed away for a minute and sent the email.

  “All right, so that leaves one phone call to make for Sage Whittle,” said Sakura. Sakura brought up Sage’s details and the call started ringing.

  “Sorry can you hold for a moment,” answered a young woman in amidst what sounded like a symphony of steaming and hissing noises. “This is Sage speaking. What’s this call about?”

  “Hi Sage, this is Sakura speaking,” said Sakura.

  “Sakura from?” questioned Sage from amidst clanking noises.

  “From Foxglove Mimosa Snowdrop Lawyers. You sent in an application to lease a restaurant space on Oxford Street, Paddington,” said Sakura. “You sound busy. Maybe I can call you back later.”

  “You lazy scumbag! Get those plates over to table 25. Now! Geez, you did not just drop them! Oh, that wasn’t directed at you Sakura. No, it’s okay,” said Sage. The steaming, hissing and clanking sounds stopped. “When can I move in?”

  “Oh! My apologies for the confusion. I’m calling to inform you that your application for the space was unsuccessful at this time,” said Sakura.

  “I don’t understand. I need this space,” remonstrated Sage.

  “Unfortunately the commercial landlord made a decision for the space in favour of another applicant,” said Sakura.

  “This can’t be true,” yelled Sage down the line. “I’m certainly not very happy about this Sakura.” There was a sudden loud noise of hissing.

  “I wish you the best in your endeavours. And I’m going to now hang up,” said Sakura as Sage’s barrage of swear words were broadcast over the phone call.

  “Oh dear, she sounded so disappointed,” said Iris with worry in her voice.

  “Oh Iris, I deal with unhappy people every day. It’s not your fault that they set their expectations so high. It’s theirs,” reassured Sakura.

  “Well, Malik sounded lovely on the phone. The space is ready for him to move in straight away,” said Iris.

  “Yes, he comes across as a gentleman. Well I‘ll start drafting up the lease and I’ll inform you when the lease is ready,” said Sakura.

  “Thank you, Sakura. I look forward to meeting him in person,” said Iris.

  Iris smiled broadly as she watched Sakura type away at her computer.

  Chapter 14

  Monday, 30 April – 4.23pm

  Gladys was gardening in the front lawn of her Grafton house. She had her gardening gloves on and was wielding a whipper-snipper. She noticed that the front garden was looking unkempt and sought to prune the garden back into a respectable shape. She set aside the whipper-snipper and bent down onto her knees and began physically pulling recalcitrant weeds under a large frangipani tree. She needed a mattock this time. Shoot, Gladys thought. The mattock was in the backyard tool shed. She was going to have to get back up. Gladys slowly brought herself upright and dusted off the dirt on her knees and hands. She looked at her watch. She had been steadily working for an hour-and-a-half. Gladys walked to the screen-door and took off her shoes and stepped inside her carpeted three-bedroom single-storey home. This house, her home, never failed to give her pleasure and reassurance. She had worked hard as a single mother to save up for a deposit. She could have married again. Yet she felt it was so empowering to buy her own home with her own hard labour. After her husband died of a heart attack, when Iris was three, she started her own cleaning business. She was able to fit her cleaning work around her parental responsibilities.

  Gladys decided to take a break before going out the back to get the mattock. She walked over to her kitchen and put water on to boil. She got her china teapot out of the cupboard and placed several Earl Gray teabags into the teapot. She paused as she went to open the fridge. She looked at the photo held by a fridge magnet on the door. It was the photo of Jack and Gladys as children, where they were hugging each other closely. Gladys took the photo and brought over the milk to the kitchen bench. Gladys took a closer look at the photo. She looked away and returned the photo back on the fridge door.

  Gladys collected her favourite mug and poured in the tea and milk. She sipped silently as she sat on a kitchen stool and let her mind wander.

  December 1957

  Gladys and Jack were both inside the bungalow their family lived in. Their father was likely to be at the local pub, drinking excessively ever since he lost his job after the abolition of the South Grafton municipality. Their father was not yet offered a job with the newly formed Grafton City Council. Their mother was working for a food vendor at the Grafton Showgrounds. They relied on their mother’s income, which was small but better than nothing.

  The weather was sweltering hot. The humidity was getting to Gladys. She lay under the shade of a Jacaranda tree on their front lawn to cool down.

  Then she heard the front door open. Her older brother Jack had walked out carrying a big rucksack bag on his back.

  Gladys sat upright. She had never seen Jack carry such a packed bag. When they both set out to walk to their high school, they were known not to pack too many items.

  Jack glanced at Gladys and swore to himself. Jack still kept walking out onto the front of the bungalow. There was a small gate separating the front yard and the street.

  “Hey, where are you going Jack,” asked Gladys getting up slowly from the grass.

  Jack was silent and kept walking. Gladys was confused. Gladys walked just to the front of the gate where soon Jack and Gladys were face-to-face staring at each other. Gladys was standing in Jack’s way, with her back against the gate.

  “Please move, Gladys. I’m just meeting some friends,” said Jack as he wiped the sweat from his face. His tanned face and buzz cut made him look a lot older than his 17 years.

  “With that rucksack?” remarked Gladys. “What have you got packed in there anyway?”

  “I already told you, I’m meeting some friends,” said Jack and started to move forwards. Gladys stood her ground.

  “You’re running away, aren’t you Jack?” said Gladys, a tremor in her voice.

  “You’ll be okay, Gladdie. You’re the good girl. Mum and Dad love you,” said Jack.r />
  “Have you told Mum and Dad, Jack?” asked Gladys, folding her arms in front of her.

  “No, I haven’t,” answered Jack.

  “But how am I going to explain that you’ve run away from home,” asked Gladys. “They love you too, Jack. You’ll break their hearts.”

  “Gladys! I feel like a prisoner here and there’s nothing keeping me here in this valley. This place bores me to tears. I was born to live the city-life. Now please move and get out of my way,” said Jack as he made to walk forward.

  “You’re not going anywhere! You can’t leave me alone with our parents. It feels like a prison to me too. Please don’t leave me here by myself,” pleaded Gladys as she grabbed Jack’s arm.

  Jack shook Gladys off, making her totter off balance. She slipped on Jacaranda blooms on the brick paving, subsequently landing to the right of the gate and onto the grass. Gladys was unhurt. However, in the shaking off motion Jack scraped his elbow on the edge of the gate. His elbow now had a gash and was starting to bleed.

  “Ah!” said Jack, covering his elbow. “Look, you may not understand, but I’m doing this for me.” He unhinged the front gate with difficulty and hurried off onto the road, holding his elbow.

  Gladys began to cry and brought herself, shakenly, back to her feet. She walked through the front of the gate and out onto the road.

  “You’re only 17, Jack! You’re not an adult yet,” Gladys shouted out through sobs. “You can help us all get out of this mess! I know you can. You don’t have to leave. Not now.”

  She continued crying, as the grief overwhelmed her, from head to toe. Gladys could not stand to think how her parents would react.

  Gladys shivered as the memory returned of the shocked look on her mother’s face. It broke Gladys’ heart to see such sadness and hopelessness. There were many angry and heated conversations about how Gladys could have done more to stop Jack from leaving. Gladys gave the memory no further thought and went to collect the mattock.

  Chapter 15

  Tuesday, 1 May – 8.55 am

  “This is amazing,” said Pahi as she stepped in front of the window of Late Bloomer Blossoms. “I absolutely love it! Especially the gold lettering.”

  Pahi gave Iris a hug and stood back to appraise Iris’s appearance.

  “Iris, you look stunning. You’ve changed so much. You’re so relaxed and…fresh,” commented Pahi.

  “Thank you, Pahi,” said Iris graciously. “I‘m thrilled that you agreed to work for me. I can’t say it was easy for us to work with Dahlia.”

  “Iris, you should have been there. When I emailed her my resignation she started throwing things at me. Not big items as such, but still it was really scary. She was throwing buckets and flower refuse at me. She has anger management issues, I swear,” said Pahi.

  “Oh dear. I hope you’re okay,” said Iris.

  “I’m fine now, but yeah, I’m glad I’m out of there. I served out my notice period because I had to train the new person. But then I just heard that the new person resigned last Friday,” said Pahi.

  “So, Dahlia is basically the only person left in that business?” asked Iris.

  “Yup,” said Pahi. “Oh and is this your flower delivery van?”

  Pahi walked to the van parked metres away. It was a white van with big gold lettering across both sides.

  “Yes, it is. This is the van that I will be using to collect and deliver flowers. Its temperature controlled which means the flowers are kept as fresh as possible,” said Iris.

  “You’re becoming very tech-savvy, Iris. What would you like me to do today?” asked Pahi as they both walked into the store.

  “If you could prepare the flower presentation in the store window that would be greatly appreciated. I trust your style,” said Iris. Iris’s phone rang. “Excuse me, Pahi, I just need to answer this call.”

  Pahi nodded as she put her work apron on.

  Iris looked down and saw it was Sakura calling. Iris answered the call.

  “Hello Sakura. Iris here, How are you?”

  “Not too bad and yourself?” asked Sakura.

  “I’m great thanks.”

  “I’m just calling to give you an update. I’ve now drafted the lease and I have couriered the original lease document for you to read and sign. If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me,” said Sakura.

  “Sure, I will keep an eye out for the courier. And have you heard from Malik?” asked Sakura.

  “Yes, Malik is very keen to move in as soon as possible so once I have received your signed document I will forward this onto Malik. He will very likely move in this Friday,” informed Sakura.

  “Great Sakura. Thank you for the update. I appreciate it,” said Iris.

  “My pleasure,” said Sakura and the call ended.

  “Sorry, that was my lawyer updating me on the progress of the tenant for next door,” Iris said to Pahi.

  “That’s great. And the tenant next door is…?” asked Pahi.

  “Malik Zahra. He is an artisan cake maker and makes cakes for special occasions. He has an interesting business name. Fond of Fondant. He will be moving in next door this Friday,” Iris said.

  “Fond of Fondant?” Pahi repeated.

  “Yes. It’s a tongue-twister. I guess he does not take himself too seriously. Here, I’ll show you what he looks like,” said Iris as she walked over to a shelf and collected the black folder and flipped over to Malik’s portrait.

  “Oh, I tongue-twist him for sure,” said Pahi. “Very handsome and looks quite jovial too.”

  Iris frowned at Pahi.

  “Hey Iris, I was joking, I love my partner. Malik is all yours,” said Pahi.

  Iris frowned even further.

  “All mine? I think he’s too young for me. There’s about seventeen years difference between us,” calculated Iris.

  Pahi shrugged her shoulders and concentrated back on the flowers to present in the window.

  “Pahi, I’ve asked my son to work as a casual. He will be delivering flowers by bike. The website is all set up and you’ll need to have special access to receive online orders. Also, I think you have beautiful handwriting. I might ask you to handwrite the accompanying messages with the flowers,” Iris said.

  “Ooh, that sounds great. It will also be nice to see Ollie. From what you say about him, he sounds like a nice man,” said Pahi.

  “I love him to bits. He’s had it difficult though, what with Roddy being gone, which I don’t think Ollie has ever forgiven himself for. And he had a relationship breakup three years ago. I never met his boyfriend at the time but from what I gathered, Ollie was deeply in love with this person. Head over heels in his first love.”

  “The first love is always the most painful isn’t it? I’m sure Ollie will find someone again. Just like I’m sure you’ll meet a lovely man soon,” said Pahi.

  “I doubt it,” said Iris and went to focus on setting up the wrapping and ribboning area.

  Chapter 16

  Thursday, 3 May – 7:25 pm

  “Promise you’ll behave yourself, Mum?” said Anthony as he drove into the carpark of the restaurant, Savour Thyme, a classy restaurant in Double Bay.

  “Me? I’m always well-behaved,” said Camille.

  “Mum, please. I’m being serious. This dinner is really important to Heath and me. This will be the first time you will meet Heath’s mum, Jonquil,” said Anthony. The car came to a gradual stop and Anthony switched off the ignition.

  “Heath’s mother, Jonquil, is royalty, is she? So you want me to keep quiet and be a non-talking robot? Be seen and not heard?” said Camille. “Come to think of it, are you marrying Heath so you can marry into royalty?”

  Anthony sighed. Anthony and Heath wanted both their mothers to be involved in their wedding preparations. Having grown up in single-parent households was one of the many things Anthony and Heath had in common. They were both an only child, with only their mums their remaining family. Heath’s father had died in a freak horse
-riding accident when Heath was in primary school. Anthony’s father passed away in a chartered plane accident near Airlie Beach, when Anthony was aged ten. Introducing Camille and Jonquil to each other was a goal towards a combination of two different families. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

  “Mum, you’re not a non-talking robot. Heath and I want you to be involved in our wedding ceremony,” Anthony said unclipping his seatbelt. “And I’m marrying Heath because I love him, not for any other reason.”

  “Wanna bet?” Camille grumbled to herself. She was 74 years old and was sick and tired of being told what to do. She got out of the car and straightened up. Camille wore a white Chanel pants-suit and her white hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Camille walked slowly to the front of the car and was joined by Anthony as he activated the car’s security system.

  Anthony looked towards the entrance to Savour Thyme and was relieved to see Heath standing with his mum Jonquil. Heath was wearing a green shirt, which brought out his green eyes. His mother Jonquil, who was in her mid-60s, also had green eyes with big round red-framed spectacles. Jonquil had her platinum grey hair in a carefully maintained bob.

  Heath and Jonquil stepped forward to greet Anthony and Camille.

  “Hello Camille, my name is Jonquil. I’m Heath’s mum. I’m pleased to meet you,” said Jonquil in a warm manner.

  “Hello to you too,” sniffed Camille.

  “Lovely to see you again, Anthony,” said Jonquil as she gave Anthony a kiss and a hug.

  “Hi Camille. Good to see you again,” said Heath as he leant forward to give Camille a kiss but somehow this turned into another failed attempt. The opportunity was lost as Camille turned her attention to Anthony.

  “Should we go inside or do you want me to catch a cold,” said Camille. “By the way Heath, I guess you’ve gone from being a piece of meat to becoming a special person. Congratulations.”

  “Let’s all go inside,” said Anthony in a loud voice and they moved to make their way inside the restaurant.