The Tulip Terror

by C L Bauer

  “Yes. I’m headed back, but just for a couple of months. You need me, call Dad. I couldn’t put you down as the contact since we aren’t married. I’m sorry. This is a bad way to tell you this, but I really had no choice. We have some intel we have to follow.”

  Speechless, Lily held back her tears. In the small hallway, Gretchen Malloy looked on. She pushed back her own tears trailing down her caked makeup. Gretchen’s thoughts brought her back to her own memories of a man she loved; of a man who went away in the service of his country. She never saw him again. He was the one who got away, and she regretted it every day of her life. She wouldn’t allow that to happen to Lily.

  “Lily, I love you,” Dev said softly. There was an alarm of some kind going off behind him. “That’s our plane. I have to go.”

  “I love you too,” she choked out.

  Gretchen hurried up to the screen and put her arm around her friend’s shoulder. “When is the wedding? Inquiring minds need to know, and buddy, there better be one real soon.”

  Dev shook his head and laughed. “Gretchen, you’ll be the first one to know.”

  “Deal. I’m taking your word on that. I’m not fond of disappointment and I abhor liars. Just remember that.”

  He saluted her. “Yes, ma’am. I really have to go. Lily, I’ll call as soon as I can. I love you, just remember that.”

  His screen cut out as she was nodding.

  Lily remained sitting in the chair, looking at a blank screen. He was gone. She’d told him she had pushed him away the first time because he didn’t know what he wanted and she wanted something, someone serious. She’d lied a little. She was afraid of being left behind, just like now. She had always thought she wouldn’t marry. She just knew. Then two other men had come along and she had hoped. By the time Dev had come along, she’d given up hope. She’d always been afraid of the blank screen. She had steeled her heart and had formed a life that didn’t require a man, a marriage. She’d given up on having children, a family to surround her on holidays. And she was fine with that. Until now. Again.

  Gretchen was on the sofa, feet up on the table. Lily was missing Mort. At least the dog would go to her bed and only bother her to go outside. Gretchen had control of the channel changer again.

  “So, where’s the porn?”

  Lily, never again to be intimidated by the wedding coordinator and new best friend, removed her slipper, and threw it. Mort would’ve caught it.

  Chapter Six

  “Jack, how are you?” Lily just needed to hear Dev’s dad’s voice and everything would be normal, well a little bit more. She was discovering lately that her normal life didn’t exist. In fact, it never had. Her life always revolved around the cyclical nature of the year. January she cleaned. February she didn’t sleep until after Valentine’s Day. March she prepared. April the wedding season began. May focused around Mother’s Day. June was the beginning of weekly weddings. July was hot and sticky as was August. September was uniquely busy with outdoor weddings and always worrying about the weather. October brought cooler breezes and fall weddings. November the holidays began and by the time she reached New Year’s Eve she was so tired she retreated to her sofa in sweats or pajamas and did absolutely nothing on New Year’s Day. Her year, her life, revolved around her work. Having a love life had actually thrown a wrench in her plans, but it was very well worth it, until he left. She just needed reassurance that one day he would come back.

  Jack Pierce could hear the uncertainty in her voice. Lily was pretty easy to read, although his son liked to study her habits and idiosyncrasies. It really wasn’t necessary. He knew her, well he’d actually been married to someone much like her.

  “I’m fine, but you don’t sound too great, kiddo. What can I do for you? My therapy couch is unoccupied at the moment.”

  “Just wanted to check in with you.”

  He knew the translation of that statement. “No, I haven’t heard from him either.”

  The man was as perceptive as his son. “Pat and I had a great time last night. She said you might visit Kansas City?”

  “Yes, I’m thinking about July or August.”

  “When it’s so hot? You should come in the fall.”

  “I don’t think that’s going to work. Maureen is getting so busy out at the vineyard I made a commitment to her for then. That’s why you should take her up on her offer and help her out.”

  Lily shook her head. The Pierce family, not necessarily the man who had asked to marry her, was determined to see her move to Virginia and assist on weddings at Dev’s aunt’s property. It would be a great business, but Lily had her own to run for now. “I’m pretty busy here with my own.”

  “But some day--”

  “Some day,” Lily repeated followed by a heavy sigh.

  “Lily, this is just a small hiccup. Can you imagine what it was like when he was gone for years? Oh, he’d come home now and then for a couple of weeks at a time, and then he’d be gone for months. One time we didn’t see him for over a year. You can do this. I’m sure he’ll call when he can.”

  “I know.” She did know, but there were so many reasons why this relationship wasn’t working. As she continued to talk about nothing at all with his father, she examined her engagement ring. It was exciting and spectacular and that sapphire in the middle was so blue. So was she.

  Chapter Seven

  “Where are my cookies?” Lily walked quickly back to her personal refrigerator and popped open the freezer compartment. Usually, this unit was being used for overflow of corsages and boutonnieres on really big weekends of multiple weddings or prom. She’d removed the small refrigerator by her desk at the beginning of this year when all their frozen meals defrosted overnight. The “overnight” had been the night before Valentine’s Day. It had not been the best of times. They’d ordered pizza to be delivered, a very large one with everything. It lasted two days. The gas lasted for three.

  She continued to look inside, moving other microwavable dinners. She didn’t see any green boxes of magic. Urgent desperation was setting in.

  “I need cookies, the thin mints, now. Abs, have you seen my thin mints?”

  Lily only heard garbled words she couldn’t understand. There were those many times she didn’t really understand Abby on a weekly basis, but that was on differences of opinion. It sounded like her mouth was full.

  Lily slowly turned around toward the work table. Abby sat on her chair. Her hand was covering her mouth. Her full cheeks were evidence of a cookie crime. There was a strong scent of mint in the air. “Rnor.”

  “Rnor? Abby, those are my mint cookies, aren’t they?” Lily stood with her hands on her hips, clear eyes viewing the obvious evidence. The green box was beside her assistant’s elbow.

  “You little nut. You took those out when I was talking to that crazy coordinator, didn’t you? Instead of rescuing me, you stabbed me in the back. You’ve resorted to larceny!”

  Abby finally gulped down her last bite. “I’m sorry. I knew it was going to be bad. I mean, that woman makes Gretchen look like Joan of Arc. I ran and grabbed the cookies so I couldn’t hear you yell.”

  Lily shook her head. “I didn’t yell at her. She yelled at me, but you are right about one thing. I’m going to yell at you. Hand over what’s left.” She threw out her open hand. “Now, Abby. I need those cookies.”

  Abby slowly reached for the box and handed them carefully to her boss, almost as though she was placing meat inside a lion’s cage, careful, you might lose a hand.

  The tired, defeated florist pulled up the other chair and opened the remaining foiled sleeve. The other roll was in Abby’s left hand. They needed these therapy cookies.

  “This is going to be a rough one,” Lily admitted. She wished she had a tall glass of milk. Actually, she probably should only eat one cookie at a time. It would be almost another year before any scouts would wander into the shop with magic cookies.

  “If these peonies aren’t the exact shade, she is going to have a fit. Peo
nies are tricky, and that shade of red, well I’m going to have to go to church and pray for this miracle. She already informed me I work for her and the client and there will be hell to pay if I don’t please her. I found out they’ve been just as difficult at the reception site. They brought in fifteen people to their tasting!”

  “This is bad,” Abby answered. The coordinator had been a shrew since the first day she’d arrived over thirty minutes late with the bride in tow. The bride expected everything, and she wasn’t about to pay one cent more for her vision than she expected.

  “Bad is not the word I would use,” Lily murmured. She slowly ate one more cookie and then twisted the roll shut. “That’s enough wallowing.”

  “Speaking of wallowing, have you heard from Dev?”

  “Nope. No texts, no calls, no messages. He’s somewhere and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

  “So, are you worried?”

  “Yes and no. I know he’s good at his job, well at least I think he is. He seems to be.” Lily stopped. Was he? Would he be fine? Could the odds finally catch up to him? “I can worry, but it really isn’t going to do any good. Heck, I’d take a good old fashioned letter right about now.”

  “Mommy, what’s a letter?”

  Lily playfully threw the empty cookie box in Abby’s direction. “Anything else, smart one?”

  “Is this a good time for me to have self doubts? I mean, can both of us doubt at the same time or is that taboo?”

  “What? You might as well say what you need to say.” She could tell that Abby was concerned about something. “By the way, when are you moving in?”

  “That’s part of my doubts. Jeremy’s parents have paid for the apartment until November. I thought I’d probably move in around Thanksgiving or the first week of December when we aren’t so busy.”

  Lily nodded. “That’s great. It gives me more time to clean out some things. So what are you doubting?”

  “Me,” Abby answered, taking a deep breath. “I don’t know if I can do these weddings every weekend like you do.”

  “Then don’t,” her boss answered quickly. “You know your budget for the shop, and I gave you numbers on utilities for the house and rent. I’ll still pick up the personal property on both locations. I thought you had this figured out and you thought you’d be great.”

  Abby was silent. Her eyes glanced down in humble embarrassment. “I want to, but I don’t think I can.”

  Lily reached for her hand and held it in hers. “Honey, please, don’t torture yourself. Don’t do this out of loyalty. I’ve just learned that it is alright to move on. If I have to shut it down, I will. I won’t live in “what if” anymore and I sure don’t want you to do it. Understand?”

  Abby nodded slowly. As she lifted her head, Lily saw the large pools of tears in her eyes. “But I do want to do it. I don’t want this shop to close. I’m just scared that I will fail.”

  “Join the club,” Lily whispered. “I’m so scared to what’s ahead of me, Abs. It’s exciting and different. I may be moving for the first time in my life. College doesn’t count. I’ll be living with a man whom I barely know. We know we love each other, but we sure haven’t been together enough to prove it. I’ll have to learn new streets, grocery stores, and find a new church.”

  “The worst is finding where you’ll get your haircut and your nails done.”

  “You’re right. That is the worst of it. But the best of it could be amazing.”

  “That’s very enlightened of you,” Abby laughed.

  “And that’s a very big word for you. Let’s get to work. The red peony wedding is this Saturday and it has to be perfect.”

  Thankfully, the red peonies arrived the next day. They were the correct red, not the wrong red. Lily’s other wedding for the weekend was as simple and sweet as any wedding could be. The bride wasn’t picky about the delivery; she wasn’t picky about the flowers or the colors. She just wanted something pretty and that’s what she was going to get with a few extra blooms here and there because she had been the perfect client.

  By Saturday, Lily and Abby never wanted to see red peonies again. Lily dropped off the other wedding to a very grateful bride and headed over to Abby at the reception site. Lily knew something was wrong from the second she took one step into the venue. Abby still had all the flowers for the tables lined up on the bar.

  “Abby, what’s up?”

  Abby pointed toward the tables. Glasses, plate settings and cutlery were displayed perfectly on each guest table. The reception staff were huddled to the side of the room discussing something so seriously it must be about world peace.

  “What am I looking at? I’m kind of tired by now, you know that, so spell it out for me.”

  “Look at what’s crawling all over the tables.” Lily followed Abby’s pointing hand toward a slab of wood in the middle of each table. The coordinator and the bride had provided them. She walked closer. There was a strange design on the tablecloth. Oh my dear Lord, some sort of bugs or ants were everywhere.

  “Have you called the coordinator?”

  “Believe me, she’s been called.” The answer came from Kim, the reception site’s coordinator. “After all the crap they’ve put us through and this happens. We can’t set out anything and we’re keeping the cake in the kitchen.”

  Lily walked closer to one of the tables to examine the debacle. “Are they from the slab?”

  “Yes, but you need to know, they had all sorts of peonies in here earlier this morning. The bride’s aunt had brought them in. I think the ants are from those and these little bugs are from the wood. They didn’t treat it; they probably cut them from the aunt’s tree in the backyard.”

  “Yikes.” Lily stood back. She rubbed her forehead. Her stomach was sinking. She actually didn’t know what to do. Every plate, charger, glass, tablecloth, knife, fork, spoon would have to be washed and how did you get rid of the little suckers?

  The coordinator entered behind the women as they thought about a strategy.

  “What is the problem with you people? Can’t you do anything?”

  Abby stepped back away from Lily and Kim as they both turned toward the woman.

  “We’ve done our job,” Lily spat back. “You are the one with the mess.”

  “The aunt and you brought in these wood slabs and some of her garden peonies this morning and now we have this mess,” Kim said defiantly. Professionalism was out the window.

  “Well maybe it’s Lily’s fault.”

  “The bugs came out to play almost four hours ago. I texted you,” Kim answered. Lily retreated as Kim held the ground. The battle was waged.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “You decide what you want done. We need to wash everything and I’m not sure how we are going to get this infestation out before the reception. If the health department hears about this, well, I’m not sure what we can do.”

  Lily studied the coordinator carefully. She was ready to blow. Not only would Lily make a mental note never to do another wedding with her, she would write it in big red letters in the backroom.

  “If you can wash everything and reset it all then we can do that. I’ll shake the tablecloths off outside.”

  “You get new ones,” Kim demanded.

  “Where am I going to get new ones? Everything is closed.”

  “We can rent you ours, but you’ll explain to the bride why we didn’t use these.”

  “Fine,” she answered and turned to leave.

  “Oh no,” Lily exclaimed. “You are going to remove those wood pieces and those tablecloths and get them out of here. And you can’t just shake them out near the building.”

  Before the woman could answered, Kim had another idea. “We have some bug spray you can have. You have some work ahead of you. I’ll get you a cart, oh and come with me. I need your credit card, preferably a personal check or cash. There’s an extra charge for all this work. We’ve taken time stamped photos so don’t even think about denying this cost later
.”

  As the two women headed to the back area of the venue to conduct business, Abby stepped on a very energetic pest. “He was almost to the bar. Here’s another one. You know, I could invent my own termite tango if this keeps up.”

  “I’m afraid they won’t be able to get rid of them all. They are going to have to get an exterminator in here tomorrow if they can.”

  “What were they thinking?”

  Lily just shook her head. “They thought they knew better. I told her months ago they couldn’t and shouldn’t use those peonies from the yard. I didn’t know about those wood slabs. You know, you can stick them in the freezer and that’ll kill the little buggers?”

  “Good to know, boss.”

  “I am very talented,” Lily laughed as she stepped on another over-achieving pest.

  They set the last arrangement as the first guest arrived. Abby and Lily continued to kill any bug they could as did the rest of the wait staff. It had become a game, a dance of death of the bugland variety. They’d stifled their laughter as the coordinator, hair undone and shoes off, had finished her work and was swiping off ants on her arms. She was utterly undone and miserable. A very small part of Lily felt for her, a very small part. Actually, she didn’t feel sorry for her at all. The woman had played them for months and made every vendor miserable, every one of them. That was a record in the wedding industry. Yep, Gretchen was looking pretty good right about now.

  As Abby and Lily finally finished their day, almost three hours later than planned, they headed back to the shop to unload.

  “You want anything to eat, Abs? I’m paying.”

  “No, really after all that creepy crawly stuff, I’m going to grab something and take a nice long bath. Maybe I’ll call Jeremy. You going to bill her extra for the time?”

  Lily was depositing the last bucket into the backroom. “You really think she’d pay me? I’m going to cut my losses and forget this day and this client existed.”