Burning Flowers (5 page)

He squinted up at her, pulling an ear bud
out of his ear. Apparently he’d been listening to music. She
supposed it was better than listening to those fans all day. “How
long have you been here?” she asked, rephrasing.

He held up two fingers, which she was pretty
sure meant two hours. She held up her coffee cup and pointed out
the door towards the coffee shop. It was crude, but it wasn’t like
she knew sign language. He smiled, and she could tell his body was
starting to shake with laughter, But then he gave her a thumbs up
and walked outside with her, leaving the loud humming behind.

Holding up one finger as he began to walk
towards the coffee shop, Clarke turned around and went to lock the
door. She couldn’t stand leaving it unlocked even in the state it
was in, but then she realized she didn’t have the key. She ran
after Vince to grab the key, but he just kept walking. “No one’s
going to want to go in there. It’ll be fine,” he assured her,
walking inside and up to the counter.

She kept her stride next to him and stood at
the counter with him as Joe approached the cash register. Great,
just the guy she needed at the moment. What was he going to think
about her being there with Vince after all the times she’d turned
him down?

Joe looked back and forth between them
before quietly taking Vince’s order. It was a miracle not hearing
the petty insults or attempts at convincing her he was the best guy
to date. Maybe she should have bought a guy coffee there
sooner!

His coffee was ready pretty quick, and she
headed for the door. But Vince sat down in a window seat instead,
so she froze, wondering what he was thinking. “Don’t you want a
break form that place to sit down for a moment? How about we enjoy
our coffee?” He raised his cup as if in a toast before beginning to
sip at it and look out the window.

Clarke sat down cautiously across from him,
her leg shaking and jiggling a little. She was anxious to do
something, but she knew there was really nothing she could do other
than wait for him to be done and watch him work again. Deep down
she knew she should just let him do his job until it was ready to
reopen, but she wasn’t good at relinquishing control at all.

“So, why a flower shop?” he asked after a
few moments. She looked at him almost surprised at the
question.

“I guess because there’s a lot of
opportunity there. You can do a lot with flowers. I thought it was
a good investment.” Once she said it out loud, Clarke realized how
pitiful that was, and he probably thought the same thing.

“Uh huh,” he nodded. “So, other than sell
flowers, what do you do?”

“Well, I help make plans for events like
birthday parties and weddings. I meet with clients a lot.”

He started laughing; practically squirting
coffee out of his nose, and Clarke wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Did she have a bug on her face or something? “No, I meant what do
you do outside of work for fun?” he clarified, still choking on
some coffee.

It was another tough question because her
work was her life. “I don’t know. I guess I read sometimes or look
for ways to make my business better.” She shrugged and looked out
the window, not wanting to make eye contact and see what he was
thinking about her. That’s why she didn’t really have any friends.
There was nothing to talk about with them.

“It sounds like you are in desperate need of
a hobby,” he said, flatly.

“Well, what do you do for fun?” she asked
defensively.

“Well, I go fishin and shoot some pool
sometimes. Oh, and I just love playing horseshoes at my brother’s
trailer park.” He faked a really bad red neck accent and then let
out a snort. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. That’s just usually
what people assume when they look at me. Really, I like to learn
new things. Sometimes I read or I just go out for a walk and talk
to people or look at things. I take martial arts classes sometimes;
nothing major. I don’t know, I’m just one of those people that
enjoys everything.”

Clarke was taken aback by the answer he
gave. How could someone like everything or find time to do so much?
They were clearly at the opposite ends of the spectrum. In fact,
they’d probably never talk again after he was done with the shop.
But she found it surprisingly interesting to learn about how
someone else lived. “That certainly isn’t what I expected from you,
but it’s interesting. I just don’t have the time for hobbies.
That’s the trade off of having a career.”

He took another sip of his coffee and looked
her up and down like he was studying her. She began to feel a
little uncomfortable. “What?” she finally asked.

“I’m just trying to understand why you feel
that you’re so imperfect; that everything you do is so imperfect.”
She blushed, wondering how he could guess such a thing about her
when he didn’t even know her.

“What makes you think that’s how I
feel?”

“Because that’s why you always work and do
nothing else. It’s like you think you don’t deserve to do anything
else and that if you don’t keep working on it, you’ll be
criticized. Otherwise, you’d be at home right now instead of
micromanaging the cleanup of your closed shop.” He winked at her
and stood up, throwing his paper cup into the trash before heading
out the door.

“You coming?” he asked, holding the door
open for her. She shook her head as if coming out of a trance and
followed him out the door.

Chapter Ten

Clarke looked around as Vince flipped on all the lights in the
shop. It had been less than a week since he started working on it,
and it looked great; ready to open. He’d gotten an inspector in
over the weekend to make sure everything was safe, and they gave
the go ahead. All she needed now was to get in the new shipments of
flowers. “I can’t believe what a great job you did,” she told
Vince, reaching for her phone. “I was so scared that this place
would never be the same.”

She walked into the office, which still
needed some work done to it. The desk had been warped and melted,
and there were still a few chunks out of the wall. But the burning
smell was gone which was a blessing in and of itself. She dialed
Katie’s number and got her on the second ring.

“Hey, Katie, is there any chance I could get
you to come in today? We have to start ordering flowers again and
restocking. It might take a few hours.”

“You mean the shop’s alright?” Katie asked
in a cheery voice. Clarke hated to admit it, but she’d missed that
voice. “That’s so great. I was so worried.”

“Yeah, I found a guy that could fix it up
real quick, and it’s been inspected. There are still a few minor
things, but it’s safe to be in.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you as soon as I
drop the kids off at daycare, boss. Do you want me to call in
anyone else to help out?” Katie asked. Clarke knew she was trying
to help their employees get some hours and get paid since they’d
been out of work for several days, but Clarke was being more
practical about things.

“Let’s see how it goes and then call someone
if we need them, okay?”

“Alright,” Katie said with a sigh before
hanging up the phone.

Clarke grabbed the business binder
containing all the numbers of her contacts where she might be able
to order stock quickly and began to go through them, calling each
number one by one to see what they had that they could spare for
the day. She had to fight tooth and nail to find anyone who was
willing to work with her on it.

She heard the door to the shop open and
peeped her head out of the office after slamming her phone down on
the desk in frustration. Vince had let Katie in the door. “Hey
boss, how’s it hanging?” Katie asked with her usual wide smile. How
she was always so positive Clarke did not know, but she filed it in
the back of her mind to ask her what exercise she was doing or what
pill she was taking so she could jump on the bandwagon.

“Well, it could be going better, but I’m
sure now that you’re here you’ll help me figure this out,” Clarke
said hopeful, walking all the way into the room. She caught Vince
glancing at them from out of the corner of her eye and cleared her
throat.

“Sure I will. What do you need me to
do?”

“Maybe we can split up the numbers of
contacts to call and see if we can replenish our stock fast and to
the best of our ability for now. We need some basic sells and
something for seasonal and something to show for prom at least.
I’ve already got some roses and carnations on the way. But that’s
not going to cut it.” Clarke was speaking fast, running away with
her stressed thoughts. Katie walked up to her and placed her hand
on her shoulder.

Katie looked to Vince who was whistling yet
again, which just made Clarke feel worse. “Has she been like this
the whole time?”

Vince looked up, seemingly surprised that
anyone was trying to talk to him before nodding. “Oh, yes. In fact,
she’s been worse at times.”

Clarke shot him one of those killing looks
before looking to Katie and pouting silently. Katie led Clarke back
into the office and sat her down, showing her how to breathe in
through her nose and out through her mouth. “So, Clarke, instead of
stressing over this for just a moment, how about you tell me who
that hottie is out there,” Katie said in a whisper.

Clarke looked up in shock. “You’re married,
Katie!”

“Yes, I am, but you aren’t.”

“He’s just fixing up the place for a really
good price. He’ll be out of my life in a few days.” And he’d be
better for it, but Clarke didn’t bother adding that part.

“Mmhmm, okay. I’ll take your word for it for
now. But let’s get to these phone calls, shall we?” Katie pulled
out her cell phone and began where Clarke left off, calling every
other number. Katie frowned as the first two numbers she called
turned out to be closed, and Clarke found herself arguing with yet
another person on the phone. Just when she was ready to give up,
she heard Katie actually talking to someone. With that great
attitude of hers she was sure to convince someone to help them
out.

“Okay, thank you so much for helping us out
here. We really owe you. You’ve made a customer for life. Yes, I
can hold,” she heard Katie say into the receiver before hearing
loud elevator music coming from the phone. Katie looked up and gave
a thumbs-up to Clarke. This nursery has a lot of extra stock and
could use the sales. She’s going to take our order in a minute and
have her employees load a delivery truck right away. They aren’t
that far either.”

Katie went back to the phone as the music
stopped and introduced Clarke, knowing Clarke would have specifics.
Katie headed up front as Clarke heard someone knocking, probably
for that first order, and Vince came to the back to begin his work
there. Clarke smiled at him and stood up to move out of his
way.

Clarke finished up the order and went to the
front to help out when she heard a grating voice following behind
the man carrying flowers into the shop. “Well, well, what’s going
on here?” her mother asked, as Clarke felt panic rising in her.
This was not the best time for her mother to show up at the shop.
The back was still clearly damaged, and there were no flowers; just
empty displays. She had to make up something and fast.

“I’m just rebranding for some larger
clients. I just got a big contract with a woman who lives in that
gated community on Prairiedog,” she said, wringing her hands
nervously. Only her mother had the power to turn her into a
shaking, drooling idiot like that.

“Mmhmm, is that so?” her mother asked,
walking around with her scrutinizing eyes. Clarke got the feeling
her mother didn’t believe her. Of course, her daughter would never
be good enough to land a client who was too high society, even for
her. How a lawyer got in with the rich and famous crowd still
baffled Clarke.

Clarke was about to say something when Vince
came into the room. His mouth was open like he was about to tell
Clarke something, but Clarke discreetly shook her head at him as
her mother walked towards him, circling him like a hawk. “Who in
Heaven’s name is this?” her mother asked with narrowed eyes. Vince
was wearing torn jeans again and a tee shirt that probably smelled
like sweat and cleaning supplies. Clarke fidgeted in place,
wondering what to tell her mother. “Well, I’m waiting. Why is he
here? He surely doesn’t look like the type to work selling
flowers,” Mrs. Bennett commented with a cruel chuckle.

Clarke walked over to Vince and squeezed his
arm, saying the first thing that came through her mind. “Vince and
I are sort of seeing each other. He just came over here for a quick
visit and to have lunch with me.” She felt Vince stiffen up and
said a silent prayer that even if it was just for the next 60
seconds he would go along with what she said.

Clarke tried to smile genuinely as Vince
surprisingly put his arm around her. It almost took her aback to
the point of her giving things away. “I’m Vince. It’s umm, nice to
meet you Mrs….” He trailed off with the question and held out his
hand to shake.

Clarke’s mother slowly extended her own
hand. Clarke watched, wondering when shit was going to hit the fan.
“It’s Bennett, and it’s Miss, actually,” she corrected, flaunting
her single status. Clarke’s mother still hadn’t remarried and
couldn’t keep more than a fling going, but that was probably
because under all the designer clothes and fancy wine parties was a
bitter old woman who resented having a child with whoever Clarke’s
father was.

They shook hands for only a second, and
Clarke caught that glint in her mother’s eye that meant she was up
to something. “Well, it’s nice to see that Clarke is finally seeing
someone, even if it is so…casual.” She looked Vince up and down
like she was referring to him more than to the relationship.

Vince’s jaw got tight like he could sense
what she might have meant too. This was getting way too personal
way too quickly. People didn’t really know about her mommy issues,
and Vince was not who she wanted to start with on letting people in
on them. But it looked like it was way too late for that thanks to
her big and fast mouth and slow brain.