I loved getting to work with flowers again. I was crazy about the redecorated shop, but fixing it up wasn’t the kind of work I loved. I liked coaxing scrawny little plants to get stronger and bloom, loved arranging even the humblest stock flowers into a pretty arrangement that would brighten someone’s mood. I delved into my list of things to do and things to get ready. Michelle and Nicole were coming to help after they got off work around four, but it was just me and my part-timer, Cathy, racing around getting bouquets ready and ringing up customers. I had Cathy call her cousin to come make some deliveries because there were more orders than I had room to store! Every surface on the counter, worktable, and desk were covered, and I couldn’t risk putting them on the floor where they might get knocked over.
When Josh arrived, we loaded his car, each item tagged carefully with the name and address of the recipient. I sent Cathy in back to make more bows, and I manned the counter while I tried to multitask and arrange some roses in a vase. By the time Michelle and Nicole arrived, I practically tackled them with relief. Michelle handed me a great big Dr. Pepper from the convenience store with lots of ice in it, and I slurped it down gratefully.
My best friends got right down to work, with Nicole barking out instructions and Michelle gathering materials and setting them up for me to fill the orders. With Cathy’s bows and Nicole filling out cards, and Cathy wrapping in tissue or ringing up a receipt, we got an assembly line going and moved a lot of orders through quickly. I felt so relieved after a harrowing day. Business was great, and it wasn’t just a one-day surge. I had orders coming in on the phone and website for the rest of the week as well. I took a quick break to add more flowers to my fresh inventory that was arriving day after tomorrow.
When I placed my order, I tacked on a few stuffed animals, scented candles and homemade soaps, and angel knickknacks because several customers had asked if we had any plans to start having gifts as well. I’d have to get the little set of shelves from my parents’ garage that used to be in my bedroom as a kid and paint them to showcase the gift items on. I wasn’t going to invest in a display case or anything yet, but it seemed like a good idea to expand into small gifts as well as flowers. I usually only kept that stuff around Valentine’s Day, but there was a demand in town for it now. Part of me couldn’t wait to tell Damon how great things were going and how I’d ordered candles and stuff. I knew he’d have ideas on what to add to inventory and I wondered if we should ask our moms what they thought, since a lot of my customers were in their age group.
“Whew, it’s six-thirty,” Nicole said. “I’m starving. Do you want me to order pizza or go get something?”
“Uh…” I said. “I hadn’t really thought about it. But I’ll totally feed my help. Order whatever you want. My treat.”
“Ooh,” Michelle piped up, “then I want lobster and champagne!”
“Diamonds, I want some diamonds. I’m ordering those, too,” Nicole teased.
“Oh, shut up. I meant you can have BBQ or pizza or whatever,” I rolled my eyes.
I heard a knock at the door and looked up to see Rachel with three bags of food and a drink carrier from the diner. I opened the door for her.
“What’s all this?” I asked. “You didn’t have to bring us dinner!”
“Oh, honey, it wasn’t me. I’m just the delivery girl. Feel free to tip big, though,” she laughed. “Looks like somebody doesn’t want you girls going hungry tonight.”
“Who sent all this?” I said.
“Your hubby, of course. Sweetest thing I ever heard, he calls up and says, ‘my wife’s working tonight, it’s the first day the shop’s been back open, and she’s having a real big day. I gotta work till ten or I’d take it by myself,’” Rachel said.
I blushed while Nicole and Michelle made obnoxious kissing noises behind me. I fished out a twenty and handed it to Rachel for her trouble and took the bags from her.
When she was gone, I flapped my hand at the girls to get them to stop acting stupid about Damon sending us food.
“It’s your favorite! Even the pie!” Michelle swooned. “He really pays attention.”
“You bring me a muffin sometimes. It’s the same thing.”
“It’s not. Because I’m not trying to get laid. You’ve always had a crush on him. So I think this is a pretty clear signal from him. It’s a total boyfriend thing to do.”