Talk In Flowers | Larry Stylinson

DAY I

The lock clicked as Louis turned the silver key a couple of times, while the little, attached key rings dangled, rattling together and creating a sound that was just all too familiar to Louis by now.

He stepped inside the place, getting hit with a whiff of fresh flowers.

A flickering of lights, a slight nudge of the door, which fell closed soon after, and a tired exhale, and Louis found himself standing alone in the flower shop. He was late and thus had less than an hour left till he had to open, but there was still a lot to prepare, so the sooner he'd start, the sooner he'd be able to welcome new customers.

He sat his bag down behind the counter, slipping and sliding his jacked off of his shoulders before tossing it carelessly over the back of a chair. The minutes left till opening the shop were filled with Louis sorting out flowers, pushing around arrangements and sweeping bits and pieces of dirt and dust away, creating the illusion that the floor was squeaky clean.

Soon enough, the clock by the counter struck 10 AM, giving Louis the cue to open up the shop. Luckily, during the morning hours barely anyone would show up, so even though the shop was open and Louis was available, it still meant that he had hours, sometimes till noon, to clean or keep up with the bouquets on the order list, before he would actually have to be confronted by an in-person customer.

But today, fate seemed to have something different planned, as barely half an hour after opening, a man pushed open the door, making the bell by the entrance ring, which subvertantly caused Louis to stop in his motion and turn, only to find a tall but slender figure standing in the small but cozy room.
His coat was long and gray, almost black. It gave him a rather mysterious appearance. But the kind expression on his face, combined with his light eyes contradicted Louis' initial thoughts.

,,Hi. How may I help you?" Louis asked, putting on a smile, as it was a sign of good manners. Good manners only, considering that this stranger was actually interrupting Louis in his work, which was quite a predicament.

,,Hey. I'm looking for something quite specific. So, I need a bouquet for a first date. I'm meeting her parents." The man spoke, smiling slightly as his hand brushed a few, stray hairs out of his face. He spoke like he was unsure, yet amused about his own situation, while Louis was rather confused.

,,So, the flowers are for who exactly?"
,,Oh, the mother."
,,Ok, I can work with that."

Buying flowers for a date was in no way something uncommon, yet buying flowers on a fist date, where you would immediately meet the parents was odd to say the least. But Louis wouldn't judge. It wasn't his right to begin with.

,,Got any specific wishes? Anything in mind?"
,,Honestly, I have no clue. You can go wild if you want."

Louis nodded acknowledgingly. He actually loved when he got to design himself, instead of having to follow the wishes of customers, who all too often did not think of the bigger picture, leaving them with a bouquet they were only semi-happy with, for the soul reason of them lacking the experience in creating and arranging flowers. However, Louis didn't have that problem. He knew what he was doing and he was confident in his craft, so he got to it, quickly picking out flowers that would suit not only the rather strange occasion, but might also strike the visual taste buds of the woman who would receive them.

An important part in creating a bouquet was taking into consideration what age or sex the person receiving the flowers would be. Also, being able to know more about the person would surely help, but considering that this bundle of flowers would be gifted to a woman, by a man she would see for the first time, made it quite hard to get a good feeling for what the person might like.

Non the less, Louis quickly arranged a little something, tying up the stems before wrapping it in a layer of wrapping paper.

,,That will be $25."

The man reached inside his pocket, pulling out a leather wallet.
Meanwhile, Louis lurked up at the still friendly smiling figure, with his kind green eyes. Now that the man stood closer, it was easier to notice the smile lines on his face, or the light but prominent darker circles beneath his eyes. Or his well defined jaw line. He was quite nice to look at, Louis had to admit.

After fumbling around for a while, the tall man ultimately slid paper money over the counter, glancing over at Louis in the process.
,,You can keep the change."

Louis thanked him kindly, even emphasizing his smile by making it more predominant.
They said their goodbyes and the man headed for the door, as Louis was overcome with the urge to say one last thing as the bell of the shop had already started to ring.

,,Good luck with your date."
,,Thank you. I'll need it." He grinned, causing Louis to chuckle as well. And in the blink of an eye, the door fell into the lock with a quiet clicking sound.