It's Christmas Eve. Me and dad are in our usual spot in front of the TV watching whatever Christmas film they put on when the doorbell rings.
"You're not expecting anyone, are you?", I ask dad in confusion.
He shakes his head as he gets up to open the door. I hear muffled thanks you as the door closes shut.
He comes back, almost invisible from the massive bouquet of flowers he is holding.
"What the hell?", I ask out loud, surprised and confused as to what is going.
Dad places them on the floor, with the coffee table full of food and snacks, there is no space, but even if it was empty, I don't think it fit on top of it.
"It's for you", dad says, looking at the flowers and then looking at me.
"Me?"
"Yes."
My heart starts beating in confusion. The bouquet is beautiful. It's a bundle of winter flowers, carrying through the darker winter colours of deep reds and purples, with sprinkles of white throughout. There's everything from roses to peonies and berries pine cones.
Dad hands me the note sticking out on top, addressed to me.
My hands slightly shake opening it.
Thank you for all the hard work this year with us and team!
Hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Lucien x
I read the note out loud to dad.
"How lovely is he, eh. Sending all his team flowers", dad says, trying to figure out where to put the bouquet. My phone pings. The work group chat.
Abbi:
Thank you for the flowers they are beautiful!
Some relief floods through me, knowing that Lucien didn't send flowers to just me. Abbi has a similar bunch to mine, but no roses because I know she hates what they stand for. Crazy how Lucien remembered. Slowly, messages start to come in as the boys ping over a photo of them, three crates of beer each. I guess that is probably they're equivalent to flowers. I make my dad hold them up over his face, showing how massive it truly it is and send it to the chat with a thank you message as well.
Lucien:
Happy to see everyone has received their deliveries. I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and see you in the new year : )
I heart his message and then message him privately, whilst dad is still fussing about on what to do with the flowers. He settles on putting them next to the tree, claiming it adds to the décor and matches with the colour theme.
Me:
Thank you again for the flowers, they're really beautiful
Me and Lucien have been messaging almost every day since last Saturday, even if they are not long conversations, we usually check in with each other.
Lucien:
Glad you like them I chose the flowers myself : )
God took his time making this man.
Me:
They're currently sitting next to our Christmas tree. Are you going to the airport now?
Lucien told me earlier this week that he'll be flying home to Greece for a week on Christmas Eve to spend Christmas with his family. I had thought about asking if he wanted to spend Christmas with us since he'd be alone, but held back after I heard about his plans.
Lucien:
Just checked in, waiting for my gate number
Me:
Have a safe flight x
Lucien:
Thank you
I heart his message, not knowing what else to say back, spending the rest of my evening staring at my flowers and tracking the flight Lucien's on to make sure he gets there safely.
YOU ARE READING
The 18th Floor
RomanceLooking for a job isn't easy, especially when 26-year-old Cyrene is in a wheelchair. Graduating from uni late and trying to enter the industry, Cyrene is finding out how hard life can be, not to mention how unaccommodating some employers have been u...
