The Flower Shop

Chapter Eight

Y'all, I'm back! I will say this: grad school is a different type of commitment. It requires a lot of attention. But, I promise you I'm wiring. Just at a slower place. Updates will be coming though. Thanks for rocking with me. Enjoy the chapter ;) -Malaysia

***

        Nadia hummed to herself the 702 song as she flipped through the contract between her and Michelle. She looked over the flower choices and checked them off her personal written list. She wanted to make sure that everything was in good standing on her end as the event got closer and closer.
           Checking the time on her watch, Nadia saw that it was close to closing. Ten minutes, she said as she tapped her foot in anticipation. Usually she didn't mind the wait until close- but she wasn't feeling her best.
           Man bump this, Aunt Flow is trying to kill me, Nadia said to herself as she focused back on her task. Seeing that everything in the contract was good, Nadia shut the file and walked to front. She flipped the sign and then walked to the back of the shop to put the file back in it's right place.
           Nadia placed her earbuds in her ear as she prepared to go home. Scrolling, she decided to play soft jazz- to help her ease her mind.
           After grabbing her purse, she made sure that everything was locked before walking out of the back door. When she did, she jumped seeing that Jalil was waiting for her by the hood of her car.
           "Baby I didn't mean to scare you." Jalil said as he took in her appearance. All she wore was a stripped t-shirt and shorts, but he thought she looked beautiful.
           "It's ok." Nadia nodded, taking out one earbud. "Why are you here? I thought you had to meet with your P.O?"
           "I did. But you told me you weren't feeling good so I wanted to be here when you got off." Jalil said and Nadia smiled at his words.
           "Are you feeling better?" Jalil asked.
           Nadia shrugged. "More or less. I just feel really tired and bloated."
           Jalil nodded and walked over to her, grabbing her hands softly. "Is it ok if I take you home and cook for you? My treat."
           Nadia smiled. "Yes. Yes, it is ok."
           Jalil grabbed her keys and after they were both settled in her car, he drove the familiar route to her destination. Once they were inside of her apartment complex, Jalil took all of her bags from her hands and instructed her to lie down.
           "Go chill. I'll call you when the food is done." Jalil said as he kissed her forehead.
           Nadia nodded silently and went to her room, laying down on her bed and allowing her weariness to fall away and rest to cover her up.

           Feeling herself being shaken awake, Nadia stretched and rubbed her eyes. Focusing, she saw Jalil kneeling at the edge of her bed, with a grin on his face.
           "Food is done." He said. He held his hand out for her to take and she did, allowing him to lead her into her kitchen.
           "So what did you cook?" She said as she sat down at the table.
           Jalil bought two dishes to the dining room table and sat them down in front of her.
           "Teriyaki chicken, asparagus, and mashed potatoes." He said and Nadia nodded her head in appreciation.
           "Chef Jalil in the house. Who taught you how to cook so well?" Nadia asked.
           "My grandma started me. In New York she'd always tell me to take her meat out of the fridge before she got home. And so I did. And when she knew she would have to work late, she'd leave me instructions on how to cook simple meals. As I got older and started getting into trouble, I kinda fell back from it. But now that I'm home with Jacquie, I cook more. Turns out it never went away."
           Nadia nodded as she absorbed everything he said. She always loved his stories because she felt as if she was learning something new each time he spoke.
           "I love that for you." She smiled.
           Jalil winked at her and held his hands out for her to take. After saying grace, the pair began to eat.
           "How are you feeling now?"
           Nadia nodded and swallowed her food before responding. "I feel better. Like a lot better. I needed that nap. And I can't wait to get back in the bed." Nadia said as she did her happy dance.
           Jalil laughed at her. "You're one of the silliest people I've ever met."
           Nadia laughed. "You think so?"
           "Baby, I know so." Jalil kissed her hand. "But guess what?"
           "What?"
           "Officer Jenkins said that they expedited my case, and I should be hearing back real soon."
           Nadia's eyes widened in excitement. "Yes! See, baby I knew it would work out for you."
           "Thank you." He kissed her hand again. "God really has been God-ing. Or whatever them people say on social media."
           Nadia laughed. "Yes. He certainly has. So, how are you gonna celebrate your being off parole when it happens?"
           Jalil shrugged. "Baby, to be honest I don't even wanna do all that. I'm just appreciative of where I am. And I'm extremely blessed. But- I have been looking at buying myself a truck."
           "Ooo, what kind?"
           "Anything between the years 2010-2014. Ion need nothing new- just something with an aux cord."
           "Have you been saving?"
           "Every penny. And I think I'm ready, babe. I just wanna get off this parole first and then I'll look."
           "Can I come car shopping with you?"
           "Of course. I was gonna ask either you, Jacquie, or Mr. Ruffin."
           Nadia smiled at the mention of her favorite customer. "How is he doing?"
           "He's good. He told me that he's going to teach me how to play chess in the park."
           "You should go."
           "I am. That man is something else." Jalil shook his head thinking of the older man.
           The pair finished dinner and then washed the dishes together. Jalil began to gather his things to leave, but Nadia stopped him.
           "Jalil, you can spend the night here if you want." Nadia said. She bit her lip in nervousness as she waited for his response.
           Jalil looked at her and watched as she waited for him, tucking her mini braids behind her ear.
           "You sure?" He asked.
           Nadia nodded. "Yes. You can sleep in the spare bedroom down the hall, if that's ok?"
           Jalil smiled. "Yeah, that'll be cool."
           "Good. Have a goodnight, Jalil."
           Jalil kissed her forehead and then her hand. "You have a good night as well, Nadia. I love you."
           Nadia smiled at his words and kissed his lips before walking away. When she got to her bedroom door, she looked back at Jalil and waved goodnight to him.
           He returned it and waited until she had shut her bedroom door before walking down the hall.

**
           A few days later, Jalil sat in the park with Mr. Ruffin. He had finally taken up his offer to play chess and was getting schooled.
           "Checkmate." Mr. Ruffin said and Jalil sat up in his chair, furrowing his eyebrows at the board.
           "How-"
           "You moved the pawn. When you should've moved a knight. If you would had- you could have beaten me."
           "Mr. Ruffin you said the same thing like 3 games ago." Jalil exhaled and leaned back into the chair. "How long have you been playing this game again?"
           "Since I was a boy. I sat on my Papa's lap and he taught me the game. I promised myself that when I had a son I'd do the same."
           "And did you?" Jalil asked.
           "No. Me and Margaret were never blessed with children."
           Jalil looked up at the older man. "Mr. Ruffin, I'm very sorry to hear that."
           Mr. Ruffin gave Jalil a small smile. "Oh, it's alright son. While we didn't have any children of our own, it seemed as though he gave us children we didn't ask for. My wife, she miscarried all of her pregnancies. All four of them. After the last one- she was sad. To see her that sad still breaks my heart till this day. After the last time, she took some time off from her job just to recover. Mental health wasn't a big thing back in 1973, but I knew Margaret was struggling bad. So I gave her space when she needed. One Saturday, I'll never forget, we were both home. Margaret was baking cookies and I was working on the truck. Dang thing wouldn't keep oil. Any who, I heard this crying. It sounded like a small child. I thought it was television, because all of a sudden it stopped. Well, when I went into the kitchen, Margaret was talking softly to a little boy. He looked to be about five years old. He was eating Margaret's cookies.
           "She looked at me and smiled the biggest smile I'd seen on her face. She was so happy. The little boy, whose name was Steven, lived down the street. But his family was poor and it was bad. Steven would come to our house every afternoon for Margaret's cookies until he was eighteen and went off to college." Mr. Ruffin finished.
           "Mr. Ruffin, that's amazing."
           Mr. Ruffin nodded. "God is good. You see he sent my wife and I children that weren't our own because we needed healing. Steven healed us in more than one way. As he got older, his friends would come too and before I knew it I was being called "Papa Dennis" and my wife was being called "Mama Margaret"." Mr. Ruffin laughed to himself.
           "Do you hear from those kids now?"
           "Oh yes." Mr. Ruffin adjusted himself with is cane. "Steven has children of his own now- and grandchildren! They visit during Christmas and some of the other kids too."
           Jalil took in the information and looked at the older man with admiration. While he knew the older man had lived a long life, he felt that each time he talked to the older man, he learned something new.
           "Well, that's enough about me. Have you told Nadia about her friend trying to flirt with you?"
           Jalil's mind flashed back to Michelle attempting to flirt with him that day in the store and it made his stomach hurt. She was beautiful, but he also knew she wasn't someone he wanted to mess with in any type of form.
           "No sir, I haven't." Jalil said.
           "And why not?" Mr. Ruffin asked.
           "I just haven't gotten around to it."
           Mr. Ruffin scoffed and cut his eyes at Jalil. Jalil fought his urge to smile because he knew by now that when Mr. Ruffin did those two things- a lecture was coming his way.
           "Jalil- I done told you to tell her. That Memphis girl ain't no good."
           "Mr. Ruffin it's Michelle-"
           "Michelle, Memphis- Monica. Whatever it is- she ain't no good." Mr. Ruffin stomped his cane on the concrete. He looked at it. "See- you about to make be break Temp."
           "Mr. Ruffin who is Temp?"
           "My cane. His real name is Temptations, but I call him Temp for short." Mr. Ruffin said and Jalil laughed lightly at his older friend.
           "Jalil- you gotta tell Nadia sooner rather than later. Some of these women out here ain't no good. Once she figures out you don't want her stank behind she could go up to Nadia and lie. And you don't want that. Be honest. I'm telling you now- be honest." Mr. Ruffin said and Jalil nodded his head.
           Deep down, he knew Mr. Ruffin was right. But he was nervous about how Nadia would react to the news. Knowing he needed to speak to The Father, he silently prayed for confidence as he prepared to do the right thing.

           Back at the shop, Nadia sat in her stool cutting ribbons to put on a vase for the fundraiser she was scheduled for. While the fundraiser was only a few days away, she wanted to get heads start on vases before the flowers came the day of the event.
           As she worked, she heard the bell ding and she looked up at the door, knowing that someone was there. Standing up and dusting off her apron, she walked through the swinging door and smiled at the person who stood in front of her.
           "Darryl! Is that you?" Nadia said as she walked closer to him. She gave him a once over, taking in his business attire. His hair was cut in waves and his light brown skin was clear.
           "Yes, it's me in the flesh." He smiled at her holding his hands out.
           "I can see that. What are you doing down here? The event isn't until Saturday." Nadia said as she went behind the desk to see if she'd missed something in the file. Darryl watched her with amusement.
           "Nadia, I didn't come for that. And while I will be here Saturday for the event, I wanted to see my old college friend. I won't forget how you had my back in genetics."
           Nadia smiled at the memory. "It was more like you had mine. That class was hard."
           "Yeah but we made it- and look at us now. You're a whole store owner."
           Nadia moved from behind her the podium and leaned with her back against the podium. She looked at him.
           "I know. I thank God. Shoot, its because of His grace I made it this far." Nadia said truthfully as she looked around her store. She truly did praise God each day that she was able to walk into her store.
           "And you still got your faith in God too. You haven't changed at all." Darryl shook his head at her in amusement. "I remember coming to our study sessions for genetics- late. But you'd be there reading your Bible."
           Nadia laughed and shook her head. "I can't believe you remember that."
           "I remember a lot about you Nadia. But your faith stands out. You carried it honestly." Darryl said as he nodded at her.
           "Well thanks. I try." Nadia shrugged. "But enough about me, what are you up to now?"
           Darryl smiled before responding. "I'm a contractor down in Miami. I build the homes of the rich and famous."
           Nadia's eyes widened. "Seriously?"
           Darryl laughed. "Nah, I haven't gotten that lucky yet. But I did recently open my own contracting business at the start of this fiscal year and we're doing pretty good. While I could've went under someone who was rich and famous, I wanted to work with the communities who don't have as much. You should see it- some of their homes are so run down it's ridiculous." Darryl shook his head. "I wanna change that in the most tangible way for them."
           Nadia nodded. "I love that. I really do."
           Before Darryl could say anything the bell to the shop dinged and Nadia saw a customer come in. She turned to face Darryl, who was waiting on her to speak.
           "I have to go handle some business. But it was really good seeing you." Nadia said and Darryl nodded.
           "I know. Handle your stuff, Miss Boss Lady. I'll see you on Saturday." He said as he gave her a million dollar grin and walked out of the store.
           Nadia waved goodbye to him and focused on her customer.