Fablehaven flowershop au

Flowershop pt.4

After Bracken opened the store the following day, he sat down in front of the computer near the register per usual and started the day off with his normal routine; check emails, send a few out, check for online orders, then get started with phone calls and new floral arrangements. His father would be joining him again later in the day, but he’d mostly be doing deliveries, which left Bracken alone with the store for a large portion of the day. He didn’t mind. It wasn’t that he didn’t like having company, because he did, but he was also comfortable being by himself for long stretches of time.

He took a sip of his morning tea and opened the shop’s email, then scrolled through a few messages which contained more returned surveys and a couple of general inquiries. Upon replying to one of said inquiries, he clicked “next” and found another message from Kendra. Bracken sat up straighter in his seat and read her words. She’d apparently sent the email long after closing last night.

I’m safe. Thank you for your concern. And thanks again for your help earlier… I don’t know what would’ve happened if you and Warren hadn’t been there.
Bracken paused before he chose to reply. Social interactions were admittedly not his strongest suit, and he didn’t want to inadvertently stick his foot in his mouth, nor did he want to make her feel uncomfortable, but ultimately his curiosity was eating away at him.

If you don’t mind my asking - and feel free to ignore me if you don’t want to talk about it - who was that man?
Again, you can ignore the question if you don’t want to answer it. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I hope you were able to get some good rest last night and are feeling a little better today.
There were no other emails in the inbox, so he opened a new tab and checked for new online orders. Three had been placed between last night and this morning, one for an apology bouquet as a rush request to be picked up that afternoon - he’d need to prioritize that - a “get well soon” arrangement, and a “congratulations” basket with both flowers and balloons to celebrate a new baby.

Bracken examined last night’s prepared arrangements for today’s customer pick-ups, called the customers to whom the flowers belonged, and started working on the apology arrangement. He idly wondered who was apologizing for what. They’d specially chosen an interesting flower as a focal point, as well, but Bracken wasn’t sure if they actually knew flowers like he did; most people chose flowers based on colors and styles, not symbolism. This particular patron had indicated that they wanted a purple calla lily in the center of the bouquet, which, sure, went well with the purple hyacinths and the  scarlet geraniums and white tulips, but purple calla lilies indicated passion instead of ‘I’m sorry.’ Whatever. Maybe the flower held special significance for the recipient and/or the gifter.

The bells on the front door chimed, and Bracken turned to greet the newcomer. This one was a tall-ish young man, maybe 21 or 22 years old. He looked Bracken up and down, then stuck out his hand for a handshake. “Hi,” he said.

“Hello,” Bracken replied, a little confused as to why he was shaking hands with this person. “Can I help you?”

“I’m Seth,” he explained. “Kendra’s brother. Warren said you helped beat up Gavin, so I came to invite you over for a barbeque this Saturday. One o’clock. Are you busy?”

“I normally work on Saturdays-“

The bells chimed again, and Bracken’s father walked into the store. “Good morning,” he greeted. “Give me a moment to get settled, Bracken, and I’ll dive in.”

“You’re working on Saturday? Ugh. We’d all hoped you’d be free,” Seth stated. “Another time, I guess. We’ll shoot for a Sunday.”

“What’s this about?” Father spoke up.

“I’ve been invited to a barbeque on Saturday,” Bracken explained. “I normally stay ‘til closing those days and won’t be able to make it.”

Father seemed to think for a moment. “You covered your sister’s shift yesterday,” he said. “She should be able to return the favor.”

“I don’t want to bother her,” Bracken replied. “She’s young and in love. Let her have the weekend with her new fiancée.”

“I’ll take your shift for you, then,” Father stated.

Bracken opened his mouth to say that wouldn’t be necessary, but Seth responded first.

“Seriously? That’d be great! Everyone’s looking forward to meeting this guy!”

“It’s settled,” Father said. His eyes crinkled in the corners, and seemed to glimmer with his cheerful smile.

Bracken felt his mouth bob open and shut a few times before he asked, “How many people? I’m sorry. I’ve only just met you, and I hardly know Kendra. A barbeque with a bunch of people I don’t know doesn’t sound particularly appealing.”

Father clamped his hand on Bracken’s shoulder, which caused him to wince in surprise. “Go make friends,” he encouraged. “This young man seems particularly delightful.”

“Warren and Dale will be there,” Seth said. “You know them, right? They own the cafe across the street.”

In passing, Bracken wanted to say, but Father answered for him.

“Yes. Wonderful people, both of them.” He looked at Bracken. “What do you say? I’ve got your shift covered, you’ll know a few of the people in attendance. I think you should go.”

The hidden message was clear to Bracken: Agree to go, or I’ll tell your Mother and you can deal with her nagging until you agree to go.
Bracken held up a hand in surrender. “Okay,” he relented. “I’ll need the address.”

“What’s your phone number?” Seth asked. “I’ll text it to you.”

He couldn’t believe he was giving out his personal cell phone number to someone he’d just met only a handful of minutes ago, and yet before he knew it, he received a text message from Seth with the address for Saturday’s gathering.

Seth waved a cheerful goodbye soon after and exited the shop.

“He seems nice,” Father stated. “He’ll make a good friend.”

“I don’t even know him,” Bracken replied.

“All friendships start somewhere, son,” Father said. “And it’s about time you started to make real friends of your own. You’ve been focused on work for much too long. Time for you to get out of your shell.”

Bracken supposed his father was correct, but what none of his family seemed to understand was that he enjoyed working. He liked interacting with customers, he liked working with flowers, and he liked being in the shop. If he was going to give up time in the shop, he wanted it to be for a reason he would equally enjoy, and he wasn’t sure that a barbeque with a few people he barely knew and more that he flat out didn’t know would be worth the cost.

Oh well, he thought. I can always leave early and go home if it’s terrible.
It wouldn’t be terrible, though.

Here's the link to pt.4

https://www.tumblr.com/aerinsfables/651671525171281920/i-would-die-for-a-part-4-you-have-me-hooked