Fablehaven flowershop au

Flowershop pt.9

Two months later
“May I ask you a question?” Bracken requested. He and Kendra sat at a metal picnic table outside of Warren and Dale’s cafe. There were still ten minutes until the cafe officially opened, which corresponded to the time when Bracken needed to open the flower shop and Kendra needed to start her shift.

“Sure,” Kendra replied as she sipped her latte.

“Why would you work in a coffee shop if you’ve got an English degree? Wouldn’t you prefer to be among books? Or perhaps teaching others?”

Kendra looked down at her cup and tapped the sides of it with her fingers. Over the past couple of months since they’d started meeting in the mornings, Bracken had come to understand that this was her signal that she didn’t really want to talk about it, or she otherwise wasn’t sure what to say.

“It’s alright if you don’t want to share,” Bracken said. “I was just curious. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.
“It’s not that,” she said. “It’s… it’s stupid.”

He furrowed his brow in confusion. “What?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I wanted to become an author,” she explained. “Write some novels. Maybe help edit other people’s novels.”

“You’ve mentioned that before. I can see you doing it,” Bracken stated.

Kendra bit her lip before she continued. “Gavin didn’t like it. He said he was worried about money. Wanted to make sure our future was secure with a steady income, and didn’t think I had enough talent to make it as an author. Dale and Warren needed help, so I asked them for a job while I tried to figure out something else to do with my life, and well… here I am.”

Bracken did his best to convey to her how unimpressed he was simply via his facial expression.

“I know,” she said. “Like I said. Stupid.”

“No. You’re not stupid, and neither is your logic.” He put his own paper cup down on the table in front of him. “I don’t like to speak poorly of others, but I have to agree with Warren; I’m glad that man is no longer involved with you. Kendra. You have a gift with words. You should use it.”

She waved a dismissive hand at him. “You haven’t read anything of mine. I’m not great.”

“You’re joking, right?” he asked. “I’ve read your emails. You’ve got a natural talent for the written word, and you’ve got a degree to show that you’ve worked hard to gain the knowledge you have.”

“Emails aren’t the same as novels,” Kendra replied.

“True, but not everyone can explain themselves with words the way you do. I think you should give it a shot.” He checked his phone and grumbled. “Time to get to work, I suppose.”

Kendra, who had seemed to be deep in thought, blinked and checked her wrist watch. “Is it? Oh. It is.”

Bracken stood and offered to throw away her cup for her, which she accepted. He then took a deep breath and pushed the doubtful thoughts into the back of his mind before he outright asked, “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

She looked a little startled at that. “What?”

He swallowed a slightly nervous chuckle which threatened to escape. “Dinner?” he asked. “It doesn’t have to be tonight. Would you like to accompany me?”

“Where would we be going?” she asked.

Bracken shrugged. “A restaurant? I hadn’t fully planned this out, if I’m being honest.”

She smiled at him. “Friday? After work?”

“Perfect,” he replied.

“It’s a date,” she agreed. “See you tomorrow morning.”

He smiled as he headed toward the flower shop. A date. He had a date in two days.

His smile lasted the entire day.

*_*_*

Bracken woke before his alarm clock Friday morning and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes as thoughts ran through his head.

What should I wear today? What is Kendra going to wear today? We decided on the Vietnamese restaurant a few blocks away from us. Is it a dressy place? What if I overdress and look like an idiot, or make Kendra feel uncomfortable? What if I underdress?
He ran a hand through his hair, then decided to get up and run through his morning routine. Fifteen minutes later, freshly showered and wrapped in a towel, he considered once more what to wear for the day.

They were going to spend time together immediately after work, so there wouldn’t be an opportunity to come back home and change clothes later. Bracken bit his lip and looked up the restaurant on his phone for the hundredth time, in order to see if they had an established dress code, when he noticed that he’d received a text message from Kendra while he’d been in the shower.

Are jeans ok?
He laughed despite himself. It seems he wasn’t the only one wondering what to wear. He typed out a response.

Yes, please. See you soon?
She didn’t reply right away, so he figured she must be going through her own morning routine as well. He turned back toward his dresser and pulled out some nice jeans, then looked in his closet for a button-up shirt which would match well for an overall “dressy casual” look. He dressed himself, then analyzed his look in the mirror. What should he do with his hair?

A soft ding sounded from his phone, which indicated that another text message had been received, and he went to read it. From Kendra, and the contents made him smile.

Mmm. Caffeine.
She did love her morning tea.

Another message popped up on his phone, this time from Seth.

What did you do to my sister? She’s grinning like an idiot.
He blinked. I didn’t do anything??
Seth’s response was short and simple: Sure.
Bracken rolled his eyes. Kendra had moved back into her family’s house shortly after the barbeque a couple months ago, and ever since then, Seth had decided he needed to poke and prod at the friendship between Bracken and his sister. It was kind of difficult to figure out Seth’s intentions, and also difficult to determine whether or not Seth was happy about this friendship with Kendra, but Bracken learned quickly that Seth was someone who enjoyed teasing his sister.

Another message appeared from Seth.

You’re taking her somewhere nice, right? She’s getting all dressed up.
Wait. Kendra was getting dressed up? She’d requested jeans!

Dinner, he replied.

Ya. Someplace nice.
…how nice? Bracken asked. He wanted to match.

You’d better not take her back to your place tonight. That kind of nice.
Bracken blushed furiously at Seth’s message. He wasn’t sure how to respond. He set down his phone and looked at himself in the mirror again, face flushed and hair askew. Breathe. Figure out a hairstyle. Right. And don’t talk to Seth anymore.
His phone dinged again, and he glanced at it with caution, his face still on fire. This time the message was from Kendra.

Ugh!! Don’t mind Seth. He’s being an idiot. I’m looking forward to dinner tonight. See you in 30 for tea.
He breathed in and out a few times, then typed out a response.

See you.
Was Seth trolling him? That seemed very much like a Seth sort of thing to do, but he wasn’t sure. What if Kendra did dress up? Would he look weird next to her if he were in jeans?

He shook his head. No. Kendra had said jeans. He would go with what she said. She wasn’t the type to intentionally mislead other people.

As he styled his hair, though, he decided to grab another shirt out of his closet and hang it in the back of his car. A dressier shirt. And a matching tie. Just in case.

Here's the link to pt.9

https://www.tumblr.com/aerinsfables/674187999853084672/part-9-to-brackendra-flower-shop-au-i-hope-you