A Florist's Guide to Love

1st | No Flowers

The best part of being a florist was not being surrounded by flowers, but by loyal customers. Caroline was one of the oldest. Although she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, she still wheeled in every week. Apparently, her doctor said aromatherapy could help ease her pain.

"There you go, Carol." I said as I carefully placed a basket of carnations onto her lap. Her husband, Jeffrey, patted her on the shoulders adoringly.

"Thank you so much, dear. You tie the best ribbons." Carol pointed enthusiastically at the ribbon on the handle of the basket.

"No, thank you for coming." I folded my fingers around her palm and smiled. "You're very lucky to have such a loving husband."

"Oh, mine is all right." The creases on her face wrinkled up when she beamed. "I'm sure you'll find someone who can take care of you. Have you made another boyfriend yet?"

I let out an awkward laugh. "I'm still working on it."

"You'll find one." Jeffrey nodded knowingly at me before turning to the door. "I know you will."

"Yeah, I hope so. Have a safe trip home."

"We will, bye-bye dear."

"Bye."

Just before I could go back and de-thorn the newly arrived roses, a man strode in through the automatic glass doors. I couldn't take my gaze off of him the second he entered my field of vision. It was not because of his mesmerizing grey eyes. No. I was staring at him because he was wearing a surgical mask.

Nonetheless, I mustered my most welcoming grin and spoke up.

"Welcome to the Bloom Room! How may I help you?"

He clasped his hands together. "I'm uh... looking for some flowers."

"Well, you've come to the right place for them. Are they for your date?"

"Yeah..." He wiped his obviously sweating hands against the back of his trousers. "I'm trying to make a good first impression."

"I can tell. You seem nervous."

"I do?" His eyes widened.

"Uh-huh. You should try to take off your mask and take deep breaths." I tried to be helpful. "I heard it helps."

"I wish I could, but I'm allergic to pollen grains." He shrugged helplessly.

"Oh, that's unfortunate."

"Yes, it is."

"Is your allergy serious?"

"It depends on the pollen counts. I tend to sneeze a lot when I'm around flowers."

"Well, I shouldn't keep you here for too long then -"

"No, it's fine." He shook his head apologetically.

"I mean, I don't want to have a customer passing out in front of me." I laughed at my own joke.

He gave me a thumbs-up. "I'm totally fine with the mask on."

"Okay, if you say so." I cleared my throat. "Now, tell me about your date. Does she have any preferences?"

"That's tricky." He stared at me intently before running his hand through his hair. "I don't really know her..."

"Is it a blind date?" I asked.

"Yeah, it is." He nodded. "What do you recommend?"

"Well, I recommend..." I stared at the ceiling thoughtfully before replying him, "No flowers."

"What? Why? Aren't you supposed to boost your business?"

"You're not going on a date with your mask on, are you? If you show up with a bouquet of flowers, it's highly probable that you'll end up sneezing the whole evening. That's not wise, my friend."

"That's true." He stared at the ground, almost disappointed.

"But... If you still want to woo your girl with flowers, you can send her as many as you like with our delivery services."

"Oh, that's great."

"In case you need our services..." I fished out my business card. "Here's our hotline."

He received the card anxiously. "What should I do if I need more of your dating advice?"

"I'm not really an expert in the field, but you can always call up Alice."

"Alright, Alice, nice to meet you." He held out his hand. "I'm Damian Andres."

I shook his hand gladly. "Alice Dalton."

"I guess I should go and prepare for my date now." Damian went for the door. I swear he nearly skipped towards the entrance. Well, someone was excited for his date.

I coughed to hide my laugh. "Right."

"Looks like I'm going to need your advice very often."

"I'm not a dating expert, Mr. Andres."

"But you're a florist. They're more or less the same." He stayed at the glass doors. "And please, call me Damian."

"Okay, bye." I waved at Damian as he departed cheerfully.

"Well, that's a first." Felix, my brother, walked in behind me through the side entrance.

I rolled my eyes and turned to him. "What, Felix?"

"You just let a customer go without selling him any flowers!"

I waved my hand dismissively. "He'll come back."

"What has happened to you and your business principles?" Felix looked at me as blood rushed up to my cheeks. "Oh no, it can't be! You have a crush on him."

"What? You're delusional." I snorted. "I'm just changing my selling tactics. I promise he'll come back tomorrow."

"Ally, you don't need to make that promise to me. The florist business is yours."

"This is our family business, alright? Just because you're the younger sibling doesn't mean you don't have the responsibility." I tried to keep myself busy by arranging the roses. "And Damian was just buying flowers for his date."

Felix wagged his annoying eyebrows at me. "Oh, so you know his name too, huh?"

"You know what? You're going to do all of the deliveries today."

"Aw, come on. I was just teasing."

"Now, shoo. There're two trolleys of them waiting for you at the front door."

"Mom and Dad would've compromised."

"I'm in charge here now, Felix, and you're going to do all of them."

"That's ironic. I thought you said we're partners."

"Felix, you have less than ten seconds before I personally drag you and your deliveries to your truck."

"Okay, I'm going." He held up his arms in defeat.

"And be back by seven. We have to remove thorns from the fresh roses."

"What?" He frowned. "But I spotted a girl around the corner just now..."

"No flirting for you tonight, young man. Now, hurry up and go!"

"Urgh, fine."

I sighed as the automatic glass doors dinged close. Now that I had the shop all to myself, a rare debate occurred in my mind.

Damian's eyes were dreamy, weren't they? The left side of my brain projected its opinion.

Alice, you don't have a crush on Damian. The right side enforced.

The left side just let its thoughts flow. You don't or you can't, Ally?

"Oh, shut up."