White Roses

April

Cas saw the man again in April, near the end of the month, and again in May. In May though he was stopping in for a Mother's Day gift. Two to be specific. He walked in wearing a tee shirt and jeans, and for a moment Cas almost didn't recognize him.

"Hey," the man greeted.

"Hello, again. Mother's Day?" Cas asked. The man smiled brightly.

"You know it. So, I need two arrangements. One is for my mother, so let's work on that one first. Her favorite color is yellow, and she loves daisies."

Cas was already walking to the coolers. "I have an adorable little bee planter she might like. She can continue to use it long after the flowers die. Daisies, jonquils, baby's breath..." He pointed at various flowers as he went to a shelf and lifted the bee planter off it.

"Sounds nice. She'll love it. My mom is into conservation and saving the bees is a big project of hers," the man said.

"Oh, I think your mother and I would get along very nicely. I am involved as well in various conservation efforts and the one dearest to my heart is saving the bees. Without bees we would lose more than eighty percent of the food in the world, and nearly all flowers. People don't understand how vital bees are to our everyday lives." Cas was chattering away as he began decorating the planter, not aware of how closely the man was watching him.

"I'm Dean, by the way," the man said when Cas took a moment to catch his breath. He looked up and smiled.

"It's nice to formally meet you Dean. I'm Cas."

He finished the first flower arrangement.

"How does this look?" Cas had even tucked a tiny bee pin into the cluster of daisies. He didn't know Dean's mother, but anyone working to save the bees deserved a little extra.

"I love it, and she'll love it. Now, the second arrangement, it's for my girlfriend. It has to be nice. She's...kind of particular about flowers as I've learned." Dean's smile faltered.

"Did she not like the last one I made?" Cas asked.

"Not particularly. I loved it. She thought it was childish." Dean's smile disappeared altogether. Cas was actually a little offended by that. He had spent a half hour putting together a beautiful arrangement in a glass unicorn planter for this girlfriend, and she thought it was childish? Had she no sense of wonder or humor?

"Well, what did you have in mind this time?"

Dean perused the shelves for a long time before settling on a crystal vase. "What can we put in here?"

"Have you learned her favorite flower yet?" Cas asked.

"Hyacinth. But she likes roses and tulips as well," Dean replied.

"Well...how do purple tulips sound?"

"Sounds great." Dean smiled broadly. Cas smiled back.

"Good, I'll get it together real quick."

The vase looked nice when he was finished, if he did say so, and Dean was quite pleased. He paid for the two arrangements and promised he'd be back. Cas sighed as he watched Dean leave. Why did the good ones always have to be taken? And why did they always have to be straight?