I Still Need To Find A Florist (A Sequel)

Dedicated to Kate & Amai

Summer had finally hit. We were losing lots of money on air conditioning, but it beat boiling in our own skin. Most everybody entered the store with flushed cheeks. It was 5:12 and I was watching the sidewalk. The elderly woman buying a congratulatory bouquet for her grandson's piano recital looked at me worriedly.

"You alright, girlie? Your head's not here."

I looked back to her, displaying the widest smile I could.

"My apologies, I'm just waiting for someone."

She women smiled back, and told me to have a nice day before exiting the shop. I turned to the register and reorganized the change inside. She must have entered the door at the same time as the old woman exited, because I only heard the bells ring once.

When I brought my head up, I was met with a nearly floor-length pastel blue skirt swaying gently as she walked. A light brown blouse with a tie in the front and sleeves down to her elbows was tucked into it. Her sandals wound up her ankles, disappearing into the skirt, the color of the leather well matched to her top.

A lock of her hair fell out from behind her ear as she leant to smell a bouquet not nearly as beautiful as herself. None of them came close. I began to realize that I was staring, and thanked the universe that there weren't any other customers in the shop, then went back to counting ones. The butterflies that should have stuck to my stomach traveled through my whole body, filling my head with the sound of rushing blood, and making my hands twitch.

Her back straightened up, and her head turned towards me, her body trailing with it.

"Do roses only stand for love? I like them... their scent is so complex, I hope their meaning is as well."

I brought my eyes to hers, and I felt myself land on a beach. Warm sand between my toes, birds calling to one another around my head. Salt and joy filling every breath.

"Different colors of Roses mean different things. Only the solid, bright red means love. White is innocence, pink is happiness, yellow is friendship, orange is enthusiasm, coral is sympathy, lavender is love at first sight, and dark red is unconscious beauty."

I paused, wondering how long I had been droning on for.

"There are more, but they're less common."

She took painfully slow steps towards me.

"You really know your stuff, don't ya?"

"Not at all. The owner of this place knows so much more than I do."

"Quinn, right? I went to elementary with them."

"I didn't know that, that's so cool!"

I cringed. Of course I wouldn't have known that, we've never met before.

Her eyes centered on the side of my head.

"I like Violets too. What do they stand for?"

"Depends on the color."

"What does yours mean? The blue one?"

I had forgotten it was there.

"Love, faithfulness."

I all but stuttered out.

"I see. The Rose is red, the Violet's blue. The honey's sweet, and so are you..."

Surprised at her knowledge of the original poem, I hoped desperately that she would continue, yet she cut it short.

"Pity. I had hoped it was the lesbian one."

My heart leaped. She rested her elbows on the counter in front of me. And my eyes couldn't find their way away from hers.

"You see, I have a date with a florist tonight. I want to impress her."

"Oh, fun!"

I said, trying my best to sound happy for her. I wanted to be the florist she was going on a first date with tonight.

"So, are there any lesbian flowers?"

"Well, you are right about violets, but not in the traditional sense. They're first associated with Good Friday, then Saint Valentine. They're somewhat connected with Greece, though, particularly the island of Lesbos, where the poet Sappho came from. She wrote about loving women, we get the word lesbian, the word sapphic, and Violets all from her."

She laughed. The sound washed through the room, dispelling everything and everything that was not beautiful, driving away demons like spring cleaning.

"I hope to someday be that iconic a lesbian."

Her smile beamed from her face, giving me courage.

"What's your name?"

"It's Kate."

"I like it."

"So how about dinner? I still need to find a florist to take on a date tonight."