Parade Des Fleurs

4

The keys landed with a clatter on the worn oak table where Sophie stood, daffodils in one hand, scissors in the other. She looked up. "That was way more than twenty minutes," She yelled up the stairs at Alistair, who was sitting on the top step lacing up his shoes.

Above Parade des Fleurs was an apartment. It was small, but big enough for a family of three - Alistair's home. It was positioned so that you could see the entire sprawling city, with it's many buildings all clustered around the Clyde river that snaked out towards the horizon, so Alistair didn't mind the size. Outside the apartment was a corridor, which really wasn't needed because the staircase to the flower shop was only a few yards away. A fire escape connected Alistair's flat to Sophie's, which is why she'd developed the habit of entering his bedroom through the window.

Sophie's family had lived in the flat above Amadea's - which was a twin to Alistair's, except that place had a flat roof where Amadea had set up a garden. Alistair could remember sneaking in there as kids, twisting baby strawberries off their stalks and savouring the bright taste. Then, a few years later, catching Sophie smoking up there with a bad crowd from school. They had been fourteen. Sophie's parents had been rather lax when it comes to rules. Mainly because they never seemed to be around enough to set any. Maybe it was because they loved their business too much, but Alister knew that Sophie felt a lack of connection there. It was why she'd always stayed around his place after school, although Alistair had rarely complained about this. He'd always stop by the corner store in the summer and buy one ice cream and one ice pop, because he knew that Sophie hated ice cream. Since she never waited for him, he'd come home to find her sprawled on his bed, shoes strewn across the rug, or sat at his computer watching some french film. At first he tried to get Sophie to leave, but she was like a cat - if she wanted something she wouldn't give it up easily. But when he  realised why Sophie refused to go home, he stopped resisting. It was a simple reason - she liked it here. And that was enough for Alistair. Sometimes the time would pass so quickly that before he knew it Sophie would fall asleep in front of the computer screen on which she had been watching films on till 11. 

The first time Sophie fell asleep in Alistair's bedroom, they had been thirteen. He let her stay there, because she looked so peaceful, huddled in a nest of cushions on the floor. Alistair wasn't the strongest, so he didn't even try to carry her into a more comfortable spot - so he let her stay there. He knew that he should be worried about the fact her parents wouldn't have cared if she stayed over, but either way Alistair knew he wouldn't be able to wake her. So he adjusted her head and threw a blanket over her body, brushing her hair off her face. Then he'd looked at her face for a microsecond, before realising he was being borderline creepy and walked towards his bathroom, changing into his sleeping clothes there before flicking off the light and clambering into his loft bed. It felt strange to know that Sophie was below him, and he didn't know how she would react in the morning, but he felt strangely content. Little did he know that for the next four years he would develop a sturdy build that would have let him carry Sophie Oberlin back to her own bed - but strangely enough, he never felt compelled to move her.

"I said I'd take longer, didn't I?" Alistair yelled back, finishing with his shoes and descending the stairs, running his fingers through his black hair. He hadn't had time to dry it, due to his habit of taking obnoxiously long showers. As he wove his way through the various pots and bags of compost, he watched as Sophie trimmed the flowers with care, arranging them in the same way they'd both been taught by Sophie's parents. Back when things seemed simpler.

"I guess you did."  She placed the bunch offspring flowers on the trolley behind her. He glanced at the pile. She'd done loads. Had he really taken that long? "I opened up, keys are back on the hook don't worry. It's cold today, so I've stuck the heating on. We have seven orders, but I haven't started on them yet..." he smiled sheepishly, "I've kinda forgotten a few things. Maybe you could help me? I bet we could get these done twice as fast-"

"You didn't have to do that Soph,"He nodded towards the trolley. She smiled sadly, then shook her head.

"That's the first time you've said my name." Alistair raised his eyebrows, then took the scissors from Sophie.

"Thanks for opening up, but I can take it from here. I really don't have the time to get your luggage right now, but I can help you when Alex gets here. He usually helps out in the afternoon - bit obnoxious, but he's really a good guy -"

"Al." Her voice was tense. "I'm staying. I don't have anything else to do today anyway."

"Oh," Alistair's tone suddenly went sarcastic, "So the only reason you want to be around me is because you have nothing else to do? Go figure." He had been dreading the moment when his anger burst like a balloon being prodded with a needle. But it was a year's worth of hurt, and it had been growing bigger and bigger. Sophie turning up ... that had been the hand slamming down on the panic button.

"You know that's what not what I meant!" She said indignantly, turning to him and placing her hands on her hips in defiance. "Why are you being like this? Aren't you glad to see me?"

"The only reason you came back was because Amadea died! But when all those bad things happened, when everything else turned to shit, where were you? Fucking around in Italy without a care in the world."

"Alistair..."

"No calls, no texts, no emails, no letters..." Alistair muttered. His heart was racing, but not in the way used to. 

"Of course that's the reason I come back! My Nonna died!" Sophie shrieked, before lowering her voice again, taking a deep breath. "You have no right to say those things. Don't just assume I was enjoying myself, that everything was okay. My parents never called, they just left me with my aunt. I missed you like hell! I thought you would be happy to see me, but I haven't seen you smile all morning Alistair. Why..." She trailed off. "Do you not care about me anymore? Is this what time can do? Because I never thought time could be so cruel." She picked up a discarded stalk, splitting it in two with her nail. "Why does me coming back anger you like this?"

"Because you didn't come back for me." 

Whoop, there it is. 

 Suddenly, they both heard the phone ring.

"I guess that's my queue to go then." Sophie scoffed. Dropping the stalk, she turned on her heel, grabbing her bag. Before she stormed out Sophie reached into her bag and pulled out a lumpy parcel, wrapped in garish paper that had little smiley cartoon suns and clouds on it. It stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the tense atmosphere, too bright, too cheerful. "This is for you," Sophie threw it at Alistair, who considered letting it drop to the floor. Instead, he caught it. "You can throw it in the bin if it would make you feel better." She tossed her hair over her shoulder and strutted out the room. 

Alistair forgot what Sophie could be like when she got angry. He braced himself for the slamming door, and sure enough the sharp sound pierced the air. 

He stuffed all his emotion into a box at the back of his head, and picked up the phone.

"Hi, Parade des Fleurs florist's and garden shop, how can I help you?"