Lovers at War - (A.R.)

Chapter 15

⸻⸻⸻

Year of Celeste

⸻⸻⸻

I DIDN'T MIND the slow day at the shop. Having been working there for as long as I had, it wasn't unusual to only find one or two customers dropping in every business day - not many actually purchasing something. Today was just like any other day. So, I spent the day catching up on some reading.

The strange yet familiar chime at the front door which signified someone coming in had caused me to quickly bookmark my page and put the book beside me.

In walked a young girl, perhaps my age or maybe a year or so younger. She had chocolate brown hair which looked almost orange in the sunlight - along with some freckles which weren't very obvious from afar, but I liked to think that I had good sight. The girl glanced around the shop before setting her gaze on me, smiling as I returned it.

"How may I help you, miss?" I asked as soon as she came to the front counter.

"I came to town to look for someplace that sells flowers, but there wasn't a shop at all," she explained. "And then I found this place. Small world, huh?"

"Small world indeed," I agreed, chuckling. Sighing, I repeated my earlier question.

"Orchids . . . Do 'ya have any?"

I gestured to the back corner of the flower shop where there were orchids of all colours and styles. If there was one thing this shop tended to have a lot of - it was definitely orchids.

"You know," I said as I showed her the flowers. "Seems to me that nobody in this town likes the beauty of flowers anymore."

She frowned. "Why do you say that?"

I nodded to the rest of the shop where pretty much all of the flowers from the last few weeks had been stocked. There hadn't been a paying customer in so long, so we hadn't been able to clear any shelves completely. "Isn't it obvious?"

"Oh . . ." She glanced down at her feet and I beckoned her attention back to the orchid flowers. She (who I later learned was named Lenora) picked out a colour of her choice - the purple ones - and brought them over to the front counter.

"So, what's the occasion?" Wrapping the bouquet of flowers, I unknowingly smiled to myself - the scent of this place always got to me somehow.

"It's my brother's birthday today," Lenora said, grinning with excitement. "I thought I'd fill the kitchen vase with a new set of flowers."

I nodded. "Happy birthday to him, I guess?"

"I'll tell him you said that." At that, I raised an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Your brother doesn't even know me." I laughed awkwardly. "He'll be wondering how the flower shop lady even knew."

Lenora waved off my retort with the movement of her hand. "Oh, it's nothing. If anything, Arvie's gonna be happy. His birthday is his favourite time of the year anyway."

I shrugged, wrapping the last bit of the flowers and handing them over to Lenora. Sniffing them, she smiled to herself. She took out her wallet to pay, but I shook my head.

"No need," I said and she frowned.

"How come?"

"Consider it as a headstart birthday present."

Laughing, Lenora nodded and held the bouquet of flowers carefully. "Faye, tell you what."

"What?"

"Since this does happen to be the only flower shop in town that I know of . . ." She thought about something quickly. "How about you save me a fresh bouquet of orchids every - what day is it today?"

"Wednesday."

"Every Wednesday I'll show up at around this time to buy some orchids from you."

I smiled at her with disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope."

I agreed hesitantly. Lenora had to be joking, but at the same time, looked like she wasn't.

"What colour?" I asked after a moment.

"Any," she said, making her way over to the exit. I nodded. "I like all colours."

After a short farewell, she made her way out of the shop and I stared blankly at her retreating figure. If Lenora was serious about buying flowers from here every Wednesday, then I suppose that that wouldn't be the most horrible thing. If anything, this shop would finally have the reputation of having a regular customer, which, in my opinion, was not a bad idea.