THE MONTH

[ PROLOGUE ]

        "MA'AM, WE CAN LEGALLY CARRY CALIFORNIA POPPIES HERE." the frail and decorated old woman still didn't seem to understand the words I'd already repeated twice.

        "But," Mrs. Abernathy jumbled, "that's illegal here." the feather in her hat shook with every word.

        I put on my sweetest smile, "Respectfully, Ma'am—it's a myth that California Poppies are illegal to pick. We've grown this whole selection ourselves—"

        "I want to speak to your manager!"

        I gave up. "Yeah. Yeah, okay."

        I could run the O'Blossom & Bloom flower shop as well as I could play the strings of my guitar. Some days there was music, other days there were blisters. Our latest customer, Mrs. Abernathy, was definitely a piece of work; occasionally poking her bird nose in on the other workers and me, telling us how to take care of the buds as if she knew it all—which, of course, we knew she didn't. Not after she tried to return a dead bouquet of gardenias.

        "Henry?" I called to the back of the shop, where I trusted that the owner would be. Mr. O'Blossom—a stout, chocolate-skinned man that never failed to wear his florist's apron into work found my gaze over a table of succulents he'd recently invested in. "It's Mrs. Abernathy... again."

        "Oh, that old cat. Thank you, Emma." Henry rid himself of his gloves and passed me in the doorway. As he went, the familiar scent of old piano and vanilla stung my nose—an aroma I'd known since I was a child, playing with plastic horses on the floor of this very shop whilst my mother worked double-shifts.

        "This is atrocious!" Mrs. Abernathy spat, pointing wildly at the golden poppies on the display stand that Henry's son had built two summers before. I bit back a smile—the 'old cat' was always very entertaining. "I will alert the authorities immediately—"

        "Mrs. Abernathy, please," Henry tried, "if it suits you, we'll have them down first thing in the 'morrow. Might I add; you look extraordinary today!"

        "Buffoon."

        Dong! Dong! Dong! The grandfather clock on the wall struck four o' clock—that was the end of my shift. Candice was sure to be coming in shortly. I followed my usual end-of-day routine; returning my apron to the hooks on the wall, making sure the pots were returned to their places, and gathered my affections—pausing to take in the heavenly scent of the gardenias we kept on the back wall.

        "Have a nice rest of your day, Mrs. Abernathy!" I heard Henry call. Coming around the corner, I found the man leaned against the main counter beside Candice, who would keep up the shop until closing. "Thank you for coming in, Emma," Henry gave, "I know that things are busy and all with Lyla's birthday party coming up."

        Party? I tilted my head, "Sorry?"

        Mr. O'Blossom bit back his words, "Ooh, my bad. Lyla called—she wanted me to tell you that there's a package on your doorstep." he offered me a weak smile as if he hadn't just revealed what the package was for.

        "Ah," I replied, backing towards the front door, "yes... the package."

        Henry laughed, "Let me know if you need to request time off—you deserve it. Good day!"

        "Bye Emma!" Candice completed, and I waved to both of them as I turned and left the shop for—little did I know—what would be the last time in several weeks.
        My crimson bike was locked to the gate where I left it every other morning, the basket practically begging for my purse. Smiling—I dropped it in, undid the chain, and took off through the busy streets of San Francisco, California. The route home wasn't long—fortunately, it was scenic. Past all of the mom & pop's shops set up through colorful buildings, through the farmer's market brimmed to the edge with fresh breads, fruits, and jams. I waved to Mrs. Pevensie, a newly-pregnant woman that'd passed through O'Blossom & Bloom the week before on a quest for daisies.
        The murals kept me company the rest of the ride home—children on swingsets, geese in a pond, and a piano with music notes pouring from the top. I'd always appreciated the art of Sacramento—not so much the steep hills, but it was all full of surprises: such as the seafood market, the underground library, and the curious-shaped envelope on the doorstep of my apartment. It big letters, it was addressed:

EMMA "FLORA" THOMPSON

        That was me, alright—and that was definitely my best friend, Lyla Nicholson's, sloppy cursive. I took the folder in my hand as I unlocked the door and stepped through.

⋯⋯⋯⋯

Emma,
    You're my best friend, so I wouldn't doubt that you remember that my birthday is in eleven days! Yay, you're amazing! Anyways, I know this is crazy short notice, but I wanted to invite you to my party. I know, you don't need an invite because you'll crash it anyway, but... this time, my party won't be at Nana's. It'll be in Texas, at Owen's lakehouse. You remember meeting my boyfriend Owen last year at the coffee shop, right? That's him!
        I've invited a few other people that you most likely haven't met, but maybe you've heard of them. It'll have to be a surprise, but I think that you'd really really like them! We have a lot planned for the next few weeks—oh, and I just remembered. The party is thirty-days-long... I know, it's a big stretch and awful on timing but I was so caught up in the excitement that I forgot to drop the invite at your door! Well, here it is! Care to find a flight to Texas within the next twenty-four hours? Love youuuuu
    Your slave & enemy,
        Lyla

I laughed at her outtro and the suddenness of it all. How could I possibly, just, leave? Just like that? I took a long look around my apartment. Brick walls, wooden floors, a couch, a rug... typical. I caught my own gaze in the mirror I'd hung once I first moved it. The wild-haired, brown-eyes girl smiled back at me. Perhaps it was time for an adventure.

———

Hi, hi, hi all! I'm Lola, the author of this story. Most of the readers first opening up this story already know me, or have read many of my other works! Please feel free to check them out. I wanted to do a short little wrap-up of this chapter, our fancy prologue! I wanted to write this piece for the sole purpose of getting to know Emma a bit before we dove into the plot, which we'll do next chapter. Thanks so much for reading, I hope you stick around for the big things we have coming next chapter! Don't forget to vote!!

- Lola