“You good?” I mouth wordlessly as I sit back down at the table.
Surprising me, she grins back.
“Now that that’s settled,” she starts, “can I ask you something?”
“Anything,” I reply automatically. I’m not used to Olivia needing anything from me, but whatever it is, I’m in.
Grace claps her hands excitedly, clearly in on whatever Olivia is about to ask. My family watches us curiously, eyes ping-ponging between us.
“Elsie June Carmichael,” Olivia begins dramatically. “You’ve already said yes to being my co-maid of honor.”
“Cheers,” Grace adds, holding up her glass of water. She doesn’t like my mom’s chardonnay, either.
“I’m so excited to have the two of you by my side while I say ‘I do.’ I don’t want this to take away from that, or make you feel like you have obligations to uphold when I want you to be having fun, but I thought it might be something you’d enjoy.” She takes a deep breath and clutches her hands together as if in prayer. “Will you do the flowers for my wedding? You don’t have to –”
“Yes,” I cut in. “One hundred percent yes.”
Tears prick behind my eyes and I blink, trying to hold them back. I had wondered who would be doing the flowers for the wedding but didn’t want to pry. I figured she wasn’t telling me because she didn’t want to hurt my feelings.
But to have the chance to do flowers for awedding?And my best friend’s, no less. I don’t care if my shop is up and running yet or if I have to do floral arrangements at the table in my tiny kitchen.
“Are we maxed out on the group hugs? I kind of feel like we are,” Grace muses.
I grin at my best friends and reach across the table, grabbing their hands and squeezing.
“Thank you for trusting me with this,” I tell Olivia, hoping she doesn’t notice the way my voice wobbles.
“I never considered anybody else,” she admits. “I was just waiting for the right time to ask.”
“How exciting!” My mom raises her glass and everyone at the table follows suit. My dad grabs his old fashioned, the twins grab their sodas.
“To Elsie,” my mom says, smiling over at me with something like pride shining in her eyes. “May this new adventure be everything you dreamed of. I’m so proud of you and I can’t wait to see where this goes.”
“To Elsie,” my dad echoes. “Thanks for toughing it out at the store all those years when this is what you really wanted all along. I’m happy for you, kid.”
I wasn’t toughing it out,I want to assure him, though it might have felt that way at times. But how can I not be grateful, despite it all? Though I wasn’t happy doing the job itself, I recognize how privileged I am to have had the chance to stay in my hometown, working with my dad and becoming financially independent while I dreamed and schemed and got myself to where I am now, ready to start my own business before the age of thirty. Even if it flops, how many people even get the chance to try?
“To Elsie,” my siblings and best friends echo.
As I raise my own glass, blinking back tears, I look around the table slowly, wanting to memorize everything about this moment. My mom’s proud smile. My dad’s rapid blinking, like he, too, is fighting back tears. The way Aiden sticks his tongue out and crosses his eyes at me, always the goofball making the serious moments more lighthearted. Georgia’s eye roll and the elbow she jabs into our brother’s side. Olivia’s beaming smile and the way she mouths,“Love you.”Grace’s wink and the kiss she blows to me.
All of my favorite people, celebrating me and encouraging me, lifting me up the way they always have.
How lucky am I?
I want my shop to be successful, but not just for me. I want to make these people who have always believed in me proud. I want them to look back on this moment and think,I knew she could do it.
As soon as I get that paperwork from Mr. Davis' lawyer and sign it, the real work begins.
I’ve got a flower shop to get up and running.
CHAPTER 7
Elsie
Two weeks later, the first major hurdle has been cleared. The paperwork for the lease has been drawn up and signed, which means that 46 Main Street – or at least half of it – is mine for the next three years. Mr. Davis left it up to me to determine the duration of the lease, and I figured three years would be enough time to get the shop up and running and get a feel for how feasible it will be to keep the doors open long-term. With any luck – or rather, a lot of hard work – I’ll be in a position to buy it when the lease is up.
Mr. Davis has made no secret of the fact that he doesn’t want to hold onto this building for longer than a few more years. He’s doing me a favor by hanging onto it a while longer instead of finding a buyer now, and I don’t take his kindness for granted.
