“I’m originally from Portland, but I haven’t lived there in a long time.”
“Where have you been living?”
“All over.” I shrug, unsure how much I should be sharing. The only person I’ve really taken the time to get to know beyond surface level is Sean, and he learned about me in bits and pieces, information gathered over years of conversations. I’m not good at the whole sit down and talk about myself thing. “New York, Philly, a brief stint in D.C. Most recently, Boston.”
“Elsie, tell us about your opening day,” Olivia interrupts from the other end of the table.
Elsie launches into a recap of her opening day, her voice a mixture of pride and awe as she tells us about the flowers she sold and the number of people who stopped by to place an order or hire her for an upcoming event.
From there we all take turns telling stories and trading ideas to stand out in the Best New Business competition. I’d almost forgotten we were competing in it, to be honest. Not Elsie, though – she has big plans, and she’s in it to win it.
I kind of hope she does.
While our friends are distracted, I fit in more of my questions, rapid fire before someone has the chance to interrupt us again. I fill in the blanks of my mental list as I go, cataloguing the bits of her she’s willing to hand over.
“Where did you work before opening your shop?”
“I did a mix of bookkeeping and HR for my dad’s hardware business.”
“Any siblings?”
“I have two. They’re in their junior year of college. Twins.”
“Where is your favorite place in town?”
“Am I allowed to say home?”
I shrug. “If that’s your favorite, then sure.”
“The cottage I rent and the land it sits on is probably my favorite place to be. Aside from that…” She trails off, thinking. “I love to sit on the pier early in the morning or late in the afternoon and watch the fishing boats come and go. I like chatting with the fishers and seeing what they’ve caught. Sometimes they give me fresh seafood, and I’ll bring them flowers the next day as a thank you.”
“You get along with everybody in town, huh?”
Elsie shrugs, like it’s no big deal. I can’t even picture what it must be like, being universally liked wherever you go.
“So it’s worth checking out?” I prompt, unwilling to let the conversation die there.
“Definitely. There’s also a lighthouse on a nearby island that you can see from the pier. Morning is my favorite time to go, but it’s nice at any time of day. If you ever get the chance, go down there and watch the sunrise sometime.”
She doesn’t know thatwatch the sunrise with Elsiejust got added to the top of my to-do list.
“Sorry,” she says sheepishly, noting my lack of response. “I’m rambling.”
I don’t tell her I’d probably listen to her recite the phone book, if it meant she was talking to me.
“Tell me about your cottage,” I prompt.
Elsie takes a sip of her drink and I try not to watch the way her throat works as she swallows. “Have you seen the lavender fields yet? They’re just outside the busy part of town, when you start to drive more inland.”
I shake my head. “I haven’t, no.”
“Well, they’re a popular tourist spot. People can walk through the fields and take photos, and pay to pick their own bundle. I rent my place from the owners. If you go onto the property and drive all theway past the fields, my cottage is tucked away in the back corner.” She smiles thinking about it. “When I look out my kitchen window, there’s lavender as far as the eye can see.”
“It sounds beautiful.”
“It is,” she nods. “And now my landlords are also my lavender supplier. They’re great.”
I know I’m getting about twenty steps ahead of myself, but I hope I get the chance to see it – Elsie at home, surrounded by blooms of lavender in the place she loves most.
