If I’d been a bit melty before, now I was a puddle. I brought the card up to my lips, which curved into a secret smile, and I sat there with a goofy look on my face, staring at the gift. His words from the night he’d given me the single flower replayed through my head.
I’m sure he wouldn’t mind sharing…
Hugging the card against my chest, I got up from the couch and went over to the mirror to tuck the card with Dex’s message right above the picture of the beach scene. Both cards were about the same size. Then I went back to the vase and reached around to pull forward the glass with the single flower. After plucking it from the water, I used the mirror to tuck the stem into my hair above my right ear. My slightly curled hair looped around the flower and it looked right at home.
I smiled some more. I just couldn’t stop.
In that moment I didn’t think about bodies in the morgue or my allergy to peanuts. I didn’t think about what I did and didn’t know about Dex.
In that moment, I was just a girl.
A girl who got beautiful flowers from a boy.
I went back over to the couch, sitting down but reaching out to finger the smooth satin of the large purple bow. I gave up on the magazine and sat there and stared at the flowers until I glanced at the clock and realized I still needed to go pick up dinner before Frankie arrived.
I pulled on my coat, wound a white scarf around my neck, and grabbed up my keys. Then I gave the bouquet one last smile before walking out the door.
* * *
I settled on Chinese takeout for dinner—vegetable lo mein, beef and broccoli, hot and sour soup with wantons and egg rolls. Even though I ordered from this place a lot, I still made sure to double-check they didn’t use peanuts or peanut oil in any of my dishes. One reaction was more than enough for me, thank you very much. Before I left, the man at the counter added some extra fortune cookies to the bag. My stomach rumbled as I walked home and I realized it was because I’d forgotten to eat earlier.
Had I really been so caught up in those flowers?
Yes. Yes, I was.
When I got to my apartment door, I placed the bag at my feet and pulled out my keys, but when I inserted it in the lock, I noticed the door wasn’t closed all the way. I didn’t put my keys away. Instead I shifted them, placing the largest key between the first two fingers on my hand, letting the sharp end poke out. It was simple, but it would be an effective enough weapon if someone was in my house.
I pushed open the door, holding tight to the keys, all my muscles tense and ready to jump into action.
“Who’s here?” I called into the room.
I heard a sound from the kitchen and I was about to start yelling for help when Frankie appeared. She took in my raised arm and the key and the determined look on my face and she held up her hands.
“Don’t stab me!” Then she began to laugh.
My breath made a whooshing noise when I let it out and the keys fell from my grasp. “Holy crap, Frankie! You about gave me a heart attack!”
“You’re the one that invited me to dinner then wasn’t even here when I arrived. You’re a very bad hostess.”
I laughed and hauled the bag of food in and shut the door, throwing the locks. “I ran out to grab the food.”
“I’m starving,” Frankie said, taking the bag from my hand and over to the coffee table, beginning to pull all the boxes out. “That witch I work for about drove me nuts today.”
I went into the kitchen to get some plates, napkins, and silverware, and when I came out she had everything out and was already eating the lo mein.
“Hey, save some for me!” I cried.
“Ya snooze, ya lose.” Then around another mouthful, she said, “Where’d you get the flowers?”
I smiled and glanced at the centerpiece of the coffee table.
“A fancy carandflowers… You don’t stand a chance.”
“Are you implying I can be bought?” I said, slightly offended.
She lowered the lo mein toward her lap. “I know better than that,” she replied. “But you have to admit it doesn’t hurt.”
“I don’t like him for his money, Frankie.”
