‘Well,’ Mary’s head angled in the direction of the house, ‘get them all out, because if I’m right, we’re going to be getting a few more of these today.’
Gabriela still looked a little unsure of what was happening.
‘Quaddra is forming a sentence,’ Mary explained. ‘Word by word… card by card… bunch of flowers by bunch of flowers.’ Her head jerked back in the direction of the house. ‘I.’ She lifted the second card. ‘?“Love”… we’re going to have to wait to see what comes next. Typical Quaddra.’
Gabriela laughed. ‘That really is typical Mr. Buckner,’ the girl agreed. ‘And so cute at the same time.’
Mary nodded. ‘I know. He really is a hopeless romantic. C’mon.’ She turned towards the house. ‘Let’s go get some vases out.’
Throughout the rest of the day, every hour, on the hour, a new impressive bouquet of flowers was delivered to Mary – from midday, until four o’clock. Each one with a card containing a single word – I… love… you… so… much.
The last bouquet was delivered at 5:00 p.m. sharp – an incredible arrangement of large red roses. The card that came with it was a little different from the previous five. Itcontained six words, instead of a single one – ‘Happy One Year Anniversary, My Love’.
When Quaddra got home, an hour after the final flower delivery, Mary was sitting in the living room – three flower vases to her left, three flower vases to her right.
‘Oh!’ Quaddra paused, as if he was surprised by what he was seeing. ‘You bought some flowers?’
Mary got to her feet, trying hard not to smile. ‘You’re one silly, silly man, do you know that?’
Quaddra put down his briefcase. ‘I couldn’t choose,’ he said, matter-of-factly.
‘So, you decided to buy the whole shop?’ Mary got to him and put her arms around his neck.
‘You deserve all the flowers in the world.’ Quaddra put his arms around her waist and they kissed.
‘Well,’ Mary said, looking left then right. ‘It looks like I’ve got all the flowers in the world… and they’re all gorgeous, my love, thank you so much.’
‘Happy one year anniversary, babe.’ They kissed again. ‘The first of many to come.’
Mary’s fake smile was the most truthful she could find. ‘I really hope so.’
Quaddra checked his watch. ‘OK, our reservation at Sons & Daughters is at seven thirty.’ He grabbed his briefcase. ‘Let me drop this in my office and go take a quick shower, OK? I won’t be long.’
‘Go,’ Mary urged him, turning to face the flowers. ‘I’ll distribute these around the house and then I’ll get changed.’
As Quaddra made his way to his office, Mary tried to decide which bunch of flowers would look best in which room. They were all exquisite in their own right. The irony was that one of those magnificent bouquets was just about to flip her entire life upside down.
Eighty-Two
Mary decided to start with the living room, or at least its east quarter, and since the curtains that covered the French doors that led out to the fire patio carried a few different shades of pink, matching some of the cushions on the large sofa closest to that door, she placed the pink bouquet – the one that had been delivered at midday – on the low coffee table that sat between the sofa and the armchairs.
Perfect.
Five bouquets left.
Mary took a step back and tried to decide which one to go for next. It didn’t take her long before she pointed at the gorgeous yellow and white bouquet that was delivered at 3:00 p.m.
‘Definitely the entry room,’ she said, as she scooped up the vase with both hands.
The front doors to Quaddra and Mary’s mansion opened straight into an ample and brightly lit entry room, where the floor was tiled in black and white Italian marble. At the center of that room, a round chrome and glass table greeted every arrival. The vase already on it contained a very nice selection of dried pampas grass, but the yellow and white flowers would work much better in brightening the room a little more, giving it an even better welcome feel.
A minute later, Mary was back in the living room, studying the four bouquets that were still left.
‘Of course,’ she said, nodding at the blue and purple one.
Purple was Quaddra’s favorite color, so why not place that vase in their bedroom? And she knew exactly where it would go.
Mary picked up the vase and headed upstairs. But before she reached the double stairwell that led to the house’s second floor, she noticed that the door to Quaddra’s office, which was just a little further along, to the right of the double stairwell, was open – something that rarely happened. Quaddra must’ve forgotten to lock it after he dropped his briefcase in there. That gave Mary an idea – since purple was Quaddra’s favorite color, why not brighten his office with some flowers, because truth be told, that room could really do with some color.
