Page 44 of My Kind of Happy

Chapter Fourteen

The following morning flew by in a blur of planning, phone calls and excited squeals from Nina, who’d been overwhelmed with relief by my offer and after thinking about it for half an hour had phoned me back and asked me to be her business partner.

And so now, after serving only one week as her new assistant manager, I’d been promoted to ‘the board’. Mum, completely unfazed at my change of heart, transferred the lump sum to me, I sent it straight on to the florist’s bank account after which a big chunk of it winged its way to the landlord to pay three months overdue rent. It had happened very fast, there was still some legal stuff to do, and both of us had agreed that there should be a cooling off period just in case either of us had a change of heart.

But judging from the new bright-eyed and bushy-tailed version of Nina, I didn’t think she’d be backtracking on the deal any time soon.

‘You can’t imagine how much better I feel,’ said Nina, twirling in a circle. Scamp, sensing an opportunity to play, danced around with her, his tail brushing perilously close to a glass display bowl.

‘I think I can,’ I said, looking up from the bouquet I was making. ‘Because you look like you’re going to start singing about the hills being alive with the sound of music any second.’

The bouquet was part of my new initiative. I’d come up with the idea of making up some arrangements at several price points; that way, if someone came into the shop with a budget in mind, they could simply select the flowers to suit without having to ask how much everything was.

‘I love the idea of your happy list,’ she said, shoving her hands into her apron pockets and finding a treat for Scamp. ‘And it sounds as if your brother was a very special person.’

I nodded. ‘He was.’

I’d called her last night and told her everything – well almost everything, I still wasn’t up to thinking about the details of his accident, let alone recounting them to someone else. But I had explained that finding Freddie’s letter had made me reconsider every aspect of my life, take stock and make some changes in order to bring about a life lived without regrets, a life with the pursuit of happiness at its core.

‘I suppose I could have a day off every week now, can’t I?’ she said. ‘I think that would make me happy.’

‘I insist on it,’ I said firmly. ‘Work – life balance is essential. And proper holidays. Although if you could possibly wait until I’ve got a better handle on the flower side of things before leaving the country, that would be marvellous.’

‘You’d be fine without me,’ she said, ‘the bouquet idea is already going to simplify things.’

‘You sound as if you’ve got a trip in the pipeline.’

Nina opened her mouth and then quickly snapped it shut. I stopped what I was doing to stare at her, suspecting she was keeping something from me. It was unlikely given that she’d told me that she hadn’t had a holiday in five years, but perhaps her time off last week had given her pause for thought.

‘You’re entitled to do whatever you like,’ I prompted.

‘Nothing in the pipeline,’ she said, fiddling with an alstroemeria in my bouquet which was protruding slightly. ‘A pipe dream, that’s all. And if I do go away, you’ll get plenty of notice.’

‘Glad to hear it.’ I breathed a sigh of relief and popped the finished bouquet in water.

Even after so few days working together, Nina and I had already found our roles. She was the flighty one, generous with the stock and with only a vague handle on profit margins and I was the sensible one, reminding her of the cost of everything and keeping on top of orders. Although my jobs seemed to be the more boring ones, I could already see that we worked well together. My floristry skills had improved in leaps and bounds in the space of a week and just being in an environment I loved made me feel lighter and freer than I’d done in years.

I glanced out of the window; I might feel full of the joys of spring, but the weather was doing its best to clash with my mood. The sunshine of last week had vanished and in its place a thick swirl of gloomy cloud hung over the village green. There weren’t many people about either, although still a smattering of cars parked outside. But no car with Hogg Property Services painted on it.

‘Looking out for anyone in particular?’ Nina hoiked up her eyebrows and waggled them.

‘No.’ I answered quickly. ‘Just surveying the clientele, seeing who’s about at noon on a Monday.’

‘So, not looking for a certain property agent?’

‘God no! Hopefully he won’t need to pay us a visit for some time.’

‘But he did tickle your pickle,’ Nina reminded me with a snort.

I blushed. ‘He intrigued me, that’s all. I don’t normally go for the sharp suit type but …’ I broke off, wondering whether that was still true. Leather jackets, jeans and T-shirts had been more my thing – the standard uniform of a biker. I’d never owned my own bike, but most of my boyfriends had and I’d happily ridden on theirs. Freddie had been forever trying to persuade me to get one. I shuddered at the thought. Never. I’d never even go on one again.

‘But?’ Nina prompted.

‘… I don’t know,’ I said, dragging myself back into the moment. ‘There was something about him; he looked out of place in his clothes, as if he felt trussed up. Maybe it was his broad shoulders, or the chiselled jaw and I did like his stubble, I admit, just enough to be sexy, but not bushy.’

‘Not that you’ve given him much thought, obviously,’ said Nina folding her arms, amused. ‘I suppose we could always break something accidentally on purpose and then ask him to come and inspect it.’

I laughed. ‘No, I don’t think we should push our luck with him at the moment, do you? We’ll have to hope he comes in to buy some flowers.’