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“How so?” She pressed.
“I don’t know. It could have been how much time I spent away. At work, travelling. Maybe I left her alone. She was never good at expressing her feelings, I guess she felt like she couldn’t tell me.” I shrugged.
“You two were married. She should have figured out a way. And she shouldn’t have cheated.”
Chapter Four
Emilia
I nearly burned the spaghetti, but I managed a good save. Ivy couldn’t stop praising the food, I had a bit myself. Those frozen dinners never seemed to fill me fully.
Ivy stuck around for a while and even did the dishes before she headed back. Then I was dead on my feet. I got into bed and was out like a light. I was glad I didn’t have to be up early tomorrow, but I still had to get a lot of things ready for this charity ball.
I must not have been that worried about it because it didn’t really keep me up late or anything. I let the rising sun wake me, even though it was still pretty early at seven in the morning.
I let out a dramatic yawn and stretched before I got up to use the bathroom and brush my teeth. I was still half asleep until I made my cup of coffee. I checked emails, and almost did a spit take when I saw one from Sasha. She had emailed me a few times, when I shipped out orders instead of her coming to pick them up.
Good morning Emilia,
I am so delighted to have you on board for the charity ball. It is so short notice, but I really believe in you. Attached you will find a detailed floor arrangement, and my budget for the event. Dan is dropping off checks later today for you to use.
-p.s. wear your best dress.
I was fine until I read the last part. I realized I had absolutely nothing that was close to acceptable for an event like this. And I didn’t have the money to go out and get one either. I had to shove that aside, I needed to do my job first.
I made a breakfast of oatmeal and a smoothie, then showered and got dressed in jeans, and a knit sweater. I tied my hair up, which I always tended to do when I had a big project ahead of me, and then headed to the shop. I felt a pep in my step since I opened this place, it had been my dream for so long. Now I just need a steady income to keep it afloat. My savings wouldn’t pay the lease forever. I hoped that this charity event would help me in some way.
Once inside, I went about the daily task of opening up the sun views, checking the flowers’ water levels, and keeping everything neat. I got a lot of pass throughs, but the business from that wasn’t necessarily substantial enough. I still treated them well, of course.
But today my mind was on this event. I printed the floor plan Sasha sent me, the place was huge. And so was her budget. You would think ten thousand dollars gets you a lot, but for gardening and a flower arrangement for a party of this size, it was just enough.
By about two in the afternoon, I had a plan put together. As if on cue, Dan came inside with the check.
“Hey Emilia, delivery from Sasha.” He pretended to roll out a creed and bow. The kid had a great sense of humor.
“Thanks. How was school?”
He rolled his eyes.
“Horrible. I hate biology. And no offense, plants especially.” He dropped his bag on the counter and blew out an exasperated breath.
“I love plants. Let me take a look.”
He took out his obnoxiously large biology book, and I spent the next hour helping him with his homework. I didn’t mind it, though. I was glad to help him, and he seemed to understand it by the time I was done.
“Thanks, you’re the best. I was prepared to fail this class.” He shook his head. “But Sasha wouldn’t have liked that very much.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, what about your parents?” I noticed he never really talked about them, and maybe I was overstepping. But my curiosity was getting the better of me.
“They work a lot. It’s my grandparents that I live with, actually. It was that or boarding school.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder, signaling he had to get going.
“Oh, okay. Well just let me know if you ever need help in that class.”
“I will, see you!” He called over his shoulder, and then the door shut behind him.
I never noticed his parents weren’t around. I mean, it must be sad. My dad worked all the way over in Barbados, on a botany research project. Something about the water retention in tropical plants. He seemed to be having a lot of fun whenever we talked. We would Skype about once a week or whenever he had service.
I missed my dad too, but that was a situation I couldn’t change. And after Mom had died, he was so different. More distant, enjoyed things less. I think it’s why he decided to go on this course when I left for school, that’s how long he has been gone. Ten years.
