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Dani
Standing at the counter, I watch the second hand tick around the face of my oversized clock. I didn’t know it would torment me like this when I bought it.
I have too much time to think and can’t help wondering if I’ve done the right thing, sinking all Gran’s cash into my dream.
What if it is a complete flop?
That’s looking a real possibility right now.
I need another customer to come in the shop.Just one.
I blow out an anxious stream of breath.
God.I wish my stomach would stop rolling. I need some more of my anti-anxiety tea. A whole bucketful.
My cellphone rings. “Hi, Shaye.” I smile when I answer. Thank God my bestie is calling because I can really use the distraction.
“How’s it going, hun?”
“Absolutely rushed off my feet here.”
“Really?Awww.That’s great, Dani!”
“I’m kidding you... only one customer so far.”
“Ohhhh.” She sighs. “You can’t expect miracles on the first day. Give it some time.”
“Yeah, I know,” I scrub at the floor with the toe of my sneaker, trying to feel and sound cool about it and not at all concerned about my launch bombing like a lead balloon.
“You’ll be fine, just fine, honest to God. I’ve got everything crossed for you. Have some patience, okay? And get yourself a book to read for when things drag.”
Common sense tells me Shaye’s right. I should ignore my nervous guts. I really can’t expect a steady stream of customers in my flower shop on day one. “Thanks, though, for calling and checking up on me.”
“No... I should be there to be your cheerleader. I feel so bad about it, but I’ve only been working here three weeks. I can’t have a day off, you understand?”
“No need to explain. I totally get it. So, what’s it like looking after ten under-threes? Novelty wearing off yet?” From what I can hear, it sounds horrendously noisy. Like a kiddie explosion.
“Well, my mini monsters are running me ragged and collectively trying to burst my eardrums... but hey, I’m super-mama, I can deal.”Miss Shaye? MISS!I hear little voices whine. “Um, just a sec, Dani. Yes, Lily... what d’you want, sweetheart...? No, Lily, not here! Stop!Please?Christ, gotta go, hun, she’s doing a pee on the floor right next to me.”
“Go, girl!”
She ends the call abruptly, and I smile. Shaye dotes on her kids, whatever they get up to. I love kids too, but not quite so many of them.
I wander around Bouquets, trailing my fingertips over the delicate green foliage and velvety petals of my display pieces.
The sight.
The scents.
I inhale deeply, taking in the delicious perfume of the roses and the delicate notes of Lily of the Valley. The comforting aroma of myrtle leaves mixes with the natural preservative I have added to the water.
My soul stirs.
Since I was a little girl, I’ve been fascinated by flowers. I used to draw the flowers in my yard on a sketch pad, then I would paint them with my watercolor kit. I was always doing something like that. Pressing daisies and buttercups and making pictures with them. Sewing flowers on all my clothes. Not too neatly, if I remember.
My mom thought it was adorable. My friends, if you could call them that, called me an ‘A grade’ weirdo.
Their kind of fun was a world apart. Going shopping, buying makeup, visiting nail bars and kissing boys at parties. Mine was staying at home, digging, watering and pruning, all lovely and scruffy in my baggy dungarees. I look down at my hands and rub at a smudge on my thumb. My nails were never manicured like theirs—not that I didn’t love pretty nails, but not a lot of point when they’d be ruined by compost.
