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Cali
With my handsfirmly planted to my hips, I scan the room, contemplating all the other ways I could be spending a Wednesday evening. It’s not that I don’t want to be here, but that I’malwayshere. Managing the shop and helping customers is the easier part of this business, but I still have about twenty hours of paperwork to finish when I get home. A thought that silently eats at me as I force a smile.
“Hello, Mimi,” I say to the elderly woman who pushes a cart up to the register with an eager shuffle.
“Evening, Cali. How are things at Dirty Hoes today?”
I chuckle under my breath. The shop’s name coming from an octogenarian, a hip and cool eighty-eight years young is what she’s told me, is amusing. But the shop name wasn’t my idea. It was my sister Mari’s, the co-owner of Dirty Hoes Plants & Decor. I guess she thought the name would be cute and cheeky.
I’ve always thought it was a bit over the top but considering how many people come in just to see what we’re all about…maybe she wasn’t wrong that the idea would draw interest.
Although there was that one guy who brought in a stack of ones, he had the wrong idea of what Dirty Hoes really does.
I shrug. “No complaints. Business is booming, as you can tell.”
She looks around and sees the one other customer in the store, forcing a pained smile. “Yes, it looks quite bustling here today.”
The truth is, Dirty Hoes usuallyisbustling, just not so much during the week. With the weather shifting cooler and more and more people needing something to do, the weekends have gotten pretty crazy. It’s nice to see how many people in town have taken up gardening, especially after they put the community garden beds in.
“Is this going to be easy to take care of?” Mimi asks.
I check out the item I’m scanning, a small, potted cactus sports inch-long spikes out in all directions. Forcing a grin, I nod. “It’s a cactus, Mimi.”
“Right. So it’ll be a good one?” She just wants some encouragement and that’s part of my job. I’m just not feeling so encouraged today.
I let out a low, silent sigh and straighten my back. She deserves my best. “As far as plants go, you can’t really get anything easier than a cactus. It needs a good amount of light, a little water, and not too much babying. It’s a leave-it-be kind of plant.”
She nods, her hand shaking as she pulls a credit card from her wallet to pay for everything. “Good, good. You don’t think my cats will try to eat this, do you? Is it poisonous?”
Literally any other day I’d be more than happy to answer Mimi’s barrage of questions, but today’s been a trying one and I take a second to soothe the crabby monster inside of me.
“Nope not poisonous. It’s just a simple cactus. And if anything tries to eat it, they’re going to be pretty upset when they get a bunch of spines stuck in their mouth.”
“Spines?”
“The quills, spikes, these…” I say, gently pricking my finger on one of the cacti’s pointy bits and quickly regretting it.
The bell above the door signals opening with a happy jingle that digs into my crabby spot and tries to lift me out.Not working today.
A tall, handsome man, clean shaven with sandy-blond hair and black-rimmed glasses that suit his angular features, steps inside. He pulls his phone from his pocket as he walks down the nearest aisle, stopping to check out some potted low-light plant options along the wall before skirting around the endcap and out of vision.
Mimi checks over her shoulder. “Something wrong, dear?”
“Nope, just making sure no one needs help.”
She smiles. “You are so wonderful to all of us, Cali.”
I still and curse myself. My attitude has to change. Like my dad used to say, “If you don’t love what you’re doing, lovewhyyou’re doing it.”
I love that I’m part of an adventure with my sister, keeping her head above water and my niece and nephew happy.
But when do I get to be happy?
“Have a good night,” I say to Mimi, handing her our reusable tote with her plant once she’s finished paying. I step from behind the counter.
My gaze stays locked on the handsome man as he wanders the aisles. I don’t recall seeing him in here before, and I have an excellent memory when it comes to faces. It’s one thing that makes me great at customer service, despite how much I’d love to be doing something else.
“You too, dear,” she says, but I hardly notice she’s left until the door chimes again. I wait to ring through the other customer, keep a curious eye on the wandering man as he heads into the greenhouse out the back of the store.
