AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Five
Payton
I’m losing my mind. I’ve been running around like a chicken with my head cut off for the last two days, and today isn’t any better. As enthralled as I am that my business took off, it’s days like these that I wonder if I’ll ever be able to catch up and breathe.
The shop is a mess, the workstation’s covered in greenery, and the display case empty. All a good sign, right?
Right.
Rachel has been busy, working more than her normal hours. She’s been taking orders and helping the walk-in customers, while I make the arrangements and deliver them, if required. I wish I could say it’s just the peak busy season, but it’s mid-January, so that’s not it. Maybe my business is finally taking off, full steam ahead.
It’s quite possibly time for me to look into hiring more help. My first order of business will be to find out if Rachel is interested in working full-time. If she is, then I could probably get away with hiring another part-time employee to help with deliveries and extra floor coverage. If she’s not interested, then I’m looking for a full-time employee.
Either way, the extra help is necessary for my business, and my sanity.
Believe it or not, Grandma has been coming in and helping lately. When she gets bored watching General Hospital on the Soap Opera Network, she meanders on up to Blossoms and Blooms and helps out. Mostly she just talks to the customers and gets in the way. She can’t use the cash register, can’t make arrangements, and is a little crazy behind the wheel. So really she’s just there to take orders and gossip with my customers. (Like she is now.) But for some crazy reason, they all love her, so I don’t complain.
“Remember that trade show I registered for last year?” I ask when I see the note written on the calendar by the register.
“That flower show in Richmond? You signed up last fall, right?”
“Yeah, well, it’s supposed to be in a week and a half. I think I’m going to see if I can get my registration back.”
Grandma stops in her tracks and stares at me. “Why?”
I exhale deeply. “Because we’re so busy and it’s not fair to Rachel to have to cover for three days by herself.”
“I’ll be here to help her,” she says, “We’ll be fine.” She sounds so confident, like it’s a no brainer for me to leave the business I built over the last three years to my part-time employee and my eighty-year-old grandma. No worries at all.
“It might not be the right time,” I tell her, my words holding no conviction. Honestly, I really want to go to this show, but I just don’t see how when the shop has been as busy as it has been.
“If not now, then when? This show is every January, right? Well, your next opportunity is next year. Go, Payton. It’s a great opportunity for you to learn new things and incorporate them into your business.” She walks up and stands directly in front of me. “I want you to go. We’ll make sure your business is still standing while you’re gone.”
Swallowing hard, I look down at the little spitfire woman. “God, I hope so. You really think it would be alright?”
“I know it will be. Go. You deserve this. You deserve a little time away, even if it is work related.”
I offer her a watery smile, which she returns with her own wrinkly grin. There are huge advantages in attending this show. I was lucky to even get tickets. Florists from New York and Chicago always attend, display their latest creations, and teach a few tricks during expert how-to sessions. It’s an amazing opportunity to talk shop with fellow florists and pitch new ideas over coffee. Honestly, I can’t wait. “Okay. I’ll go.”
We silently get back to work, me closing down the shop while Grandma straightens up. “You know what they say about tulips, don’t you, Payters?”
“What’s that, Grandma?”
“Two lips. Like the female flower. Or as your Grandpa likes to call it, the vajayjay.”
“Grandma,” I chastise, thankful that we’re alone at this particular moment. She’s busy sweeping up flower stems and greenery snips, or at least I thought she was.
“Delicate, soft, and fragrant as a flower.”
“Please stop talking,” I beg as I close out the register and the credit card machine.
“If you don’t want to talk about the female anatomy, then what can I help with, Pay?”
“Nothing. Thanks for helping me catch up,” I reply, grabbing an empty moneybag and inserting today’s deposit.
“You’re all done for the night?” she asks, returning the broom to the small closet in the back storage room.
“I wish,” I snort. “I’ve got about an hour’s worth of work ordering supplies. Then I need to drop off the quarterly income and employment tax documents to Corbin and Denton.” Glancing down at my watch, I realize how late it is. The last customer didn’t leave until five thirty since they were finalizing flowers for a loved one’s funeral. “Shit, I’ll never make it.”
