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She was leaning back on her elbows and looking out at the water. Her legs were stretched out and crossed at the ankles in front of her. “It’s such a beautiful day out. I’m glad you thought of this. Why did you? Or what made you think of it?”
“Don’t laugh at me,” he said. “But it’s that fear of messing up again. I couldn’t figure out if I should ask you for a drink. Coffee. Brunch. A fancy restaurant. A pub. There were so many options and I was stumped. I didn’t want to mess up.”
“I want to laugh at that, but I guess this goes back to what I said earlier. You thought you were making it easy by saying you weren’t fussy, but it made it harder. I had thousands of thoughts in my head too over just figuring out the menu of food.”
He was laid out on the grass just like her. They were side by side, but not touching. Not until his fingers slid over and entwined some of hers.
“Then you get it. So what made you want to be a jeweler? You know medicine was forced on me.”
She turned her head sharply. “What? You didn’t say that. You didn’t want to be a doctor?”
“Sorry,” he said. “Wrong choice of words. It was assumed I’d follow my father into medicine because my mother said enough times it’d be a crime to waste my gift. I did pick my own discipline. It’s not like that much was controlled. Or maybe my mother would have if my father hadn’t stepped in. It’s one of the things I’m thankful for.”
“You’re not close to your mother, you said.”
“We talk often, but she annoys me even though she means well. A lot of it is lecturing. She’s a pro at that. She divorced my father because he wasn’t around and was too serious half the time. She married a pediatrician who is more laid back.”
“Considering their professions I’d say night and day.”
“Exactly. And you didn’t tell me how you became a jeweler. Or why you wanted to.”
“No grand plan or anything,” she said. “I got through school because, the truth is, anyone can get through if you go to class and do your work. I won’t say I’m not smart, but I just didn’t like school all that much. My mother wanted me to go to college. She never got to and I figured I should. It was free for me with aid and it’d be stupid not to try. I just hated it. There was no way I could do four years. I didn’t see myself sitting behind a desk even though I went for a business degree.”
“You’ve got too much energy to ride a desk.”
“Exactly. We didn’t have a lot of money growing up. When I wanted things like accessories or jewelry I had to make them. It was cheaper and then I could be creative. I think I’ve always had a hand at being crafty. I got that from my mother. She always had some side hustle going.”
“What does she do?” he asked.
“Nothing and everything. She changed jobs a lot. We moved a lot too. She’d go where there was more money or a cheaper place to live. I was cared for. I had enough and she didn’t bring men in and out of her life. She barely dated. It was just the two of us for so long.”
“Not a lot of people could say that in your situation.”
“I know,” she said. “I’ve known a lot of other people whose mothers were raising them alone and always had a man. Not my mother. She’s dating Charlie now seriously. We were talking earlier because the guy wants to live with her and she’s never lived with a man before.”
“Never?” he asked.
“Nope. Me neither.”
“I’ve never lived with a woman other than my sisters,” he said. “So see, another thing in common.”
“I guess so. Anyway, my mother always had a full-time job doing something but then had side hustles. She’d make jams and jellies for years and we’d sell them at craft fairs. That was a lot of work and it wasn’t immediate money either. She always had houses she cleaned at night or on the weekends. I’d go with her. Most didn’t care I was there as I helped her or stayed out of the way.”
“So you made jewelry for fun or a hobby, but how did it turn into this? Did you go to school for it too?”
“No,” she said. “I did start it as a hobby. I’m self-taught and watched a lot of YouTube videos. I was making pieces and selling them at craft fairs and then saw a job opening at a jewelry store. It was in sales and I figured why not? Little by little they let me help out with adjustments in the back if the other jewelers were busy, but I just wanted to make things. They weren’t even making things. It was a chain store. I finally quit because I’d opened a jewelry store up on Etsy and was doing well. For a good year, I was making more than at my other job, but it wasn’t stable either. Stable is important.”
“Then you saw the job here?” he asked. “I didn’t ask where you’re from?”
“Upstate New York. Closer to the city but still considered upstate. About three hours away and not a town I’m sure you’ve heard of. I did see the ad and applied, then held my breath. I know part of the reason I got the job was because of my name.”
“It’s a flower name,” he said after some thought. “That is why?”
“Yes,” she said. “That part was fate to them. There are a lot of women with flower names that work there.”
“I’ve got to hear this,” he said.
“The owners are Lily, Poppy and Rose.”
