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“She’s not ready to hear it, and until she is, I’m fine being her friend. Besides, airing all my truths tends not to work out for me.” I nodded towards the front of the shop where Grace was attacking the windows with Windex and a microfiber cloth. She tended to rage-clean, and the shop had never looked better.
When I admitted to her I hadn’t been taking a salary, Grace’s immediate reaction had been shock, followed by a meekness that scared me more than anything else. She told me I should do whatever I wanted with the shop, and then she walked out, leaving me to close up. I couldn’t do it. I was not about to pounce on that like I’d set this whole thing up, hoping to make her feel bad enough to let me win. So, I just worked like normal and changed nothing.
This week, I was met with anger. How could I work for free like this? I should leave immediately, go make big plans with Dean, and she’d be fine. She’d figure it out on her own. That’s what she always did anyway. She didn’t mention her ex by name, but I hated that the comparison was there in her mind.
I told her it was a little more complicated than that. My name was on everything, for one. And then Dean showed up today. It was best if I gave her some space.
“She’s never going to forgive me.”
Dean and I watched Grace attack the blinds next. No dust speck would live to tell the tale. Next to her, Piper had a feather duster, being much gentler as she swept over the walls in big swirls.
“It’s only been two weeks,” Dean pointed out.
“Okay, but how long has she been mad at you for lending us money when she asked you not to?” I inspected one of the delivery boxes that had just come in before putting it on the counter and cutting it open.
“Going on four years. But I have faith she’ll get over it sometime in the next decade.”
Grace turned and glared at both of us.
“Good luck with that.” I opened the box of floral kraft paper and sorted through the various rolls. Grace had a thing for using customized wraps around her birthday bouquets. Beyond the hearts and birthday messages, we also bought Harry Potter prints, various Disney, even some with intricate skull heads done by a famous tattoo artist. The customers loved it, and many knew to ask for this personalized touch when they ordered. But it also cut our margins razor thin. Licensed prints were a hundred times more expensive than plain tan kraft paper, but we didn’t charge extra, even though I’d suggested it.
I had a whole list of things like this. Grace called it the no-fun list. She used to say it with a laugh. Now she scowled at it, poring over the numbers, and every time I’d caught her studying my old list with her brow furrowed this week, something inside me died. This wasn’t what I wanted. I didn’t want to take everything that was special and unique about her talents and slash it like a budget item.
I’d hoped to compromise, working as a team until we found creative solutions that made us moneyandmade our customers over-the-top happy. But Grace didn’t want to talk about any of it.
Dean picked up one of the rolls and laughed to himself. The paper was covered in ninjas mid jump-kick and the words, ‘Hoping for some action.’
“Not exactly subtle.”
“This is husband-wife goals right here. I love this.” He took in a deep breath and put the paper roll down. “Grace is so talented, but she has a blind spot that hangs out with her stubborn streak. Isaac, you know exactly what you need to do, and I know you think you need Grace’s permission for everything. But you don’t. Just do it. Don’t wait for her to bluster about it and then wait you out. You know that’s what she’s doing. This is your business, too. I’m telling you, do everything you’ve ever known has to be done. Now. Today.” He slashed his hand through the air. “Like you’re about to walk out tonight and there’s a good chance you’ll be hit by a bus. Stop waiting for the right moment. The moment is now.”
“This sounds like terrible advice.”
Dean folded his arms and stared me down, his feet spread apart. It was his power stance, and it was ridiculous of him to use it on me. I was there the day he came up with it. “It’s not terrible advice. You’re an idea guy. I can’t tell you how many ways you’ve helped me come up with solutions for people when I had nothing. It was just us, shooting the breeze, talking business. But if you can’t take charge and make things happen when you know you should, you can’t do this with me. Nobody is going to be happy about it in the moment. Get over it. If you do this right, Grace will get involved, because the other option is this train moving on without her. I think she’ll take the first option.”
I took in a deep breath, knowing he was right.
“Nothing done in secret. It’s all out in the open. Changes don’t stick unless everybody knows about them and gets to yell about them.” He picked up his backpack from under the counter and slung it over his shoulder. “Good luck.”
“Where are you going?”
“Um, I’m gonna try to stay on Grace’s good side. By the way, we never had this conversation. If she asks, she’s amazing, and I wouldn’t change a thing about her.”
“Thanks a lot, hypocrite.”
“Anytime.” He gave me a good-luck wave on the way out. “You should tell Carmen how you feel,” he called over his shoulder.
This is why I shouldn’t have told him her name. Even though Grace wasn’t currently speaking to me, her head turned upon hearing him mention Carmen, and she smirked. Whatever. I wasn’t involving either of them in my perfectly great friendship that was fine the way it was.
Okay, seize the day like I’m about to be hit by a bus. Before I thought better of it, I went over to the computer and changed all our prices. Specialty bouquets were now a dollar more. Wedding flowers, twenty percent more. It wouldn’t affect anyone who’d already booked with us, but if I left, Grace could be choosier about doing weddings. I lowered the price on a few smaller arrangements so people could buy within their budget. Then, done with that, I pulled up the draft I’d made of a recycling program for glass containers and made it live on our website. Anything that would bring people into the shop was a good thing, especially if we handed them a discount coupon for their next arrangement.
Grace had a succulent collection along one wall in interesting containers. Now she could get those containers for free, handed to her by potential customers.
“Natalie!” I called out. I jogged to the back and peeked my head around the corner just in time to see our part-time employee scramble off the counter where she’d been scrolling on her phone. She wasn’t lazy, she just didn’t have enough to do. She was going to school for marketing, and yet, all we ever had her do around here was work the counter if it was busy, and sometimes put together flower arrangements.
“Get on TikTok. Or stay on TikTok. Whatever. I’ll give you the login information for our account. I want us to feature a spring mix bouquet wrapped in the ninja paper.”
“The get-it-on paper?” Natalie’s eyes went wide.
