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Twelve minutes and a few missed stop signs later, I’m hurrying along the sidewalk, having found a parking spot around the corner. Jules is sitting at a wrought-iron table outside the cafe next door to the florist. His shoulders are hunched, and his head is down, his long hair concealing his face.
“Jules, honey, I’m here!” His head snaps up and I rush to him, arms open, grabbing him in a tight hug. The poor thing’s shaking like a leaf. “It’s okay. We’ll sort this out.” I put as much confidence and compassion as possible into my voice, but his hands are clenched into fists, pressing into my sides. “Would you like me to go in by myself? I can talk to the florist, figure out what’s going on, and you can stay here or come in after. Or do you want to come with me?”
With one last squeeze, he steps away and gives me a fragile smile. But itisa smile, so I’ll take it. I wink encouragingly. He glances at the florist sign and swallows, visibly agitated. “I’ll come with you. Although I’m sure after I just stood there, unable to get a word out, they must think I’m pathetic. You’ll do the talking?”
I nod, my heart aching in my chest. He’s so freaking brave. “Absolutely hon, and if they think that about you, we’ll go find another florist because we don’t need any of that attitude. But we also don’t need to borrow trouble.” I give him a light shoulder bump. “Let’s see what’s what, and we’ll deal with whatever comes up together.” That gets me another soft smile and a nod, and I breathe a bit easier.
We walk into the shop and approach a dark-haired, petite person behind the small front counter. “Hi. I’m Stef Evans, and this is my brother, Jules. You’re doing the flowers for the Evans-Osouf wedding, and there seems to be some kind of hiccup we need to resolve. Do we speak with you about that?”
They seem more concerned than annoyed, which I take as a good sign. Hopefully that means I won’t have to go feral on anyone. “You need to speak with Teddi. This is her shop. If you’ll wait a sec, I’ll go get her.”
They hurry off through a door, and I squeeze Jules’ hand reassuringly. Less than two minutes later, another much taller person with long brown hair and soft brown eyes steps through the doorway, carrying a folio. She holds out her hand and we shake. “Hello, I’m Teddi. How can I help you?” She glances at Jules, and a spark of recognition lights her face. “Oh, Jules! Hi.” She turns back to me. “Are we waiting for Erik?”
I squeeze Jules’ hand. “Erik couldn’t make it today, so I’m filling in.” I hold out my hand. “Hi. I’m Stef Evans. Jules’ brother. There’s some hiccup with the flowers for the wedding?”
Teddi shakes my hand and motions for us to follow her to a small area with a table and chairs. We sit, and she lays out the folio. “So, we’ve had so many issues lately with flower deliveries. Global warming and the whole never-ending worldwide transportation debacle have made it difficult to get some of our basic items. This month, it’s white roses. Now, there’s a decent chance we’ll get enough in time, since your event is still several weeks out, but there’s an equal chance we won’t get them at all, or they’ll come in bedraggled like last month’s cast-offs. Or something else will be unavailable by then.”
I nod, completely understanding what she’s saying. I’ve had similar issues getting resistance bands and yoga socks for my clients. Deliveries of any kind have been a nightmare. “So, what do you suggest?”
“Flexibility. Honestly, we’re doing face-to-face meeting with all our clients about this, so everyone knows the situation. We have the flower arrangement styles that Jules and Erik picked. We’ll do our best to make exactly those arrangements. But if anything isn’t available, we’d like your permission to substitute what we can.”
I feel Jules tense next to me, and I squeeze his hand. “We can do that, within reason. Obviously, there is a color scheme for the wedding. We don’t want the arrangements to clash.”
She nods in agreement. “Absolutely. We wouldn’t substitute colors. So, if white roses aren’t available, we’d maybe go with white daffodils or poppies. If the eucalyptus isn’t available, we’d go with ferns or ruscus. They’re similar in style, but not exactly the same.”
Okay, all of that sounds reasonable. “And you’ll let us know in advance what the options are and allow us some input?”
She shoots a glance at Jules, then at me. “We can do that, but the decision would need to be made fairly quickly.”
I know she’s alluding to today’s delayed meeting, and I unpack my patience. She’s obviously not used to dealing with people who have social anxiety, and it shows. “What would that do to the price? We can’t have last-minute major increases to costs.” That’s not exactly true. Erik can afford any increase, but it’s the principle of the thing.
“We’ll do our best to keep within the original budget. If the substitute flower is slightly more expensive, we won’t upcharge. But if we go with a less expensive flower, we’ll refund the difference. If the only appropriate substitute is a lot more money, we’ll consult with you about it. How’s that?”
I nod and turn to Jules. “What do you think?”
He nods almost imperceptibly. “Yeah. That’ll work.”
I turn to Teddi and smile. As the saying goes, you catch more flies with honey. “Alright, we’re on board with that plan. I’ll leave my contact information as well, in case you can’t reach Erik or Jules.” I fish a business card out of my wallet and hand it to her. “Is there anything else?”
She shakes her head, sliding my card under the paperclip holding the contents of the folder together. “I’m sorry we didn’t discuss this during our initial consultation. We truly thought this whole situation would be over by now, but it seems to be the default anymore.” I nod because she’s not wrong. We stand, and I shake her hand. “Thank you both for being so understanding. It’s all out of our control, and we’re trying our best to keep our customers satisfied.”
“Of course. Fingers crossed this all clears up soon.” She smiles and collects her folder, and Jules and I walk outside. I lift my face to the sun. “You have anything going on you have to get back to?”
“No. The new guide Erik hired is at the tour office, and I’m working from home, crunching numbers for my latest reclamation report. But that’s not due until late next week.”
“Good. Come have a coffee and pastry with me?” Our favorite cafe is only a few blocks away, and we haven’t been in ages. It’s also someplace Jules feels comfortable, even when strangers are there. “My treat.”
His smile lights up his face, and I feel like twenty tons have been lifted from my shoulders. “You don’t have to pay.”
I give him a gentle shoulder bump. “So does that mean yes?” He nods, and I throw my arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Wonderful! Let’s go!”
“Hey.” He stops me, and I turn, giving him my full attention. “Thanks. I truly…” He gestures to the florist shop. “I thought I could do it.”
I tug him toward Love ’n Cup. “Each day we wake up, and we’re in a brand-new headspace. Some days we can handle anything that comes at us. Some days we need some help. It’s not a big deal.” He thinks it is, though, so I try a different tack. “It’s like me. Some days I wake up, and I’m Stefan Evans, stunningly handsome brother of Julian Evans.” He snickers and I grin. “Some days I wake up, and I’m clearly Stefanie Evans, Jules’ stunning and sexy sister. Then there are days like today, where I don’t feel either, and I’m just stunningly attractive Stef Evans, non-binary cutie.”
There’s a small smirk on his face and I’m pretty sure we’ve turned the corner on his panic. “Stunning, no matter the gender.”
“Exactly.” Discovering I’m gender-fluid is a relatively new thing. I’d been an out and proud gay man for so long that identifying as anything else was disconcerting at first. I’m pretty sure I always knew I was gender-fluid, but never felt comfortable owning it until I started pushing my own boundaries, wearing more and more feminine clothing and allowing myself to explore my feminine side without fear.
