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“Okay, universe. Give me a sign if this is right.” It feels silly even saying it but I’m alone in my truck and although I’m not a praying person, I have to know.
Traffic lights are usually the bane of my existence. I have such a knack for hitting every yellow or red light that it’s become a running joke with anyone who’s ever gone anywhere with me. Today, every light is green, but that’s not enough of a sign. Neither is a car pulling out of the only available space in front of the flower shop with an hour still left on the meter.
I go inside. The shop smells like a blend of roses, freesias, and lilacs. An older woman with brassy blonde hair sits behind the counter.
“Can I help you?”
“Yeah. I’m looking for Bliss?”
The woman looks me up and down. “She’s in the back working on an arrangement.”
“I just need a minute of her time. I can talk to her while she’s working.”
She stares at me a moment more than inclines her head towards the double doors behind the counter. I head to the back to a second set of doors and there she is. Bliss is facing away from me. The thin wires of her headphones trail down. She’s listening to music and didn’t hear me come in.
“Hey,” I say, and she doesn’t respond so I say it louder. “Hey!”
She turns and while my focus should be on her, it’s what she’s working on that has gotten my attention. It’s a heart made of red roses. Across the front, spelled out in white roses, is a single word: Daddy.
Okay, Universe. That’ll do.
“Tandy!” she fumbles to remove the earphones from her ears and tucks them into the pocket of her apron. “What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
“Everything is great.” I walk over and take her hands. “I’ve just been thinking about you, about our date. I want to see you again.”
“Really? I thought I’d done something wrong the other night.”
“No..no…you were wonderful. You are wonderful. But I know you’ve been hurt, and I get the feeling that someone like me might be new ground for you. I need to know. Is it?”
“Yes. And no.” She sighs then and looks to the door. “Can we get together later and talk? My boss will freak out if I don’t get this arrangement finished. You could come by my place.”
“I’d love that.”
“Yeah, me too!” She breathes what sounds like a sigh of relief and smiles. “I get off at five.”
“I’ll be over at six.”
Bliss looks up at me with soft, caring eyes. I put my hand to the side of her face, and she turns into it, planting a whisper-soft kiss on the inside of my palm that sends a shiver quaking through my whole body. I lean down and when my lips meet hers, I find them as petal soft as I imagined. I slip my tongue between them. She tastes like bubblegum. My hands move to her narrow waist, and she moans into my mouth. I want more, but she’s at work and I have to get back to the shop.
When our lips part, she presses her forehead against mine. Her hands are on my shoulders. She’s smiling.
“Six o’clock,” she says.
“Six o’clock,” I repeat.
Chapter seven
BLISS
I feel like I’m walking on air. I haven’t been this happy since I was fourteen, since Selma.
I leave work early and stop by the bakery on the way home. I pick up an assortment of cookies and a bag of coffee even though I can’t really afford it. I’ve been at Fancy Bloomers for five years and have only had one raise. Last week I asked Maxine for another one. She’d pursed her lips and said she’d think about it, but she’s taking more time than I can afford. It’s Monday and I’ve got less than $50 until payday.
I think of Jack. I thought of him yesterday, too, but not with the sadness I usually feel. Meeting Tandy has made me question a lot, including my failed relationship. At home I open the chest at the foot of my bed. Inside are all the mementos from what we had. We were together for two-and-a-half years, and I’ve spent this past year wondering why Jack ended things so abruptly.
I sit cross-legged in front of the chest and begin to take things out —the sketch of the lion and lioness tattoos I’d wanted us to get. The personalized vows I wrote. The stack of wedding magazines with post-it notes flagging pictures of venues. The receipt for the non-refundable deposit on the wedding dress.
Getting married would have been a disaster for both of us, he’d said. And I remember wondering how he could say that after all I’d done.
