Page 18 of A Bouquet of Dreams

All zinnias were MaryBeth’s darlin’s. Her go-to sturdy summer flower. She had specific flowers for every season. Her summer list included standard hothouse roses, hydrangeas, calla lilies, zinnias. And carnations, of course. After all these years, Claire still becamesad when she saw the selection. Summer offered such bounty of beauty. The possibilities were endless! Anemone, black-eyed Susan, foxglove, Amaranthus, ranunculi. MaryBeth finally agreed to add sunflowers to her summer list, but only because Claire had verified to her that they could hold up for long periods of time without wilting. A flower had to prove its worth—in both dependability and affordability—for MaryBeth to even consider ordering it. Mostly, the latter.

Claire waited patiently until MaryBeth put the processed zinnias into a bucket of water. She set the bucket in the cooler and turned to Claire.

The time to tell all had come.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to tell.

MaryBeth folded her arms across her chest. “Last night I got a call from Jim Turner. Sweet pea, what on earth has gotten into you?”

Claire lifted a finger in the air. “I can explain!”

MaryBeth held her hands in the air like a stop sign. “Don’t even bother. It doesn’t matter anymore. As soon as Arthur arrives, there’s something important we have to discuss.”

A sick feeling started in Claire’s stomach and spread throughout her entire body. She hadn’t felt this way since the night her dad told her he was moving her grandmother to a facility. Change was coming, and it wasn’t going to be good.

eleven

All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.

—Native American proverb

As soon as Arthur arrived, MaryBeth closed the workshop door and sat on a stool, ready for that chat. Apparently, Claire learned, MaryBeth and Arthur had been in negotiations to sell Same Day Delivery to Turner Flowers for quite some time. “Now, I know you had a hope to buy Same Day Delivery,” MaryBeth said, “but the truth is, you don’t have the money to buy it. This shop has been our livelihood. It’s our retirement package. The whole kit and caboodle. If we sold it to you, we’d have to be your bank, and you’d be paying us in installments. That’s assuming that you make a success of the shop. What if things took a downturn? Flowers rise and fall with the economy. They’re a luxury, not a necessity. If things go bad, Arthur and me, we don’t have years and years to recover. We’re getting older. We need the money now.”

“But I would make it a success.” Claire knew she would. She just needed the chance.

“Sweet pea, you just got kicked out of a conference designed toimprove customer service skills. If that doesn’t tell you something about yourself, I don’t know what will.”

Claire opened her mouth to defend herself, but MaryBeth wagged a finger in the air.

“I had such high hopes for you, sweet pea. I told Jim Turner to keep a lookout for you. I was hoping he would hire you on, so you could stay right here. And what happened? You got yourself ejected because you lost your temper.”

“It wasn’t my fault! You see, I recognized—”

“Jim Turner told me you were belligerent in the breakout circles.”

“Belligerent?!”

“That’s what he said. According to Jim Turner, you sounded like you knew better than the customer about what flowers they should send. I had no words to defend you, Claire. I’ve seen you do the same thing with customers at the shop. Always suggesting something else.” She let out a deep sigh. “I’m sorry. I really am. I know you’re disappointed, but Arthur and me, we’ve done all we can for you. You’re twenty-five years old. It’s high time to figure things out on your own.”

Claire felt her stomach rise and fall like lead. Her vision grew distorted, and she blinked to get it back into focus. She tried to keep her game face on, tried to remain calm. Later. She could fall apart later. “But you promised. You promised to sell the store to me.”

“No, sweet pea.Wenever promised. Did we, Arthur?”

As if on cue, both Claire and MaryBeth turned to look at Arthur. He swiveled, suddenly terribly interested in straightening the tools on the peg wallboard.

Arthur was the one who had told Claire that she’d be a good choice to take over Same Day Delivery one day. She had counted on his words as a promise. But MaryBeth had never been a part of that conversation. She’d never said a word about selling the store to Claire. Only Arthur had. And MaryBeth ran the show. Big mistake.

A numb feeling settled over Claire, which turned out to be a blessing. She made it through work all day without any unpleasant emotions rising to the surface, she handled customers very politely, and she processed a large order of carnations for an upcoming wedding. She kept as busy as possible to crowd out troubling thoughts of the future, or unbidden ones from the past.Later, she reminded herself.Later, you can fall apart.

At the end of the day, she arrived home to an empty house. Another blessing. Her housemates had some church event tonight and wouldn’t be back until late. She tossed her purse on the little table by the door, kicked off her shoes, and flopped onto the couch. In just two days, she had lost everything and everyone that mattered to her. She still had her dad, of course, but he was thousands of miles away. She had thought, mistakenly, that she belonged to MaryBeth and Arthur. But she didn’t. She didn’t belong to anyone. She didn’t belong anywhere.

Now, she could fall apart.

Claire wasn’t sure how many tissues she’d gone through when an incoming text buzzed. Dabbing her eyes, she lifted her phone to read it.

Sophie

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

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