Page 15 of Sweet Love From Saturn

“I told you. It’s like twin cities,” I said as I took my apron off.

After introducing Mccoy to Sapphire, I made sure she was good before leading Mccoy to my office. I was already prepared with my pen and notepad sitting in front of my computer. When he told me how he conducted business, I made sure to take every part of this meeting seriously.

“Do you have any social media pages for the shop? I’ve been looking and I don’t see anything for May’s Flowers anywhere,” he started.

“I haven’t made any. I’ve thought about it, but that’s another task that would be on me to keep up with. I’m already barely keeping up with inventory.” I shook my head.

“I know a lot is on you, but that’s what comes with it. People need to know your business exists to spend money. I did a little research last night and Pleasant Springs has about ten festivals a year. Half of them are in the summer. That’s your time to shine. Your location is perfect. You’re right in the mix of everything. The problem is people only see the shop if they happen to walk past it. Have you been doing events? Funeral? Weddings?”

“Not right now. I’ve thought about offering those services, but again, I’m a one-man band.”

As our conversation continued, Mccoy helped me with a list of short-term goals to hit before the year was up. They’d be obtainable now that I had Sapphire here. By the time we were wrapping up, I had a grocery list of recommendations to consider.

“Just remember, everything is a process. If you put everything into motion, I can almost guarantee that by this timenext year, you’ll see the shop doing better than ever. Plus you can be back in school.”

The mention of going back to school had me perking up in my chair. The idea of going back always felt so far away. After seeing everything on paper, knowing it could be possible within the next year excited me. Living out both of my dreams seemed unreal, but here Mccoy was like a genie in the bottle.

“One more thing before I take my business hat off. I saw this flyer in front of the shop’s door. Looks like there’s an event going on for local vendors. There are six categories and a cash prize of ten thousand dollars for the winners.”

He handed me a black flyer with white writing. I looked it over and slouched back into my seat.

“I’ve entered this contest a few years back and lost. There’s another flower shop on the west side of town and she always wins. Garden Of She is the name of her shop,” I said with disgust.

“Why the attitude? Did she cheat or something?”

“No, but I don’t think it was fair how they judged us. Her shop is filled with those forever roses or whatever they’re called.”

“What is a forever rose?” Mccoy questioned.

“You know, those roses that are supposed to last for more than a year.”

“I know what you’re talking about. I don’t think the judges weren’t being fair though. I think ol’ girl is just keeping up with the times. A few of my homies back home buy those roses all the time. I know your thing is more natural, but adding things like that will help expand your business. Some people don’t have time to water plants or change water every day. Just something for you to think about.”

I wouldn’t admit it, but he was right. Business was all about expansion and I hadn’t done anything to expand. A part of me felt like keeping things the same was keeping the values of theshop. My grandmother never sold a fake plant and honoring her name was big for me. On the other hand, Mccoy was right. I needed to keep up with the times and offer other services. When I went to speak, a light knock on the door cut my words short.

“Come in,” I called out as I stood from my chair.

“Sorry, Saturn, but someone named Justin is looking for the two of you,” Sapphire said, looking between Mccoy and me.

“Okay, we’ll be right out,” I responded.

When Sapphire left, Mccoy told me one last time to look into the contest. Once I agreed, we left my office and headed back to the front. In many of our conversations, Mccoy often mentioned his friend Justin. This would be my first time meeting him but his presence felt familiar.

“What’s up, man? Thanks for keeping him for me,” Mccoy said as he slapped hands with Justin.

Just as introductions were being made, Sparky ran past Justin and right into me.

“It’s nice to meet you, Saturn.”

“Nice to meet you as well.”

Like Mccoy, Justin had chocolate skin and stood tall. His head full of long, thick locs gave his features just the right amount of pop. From the way Sapphire stared at him with stars in her eyes, I could only assume she felt the same way.

“It’s about time for you to close for lunch. Can I take you somewhere?” Mccoy asked when Justin walked off.

“Yes. Is this place pet friendly?”

“It is. The only thing is, I’ll need Sparky to stay here while I go get the food. Is that okay?”

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