Page 5 of Sweet Love From Saturn

“Your name…I need your name.”

“Why do you need my name?”

“Because I gave you mine and I’m asking. Can I assume that you’re May? You referred to the shop as yours?—”

“May was my grandmother’s name.”

“Okay. We’re getting somewhere. One day, I’d love to hear everything about your grandma. Right now, I’d like to put a name with the face.”

Giving him a hard time crossed my mind, but I was exhausted and had no energy to play my own damn games. The fact that he was here and trying to make it right had to count for something.

“Saturn.”

“Like the planet?” he questioned, sounding like everyone else.

“Yes, exactly like the planet.”

“That’s different. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with that name before.”

“Thank you. Having a unique name can be a blessing and a curse,” I admitted.

I couldn’t help but to stare back into Mccoy’s solid brown eyes as his gaze bored into me. His sharp hair line indicated that he was fresh out of the barbershop. The jet-black waves were so thick and uniform that it made him look perfect. To top it all off, Mccoy had to be more than six feet tall. The more I studied him, the more my body reacted.

“Are you involved with anyone?”

“Romantically?” I quizzed.

“Yes. Husband, boyfriend, sneaky link?” he elaborated.

“No.”

“Good. Can I take you out for coffee or lunch one day soon?”

“I don’t?—”

“No excuses, Saturn. If you find me attractive and you’re single, then just say yes. If you’re not feelin’ me after one date, then I’ll leave you alone.”

His last statement sent me into a slight panic. Not being able to see his face again wasn’t sitting well in my spirit. Plus, I needed a life outside of the shop. When I graduated fromhigh school, my best friend Ava moved to California and never looked back. For the first year or so, we kept in touch by talking almost every day. The calls and texts eventually died down and I never felt a way about it. Between classes and getting to know other people, I figured our friendship would suffer. Once Ava graduated from college, she decided to stay in Cali and her parents ended up moving out there as well. The only person left in Pleasant Springs was Ava’s grandmother, who she never came to visit.

The last time I saw Ava was at my grandmother’s funeral, but it wasn’t a good memory. I was grieving, but I wasn’t crying my eyes out her entire visit. We’d gone out for a drink the night before the funeral and I had a horrible time. Ava did nothing but compare Pleasant Springs to Los Angeles. Her nose was in the air and that irritated me. Before she left, she tried to convince me that I needed to move out of this small town and experience more life. According to Ava, Pleasant Springs was depressing with nothing to do for enjoyment. The people were different and there were more opportunities in a bigger city. I could agree to a certain extent, but I was content where I was. Big cities were exciting to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live in one.

Since then, I only talked to Ava if I saw her post on social media and I was okay with that. She’d always be someone I considered a friend, but we grew apart.

“Sooo?”

The sound of Mccoy’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. A sudden chill came over my body, causing me to cross my arms.

“Okay. One date.”

“There will be plenty of dates, Saturn. Your sign says you open at ten. If that’s true, I need you to be ready at seven-thirty tomorrow morning. I’ll pick you up and have you back home before it’s time to open.”

“Tomorrow? You don’t think that’s too soon?”

“Too soon for what? There’s no time like the present. Now all I need is your number, so I can call you tonight.”

After rattling off my number, I walked Mccoy to the door and locked it after we said our goodbyes. I stood there looking on as he walked down the street and mixed into the sea of people. Letting out a deep sigh, I flipped the sign to the closed and closed the blinds. Normally, I’d turn the music to my favorite R&B playlist while I closed, but today I needed silence. Needing to find help took up so much of my thoughts that it was unhealthy. Some days were slow enough that I could handle it alone, but closing the shop while I made deliveries wasn’t a good business move. At times, I thought about selling the shop, but my heart wouldn’t let me. If I ever sold May’s Flowers, I’d feel like I let my grandmother’s hard work go to waste.

Corporate America wasn’t something I was interested in. Before gathering my purse and keys, I wrote down a few flowers I’d have to stock up on by the weekend. After setting the alarm, I walked outside and almost had a heart attack when I bumped into someone.

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