Page 45 of Weekends with You

February

“Luce, come see this,” Renee said, beckoning me toward where she stood at the front of the shop. She was prone to getting distracted watching the street from beyond the giant windows, and this morning was no different. “Looks like something’s finally moving in across the way, doesn’t it?”

I followed her gaze, clocking a few men and women in suits in the doorway opposite ours. The space had been up for sale for some time, and we’d been worried about what might end up there and how it would impact our business.

“Huh,” I said, trying to catch a glimpse of anything that might give them away. “What do we think it is?”

“Something posh, probably. Everything seems so trendy these days. No one is interested in family businesses or shopping small anymore.” It was a gloomy thought for an otherwise nice day, but I couldn’t disagree with her, could I? She was onto something, whether we wanted to accept it or not.

“For what might be the first time ever,” I said, “I hope you’re wrong.” We both laughed, but it didn’t sound particularly genuine. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and it’ll help our business instead.”

“Girls can dream, can’t they?” she said. We shared a sigh, neither having much else to say.

“Are you sure you don’t need help?” Renee asked, clappingher hands together and redirecting our attention back to the studio. We both spun on our heels, turning our backs to the suits.

“For the millionth time, it’s sorted,” I said, holding my hands out to frame my work like I was the host of a game show. It was a sort of wedding arch, similar to a huppah, underneath which a couple would be married this afternoon. It only needed to be transported down the block to a nearby garden, but I couldn’t relax until it had gotten there in one piece.

“It really is remarkable,” Renee said, joining me in admiring it. Dusk-colored daphnes crowded the curves, folding over blush quinces and bright white crocuses. I wondered if anyone involved in the wedding knew this combination symbolized new beginnings and immortality, and whether that mattered to them nearly as much as it mattered to me. “I knew you had it in you, Luce,” she continued, “but this is really something.”

“I told you I could handle it,” I said. About a month ago, after a few awkward conversations and some uncharacteristically pushy behavior on my end, Renee had agreed to let me try my hand at a wedding. Reluctant at first, she’d caved only after I presented her with a full plan of how I was going to create the arrangements on my own. The bride and groom were friends of friends of hers, and the wedding would be quite a small affair in the park, needing only the arch, a few centerpieces, and some arrangements to line the aisle.

“I knew you could,” she said. “I just wasn’t sure if I—or the shop—could.” She sank into a chair, her eyes still trained on the arch.

“February has been promising for us, hasn’t it? What with Valentine’s Day this week, I feel like we’ve been churning out pieces faster than usual. Or at least I hope we are, with the overtime we’ve been putting in.”

“I’m getting too old to be putting in these kinds of hours, pet.” She tried to laugh, but it came out dry and cold. She must have seen the worry in my face, because she continued before I could say anything. “But I’ll do what I have to do. We both will, until we don’t have to anymore. And you’re right. Valentine’s Day has been a bit of a blessing, and we should be thankful for that.”

“If you’ll trust me with more of this stuff, these small weddings and whatever else we can find, I promise I can boost our income. And we haven’t raised our prices in years, so we can afford a bit of an uptick. Nothing crazy that would drive our customers away, but just enough to bridge some gaps. Keep up with the bigger retailers.” I didn’t mean to deliver a full pitch just now in the studio, but since the new year, I’d been determined to be more vocal about my ideas.

“You have quite the vision for this business, don’t you?” She lowered her glasses, and I spun my rings on my fingers to avoid eye contact and channel my nervous energy.

“Let’s just see how this wedding goes,” she said before I had a chance to say anything at all. “Do you need help getting the rest of the pieces there?”

“Nope,” I said. “That’s sorted, too. Carla is coming to help me load the truck, and the groom’s brother is coming to collect the arch.” I smiled, trying to look excited instead of triumphant.

“You just have it all figured out, don’t you, Miss Bernstein?”

“I try.”

“I’ve taught you well.”

“There’s no denying that,” I agreed. “Now it’s my turn to shoo you out of the shop. Didn’t you say you had Valentine’s Day plans today?”

“Ah, yes. With my grandchildren. My husband and I aren’tcelebrating until Tuesday, so we’re taking the little ones today to give my daughter some time for a little romance of her own.”

“Lucky girls. What’s on the agenda? Baking cookies? Bundling up and teaching them to tend the garden? Guessing which chocolates are which without looking at the bottom of the box?”

“Am I that predictable?” She laughed, but a real one this time. Her hair tumbled into her eyes, and her bangles clanged against each other as she reached up to re-pin the rogue curls.

“Not quite predictable,” I said, searching for the right word. “Reliable. And it sounds like a lovely weekend.”

“You’re going to get out of here at some point, too, aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes, just after I see this off.”

“What’s on the agenda for Warehouse Weekend?”

“Who knows. It’s Margot’s weekend, so it really could be anything. All we know is we’re supposed to be ready to leave tonight by six thirty, in clothing that gives us ‘full range of motion.’”