Page 49 of The Little Flower Shop By the Sea
‘Where have you been?’ Amber demands. ‘It was manic in here, people everywhere. They were asking for you, wanting to talk to Rose’s granddaughter, I turned around to find you, and you were nowhere to be seen.’
‘I’m really sorry,’ I say, feeling even more guilty about leaving Amber to cope on her own. ‘I just had to get away for a bit.’
‘On your opening day!’
‘I know… I know, I panicked.’
‘Poppy has a problem with crowds,’ Charlie explains helpfully. ‘Don’t you, Poppy? She needed some air, so we went for a walk to clear her head.’
I nod. ‘I’m sorry, it’s no excuse. I know I should have been here to help you.’
‘Crowds?’ Amber exclaims in relief. ‘That’s it? Thank the Lord. As you can see, the crowd situation didn’t last too long once everyone had been in to have their five-minute gawp, and I can’t imagine it will ever get like that again. After the way you were behaving earlier, I thought for one teeny-weeny moment you might have a problem with flowers. But then I thought, who would be silly enough to open a florist shop if they had a flower phobia?’
‘Haha,’ I laugh, a little too forcefully. ‘Flower phobia, how silly would that be?’
‘Not as silly as you might think,’ Amber says knowingly. ‘We did this wedding in New York for a woman who hated fresh flowers – something happened to her in her childhood, I think. Anyway, we had to do the whole thing in silk flowers! It was quite the challenge, but your mom coped brilliantly. The venue looked amazing!’
‘Really…?’ I reply uncomfortably. ‘That’s great. Well, no worries about that here.’ I gesture around the shop. ‘Everything in Daisy Chain is good and fresh!’ My glance rests on Jake as I turn around, and I notice how his brow crinkles between his eyebrows as he stares thoughtfully at me. So I quickly look away.
‘Right then,’ Jake says. ‘As long as you’re back safe and sound, I guess I can go now. Miley,’ he calls to the monkey, currently decorating herself in a roll of floristry ribbon. ‘Time to go.’
‘Thanks, Jake,’ Amber says, ‘for staying back and helping. It was good of you.’
‘No worries,’ Jake says, smiling as Miley bounds up on to his shoulder, still with the ribbon. ‘Any time.’ He looks at Miley and rolls his eyes. ‘We’re bringing that home, are we?’ he asks her, as she twirls the ribbon above her head like a rhythmic gymnast.
‘Keep it,’ Amber says. ‘I’m not keen on orange anyway.’
‘Right, you,’ he attempts to ruffle the top of Charlie’s head, which is almost level with his, but Charlie ducks out of the way. ‘Let’s go. See you guys later.’
Jake, Miley and Charlie head off, and I turn to face Amber.
‘Right,’ Amber says. ‘It’s your turn to man the shop for a while.’
‘Where are you going?’ I ask as she heads for the door.
‘To get some milk so we can have a cuppa, of course,’ she says, grinning at her use of the English slang. ‘Then you can tell me all about where you went with Charlie.’
Seventeen
Thistle – Misanthropy
The shop is quiet through what little is left of the morning and through lunchtime. In the early afternoon we see a few tourists, but most people pass us by on their way down to the harbour carrying pasties, ice creams and cakes for impromptu picnics in the spring sunshine.
‘Don’t worry,’ Amber says as she begins to cash up the till at the end of our first day. ‘We’re new here, people aren’t used to buying fresh flowers on their high street yet, and remember there’s that – what did Harriet call it, a “jamboree”? – at the church today. That might be taking a few people away. It’ll pick up.’
‘Possibly,’ I say from my position by the door where I’ve been on and off for much of the day, gulping down fresh air as the waves of nausea return whenever I get a waft of the sweet scent of roses.
‘It will,’ Amber says positively. ‘I just know it. And I’m never wrong!’
I smile at her. Amber is the complete antithesis to me. She’s always so upbeat and optimistic. Whereas I tend to expect the worst in people, Amber invariably sees the best. She’s good for me to be around, and I feel lighter as a result of spending so much time with her.
‘What’s so interesting outside?’ Amber asks. ‘You’ve been standing by that door all afternoon.’
‘I was looking up at Trecarlan,’ I tell her. This wasn’t a lie; I had spent some of my time doing this.
‘That old castle on the hill?’ Amber asks. ‘I’ve seen that. Who lives there, do you know?’
‘I’m not sure about now, but when I was a child the castle was owned by Stan, an elderly eccentric who everyone thought was a bit mad.’
