Page 35 of For My Finale
Plus, Blossom had her own problems going on. The cafe. The cafe that for some reason she was lying about and pretending not to be concerned about.
Lilah sucked her teeth for a second, then came to a decision.She emptied the sink of water, left the damn trousers where they were, and dried her hands on a tea towel.
She had to admit that Blossom had helped her, and she wasn’t ungrateful. Despite the amount of animal manure helping had exposed her too. Blossom had set her on a path and she was thankful for that. The least she could do was return the favor. Or as close to it as she could get.
She straightened up, squared her shoulders and strode out of the backdoor and into the garden. She did pause in her striding just momentarily to check for signs of bulls or any other animals that Blossom might see fit to keep around the place. Seeing none, she marched straight over to the washing line.
The sun was warm, the scent of fresh laundry filled the air. Lilah put her hands on her hips. “We need to talk.”
Blossom looked up in surprise, then she pulled a face. “I know, I know. You’ve tried three jobs. I can’t clean today, Lilah. I’ve got things to do, but—”
“It’s not about cleaning,” Lilah said. “It’s about you.”
“Oh,” said Blossom.
“Yes, oh, and I won’t be put off. Or lied to like Ives. Put your washing up, get me a drink, and then we’ve got some talking to do.”
LILAH LEANED BACK in her chair, stretching her legs out as she regarded Blossom across the small wooden table in the garden. The sun was high overhead and Blossom had beads of sweat on her forehead that matched the beads of condensation on the glasses in front of them.
She also had her arms crossed tightly over her chest, like she needed to protect herself, her lips pressed together so that they were almost white as she stared at the ground.
“It was obvious when you saw that sign,” Lilah said gently. “I know all about your cafe problems. And it’s all very well telling Ives that everything is fine, but a liar recognizes a liar, and I’ve spent my entire life lying to a camera. This new coffee shop opening up is a problem for you. A big one.”
Blossom shifted in her seat. “And what of it?”
Lilah ignored that. “So, what’s the plan?”
With a short laugh, Blossom rubbed her hands over her face and exhaled. “Plan?” she echoed. “What plan? There isn’t one.”
“What do you mean, you don’t have a plan?” Lilah asked.
Blossom let out another sigh, the kind that was more exhaustion than breath. “I mean, I don’t think that I can actually do anything about it. What am I supposed to do, Lilah? The big chain coffee shop is coming whether I like it or not. They have money, resources, they could probably eat me alive. I can’t fight that.”
“Jesus,” Lilah said, sitting back. “Well, you definitely can’t with an attitude like that. You’re insane, you know that?”
Blossom blinked at her. “Excuse me?”
Lilah took a calming breath, determined to keep her patience and actually be helpful, sat forward again and leaned her elbows on the table. “Blossom, do you know how many people saw my last movie?”
“No,” Blossom said with a shrug.
“Sixty million.”
Blossom let out a low whistle. “That’s a lot of people.”
“Exactly,” said Lilah. “And do you know what each of those sixty million people was?”
“Um, a moviegoer?” guessed Blossom.
“A single person,” corrected Lilah. “One person who made the decision to buy a ticket and go and see a film.”
“Alright…” Blossom’s brow furrowed. “What’s your point?”
“My point is that individuals add up. If every person in the world thought that their decisions and actions didn’t matter, then nothing would ever happen. No one person decides who’s president, it takes millions. And yet if each of those individuals thought they couldn’t enact change, nobody would be president. You’ve already convinced yourself that you can’t change anything. But my question to you is, if you can’t, then who can?”
For a moment it was quiet, just the birds chirping away. Blossom looked down at the table, fiddling with a loose splinterof wood. “You really think I can change things?” she asked quietly.
“If you don’t, who will?” asked Lilah. “This is yours to protect, you built it, you own it, who better to fight for it than you? I don’t really understand why you’re doubting yourself. You had the strength to build a business, why would you lack the strength to save it?”
