Page 25 of Finally Mine
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“You look great,” Harper said with enthusiasm.
“Thanks,” Gloria replied automatically. Her friend had reported that same fact four times now, and she wondered if Harper were even more nervous than she was. She’d dipped into her slim stash of cash for the outfit. Red espadrilles, navy cropped pants with white blooms everywhere, and a white short-sleeved sweater. An investment in her future. If she had one.
Harper chattered on about floral designs and the industry, waving her hands in excitement.
Gloria thought about the Gloria Who Left Glenn After the First Time. Where would she work? She wouldn’t be terrified of job interviews. She’d sweep into them, utterly fashionable and perfectly poised, with a confidence that convinced everyone she was the best fit for the job. Other Gloria would be important. She’d fill an essential role. Indispensable, her annual reviews would say when they were delivered with a hefty bonus.
“Claire says that Della and Fred are the nicest people in the world, and they’re not necessarily looking for experience but someone with enthusiasm,” Harper continued, bringing Gloria back to her current reality.
“Enthusiasm,” Gloria repeated. Her thoughts had been a blur set on repeat since lunch with Aldo two days before. The man wanted to date her. But not the her now. The six months into the future her. What if six months into the future Gloria was no different than the current “poor little Gloria Parker?” What if she were a cabaret singer in Reno? What if—
“I have a good feeling about this,” Harper insisted, drawing her from her thoughts.
The owners at Blooms had reached out to Gloria at the behest of Luke Garrison’s mother, a part-time florist, about a job managing the flower shop. Both Fred and Della were looking to free up more of their time to start traveling. The RV was waxed and gassed up, ready to go for the summer. But they needed someone who could handle the day-to-day of the business.
“Do you really think I can manage a business?” Gloria asked. There was no way she was getting this job. They would have to be insane to hire her.
“Do I look like an office manager to you?” Harper teased. “Every job is the same. You learn the people, and you learn one task at a time. Boom. You’re a vital, contributing employee.”
Gloria wasn’t quite as confident as Harper.
The interview request had come when she was minutes away from applying for a job at a fast food drive-thru. To be fair, Gloria didn’t have any experience there either. She would rather surround herself with flowers than hurried people throwing orders and money at her through a greasy window. But she’d do either and be damned grateful.
Physically, she was healed. And she wasn’t going to get anywhere emotionally until she could become a productive member of society.
Blooms was housed in a cheery glass and wood-shingled building on the outskirts of town. A riot of colorful flowers crowded the front windows, giving the place the look of an exotic forest. It evensmelledbeautiful.
Gloria’s espadrilles froze on the sidewalk. “I don’t think I can do this.” It was too pretty, too busy, too much. She had no experience. Two weeks ago, her goal in life had been not to take another punch. What the hell did she know about lilies and…hell. She couldn’t even name another flower off the top of her head. She was going to vomit on the sidewalk. That would be a stellar first impression.
Harper snapped her fingers in front of Gloria’s face. “Hey! You tell that voice to shut the hell up.”
“What voice?” Gloria asked, turning her back on Blooms, not able to bear the disappointment.
“The voice that is telling you you’re worthless, you’re nothing, you’ll never make anything of yourself. Blah blah blah.”
“How did you know?” Gloria asked. She’d started talking to herself a while ago for company. Pathetic. She knew it. But if she’d suddenly lost the ability to keep her thoughts to herself in the company of others, she needed more than one appointment with a therapist.
“I’ve had those voices,” Harper said simply. “Spoiler alert: they only tell lies.”
Gloria clenched her hands into fists and crossed her arms. “How do you get them to stop?”
“What would you do if someone came up to me right now and told me I had a stupid, ugly face?” Harper asked.
Gloria couldn’t imagine anyone telling Harper that…and living to tell the tale.
“You’d defend me or tell me it wasn’t true,” Harper steamrolled on. “Talk to yourself like you’re your own best friend and those other voices will leave you alone.”
Huh. Easier said than done.
“Just try it,” Harper insisted, sensing her reluctance.
“Do you really think I can do this?” Gloria asked, watching a man in jeans and flannel struggle through the door under a massive pink and ivory bouquet.
“We’re having a baby girl,” he announced to them and practically skipped to his car in the parking lot.
“Congratulations,” Gloria called after him.
