All the Sad Little Things

Chapter 5: Roses are Red

Present

The next morning I woke up early to the sound of my alarm. I had to get up and get my butt moving so I could get to work. At the start of the summer I began my new job at the local florist shop. I had been a waitress the last four years at Antonio’s Pizza but the owner had chosen to retire, leaving me jobless. I had walked around town all day filling out applications everywhere even if I wasn’t qualified. I would fake it until I made it or get fired trying. I was desperate and the rent wasn’t going to pay itself. The Flower Den was the very last stop on my job hunt. Thankfully the old man who owned the shop was looking to hire seeing as how he had just let go his last employee. They had been caught stealing from the register. He hadn’t even interviewed me and just put me to work straight away and that was that.

I liked to walk to work on nice days. So, I had to get going just a bit earlier than usual to make it there on time to open the shop. I stepped out of my room and headed down the hall towards the bathroom. As I tiptoed past the girl’s rooms, I could hear quiet moans and giggles coming from Lilly’s room. Mike must have stayed the night. I rolled my eyes and jumped in the shower. The warm water felt so good running down my naked body. I just needed to wash the stink of yesterday off of me and start fresh and clean today. However, I couldn’t quite get Mike out of my head. He had definitely been staring at my breasts last night; that much was obvious. I blushed just thinking about it and began to trace the outline of my n****e with the tips of my fingers. I thought about the way it would feel if he was touching me. I imagined his lips on mine, moving their way down my body. I felt an intense heat in the pit of my stomach and a warm sensation between my thighs. A small moan escaped my lips and I immediately stopped. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked myself mortified by my behavior. I quickly turned off the water and hopped out of the shower. If I didn’t get moving soon I would be late getting to work.

I had made it just in time to open the shop. Thank goodness I was working alone today. I most likely would have received a stern talking to from the owner for cutting it so close. Working at The Flower Den was hard work but I didn’t mind. It kept me extremely busy and helped the day go by a little faster. You wouldn’t think working in a flower shop would be that strenuous but there was much to be done, especially on days when I worked by myself. The delivery trucks stopped by first thing in the morning with the freshest and most beautiful in season flowers. I usually had first pick of the lot seeing as how we were the first stop on their route. Then I would have to catalog everything we had purchased and adjust its value so we would make a profit. Between tidying up the shop, taking orders, making the arrangements, checking inventory, and running the register, it was a time consuming job.

The morning hours had passed and I began to walk around the shop, cleaning up spilled soil and fallen leaves off the floor when I heard the sound of the shop bell ring. “I’ll be right there!” I yelled as I quickly made my way to the front desk. “I am so sorry. I was just tidying up around the shop when I heard you come in. What can I do for you today?” I looked up giving my best customer service smile only for it to disappear immediately when I saw who was standing on the other side of the counter. Mike stood there looking down right at me with a sad sort of puppy dog look about him.

“What? Not happy to see me?” he said as his eyebrows furrowed a bit.

“Excuse me?” I questioned him extremely confused by what he said.

“Your face. When you saw me you looked disappointed.” He sounded and looked a bit sad again.

“No! No! It just threw me off is all, seeing you here after last night.” I wasn’t upset to see him really. Then again, maybe I was. I thought of the giggles and squeals coming from Lilly’s room early this morning and instantly felt annoyed. “What can I help you with today sir?” I asked still trying to be professional. Mike’s face began to flush a bit.

“How do I go about ordering flowers for someone?” His cheeks got redder. “I’ve never done this before.” Somehow I doubted that very much.

“Well, I can do that for you now. All you have to do is give me your information and tell me where you want the arrangement to go.” I began pulling up the forms on the computer when Mike stopped me.

“Is there a way to do this more privately?” he said nervously. “It’s kind of personal.”

“Oh! I see.” It all began to click now. He wanted to purchase flowers for Lilly. She must have really rocked his world last night for him to want to buy her flowers. I started to feel annoyed again. Why was I so bothered by this? Lilly literally had s*x with everyone and brought a new guy to our apartment every week. How was this any different? “You could always order through our website.” I could see the panic ease a little in his eyes. Oh! Those beautiful eyes of his. I had almost forgotten how perfectly hazel they were. Surrounded by all the plants in the shop they popped more green today. “Everything is completely confidential except for the arrangement details and delivery address of course. The printer prints all your details and message out and seals it in an envelope. Completely confidential I promise.” He still seemed a bit unsure but I could see that his anxiousness was subsiding. “Or, you could order through another website if you are still on the fence.”

“Ok! Thanks!” He sounded relieved. He was probably worried I’d see his message to Lilly. “I think I’ll go ahead and just order online if that’s ok.”

“Absolutely.” I said as I exited out of the arrangement forms on the computer. “Can I help you with anything else today sir?” He looked at me and let out a soft chuckle.

“That’ll be all miss.” he said with a soft low voice just like a cowboy in an old western film. I think he was mocking me for calling him sir. I smirked and watched him turn and walk towards the door. “You all have a good day now. Ya hear?” he said, tipping an invisible hat, and walking out the door. He was definitely mocking me.

The order came in about a half hour after Mike had left the shop. I knew it was him because the delivery address belonged to my apartment. Just as I had told Mike, all the personal information was completely hidden and only the delivery driver could see the name of the person receiving the arrangement upon delivery through the computer system. As I read the order I noticed that instead of picking an arrangement, Mike had placed a note in the comment section. The note said,

“Whatever you like. You know best.” I scanned the order looking for the amount he spent for the arrangement. One hundred and twenty dollars! I just about spit out the tea I had been sipping on.

“Man! Lilly must give amazing head.” I muttered under my breath. I wasn’t really sure what flowers Lilly liked. I’m not sure we had ever even talked about it. I could go traditional and do a couple dozen of red roses. But, to be completely honest, I hated red roses. One hundred and twenty dollars could make for an absolutely gorgeous arrangement and he did say I knew best.

Despite my judgment on this whole situation, I put together the most lovely bouquet of flowers for Lilly. After all, she was one of my closest friends and if I made her a bad arrangement I would probably never hear the end of it. I chose peaches, oranges, pinks, and yellows to match the sunrise I watched come up this morning on my way to work. It was stunning and my hopes were that Lilly would love it too. I was able to finish the order just in time for the last round of deliveries for the day. If I would have drove that morning I could have just taken it to her myself but I had decided to walk even though I was running late. Finally, it was time to close up for the evening and start my walk back to my apartment. I didn’t enjoy the walk back as much as the walk to work. Even in the summer this small college town had a buzzing night life. The restaurants and breweries were always packed and there were always parties going on somewhere. The side walks outside of these establishments were always crowded with already drunk men and women waiting for a table. I tried moving my way through the crowd as quickly as I could. Everyone smelled of sweat and alcohol. I hated that smell so much. My skin began to crawl and I pushed past all the people on the street finally breaking free from their overwhelming presence. Just a couple more blocks and I’d be home.

I finally reached my apartment and let out a sigh of relief. But before heading inside I looked over in the direction of our new neighbors place. There they were. All three of them, sitting out on the porch, drinking a beer, staring right back at me.

“Well, howdy neighbor!” Zander yelled in an over enthusiastic southern accent. Mike must have told them about our meeting at the flower shop today. I waved hello, unlocked the door, and hurried inside as fast as I could. I could barely get inside before I got ambushed by the girls. They grabbed me and pulled me into the kitchen and directed me over to the counter where the arrangement I had made earlier sat. We all stood there and stared at the flowers for what seemed like forever.

“Well? Open it!” Kelly squealed, giving me a nudge. I was so confused. Lilly rolled her eyes and grabbed the envelope from the bouquet and thrusted it towards my hands.

“They better not be from Scott.” Lilly said with a sneer. “If they are, they’re going in the trash.” I already knew they weren’t. I looked down at the envelope and in big bold letters was my name, Emma.

“This is a mistake!” I said quietly. I suddenly became aware of how angry Lilly would be if Mike had gotten Lilly’s and my name mixed up.

“Oh for God’s sake! Just open it already! We are dying of old age over here!” Lilly snatched the envelope from my hands and tore it open, reading the message inside. I stood in horror watching her read the message just waiting for her to unleash her fury. “What the actual hell Emma?” Kelly looked terrified and took the envelope from Lilly. Kelly looked up at me and gave me a smirk.

“Emma! You dog!” Kelly said handing me back the envelope. I looked down at my name on the envelope again and turned the message over to finally read it. The note said:

“Dear Emma,

Very sorry about the breaking and entering last night. I hope you can forgive me and let me take you out to dinner sometime as an apology. You disappeared so quickly last night and we didn’t get the chance to really talk. Please accept these flowers as my sincere apology until then.

Your neighbor,

Sir”

I smiled at the thought of Mike using the word sir to sign the message. He had a good sense of humor and I liked that very much. I suddenly remembered the girls standing there, waiting in anticipation for some kind of explanation. I looked at Lilly nervously.

“Well!” Which one is it you little slut?” Lilly said it jokingly but I could feel the slight annoyance in her voice. She grabbed the message from my hand again, searching it for clues.

“It’s from Mike.” I said terrified, waiting for Lilly to lunge at me. Instead, the girls just stood there and looked at me for an explanation. I told them about everything that had happened at the shop earlier that day, how Mike came in asking how to order flowers, that I had made the arrangement myself. “I thought they were for you Lilly! I swear. After Mike spent the night last night, I thought he was ordering them for you. I’m so sorry.” I begged and pleaded for her forgiveness.

“What are you talking about Emma. Mike didn’t spend the night last night.” Lilly looked just as confused as I was. “Zander was with me last night.”

“I thought you and Mike, after the way you and him were all over each other last night.” My brain began to hurt. What was going on? I looked to the girls for clarity.

“Yeah! I was trying to get into Mike’s pants last night but he obviously didn’t feel the same.” Lilly sounded a little salty. “He got up and left shortly after you went to bed. He said he was tired too and that he was going home to get some sleep. So, I was horny and Zander was too and one thing led to another.”

It all started to make sense now. I had never actually seen Mike this morning on my way to the shower. I just heard Lilly and Zander fooling around and assumed it was Mike that had stayed over. The dust finally began to settle and I could see a whole lot clearer now. “Red roses would have been prettier.” Lilly said looking the flowers over and picking at them. I gently scooped them up in my arms and carried them to my room. I placed the flowers on the stand beside my bed, sat down and read the message in my hand over and over again. I could feel the smile on my face growing a little more each time I read it.

“Well played sir.” I whispered under my breath, looking back up at my flowers. They really were beautiful.