Читать книгу Elly in Love - Colleen Oakes - Страница 13

The idea of a new shop was still bouncing around Elly’s head the next afternoon as she put together a blooming azalea plant for delivery. Anthony, her other head designer was grilling her for details on the fallout with Snarky Teenager. “And then she just stormed out? Just like that?”

“Are you surprised? She’s a flipping banshee.”

He looked confused.

Elly clarified, “Something with a lot of feelings and a very shrill voice.”

He gave her a bemused look. “I’m going to guess by that retelling that you did not win the argument.”

“Well, she left screaming about how my store was old ladyish and that she would not be working today, so I’m not sure that there was a clear winner.”

Anthony perched on a wooden stool and rubbed his thin hair thoughtfully. “I know that she upset you, but you have to remember, she’s only eighteen and she’s not going to think through all her decisions wisely. She’s ruled by hormones.”

“Psycho teenage hormones,” muttered Elly, scribbling a message on a client’s card: “Congrats on your great new BOOBS!” She held up the plant in the sunlight, looking for browning leaves. If this plant was for great new boobs, it had better be flawless.

Anthony cleared his throat. “She looks up to you and Kim. You know she doesn’t have a great home life. Her parents are more worried about their next European vacation than their daughter.”

“That doesn’t excuse rudeness,” replied Elly quietly. “She didn’t even ask to take down my display.”

Anthony nodded, obviously trying to stay neutral, maintaining his role as the wise advisor. “That was very rude, I agree. But do you think she has a point? About opening another store?”

Elly sat down next to Anthony, balancing the heavy pot on her wide thigh. “Maybe. I just … I really don’t know if we could afford it. It would throw Posies’ finances for a loop, that’s for sure. We are perfectly comfortable in the black right now. And do I really want to make my life more complicated?” No, she thought, everything is perfect. For once, everything is good. She didn’t want to rock the boat. Last year had been so emotional, so tangled. Posies was doing great. Elly was doing great. For once, her life was a calm sea. Did she really want to invite chaos in? But a new store … targeted at a younger generation … the thought was becoming more and more appealing the longer she considered it. The fax machine gave a beep, gently jostling Elly out of her train of thought. She gave a shrug and walked over to the machine, glancing at the order. “Romantic arrangement for sixty-five—do you want it?”

Anthony nodded and pulled it out of her hand. “Just give it some thought. And know that you’ll probably have to call her before the day is over. If you don’t act, she’ll be working at Hot Topic within a week, selling fishnet stockings to twelve-year-olds.”

“Right?” Elly was laughing at the thought when the phone rang loudly. “Hey, make sure you use up those fuchsia snapdragons.”

Anthony saluted. “You got it, boss.”

At least someone remembered she was the boss. Elly pulled her hair back into a messy bun as she ran to the phone. She coughed awkwardly as she answered. “Posies, this is Elly speaking.”

“Hello, Elly. My name is Gemma Reynolds, and I’m an associate producer with the television show BlissBride.”

Elly felt as though she received a swift punch to the stomach and suddenly she was very, very hot. Sweat blossomed out from her forehead.

“Um, yes, are you there?”

“Yes. Yes, Jemima, I’m here.”

There was a beat of intense silence. “It’s Gemma, actually.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, sorry.” Elly gave a high, hyena laugh and stopped short. Oh my gosh, Why did I do that? Calm down.

“Right. Elly, we are calling some highly recommended St. Louis vendors to see if your shop would be interested in appearing in a very special St. Louis episode of BlissBride. Are you familiar with the show?”

Are you kidding me? Wednesday nights, after she got back from bible study, she drove up the private driveway to Kim’s house, a bottle of Tintero Moscato D’Asti on the passenger seat. Kim would let Elly put Hadley to bed—the highlight of her week—and then they would curl up on Kim’s couch to watch the most recent episode of BlissBride. The show focused on B-list celebrity weddings, and covered everything from the planning to the big day. The weddings were almost always enormous, and the semifamous brides brought their enormous egos to match. The show reveled in the ridiculous, extravagant details of the wedding (“I just don’t see why it is so hard to get fresh pears covered in gold!” cried a bride on last week’s episode), the vendor meltdowns, and the temper tantrums that were thrown along the way. It was delicious and sinful reality TV, a true guilty pleasure, something that Elly looked forward to every week. So yeah, she was familiar with the show. “Er, yes, I think I might have seen it a couple of times,” Elly lied. She didn’t want to sound desperate. Or did she?

Gemma cleared her throat. “Well, we have a celebrity that, for some reason beyond me, has decided to get married in St. Louis instead of LA or New York, and we are interviewing local vendors to see if they would be interested in participating.”

Elly turned to Anthony, who was standing by her side, snapdragons in hand. She mouthed “BlissBride!” and he began silently freaking out. She forced herself to be calm and in control. “I’ll have to consult with my team first, but I think we would definitely be interested. What would our next step be?” She congratulated herself on staying so professional.

“Well, we interview about three vendors in each category and the vendor that our bride likes best is the one that gets the wedding and the chance to be on national television. We have a viewership of around 1.7 million.”

This is an incredible opportunity, thought Elly, excitedly tapping her hand on the desk. This could be the wedding that puts me on the national map. She cleared her throat. “Well, Jimma, that sounds very interesting. When can we set up an interview? I have Monday open….”

The shrill British voice interrupted her. “We will be doing all our florist interviews next Tuesday. The time is not up for negotiation. We will be there at three p.m. You should have a mock-up of the flowers ready when we arrive and make sure the area is photo-ready. The picture of the mock-up will be used for our bride to make her decision. Her colors are hot pink and navy, with an emphasis on pinstripes.”

Elly rolled her eyes. Holy hideous. “Wow, that sounds really inspired,” Elly lied. “We’re pretty busy this week, but we can definitely come up with something incredible. What is her budget?”

Elly heard a hard laugh, a sound like screeching fingernails. “Are you kidding me? This is….” Then there was a silence and Elly heard the shuffling of papers. “Never mind. We can’t reveal the celebrity until she has officially chosen you as her vendor. Let’s just say that there are some interesting taste levels at work here.” Gemma cleared her throat. “Okay, Elly, well, I will be there on Tuesday around three p.m. for the interview. Please dress appropriately.”

What is that, thought Elly. A track suit? A dress? Work clothing? “Thank you SO much for your time,” Elly said.

“Uh-huh,” tartly replied Gemma, and Elly heard a soft click.

She dropped the receiver onto the desk and turned to Anthony and let out a loud scream. “Ohmygosh! Ohmygosh!” She grabbed his hands, crushing the snapdragon stems. “That was BlissBride and they might want us to be on their show!”

Anthony let out a squeal. “Whose wedding is it?”

“I don’t know!” screamed Elly, and suddenly they were jumping up and down. Elly stopped. “You have really soft hands! What kind of lotion do you use?”

“Apricot!” he yelled back. They jumped and screeched some more. Anthony threw his arms around Elly. “We can do this, right?”

“Heck, yes, of course we can! We are awesome! I wonder who it is.”

Anthony stepped back. “I hope it’s Lisel Jones. She’s all kinds of crazy. Oh my gawd, I love when she throws chairs at people.”

Elly nodded. “I hope we get a soap star. They are so glamorous.” Elly sighed happily. “Or maybe we’ll get a sports star! The Olympics are on soon! Did you know that it was always my dream to be in the Olympics? A figure skater.”

Anthony gave her a sad look. “Darling, I don’t see that being in the cards for you. I think that ship has sailed.”

Elly danced in a small circle. “I can’t believe this is happening! That BlissBride chose our little store! That Posies might be on TV!”

Anthony sat down at the consultation table. “Honestly, I’m not surprised; your designs have no competition in this city and you have such a good way with your brides. It’s a no-brainer in my opinion. What was she like, the lady on the phone?”

“She had the weirdest name … it was like Jima or something, and she was kind of, I don’t know, mean and British.”

“You poor thing. Want me to treat you to an apple indso from Ada’s?”

Elly turned her head. “Hold on—I mean yes, but—what is that noise?” There was a tiny voice echoing through the store. Elly could hear random sharp beeps. “What is that? Is that an alarm somewhere?” She paused. “Oh, no.” She picked up the phone, which was halfway off the receiver. Fearing the worst, she tentatively lifted it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Yes, hello, dear. You didn’t quite hang up the phone,” said Gemma Reynolds.

Elly felt her throat close up. “I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “Did you hear everything?”

“How could I not listen to such stimulating conversation? Of course I heard,” replied Gemma. “It’s not Lisel Jones. But that’s not a bad guess. And you spell my name G-E-M-M-A. It’s really not that hard to say.” She paused. “Good luck on Tuesday.” And then she hung up the phone.

Anthony and Elly sat in silence. “Are they still coming?” he asked.

She gave a silent nod and buried her head in her hands.

He cleared his throat. “Do you need a hug?”

Later that evening, circling her glass of sangria under the stars, Elly found herself going over that hideous moment on the phone again. And again. She had invited Kim over, and now they were sitting together at a small Mexican restaurant in downtown Kirkwood. Large hanging lightbulbs buzzed in the warm night as they laughed and talked. Kim languidly leaned back against her chair, her long hands spread on the cranberry tablecloth, her toffee-colored hair falling over her shoulders in a long braid. “This is too much. It has been way too long since I’ve had a night out. Thanks for getting me out of the house. Hadley is teething, and while I love my little boy, I need a break. Sean’s on call, so if I have to run suddenly, I’m sorry in advance.”

Elly shook her head. “Ah, the life of a urologist’s wife, so terrible.”

“Hey! It’s been intense lately. The hospital is expanding so Sean’s stressed, Hadley’s teeth are coming in, and some days I am so enraptured with love for this baby that I cry, and then other days I am so lonely and I just want to kill everyone, so yeah—good times at the Creeden house.”

Elly smiled. “I think that sounds pretty normal for a new mom. I’ll take Hadley off your hands sometime soon. We can go to the zoo. Would that help?” Elly patted Kim’s hand. “You are a great mom. I know you don’t think so, but you are, absolutely. I’m so glad you came tonight. Who else am I going to talk to about BlissBride? Keith?” The thought of Keith talking in depth about divas and garters and diamond-encrusted wedding cakes made Elly laugh. Kim’s sea-glass eyes glittered in the rosy dusk light. “Really, Elly?”

Elly gave a sigh. “Okay, I did tell him. But you are much more fun to talk to about this.”

“I still can’t believe they called you! This is huge!”

“Kim, I could not have been taken more off-guard. Seriously. You’ve seen the show—they usually do weddings in only New York or LA—I don’t think I’ve ever seen a show set in any other city!”

“That’s where most of them live. The movie stars live in LA, and the music and Broadway stars live in New York.”

Elly twisted her hair around her pinky. “Why would anyone choose to live in LA?”

Kim shrugged. “I like California, I love visiting there. Sean had an interview there recently. I could see myself living there, growing heirloom tomatoes, and playing in the sand with Hadley.”

“You could see yourself living there because you look great in bikinis and surfer shorts,” laughed Elly. “Hefty girls do not belong in areas with beaches. Besides, I visited LA once with Aaron and I absolutely hated it. It was like a concrete jungle. Also, In-N-Out Burger? Totally overrated.”

Kim gave her a gentle smile, the kind of sad smile that said, I’ve never eaten a burger in my life. “So, are you nervous?”

Elly shrugged. “Yes, but I also know they probably won’t pick us, especially after the phone incident with Gemma. Anthony and I were really excited at first, but now I’m leaning more to the practical side. Posies is a lot smaller than the other floral shops in our area. We don’t have the size or status of Clayton Florist, or Babylon, or Sisters. They have more money and a bigger staff, and are probably going to throw their elite social status at the interviewer.”

Kim made a face. “Ugh, you are so negative. Maybe they will pick you because you’re smaller. Perhaps this celebrity is looking for a more intimate experience, with vendors who will really care about them.”

Elly loudly crunched a tortilla chip and pointed at Kim. “You know, I’ve been thinking about that. Here’s the thing: I think that once you’re famous, everyone treats you like you’re special. This woman has probably never had anything but the utmost stellar service from every single person who has ever helped her. I mean, look how far we went for Sunny Kepke, just because she had a ton of money to burn! It’s not wrong, it’s just the way things are.”

Kim nodded. “She was also the mother of your husband’s mistress, so in many ways you treated her way better than she deserved. But maybe your secret celebrity doesn’t want that. Maybe she just wants someone honest who will give her gorgeous flowers.”

“No way. I’m sure rose petals fall at this woman’s feet wherever she walks. And we have to top that. Somehow. Arghhh!!!”

“What?”

“Nothing. I just dropped a chip down my bra and now it is stabbing me. Ugh, I hate chip bra!”

Kim laughed. “That happens to you every time we come here.” Elly’s best friend looked stunning, as always in a striped nautical dress, her wrists dangling with a million gold bracelets. Elly had been feeling daring, and so she was wearing khaki pants and sandals with a teal and black tank top, topped with a long gold necklace. Her arms felt naked and exposed, but at least she was dressing a hair out of her comfort zone. I wore earrings today. That’s a big thing for me.

Suddenly, Elly sat up straight in her chair, alarmed at her own genius. “Kim … what if we actually did that?”

Kim had a quesadilla halfway into her mouth. “Um, did, uh—what?”

“Oh my gosh, I’m amazing! What if we laid rose petals down at her feet? For the interview!”

Kim nodded excitedly and kept chewing. “I see the cogs in your head turning. Tell me more.”

Elly continued, her grin stretching wide. “What if we laid out rose petals, enough to cover the floor of the studio? I mean, how beautiful would that look on camera? As soon as the viewers saw that, the choice would be obvious!” Elly leapt out of her chair and started circling the table. “This is it! The idea to win this thing! Her colors are hot pink and navy and pinstripes.”

Kim made a disgusted face. “Seriously?”

Elly grimaced. “I know, right? Oh, famous people….”

“You say that like you know so many.”

Elly ignored her and began scribbling on a napkin. “We cover the floor with pale-pink rose petals and then make a gorgeous table to match. It will blow them away. Sure, the other florists will do gorgeous work as well, but if we put ourselves forward as a company that will make our celebrity feel like she is walking on rose petals, they will pick us, right? It’s almost too over the top—it teeters on the edge of ridiculous. For a normal bride, it would be. But not a famous one.”

Kim snapped her fingers. “And that is how you will distinguish yourself from the other two florists. It will be such a big impact, color-wise, that they won’t be able to shake the vision from their minds.”

Elly then drew a giant happy face over the entire drawing. “And then we will be on BlissBride!”

“Next up, world domination.” Both women started clapping. Annoyed restaurant patrons looked over at them.

“My friend is going to be on TV!” Kim smiled, showing her perfectly white teeth. The elderly couple smiled back, won over by Kim’s radiant beauty. Elly rolled her eyes before sitting back down and taking a long sip of water. “Kim, I can do this. I can get us onto BlissBride. I know it.”

Kim grabbed her hand. “Absolutely. I’m afraid I won’t be much help, but I’ll keep my schedule as open as I can. I have a baby who keeps me pretty busy with things like poop schedules. Depressing, but true.”

“Oh, right. I forgot you have a baby. Poor Hadley. Two drinks in and we forget about him.” Elly raised her glass and Kim followed. “To walking on rose petals. And to Hadley. May we never forget about him again.” They both giggled.

“Hey, how’s Keith?” Kim asked, slyly changing the subject while wiggling her eyebrows. “Did you guys say the big ‘I love you’ yet?”

Elly blushed. “No, not yet. It might be soon, though. Oh Kim, I’m so over the moon about him.”

Kim smiled. “Well, it doesn’t have to be him that says it. This is the twenty-first century, you know. I’m sure it won’t be long. You are so deep into each other that it makes Sean and me feel like we are the most-boring people on Earth.”

Elly shot Kim an exasperated look. “Right. Tell me, when is he whisking you off to Paris again?”

“I know, I know. But you and Keith are made for each other. Every time he looks at you, I can see his heart growing larger.”

Elly took a bite of her enchilada, tomatillo salsa spilling out from the sides. So good. Everything, so good. She took a deep breath. “Is it weird that I bounce between being extremely happy and worrying that it will all fade? Everything seems so perfect right now.” She felt a familiar twinge in her heart, a deep hurt. There was a bruise there that would never go away.

Kim frowned. “No, I guess I don’t understand.”

Elly took a breath and wiped her mouth, methodically folding her napkin. “The last time I felt that life was perfect, I came home and found my husband being straddled.” She shook her head, hoping to rattle the image lose. “I could care less about Aaron now, but this feeling of things being so sure, so steady, it’s nerve-racking. Whenever I really feel ready to go all in with Keith, I get anxious, as if I can’t fully enjoy it because I’m just waiting for the chips to fall. Its neurotic and it’s ridiculous, and it is all me, letting a healed wound infect my body. I have to work on it. I don’t know that I’m completely ready to give myself over to this….” She smiled and sighed. “This totally amazing man. Am I crazy?”

Kim’s face said yes.

“And I know it’s Keith, Keith in all his perfection. He would never hurt me. I shouldn’t be afraid.” Was she already in love with him? Did he love her?

“Elly, that’s totally okay. You should only say it when you’re ready, completely ready. I don’t see Keith being a man who would push you into that. You’ve been through a lot with men and in a relationship this important, you want to take it slow. Keep your heart light and unjaded. I have a feeling that bitterness grows when you are pushed too fast into something.”

Elly bit her lip. She didn’t feel jaded. She felt only joy with Keith, a lightness of spirit. There was a freedom with him, an abandonment of all the fears and insecurities that she felt about herself. For the first time in a relationship, she felt honored. Yet, in all this bliss, when “I love you” was on the tip on her tongue, a thorn twisted in her heart and made her words fall away into a whirling vortex, a vortex made up of past memories that had no bearing on her current life. She was afraid. She might love Keith, yes, but she was nowhere near being able to say it. Her eyes watered a bit. “So I have trust issues. That’s not anything new. I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Elly mumbled, before taking a bite of Kim’s flan.

“That’s what I thought,” Kim replied. “You have no idea how to handle this, do you?”

Elly wiped her eyes. “You’re super nosy, you know that, right?”

Kim put her hand on Elly’s. “Only about people that I love.”

Elly’s eyes narrowed as they filled with tears. “I get your point. Now, can we please talk more about Hadley? I’m dying to know. Tell me about my godson.”

Kim’s eyes widened with unabashed obsession. “Well, if you must know, he’s developed a habit of putting his toes in his mouth. I want to think it’s disgusting every single time, but when he does it I just grab the camera and take a million pictures, and then I can’t help but cover him with kisses….”

The night ended earlier than it should have.

Elly slowly walked up the dark stairwell to her apartment, humming happily to herself, visions of pink rose petals dancing in her head. She couldn’t believe this was really happening. Chubby little Elly from Peachtree, Georgia might be appearing on BlissBride, on national television! She couldn’t wait to call Keith when she got in. Something about her conversation with Kim made her long to press her lips against his. Maybe he could come over for tea and kissing. That sounded pretty fabulous. At the top of the stairs, Elly fumbled with her keys in the dark, dropping them on the ground. Groaning, she bent over to pick them up and stopped short, her breath catching in her throat. There was something in the doorway. Had Keith left her something? Man, he was impressive. Elly grabbed the keys and flipped on the hallway light, the sterile light washing over her. Then she stood frozen, cold fingers trailing up her arm and rippling up her suddenly tight spine. In front of her door was a dirty backpack. It was neon orange, covered with stains, and a ripped zipper showed the frayed seaming on the inside. It wasn’t the backpack itself that made her hyperventilate and lean against the door. It was that she had seen that backpack earlier that day—on the strange teenager who had so unnerved her and forgotten his flowers. The one who had stared at her with such fervent, deep curiosity. He had been here, at her door, at her home. Was he watching her right now? From inside her apartment, Cadbury began to bark frantically and adrenaline mixed with fear shot through her veins. She silently reached for the phone inside her pocket and began dialing Keith’s number.