I remembered then a framed print my mum had had hanging in the hallway of my childhood home: a vase of flowers in front of a window showing a rainy day outside with the sloganno rain, no flowersat the bottom. If that wasn’t a slogan for how things were on the farm right now, I didn’t know what would be.
Snapping myself to attention, I left the window to get ready to meet Mary. It was going to be a long day, which I was ready to embrace; we were going to the wholesaler and then I’d lend her a hand at the flower shop before trying to find us some help with the naughty ponies. It would be good to be busy so I wouldn’t have to think about saying goodbye to Blake. I hurried into the bathroom, had a shower and got dressed in record time before I went downstairs to find Willow was also up early.
‘I couldn’t sleep thinking about everything that happened and what we need to do today,’ she explained as I poured myself a mug of coffee. She’d made a large pot and also had a rack of toast out with the butter dish and homemade jam plus a bowl of fruit.
‘I know what you mean; I was pretty restless too. I know I can help with the ponies and I’ll find us some punnets for the pick-your-own. I’ll come back as early as possible to help with the clear-up operation.’
She smiled. ‘I’m so glad you’re here. I had this idea at about 2a.m. Look…’ She showed me a picture on her phone of a wooden swing with sunflowers behind it. ‘I saw this on my friend Amy’s Instagram. She posted about our pumpkin patch last year and that really helped bring us more visitors. I thought we could put a swing in the area Blossom trampled so people will think there is a deliberate cleared patch in the sunflowers, and it also turns it into a photo opportunity. What do you think?’
I smiled. ‘That will look so cute, and will definitely look like there is meant to be a gap in the sunflowers. I could find some faux ones to drape around it today?’
‘That’s a great idea. That will look perfect.’
‘Um… can you build a swing then?’ I knew my cousin was handy around the farm but I had no idea if she could do something like that.
‘Hopefully, but I’ll go and see Dave in the DIY shop and pick his brains. I’ll offer him a beer or two if he can lend a hand. He’ll have the wood and rope we need for it. Dylan is grabbing the wheelbarrows from the barn for the clear-up. Sabrina said she’d come over as early as she can to help me and Dylan clear things up too and I’ll call the weekend help in a bit as I don’t want Dad doing too much physical work. I think me and Taylor did get through to him but he has the Connor stubbornness.’
‘We all do,’ I replied with a grin. I took a gulp of coffee. ‘How about using the tractor you said is broken in the barn? You could also put it out in the strawberry field in the bare patch. People could use that in photos. It would look like we’d cleared it deliberately then.’
‘Brilliant idea.’ Willow let out a puff of air. ‘We might actually be able to salvage it all ready for opening on Wednesday then. Dylan is going to start taking photos for our social media accounts and publicise the opening in town later so hopefully, if we can make it look as perfect as possible over the weekend, we will be all set. Honestly, there is always a last-minute drama around here!’
‘It will all look great, I’m sure of it. And if I can get us help with the ponies, maybe you’ll forgive them.’ We looked at each other. That was going to be a tall order, that was for sure.
Willow took a bite of a slice of toast. ‘Before you head off, how are you feeling about Blake?’
‘I know that I should be fine. I knew him like two weeks! But we had so much in common and we had this connection; it felt a little bit like fate that we arrived here together – is that crazy?’
‘No. I felt like that with Dylan. That he’d always meant to turn up at Birch Tree Farm. I mean, I hated him at first! I thought he was going to take the farm away from me, that we’d have to sell to him, but he ended up helping me save it. I think he knew before me that there was something between us. Sometimes, people just come into your life and change it for good. I thought it seemed like that was happening between you two too. I’m sorry he’s gone, Daisy.’
‘Me too.’ I forced a smile. ‘Maybe that was all we were meant to be. He helped me so much. There was a reason we met here, I think. I know what I want now. It’s a shame I didn’t inspire the same change in him. He’s gone back to his life like we didn’t happen, but I just hope he’ll be happy, you know?’
‘You’re sweet. I’d be furious with him,’ she said with a grimace.
‘He never promised me anything. I am upset, sure. I let go of Henry and my old life but he didn’t want to do the same. Or wasn’t ready. Or just didn’t feel the same about me.’ I shook off the pang in my chest that accompanied that thought. ‘I’m going to be fine. I’m here to change my life and I’m planning on doing just that.’
‘You’ll do it, I know you will. And I’m right by your side to help in any way I can.’
I smiled at her. ‘I never thought I’d want to work with flowers like my mum did; I thought it would be too hard. But I know now that I need to do things that bring me joy, even if there are no guarantees they will work out. That is so much better than doing something I don’t like just because it’s easy.’
‘Preaching to the choir here,’ Willow said with a grin. ‘You’re so good at it. The arch you’ve made us is so pretty. And I bet you’ll love working with Mary too.’ She pushed the rack of toast towards me. ‘Fuel up; you’re going to need it. We both will.’
‘Yes, boss,’ I replied, butterflies swirling in my stomach at what might be ahead. It was unknown but exciting too. I glanced out of the window at the birch trees as the gentle rain fell on their branches, their green leaves bouncing back to life as they drank it in, and I realised my summer here was doing the exact same thing to me.
35
It was almost an hour’s drive to the wholesaler. I wasn’t used to so much driving and being this far away out in the countryside after living in the city where I could walk or take a short taxi ride everywhere I needed to go. I didn’t mind, though when I had pretty scenery to enjoy. And Mary was good company too. She had so many stories about her life, and the town and her flower shop, but also, she wasn’t scared to talk about my mum.
‘She was the one who came up with the idea of the pink bike,’ Mary told me as we drove past wildflower fields on either side of the car. It was still drizzling outside so the grey clouds subdued the colours a little bit but Mary had cracked open the car windows and I could smell the flowers as we passed by. ‘I wanted something outside that would catch people’s eyes and she spotted the bike at a shop that used to be on the High Street which sold all kinds of old things. It was a shame we lost that shop; I love second-hand hunting. Anyway, your mum spotted it in there and spent two weeks fixing it up. She suggested adding flowers to it. Now, I can’t imagine the bike not being outside.’
I smiled. ‘She loved second-hand shopping too and upcycling old things,’ I remembered aloud. ‘Our house was full of odd bits of furniture. Nothing really matched.’ I thought about how Henry’s house was styled to perfection; they’d used an interior designer and it was all cream and beige and white and so polished, I’d been nervous to drink or eat anything that might stain. ‘There’s a great shop you should visit nearby, actually.’
I told Mary about Bill’s antiques shop. I wanted to go back and look at everything he had one day. But I didn’t know if it would be too strange without Blake. Mary immediately said she’d have a look in there as soon as she could.
We reached the wholesaler and I was amazed at just how many things they stocked in there. Mary bought some of their fresh flowers, straight from the market, for her shop and some more faux ones as I had cleared out a lot of her stock. I found some wicker punnets that visitors to the farm could use and I also picked up some faux sunflowers and greenery to drape over the swing Willow was going to build. Dylan had looked into engraving a small piece of wood to tie around the punnets with the farm name on so I brought some string to attach them when they arrived.
We carried everything back to the car and then returned to the flower shop where I would help out for the busy Saturday-morning rush. Mary opened the door and put the fresh flowers into buckets of water, moving the bike out the front. I smiled to see my mum’s idea still in action.
I was moving in her footsteps helping out in the shop. It felt good to be close to her again. She had loved flowers and that love had been passed down to me, even if I had tried to ignore it for a long time.
