A lance beneath her breast, caught right in the ribs, making her suck in a breath, wobbling on her heel. Sumi suddenly remembered that despite her daydreams, she didn’t even know this stupid snake, and she didn’t owe him anything. She certainly didn’t need to stand here and be insulted by him.
“Aren’t you the one that said this is a terrible industry to be in? It seems like you should take your own advice if you can’t hack it. You’re a real asshole, you know that? No wonder this place is empty. Your attitude is scaring away all your customers.”
Once again she was taken aback by how fast he was able to move, the push and pull of his muscles propelling him forward in the blink of an eye, his long tail seeming to fill the space, obliging her to take another step back. She watched as Ranar whipped open the cooler door, yanking out stem after stem, turning back to the counter nearly as fast as he had left it. She winced when he slapped the flowers down on the counter, pulling out a length of paper so roughly that the roll vibrated against its spindle.
“Here you go, Ms. Pink Blossom. My regards on your new store. I don’t ever want to see you in here again.”
Sumi wasn’t sure why she hadn’t already left, but she wasn’t going to go quietly now. She grinned as widely as she could, showing as much tooth as she was able, accepting the bouquet. “I’m keeping this, you know. I’m going to press them so that I never forget. Just in case I get it into my head that we can be friends a few months down the road, I’ll look at this and remember — no, that guy is a prick. Good luck, now that you’re actually going to have some competition. You’re going to need it.”
She didn’t look back.You’re going to put him out of your mind. This isn’t that small of a town, you probably never even need to run into him again. You left all of the other worthless shit in your life behind, and you need to put him in that same box.She nodded to herself in the rearview mirror, pulling out of The Perfect Petal’s driveway for the last time. She wasn’t going to let herself cry. He was an asshole and she could forget about him.
Looking down at the wrap of flowers, her lip curled back. Orange lilies and yellow carnations.Hatred and disdain. Charming.
She made it halfway home before her eyes began to burn. It wasn’t even about him, not really. All she could think of as she pulled into the driveway of the house she had been left was the conversation she had shared with ChaoticConcertina.
What if you’re the reason things are like this in the first place?
What if it’s you?
The Art of War
The Day You Deserve
Sumi
ChaoticConcertina:I have the most amazing kid.
Have I told you that already?
Every day I’m astounded by her kindness & her perception for being so young
I have to stop and wonder where she learned it.
Because it sure as shit wasn’t from me or her mother.
Neither of us were ever that good at reading people. Including each other.
Every night we go to the coffee shop together and people watch,
and every night she picks up on something that I ignore completely.
There was a minotaur sitting alone for the longest time, and that means nothing to me.ChaoticConcertina:You know, just some guy sitting alone, big deal.
She said no daddy, he’s waiting for someone. You can tell that he’s anxious.
It’s probably someone he wants to impress, look at how nicely his hooves are shined.
Who notices that? I pass 10 minotaurs a day.
I don’t think I’ve ever looked at their hooves a single time.
Sure enough, a woman comes in and she goes straight to that bull’s table.
See daddy? I told you he was waiting.
ChaoticConcertina:I miss her so much when she’s not here.
And I’m only ever extremely cognizant of that when she is.
