Late at night, after Lily had fallen asleep, Ivy taught herself how to make bouquets, how many flowers to purchase for every delivery, and how, generally, to manage a flower shop. There was a lot to learn. But numerous customers stopped by each day to ask when she planned to open and when they could place their orders. Apparently, Adeline had told everyone that a “beautiful Harper daughter” was going to take over in her place.
Ivy had never been the favorite among the Harper sisters. But she was the only one who’d stayed, the only one who carried the Bluebell Cove torch. And now that she was pregnant, now that she had Lily, now that she owned a flower shop, people had begun to really take to her. Some neighbors of the flower shop stopped by when they didn’t need to buy anything, just to check in on her and see how she was feeling. People brought loaves of bread: banana, carrot, and sourdough. She had more food than she knew what to do with.
And the flowers! They were such a source of joy for her. She’d begun to develop what felt like unique relationships with each of the blooms. Lilies remained her favorite, of course—but she also adored tulips and sunflowers and hydrangeas. She loved watching her baby fall in love with the flowers and their scents. Every day felt like a gift.
Since Daniel had laughed in her face about the flower shop, Ivy had mostly kept to herself. She hadn’t tried to engage with her husband and hardly talked to him. She’d told him about the pregnancy, but she hadn’t invited him to any of her doctor’s appointments nor updated him on how she was feeling. He’d damaged something that he needed to fix.
When the flower shop had been open for two months, Daniel came by to see it for the first time. It was early May, not long before Lily’s first birthday, and he was dressed in a nice-looking suit jacket and a pair of jeans. It was clear that he’d styled his hair with gel. Rather than compliment him, Ivy squinted, feeling nervous. Was he here to ask for a divorce?
Instead, he set his hands on the counter and gazed around the little space, taking stock of every flower, every bouquet, every bulb that awaited purchase. Lily wasn’t here. Ivy had dropped her off at a babysitter’s place for the day so she could get some real work done. She had enough money to do things like that now. She didn’t have to ask permission.
“This is quite a place,” Daniel said finally.
Ivy made a soft noise in the back of her throat. She couldn’t remember the last time Daniel had complimented her. If what he’d said was really a compliment, that is.
When Ivy didn’t respond, Daniel grew itchy and nervous. “I was wondering if I could take you out to dinner tonight,” he said. It was formal, strange.
“Dinner?” Ivy had dinner plans later. She had a lasagna waiting for them in the freezer. She’d planned to stick it in the oven, serve it to Daniel in front of the television, then go to her little office upstairs to order a boatload of flowers for the weekend.
But Daniel seemed adamant. “I want to talk to you about something,” he said. “It’s important. Can you get a sitter for the baby?”
Ivy swallowed and weighed up how she might get out of this. When she couldn’t figure out a way, she agreed. Daniel said he’d come by at six to pick her up. That was two hours away.
Although she wasn’t sure she cared what she looked like on a date with her passive and unloving husband, Ivy had a few things at the flower shop to prepare herself with. She put on lipstick and a black dress she’d worn for a newspaper photo shoot. She fluffed her hair till it made sense to her. The babysitter agreed to take Lily for the rest of the night, provided that Ivy picked her up before midnight. Ivy agreed. She was surprised to find she was excited. It was date night. That was the kind of thing other women were allowed to enjoy, but not her.
Daniel picked her up at six. He walked right up to the door of the flower shop, holding a bouquet he’d bought from the rival flower shop across town. Ivy’s stomach tightened with dismay. But the truth was, they were beautiful flowers, tulips, and it was the first time Daniel had ever bought them for her. So she accepted them, hating the tears in her eyes.
Did Daniel want to change?
Should she accept that he wanted to change?
Daniel had booked a table at a little Italian restaurant not far from the cliffside overlooking Bluebell Cove itself. From the table, Ivy watched as the moonlight sparkled across the rolling waves. It was a chilly night, but the warm restaurant simmered with the smells of oregano and roasted tomatoes. Daniel ordered sparkling water for the table and abstained from alcohol, a surprise, because she couldn’t have any.
“I still can’t believe we’re going to have another,” Daniel tried to joke.
Ivy sipped her water and tried to smile.
“I hope it’s a boy.” Daniel paused. “But I’ll be happy as long as it’s healthy. No matter what.”
Ivy was amazed to hear Daniel say something he was supposed to say. Normally, he fought to say whatever came to his mind instead.
They ordered pasta and garlic bread. Ivy waited, her heart throbbing.
Suddenly, Daniel stammered, “I just want to tell you how impressed I am.”
Ivy raised her eyebrows, waiting. Daniel had begun to sweat, as though this was all too much for him to bear.
“I mean, you started your own business,” Daniel said. “I never imagined you were capable of that. And I know that I was very, um, vocal about that. I’m sorry, Ivy. But it’s got me thinking about our family. About my future. I mean, maybe I don’t want to be a fisherman? Maybe I’m only a fisherman because it’s what my father did, and what my grandfather did, on down through the line? I’m starting to ask myself what my real dream is. Like you did.”
Ivy leaned back in her chair and set her hands on her pregnant stomach. She’d never seen Daniel so earnest.
“Do you know what that dream might be?” she asked, nervous that he was about to rear up and make fun of her again.
Daniel began to babble about college, about naval engineering, about becoming a pilot. “I used to envision myself as all these different people with all these different lives,” he said. “In retrospect, it’s crazy that I let all those dreams die. It’s like, when you hit seventeen in this town, you have to get real about who you are and where you came from. But maybe our generation doesn’t have to get real anymore. I mean, look at your sisters! Look at Celia and Juliet. They’re out there, doing whatever they want. They don’t care about the Bluebell Cove Inn. They don’t care about our town.”
Ivy didn’t always like to be reminded of her sisters and how wildly uninhibited they were. She sipped her water and reminded herself to stay in the moment. It was truly beautiful what Daniel was telling her. It meant he wanted something more than the status quo.
In the months that followed, Daniel and Ivy fell into a hazy state of love and excitement. With her due date just around the corner, Ivy grew more and more pregnant. Lily took her first steps and said her first words. The Bluebell Cove Inn was bustling, but Ivy didn’t have as much time to devote to it as normal, due to her pregnancy and her demand at the flower shop.
