“Maybe we should run a promotion,” I tell him. “Flowers and sex toys work for a lot of apologies.”
“But not all, unfortunately!” Harry calls out as he exits in another flurry.
I jot down a note about his order before I glance back to Clay. He’s standing next to a display of cards, and there’s a red heart balloon floating behind him.
“Maybe this isn’t a good time,” he says.
“We’re a busy shop. It tends to be like this all day, but I’ve gotten great at multitasking.”
He nods, and I try to read him as I snip away.
It’s not that I expect everyone to handle casual sex toy conversation on a weekday morning, queer or straight, but there is a certain frankness when you live down the street from a dildo store and a sex club.
Clay doesn’t look uncomfortable in any of the hurtful ways. I don’t see judgment, or disgust, or dismissal in his eyes. If he’s awkward about anything, he seems awkward in his own skin, shuffling from side to side on the squeaky wood floor.
“It’s Sue and Nance,” I tell him. “Make sure to get that part right when you introduce yourself. Are you trying to sell the building immediately?”
“That’s the plan.” He rolls his broad shoulders back. “You’ll hear me upstairs. I’m going to be staying here while I sort this out. I should leave you alone at work, but before I go, can you just explain to me where exactly?—”
The door swings open, and a loud group comes in, the street pouring into the shop as it tends to in the middle of the day. I raise my hands apologetically to Clay. “Just one moment.”
He frowns. “We’ll talk later,” he says and sulks out.
An older man I don’t recognize lifts one of the small bouquets I keep by the counter. “What’s this purple flower?” he asks, pointing at the shooting star. “Could I get a bouquet of these?”
When I finally get another break from customers, I turn and see Nance by the counter. She’s nearly always in a work shirt, like she’s just about to step back into her studio, and today is no exception.
“I saw him arrive this morning.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “He’s here, he’s muddy, and he frowns like bad news coming.”
“He might be a little prickly,” I agree. “But he’s not muddy anymore. You just missed him. Funny story, though. He drove me off the road this morning. Into a ditch!”
“What?” She walks over to my coffee pot. “Hell, Nicky. I didn’t know it was that bad.”
“Drove me off the roadmightbe an exaggeration. It was a mutual ditch situation,” I clarify quickly.
Nance shakes her head as she pours coffee. “He’s stomping around all over the place, and he hasn’t even knocked on our door yet. He must not appreciate who we are. This is just like Randy, you know? Leaving the building to some stranger. Stubborn asshole always had to handle things in a way that made no damn sense. God love him, the idiot.”
“He wouldn’t argue about the stubborn part.”
“What did this grandson tell you? Does he have a plan?”
“What we expected. He wants to sell the building. But I don’t think he has a real plan. He tried to sell it to me.” I think back over the encounter. “Maybe if we ask him nicely and explain the situation, he won’t sell to a developer.”
Nance huffs. “You got a soft heart, Nicky, but don’t forget. We can’t trust the guy any farther than we can throw him. He can make our lives hell if he wants to.”
“Got it,” I assure her. “I will temper my optimism with prudence.”
“Good.”
A Rihanna song comes on the stereo, and the door up front swings open again as Nance wanders out the rear. I’m left with some lingering concern, aware she’s right that Clay could usher in a major problem for us all.
But when I sigh and turn back to my business, the sun shines through the window, and two couples browse on either side of the store, each holding hands and humming, moving along with the music.
I take in a deep inhale of this morning’s floral scent, nature’s seasonal perfume lifting my spirits, and raise a bouquet with my smile back in full force. “Welcome to Blossom,” I tell the happy couples. “Let’s make your day beautiful.”
