I lean back against the wall next to her. “I need to pick out a new rose for my Grammy’s ninetieth birthday party. Can you help me?”
She pushes off the wall and I catch her perfume. It’s floral.
Imagine that.
But it’s not roses.
Something else equally as pristine and perfect.
And she’s something else, too.
Fiery.
Charming.
Simply beautiful.
Delia
I rememberthat class and I remember him. Who wouldn’t? Joel Yager wastheguy. The one that every girl in high school wanted to know better. The one who wore a black leather jacket and aviators. The one who was the homecoming king, football captain all four years of high school, and he had this smile that he used indiscriminately to drop panties on his whim. Mine always stayed on, and it was like he looked right through me. But I remember how my heart beat fast when he was around. It was an uncomfortable feeling.
I wasn’t always curvy and filled-out in all the places. In high school, I was basically a board—straight with none of the bumps and peaks that I have now. Back then I ate everything in sight and never gained a pound. But when my twenties came, they came on strong and fast. My metabolism did some fancy gymnastics move and overnight it seemed I gained twenty, thirty, fifty, eighty pounds putting me into size 18 and 20 clothing when I had been single digits. It’s been an adjustment and I never thought he’d recognize me. The only thing that hasn’t changed on me is…
I can’t think of anything. I’m different.
He’s not.
He’s still 6’3”, maybe a little taller. He’s still got that chocolate brown hair that flips over like the curl of an ice cream cone above his eyes, and he still has that damn smile. I just wonder if he still has that same panty dropping attitude, too.
I help him pick out a beautiful native to North Carolina rose bush that will fit perfect in her garden. I’ve been to his mother’s garden and if his grandmother’s is even half as beautiful, it’s a ninth wonder after his mother’s, which would be the eighth.
He’s sneezed several more times and each I’ve given him a “bless you”. It’s been nothing but professional. No more misunderstandings. And now I feel a little embarrassed, but I’m not going to tell him that.
We make our way to the register and get him rung up for the plant.
“How long have you worked for…Dirty Hoes?” At least he cringes saying the name and that lets me know he’s still cautious to say the wrong thing.
“About a year and a half. I used to work at the family biz, but my ex still works there, so…”
“He got the family biz and you got kicked out?”
“He is their top salesperson…so…” I shrug. It really is a thorn in my hide that my family chose him over me, but a multi-billion-dollar business needs their sales force, and I was marketing, promotions at that. I’m replaceable and they have another me before my belongings were boxed up for me. But when it comes to Charlie, he’s one of a kind. Really, he’s a weed among men, but I digress.
“Do you like working here?” Joel asks while handing over his credit card.
“I love it. Honestly, it’s a dream to work here. Plants are life. I feel alive when I’m around them. And if you…” I walk around the desk with his receipt in my hand.
“If you what?”
“If you stand silent for a minute, you can actually hear them growing.”
He shakes his head. “You’re fucking with me.”
I still.If only…
I hold out the receipt and his fingers slip over mine, but I don’t let go. “Just listen.”
He steps closer. “Okay.”