“Never. Ever. Try to pick me up again.”
He kissed her shoulder. “Yeah. That didn’t go so well. You’re solid.”
Elly closed her eyes. “And with that thought, I’m going to sleep now.” She curled gently against him, pressing her lips to his temple. Isaac fell back into the sheets, disappointed. Elly slipped into a hazy sleep, barely aware of the new and invisible space between them.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
In the back of the store, Elly stocked tall gold candelabras for the Kepke wedding into her broad storage closet. Dust showering around her, Elly pushed further and further into the space, pushing aside old boxes and praying that spiders were not nesting in her hair. At the very back of the closet, Elly saw a large white bag, hanging on a hook attached to the wall. She sighed. In that bag was her wedding dress, carried in the back of her car all the way from Georgia. She kept it hidden but safe, never really sure what to do with it. Elly purposefully turned her body the other direction so that she would not have to look at it.
After jamming in the last candelabra, followed by bags upon bags of hanging Swarovski crystals, Elly closed the closet door and dusted off her shirt. She bent down and gave Cadbury, who was napping blissfully on the sun drenched floor, a quick peck on his black nose and headed to the front. It was a simmering day at the tail end of August. Late summer light with the promise of fall filtered through the giant windows at the front of the store, which was already decked out with autumn décor. Gold aspen trees arched delicately over the entrance, framing the Posies sign. Inside the store, pumpkins and gourds covered Elly’s desk, and maple leaves hung down from the white chandelier above. A plate full of Keith’s cinnamon cookies sat uncovered in the corner, filling the room with a warm delicious scent. Anthony walked back and forth, humming show tunes and dropping blood red dahlias into amber mason jars for the front display window, while Snarky Teenager updated contracts.
She looked up from her pink glasses.
“Do you have a consultation today?”
“Yes,” answered Elly, moving a yellow squash in front of her computer. “I’m getting gelato with Kim, and then I’m meeting Sunny Kepke to finalize the details of her daughter’s wedding.”
“I think that wedding is going to be a disaster,” she said, twisting her long blond hair around her finger. “TOTAL train wreck”
“Thanks for your encouragement” said Elly, taking a consultation form from the printer. “You exude such a positive energy.”
Snarky Teenager rolled her eyes. “I’m just bringing the real.”
Elly wasn’t even sure what that meant. “Well, I’m just bringing the paycheck, so you better be ready for that wedding.”
“Is Kim helping out?”
“Kim will be due within three weeks of that weekend, so I doubt it. If anything, she will run things here at the shop. She can’t carry anything, but I think between you, me, Anthony and all the temp workers we’ve hired, we should probably be all set.”
“Well, I’m definitely looking forward to it. I bet there will be tons of rich guys there…”
Elly put her hands on Snarky Teenager’s shoulders. “You are not old enough to want to meet rich guys. You need to hang out with your girlfriends, watch a movie, play sports...”
“Get a class ring, go to a sock hop…” Snarky Teenager continued.
Elly gave up. “I’m going to Ada’s for a quick hot chocolate. Do you want anything?”
Snarky Teenager shook her head. “Those drinks are so sugary, you should think about how many calories...” Elly left her talking to herself in the front and poked her head in the back.
“Anthony? Would you like anything?”
Anthony, always unfailingly polite, sniffed a gorgeous red and orange kangaroo paw bouquet. “Yes, may I have a danish?”
“That’s my man.” Elly skipped out of the store. Entering Ada’s, Elly relished in the buzzing energy of the coffee shop. She adored this place, all dim lights and yuppie music. Having a coffee shop a few steps from your work place was both wonderful and dangerous. After picking up her drink and Anthony’s pastry, Elly headed back to the shop, walking extra slowly to enjoy the leaves swirling around her feet.
Early autumn was her favorite time of year in St. Louis. The dripping humidity had subtly vanished into the cool air, and the weather was no longer comparable to hell. Her hair stayed curled for more than an hour, and she adored the feeling of pulling on something other than a thin tank top in the crisp mornings. As she rounded the corner to the shop, she felt a hand brush her waist. Elly jumped, spilling hot chocolate down her ruffled blouse.
“Crap!” she yelled, as hot liquid poured between her breasts.
Isaac looked ashamed. “Wow, that was totally smooth. Good morning gorgeous, how are you – would you like a coffee bath?”
Elly cracked a small smile in his direction. “No coffee. Hot chocolate, remember?”