“So, he was on fire, and he STILL wanted to get in your pants? What does it take to get him to – you know - calm down?”
Elly laughed. “I don’t KNOW. He was like a lion, ready to pounce. I mean, he seriously prowled towards me. There is no other word for it…he PROWLED.”
Kim licked gelato off her finger. “So, how has it been since then?”
“It’s been…good,” said Elly.
“Why the pause?” Kim arched her eyebrow.
Elly recanted. “Oh, it’s nothing. I think I just need to spend more time with him…and less with his band.”
“His band? That sounds awful.” Kim grinned evilly. “Are you an Everest Oppressed groupie now?”
“I feel like it sometimes. I sit there, and I watch him strum his guitar or lean over the piano with a pencil in his teeth. And it was – no, is – very sexy. I still get the chills when he smiles and me, and I feel like the only woman in the world when I am with him, but…”
“You’re bored.”
“YES. I’m SO bored, but only when he’s with his band. Or talking about his band. Or music in general. Which is a lot of the time. But I know that as his girlfriend, I should be interested in what he is interested in. He loves music, the way I love flowers.” She bit her lip and looked past Kim out onto the busy sidewalk. “Just tell me how I can get him to stop taking me to indie clubs with heavily tattooed waitresses.”
Kim snorted. “I don’t know what to tell you. Are you sure he’s your type?”
Elly spooned a rich chocolate cream into her mouth. “For those eyes, I will make him my type.”
Kim winked at her. “He is gorgeous, that much is true.” Suddenly she sat up, a mortified look on her face. “Oh my gosh, Elly, I just farted! We have to leave. Now!”
Back at the shop, Elly prepped for her meeting with Sunny Kepke. She was doing a centerpiece trial, with full table settings. In the center of the studio, Snarky Teenager, Anthony and Elly transformed her consultation table into a white and gold wedding reception table, fit for a sultan. White phalenopsis orchids and pale yellow mimosa launched from a gold candelabra, cascading down and twisting around the bottom of the table. Crystals dangled from each white taper candle, which was covered with gold Indian beading. Each gold charger held delicate white china with a folded champagne linen napkin topped with a cattalya orchid, which had a delicate monogram painted on its creamy leaf. All around the centerpiece, white candles flickered in mirrored votive cups with a gold lace pattern on the top. In between each votive sat a tiny glass vase holding bundles of individual flowers: yellow tea roses, white gardenias, and white calla lilies. Glistening in the center of the room, the table was luminous.
“Wow, this makes the rest of your store look like CRAP!” declared Snarky Teenager.
Elly shushed her. “Okay, take it all in. I hope she likes it.”
“I don’t know how she couldn’t,” Anthony nudged her shyly. “It’s fabulous.”
Elly eyed it up and down. “Yes, yes it is.”
She turned to Snarky Teenager. “Do you want to sit in on this consultation? I want you to start learning the language and how to meet with clients. I know this particular one is abnormal, but it couldn’t hurt for you to listen in. Do you understand me? JUST LISTEN. Sunny is perhaps the most important client that Posies has ever had.”
Snarky Teenager rolled her eyes. Elly shook a finger at her. “Don’t make that face. I genuinely like Sunny. She’s quite nice, very accommodating, and for a wedding of this size, she has been surprisingly easy to work with.”
Anthony handed her a stack of papers. “You still need a lot of specific questions answered. We don’t have the names of anyone, the ceremony start time, the cocktail layout, and we also need to ask about floral allergies.”
Elly felt like she was preparing for a high school test. She took the papers from Anthony and glanced at her watch. “Okay, she’s coming in five minutes. Places, everyone!”
When Sunny Kepke walked into the store, she gasped and put her hand over her heart. Tears shimmered in her bright eyes.
“Oh Eleanor…it’s BEAUTIFUL.” She walked around the table, her proper white gloves gliding over the chargers and orchids. Delicately, she took her seat next to Snarky Teenager, who was chewing gum, Elly noted with annoyance.
“Okay Sunny, tell me your immediate reaction to the layout in general,” Elly prompted.
“I don’t know what to say – it’s perfection! I love the centerpiece, the way the orchids drape, and these little votives are so elegant. Could we maybe have just a little less greenery around the base here? I think we would want a cleaner look.”