Elly gathered a handful of pale lavender wax flower and weaved it with the yellow ranuculus, sticking it in her tiny vase. “Ahh,” she sighed. One square of inch of perfection in a store filled with chaos. “Tell me about it. I’ve been having horrible nightmares.”
She let the description fall into empty air. Anthony didn’t want to hear about her dreams: dreams in which Lucia chased her through her mother’s empty house, carrying a broken wine glass and screaming at the top of her lungs. Paint dripped down from the walls in a multitude of colors, and Elly was always hopelessly lost, looking for something that she could never find. Lucia pushed her closer and closer to the wall, making the paint drip over Elly’s face. Just as she couldn’t breathe anymore, paint filling her mouth, Lucia’s face would change to Aaron’s and Elly would wake up with a scream, bathed in sweat, her hands clutching the sheets. It took half an hour before her heart stopped hammering enough for her to fall back asleep. Cadbury, sensing the change in her, would lay his heavy head over her lap, his steady breathing finally lulling her into peace.
Elly snapped back to reality. “Mmm…Stress dreams, me too.”
“Can you believe it’s only three days away?” Anthony’s dark eyes lingered on hers. “Are you ready for this, sweetheart?”
No, no, I will never be ready for this, thought Elly, I’ve considered leaving the country every hour.
“I…” her words seemed to melt away.
Anthony put down the broom and flung his wide arm around Elly. “We’re going to be fine. There’s nothing that we can’t do together. Just a short while ago, when you hired me, I had no job, no friends, no money. This store - it’s my livelihood, my social life, it’s everything. So, I’m not gonna let this ship go down, not while I’m here.”
Elly felt like bursting into grateful tears and bit her lip to keep from weeping. “Thanks, Anthony. I think we’ll be okay, too. As long as I have you, I don’t know how I can feel anything but confident.” As she turned back to the buckets, Elly hoped that her voice didn’t betray the excruciating doubt she felt.
At 5 pm, after shutting off the lights to the studio, Elly arrived at her door, eagerly awaiting her leftover enchiladas in the fridge that would be accompanied unashamedly by some ice cream gorging in front of the television. Instead, she saw a familiar inked note taped to the door.
Elly, it read, Please join me tonight for dinner and wine. It seems like you could use a night off.
Elly sighed with contentment. Just when doubts about Isaac seemed to creep up, he always redeemed himself in a big way. It was also his luck that she never got tired of staring at his earthly beauty, running her fingers through his thick curls or kissing him. Oh – Elly felt a tingle run up her spine – kissing him was heavenly. She ran quickly inside, changed into jeans, a grey sweater and silver earrings, along with a splash of perfume on her neck. Cadbury got a quick walk, and rewarded her by dragging his mud-covered paws on the sofa.
Twenty minutes later, Elly stood at Isaac’s door, dizzy with hunger and longing to feel safe somewhere. She gave a soft knock. The door swung open, and Isaac pulled her swiftly against his chest. Elly gasped. In the soft lighting he was ridiculously beautiful. His black henley shirt clung to his chest, and his ripped khaki shorts showed off long and muscular legs.
Elly pulled back from him confused. “Um, are you wearing shorts? It’s November, remember?”
Issac made a serious face and yanked her inside his apartment. “I don’t conform myself to the seasons.”
Elly laughed, but noticed that Isaac didn’t. Oh. He was serious. She quickly sobered.
He nuzzled her neck. “You smell amazing...like the damp earth.”
Elly smiled. “That’s because I’ve been processing greenery all day. On top of that, I had six separate deliveries to schedule and Snarky Teenager seems incapable of getting drivers who can…”
“Wow, that sounds tough” interrupted Isaac. “Come inside, I have something to show you!”
Elly followed him into his bare bones living room, and noticed that it was more empty than usual. “Where is your couch?” she asked.
“I sold it. I felt like it was keeping me away from my true potential… my music was stronger when I sat on the floor or the balcony, so I didn’t want it to be a temptation. By removing the stigma that I have to sit ON something, it allows the whole apartment to be my dwelling place.”
Elly nodded, confused. “Yes…but now you have no couch.”
Isaac kissed her fingertips. “Yes. I have no couch, which is why we will sit on the blanket.” He gestured into the dining room, where a large red afghan was unfolded on the floor, covered in pillows. Two paper plates and wine glasses were set in the middle, surrounded by tiny little votives. He smiled down at her. “I know you had a long week and you have a tough couple of days coming up. I wanted to do something nice for you, Elly.”