Elly nodded, even though she had no idea what Ardelle was talking about. “Do you want some pizza? There’s plenty out there.”
“Pizza? For me? Do not insult me with your common food. I brought my own.” Ardelle pulled out a picnic basket – a basket! thought Elly – from under the table. She delicately unpacked several thin slices of cheese, a tiny handful of crackers, a single wineglass and a small bottle of wine.
Elly shifted uncomfortably. “Uh - is that alcohol?”
Ardelle poured, swirled, sniffed and took a long sip. “Of course. One cannot design without wine.”
Normally, Elly would have grabbed the bottle, thrown it in the trash and reprimanded a worker for drinking on the job, but today was not that day. She grabbed her coffee mug from the shelf. “Fill ’er up”.
Ardelle thoughtfully chewed on a piece of cheddar. “Your young worker told me all about zis wedding, your ex-husband and his lover? Such an interesting scandal for such a plain little shop.”
Elly leaned back against the door. “I can’t believe it myself. I’ve never been a scandalous type of woman.”
Ardelle drank deeply from her wineglass. Elly watched, impressed by her voracious guzzling.
“Every woman needs a scandal. It’s what lets us show zem our teeth.”
Elly smiled and leaned her head back. She could barely see the shop’s exposed beams through the white orchids, exploding from the tall gold candelabras.
“All this is really beautiful. Even though it’s the worst thing I could possibly imagine, it’s still beautiful.”
Ardelle brushed off her hands and tucked her ridiculous picnic basket under the counter. “When you work with beautiful things every day, it can be difficult to see real beauty.”
Elly squinted at Ardelle, surprised at the wisdom pouring forth from this boozy Parisian.
“Now, back to work in the squalor!” Ardelle announced. She looked over at Elly, annoyed. “I cannot work while someone watches me. It destroys all the the magic. One cannot look directly at ze sun.”
Elly headed back to her table. She made quick work of the personal flowers, wiring and taping doughy gardenias, pieces of petite dahlias and tea roses into small bundles, each secured with an antique gold brooch. There were fourteen additional corsages, made of white dendrobium orchids, and twenty boutonnieres for various groomsmen and fathers, all made with white mini-callas and canary mimosa. Snarky Teenager passed her on the way to the back, a slice of pizza hanging out of her mouth. She circled her finger around her temple. “CRAZY,” she announced. She disappeared behind the orchid curtain. Elly looked over the thick contract. Bridesmaids’ bouquets? She made a small check. Personal flowers? Check. Hair Pieces? Elly glanced into the cooler, double checking the pale pink peony she wired to a chocolate lace headband. Check - delicious perfection. She looked over the contract. There was nothing left on this list… except the bridal bouquet. Her heart thudded. Lucia’s bouquet. Lucia, walking down the aisle, looking up into Aaron’s adoring eyes. Lucia, bearing his children, being his wife. Lucia, cradling her husband with her naked body on Elly’s bed. Lucia, carrying this bouquet.
The cry flew from her throat before she could get a handle on herself. She quickly ducked behind the table and covered her mouth with her soil covered hands. She tried in vain to stifle her overwhelming and wrenching sobs, and sat shaking on the floor. It had been a few minutes when Kim crawled up next to her and quietly leaned her head against Elly’s shoulder. They sat for ten minutes in silence, Elly moaning unattractively with big, wet tears rolling off her cheeks and nose, and Kim sitting solidly against her, not saying a word. There was no hair stroking, no hand-holding. She just simply sat. Elly let out her last long wail and then was silent. She sniffled and pushed her hair back. “Now that that’s done...” She pulled herself off the ground, pushing her shoulders against what felt like a rock, bearing its weight against her body. Kim smiled at her, touched her forehead against Elly’s shoulder and waddled back to the front. Elly turned to look at the back room and heard a quick shuffling of feet, as Snarky Teenager and Ardelle hurried to look busy.