As she stood, he raised his head and stared at her. His pimply face was a hardened mask, but his bright-blue eyes took in every inch of her. They bore into her, without flinching, full of judgment and curiosity. She was suddenly unsure of what to do with herself. No one had ever looked at her with so much intensity, not even the men she had loved. Elly felt unreasonably nervous as she walked toward him, taking in his appearance and trying to decipher what this imposing but awkward kid could possibly want in her store. A dirty blond shag hung just over his eyes and a chubby chin jutted forward through his greasy mane of hair.
His mouth barely moved. “Flowers. Uh, I guess.” This was all he said, and then he went back to staring at her. The beginnings of a beer belly protruded out in front of him, barely covered by a filthy black T-shirt that featured a smiley face with a bullet hole in the temple. The pale skin of his knees poked through worn-out jeans, and Elly caught a whiff of something that smelled alarmingly like Cheez Whiz. His grungy hands clung tightly to a neon-orange backpack. He looked like he hadn’t had a shower in weeks. Why is he staring at me like that? She thought. It’s like he wants to murder me.
She smiled kindly at him, hoping to prompt a reassuring reply of some sort. “So, you said you are here for some flowers?”
“Uh, yeah. Flowers would be good.”
“Do you know what kind of flowers you have in mind? We have some fresh mint that just came in that smells absolutely resplendent paired with some pinky-orange anemone….” Elly could tell that he wasn’t listening to her. His eyes stayed glued to her face.
“Whatever. Whatever you think. I have ten bucks.”
Fine. Just get out of my store, Elly thought, you are really freaking me out. Her stomach churned, but she kept a professional smile on her face. Something was wrong with this kid. “Are these for a girlfriend? Do you know what color she likes?”
He shook his head. “No girlfriend.” Is he buying flowers for himself?
“Would you like me to pick something out for you?”
“Yeah. Whatever.” He gave a loud, awkward laugh that ended in a snort.
Elly looked up, alarmed.
He wiped his nose with his sleeve. “Sorry. Yeah, that’s fine.”
She walked over to the cooler and began grabbing a mellow mix of green bells of Ireland, cream gerbera daisies, and chocolate-brown artichokes. Since she didn’t know whom the flowers were for, it was safest to stay neutral. A chill crept up her spine, and she knew without a doubt that she was still being watched. She raised her head out of the cooler and caught the teenager staring at her. “Can I help you with something else?” she asked nervously.
His gaze never faltered as she stared back at him. His jaw clenched and he shook his head. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. There was something alarmingly familiar about him, what was it? Am I about to get robbed? Or worse? Elly willed herself to stand up and look at him. She was terrified, but she couldn’t look away. When she faced him, the kid thankfully dropped his eyes down to the floor again. Elly quickly wrapped the flowers with brown paper and twine before laying them down on the consultation table. “Here you go, that will be….”
The boy threw a ten down on the table and walked swiftly out the door, the bells clanking loudly behind him. Elly was left standing alone in the middle of the store, her hand hovering above the cash register. “Um, okay then.” Feeling unnerved, she deposited the bill before she saw the flowers lying on the table. The boy had forgotten his flowers—and she certainly didn’t want him coming back for them later. Grabbing the bunch, she ran out the door. He was nowhere to be seen. Jogging, she made it about halfway up the long block before her legs cried out in pain. Chubby girls were not meant to run. The kid had disappeared into thin air.
Forget it. Elly was not moving any farther. Flowers in hand, she sank down onto a cement ledge in front of Ada’s coffee house. She needed water. On second thought, hot chocolate didn’t sound so bad right about now. “Shoot.” She threw the flowers down in frustration.
A shadow covered the sidewalk in front of her. “May I ask why you appear to be throwing perfectly good flowers on the ground? Have you had it with your ridiculous boyfriend?” Keith sat down beside her, resting his hand lightly on her knee. “I saw you run by my shop window looking crazy.”
Oh Lord. He’s seen me run. Elly had a humiliating vision of her chest bouncing every direction as she ran up the street, and not in a good way.
He gave a deep laugh. “I’ve never seen you run before. I’m not going to lie—it’s pretty great.”
Elly felt embarrassment stirring deep in her chest. “As you may have noticed, my days in cross-country have long passed.”
Keith ran the back of his finger lightly down her cheek. “Elly. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You were never in cross-country.”