Work Text:
It’s early in the morning when I pet my dog before heading downstairs from my apartment into my flower shop. The sun hasn’t quite risen yet, seeing as it’s 5:30 in the morning. I sigh happily as I unlock the shop so Lexi, my best friend, can get in. I flip the sign on the door to open as well. I put together a few bouquets before Lexi gets in. By the time lunch comes around, we’ve sold a few and made a ton.
When we get back from lunch I look down at the timer on my wrist and sigh as I arrange what feels like the millionth bouquet I’ve done today, I still have over a year until I meet my soulmate. I’ve had the timer since I was born, but I’m so ready for it to beep and fall off. I just want to meet my soulmate. I’m tired of the pitiful looks I get when people see my timer still on my wrist. I’m 25. You usually meet your soulmate by 20.
“Emma, Sweetie, you need to stop worrying about the time left on that stupid timer. It’s not healthy to keep worrying about it like that,” my best friend says as we sit at work.
“Easy for you to say. You have your soulmate, Lex,” I tell her with an exaggerated eye roll and brushing a strand of raven-colored hair out of my face.
“Yes, I do, but I didn’t have him for a very long time. I met him 2 years after you’re supposed to,” she points out.
“Mine is 5 years late, Lex. Plus, it still says I have a whole-” I stop and look down at my timer. It’s changed from over a year to a few days.
“Oh my gosh, Lex! It changed! It went from over a year to 3 days! I wonder what they did to change it so drastically,” I exclaim in excitement.
“Oh my gosh! I have no idea, but I’m excited for you!” she squeals.
I almost snap one of the hydrangeas in the bouquet as I squeal with her in excitement.
I have 3 days, 3 hours, 48 minutes, and 24 seconds left until I meet my soulmate. At least I work in a floral shop in Dallas and it’s the Saturday before Valentine’s day, which is on Wednesday, so I’ll be busy enough to not just sit there staring at my watch all the time.
The bouquet I was working on before our fangirl attack needs a little fixing, so I fix it and put it in the cooler. I start another bouquet that’s going to have red and white roses mixed with some baby’s breath after putting that one away. It takes about 10 or 15 minutes before I’m satisfied with the way it looks, but that’s usual. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to the arrangements.
The shop’s kind of slow today. It’s a small shop called Bambi’s Flowers that’s set up next to Angel’s tattoo shop, but it’s cute and homey inside. We have the regular jobs like teenage boys coming in for a small bouquet for their girlfriend, or a husband looking for just a normal bouquet for their wife, but sometimes we get orders for giant bouquets. I love the giant bouquets, because they’re so much fun to put together.
Another boy, about 17 or 18 comes in looking for a single rose to give his mom for Valentine’s Day, and my heart melts at the sweetness of the gesture. I point him in the direction of our small section that has some singular roses for $5. He thanks me before walking over to the section and looking around for a bit as I go back to my task of putting another bouquet together. I hum a small French song that I learned back in high school as I pluck another bit of baby’s breath from the stem to pass the time.
“You have a beautiful singing voice,” I hear the boy say, and I look up and stop singing quickly, a light blush staining my cheeks.
“Thank you. Did you find what you were looking for?” I ask as I look at the rose in his hand- white, which is a nice change.
“Yup. I love your shop. It feels very homey,” he says.
“Thanks. It’s kind of my pride and joy,” I reply with a smile.
“So you own the shop then?” he asks.
“Yup. I’ve had this shop for about 5 years, now. I live in the apartment upstairs. I love it here,” I say as he hands me the rose to ring up.
“I can see why. I imagine the smell of fresh flowers never grows old,” he says thoughtfully.
“Oh, it never does. I love the smell of flowers,” I tell him.
“Me, too. I know that’s not typical for a guy in high school, but I love them,” he admits.
“Well, if you ever want to work here, I’d be happy to interview you,” I smile as I finish ringing the rose up.
“Seriously? That’d be amazing! Do you have an application for me to fill out first?” he asks excitedly.
“Yeah, sure thing. Why don’t we say interview time’s Monday at 1:30?” I ask him, handing him the application.
“Sounds great! I’m so excited!” he grins widely.
“I’m glad. It’s nice to see someone else this excited about my shop,” I smile.
“I’m Nicholas, by the way,” he smiles back.
“Emma. I hate formalities like making you call me by my last name when I’m like 7 years older than you- if that,” I reply.
“Okay. Emma, it is, then. I’m so excited for Monday! I’m gonna go tell my mom and give her her rose now!” He exclaims, running out of the shop.
I smile as I watch him run off. It’s nice to see someone else as excited about the shop as I am. I get started on another bouquet until someone else comes into the shop. Lex is working on one as well. She’s humming some song from the radio that I don’t know the name of.
After I put the final touches on my bouquet, a man about my age comes in looking for a bouquet for his anniversary today. He proceeds to tell me all about why today is his anniversary and all about his fiancée. He tells me about how they’d been together since high school when he was a sophomore and she was a junior. He shows me a picture of her, and she’s really pretty.
He gets a bouquet of white roses with a single pink one in the middle. He thanks me excitedly and walks out the door after paying. I think about how lucky he is to have met his soulmate so early. Lex sees me space out a bit and gives me a hug to bring me back to reality.
“Thanks, Lex. I needed that. Got a little lost inside my head again,” I tell her as I hug her back.
“Yeah, I kinda noticed,” she laughs.
“It’s just hard when I see people meet theirs so early when mine is 5 years late,” I say.
“I know, Sweetheart, but they’ll be here soon. It’s okay,” she says lightly scratching my back.
“Yeah, but that’s 3 days away from now,” I whine.
“But those 3 days will be nothing when you have your soulmate for the rest of your life,” she points out.
“That’s True. I know I’m just being impatient,” I admit.
“Yeah, you are, and you really don’t need to be. The 3 days you have now are better than the over a year you had before,” she reminds me.
“You’re not wrong,” I tell her.
We go about putting more bouquets together and when a young girl, she’s maybe 14 or so, walks through the door.
“Hi, um, I’m looking for a bouquet for my mom for Valentine’s day,” she says in a small voice.
“Of course, Sweetheart. Now, what kind of flowers does your mom like?” I ask her, stopping my work.
“She likes Tulips, Roses, and Chrysanthemums,” she tells me.
“I have the perfect bouquet for her. I’ll be right back,” I smile. She smiles back excitedly.
I turn around and walk into the big cooler I have for bouquets. I grab the bouquet and walk back out. The girl smiles excitedly and squeals a bit.
“It’s beautiful! She’ll love it!” She finally manages to exclaim.
“Yay! Okay, so that’ll be $21.69,” I tell her after I ring it up.
“Here you go, and you can keep the change,” she smiles at me.
“Thank you! Here’s your bouquet. Have a nice day!” I tell her, handing over her bouquet.
“You, too!” She yells over her shoulder as she leaves.
I sigh with contentment and look around my shop. I think I finally have enough bouquets for Valentine’s Day. The rest of the day goes by super quick, and I’m off the next day. When Monday rolls around I wake up and get breakfast while attempting to keep my French Bulldog, Marie, out of my food.
I get dressed, grab my keys, and head downstairs to walk Marie before I open the shop up. I’m so glad that the leash is long enough for me to put both of my hands in the front pocket of my hoodie, since it’s 5:45 in the morning 3 days before Valentine’s Day. We go our normal morning route, just around the block, and I clean the shop a bit before I officially open up.
Lexi comes in around 6:30 exhausted from her 3-month-old son, Bobby, waking her up every 2 hours in the night. I feel bad for her right now, but I know it’ll get easier on her when he’s a bit older. During her lunch break she just eats a protein bar and crashes in the break room for a well-deserved nap.
Nicholas, the kid from Saturday, comes back for his interview. He’s 30 minutes early, which I applaud. He has on nice jeans and a light blue button-down shirt on. It’s obvious he’s trying to make a good impression. His interview goes really well, so he’s going to start tomorrow.
We start getting really busy after lunch, which helps me keep my mind off of my watch which still has 1 day 9 hours 13 minutes and 30 seconds left. I’m hoping my soulmate doesn’t do something to make it longer again.
All of the next morning is pretty quiet for a Tuesday until after lunch when Nicholas comes in, and started his training. He’s a very quick learner, and by the end of the day, he’s checked out a few people and is super excited to help tomorrow.
I wake up and start the same routine as normal but with a lot more butterflies in my stomach. I have 9 hours 12 minutes and 17 seconds until I meet my soulmate. I’m so excited, but I’m also terrified. What if they don’t like the way I look, or my personality, or my accent? Lex laughs at me when I tell her my concerns after she makes her way in.
“If they don’t like any of that stuff about you, they’re an absolute idiot. You’re amazing, Em. Babies love you, people love you, animals love you, freaking plants love you. If they don’t love you too, then they’re the ones who are messed up,” She tells me, grabbing both of my shoulders to make me look her in the eyes.
“Thanks, Lex,” I say as I wrap my arms around her and pull her into a tight hug.
“No problem, Em. Now, we still have to tag some more bouquets before lunch, right?”
“Yeah, we do. We have a lot of them to do, but it goes quickly,” I tell her as I go grab the roll of barcode stickers from the back.
It takes us maybe an hour to tag all of the bouquets, and by that time we have a little boy- maybe 6 or 7 come in to buy a single pink rose for his mom. He’s really sweet about it and uses ‘please’ and ‘thank you’. His mom is doing a good job with him. He leaves with a huge smile on his face as he runs out the door to, more than likely, school.
As the morning goes on, it starts to pick up a little bit. We have a few guys about my age come in to get a bouquet for their girlfriend or their wife. Some tell me about their significant other,and others choose not to tell me.
I’m panicking the entire time I’m working while I think about what my soulmate will be like. I don’t really care if it’s a guy or a girl. I’ve been over having preferences for a long time. I just want them to accept me. I hope I live up to their expectations after having to wait for so long.
Our lunch break comes quickly, and I kind of fix my makeup and brush my hair out again before taking Marie on a small walk with Lexi. I eat my lunch when we get back, and wait for Nicholas -Nick, he prefers- to show up so we can finish up inventory. He comes in at exactly 1:30 like always. We have a few more customers come in to buy flowers in advance for tomorrow.
An hour or so of inventory goes by, and I stop to look at my timer. I see 1 hour 12 minutes and 7 seconds left. I’m so excited, but I’m also terrified that they won’t like me. I’m all shaky, and I’m not focused. Nick looks at me concerned when I space out for the third time in ten minutes.
“Emma? You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah, I’m fine- just a little nervous. I’m meeting my soulmate in about an hour,” I tell him.
“Oh, goodness. No wonder you’re so spacey. Are you excited?” He says.
“Of course, but I’m also really nervous. What if they don’t want me?” I ask in a small voice.
“Then they’re an absolute idiot. If they don’t want you, they don’t deserve you anyway,” He says in a fierce tone. We’ve become somewhat friends in the little bit he’s been working at Bambi’s for me.
“Thanks, Nick,” I say with a small squeeze to his shoulder.
“Nothing to thank me for. I’m just telling you the truth,” he replies, giving me a one-armed hug.
We get a few more bouquets done between the three of us, and I have a minute left on my timer before I even realize that that much time has passed. I’m fangirling with Nick and Lexi when the bell of the shop jingles and a tall man with fiery red hair and emerald green eyes walks in, and I hear the sound of two timers go off and two small thuds as our timers fall to the floor.
“So this is where ya’ve been hidin’ for so long. I was startin’ to wonder what I’d done wrong once I looked all over at home,” He says as he reaches toward me and brushes a piece of hair behind my ear.
“I thought the same thing. You’re a long way from home now, aren’t you?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I flew here to visit a friend, and your shop looks to have some pretty flowers, so I was gonna have a look ‘round. Now, though, I just wanna take you and geht to know ya,” He admits.
“Well, my name’s Emma Wilson, for starters,” I tell him.
“Davin O’Connor,” he smiles wide.
“I’m Lexi, her best friend, and that’s Nick- also a friend,” Lexi pipes up.
“Nice tah meet the both of ya’s as well,” Davin says, reaching to shake both of their hands.
“So would it be too much trouble tah steal ya ‘way for a bit?” Davin asks me. I look at Lexi and Nick to make sure they’ll be okay without me.
“Go. We can manage the shop for the rest of the day. It’s only a couple hours till closing time anyway,” she says.
“Thanks, Lex. You too, Nick. I’ll call you later,” I say as Davin and I walk out of the shop.
“Is this okay?” Davin asks as he hesitantly reaches for my hand and interlocks our fingers as we walk.
“Of course it’s okay. You’re my soulmate, Davin. I’ve waited entirely too long for you to hold my hand,” I tell him as I look up at him. He’s quite a bit taller than my 5’ 3” self.
“I can say the same. It’s been a long 5 years, indeed. I wish I would’ve come to visit Crevan a lot sooner.” He says, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand.
“Me, too,” I say with a small laugh, swinging our hands slightly as we walk.
“So, you know what I do for a living, but what do you do?” I ask him after a while.
“I’m a journalist, which is also part of the reason I came to America. I have to cover a story on a big corporation here,” He answers with a smile, taking a bit longer to form the word ‘ corporation’ with his thick accent.
“So is it safe to say you enjoy what you do as well?”
“Oh, yes. I love my job. I’ll definitely have to see if we have a branch of the company here,” He tells me with a squeeze to my hand.
“You’d move here? Why? You love your job,” I say with wide eyes.
“Because you’re my soulmate, Emma. My soulmate’s more important than my job. Plus, you can be a journalist anywhere. You’re shop’s here. You can’t really bring that with you,” He says as we stop walking for a second.
“You’re already so sweet to me, and we just met,” I tell him, playfully bumping into him as we start walking again.
“I do want you to come with me and visit my family when I leave to get my stuff from my flat,” He says as a thought.
“I would love to go meet your family, but I’ve never left the country, so I’m a little nervous,” I tell him.
“Don’t be nervous, Love. You’ll be fine. My family will love you, and I’ll show you around a little,” He reassures me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.
“I’ve always heard it’s pretty, but I’ve never been able to go. I think Lex and Nick could handle the shop and Marie for a few days, though,” I say, leaning into him.
“Marie?” He asks.
“Oh, yeah. She’s my French Bulldog puppy,” I tell him.
“Aww. Well, I’d love to see her later,” He says with a smile.
“She’ll love you. She pretty much loves everybody,”
“Well that’s good. I’d hate to have your dog not like me,”
We eventually end up in a little hamburger place in town, and we both get a double bacon cheeseburger and fries- just happily eating and talking occasionally about our lives. When dinner’s done, Davin comes back to my apartment with me. It’s the first night that I sleep well in a long time. My heart swells when Davin rolls over in his sleep, wraps both arms around my waist, and buries his face in my hair with a small, content sigh. Getting to kiss his lips first thing in the morning makes the extra 5 years without him so worth it.