Enlightened

Chapter 3

It was the third day of summer break. I jumped out of bed to get ready for work, mostly because I was excited about spending the evening with my friends. I’d been working part-time at Blossom’s Florist, a local flower shop, for the past year. I’d always had a creative flair and I’d been good at designing bouquets and fresh flower arrangements since my very first attempt at making them. I enjoyed the company of my boss, Tania, and the other staff members there, so my job was more like play time than work.

Tyler had volunteered to round up Matthew and Stefanie for some fun at my house later in the evening since I’d be busy at work until 6:00 p.m. I was already anxiously anticipating the night long before my day had even begun.

It was a pleasant drive to work. The air smelled fresh and the sky was a gorgeous blue, slathered with puffy, white clouds — the perfect backdrop to get the creative juices flowing.

I parked alongside the brightly colored brick building to allow our customers to have the best parking out front. The sun was already beaming down hotly; my thermostat showed ninety degrees and it wasn’t even 10:00 a.m. yet. I left a window cracked a couple inches so my car’s interior wouldn’t bake in the heat during my shift.

“Good morning, Tania,” I called out before the front door closed behind me. “How are you this morning?”

“Oh, I’m good honey, how are you doing?” she asked.

“I’m good too. I’m just glad its summer and I’m not grounded anymore.” I answered while putting on my green apron and walking to the back door to help our delivery driver unload our new shipment of flowers and supplies.

“I bet you are, sugar! Just don’t try to have too much fun all at once. You can wear yourself out like that.” Tania’s southern accent was exaggerated, perhaps a little on purpose, but it was so cute I giggled at her.

Mark, our flower delivery guy, was just bringing in the second dolly full of boxes so I helped him get them unloaded.

“Why thanks, Miss Baylie,” Mark said charmingly.

“You’re welcome, glad I can help. We don’t want the flowers to wilt in the heat,” I said.

“We sure don’t! See you next week.” He tipped his hat as he was heading back to his cargo van.

That was the typical hospitality I’d grown accustomed to in Savannah.

“Has Madison already gone on her vacation?” I asked Tania.

“Sure did! Her flight left this morning; she’ll be gone for two weeks touring Europe.”

“That’s awesome! I’m still surprised — I can’t believe her parents let her go. I’m pretty positive my parents wouldn’t let me go on a European vacation without them.”

“Well, honey, she wouldn’t be going either if it wasn’t a church group that she went with,” she explained. “Her parents are strict too.”

“Ah, well — that makes me feel better; sometimes I think I’m more sheltered than the average girl is.” I commented, while starting a bouquet.

The day passed quickly with several customers coming in and making orders. It seemed as though June was a very busy month for birthdays around here. I was bombarded with requests for balloon and flower bouquets before lunch time. Before I knew it, it was time to clock out and head home. Just as I got in my vehicle, my phone rang, it was Tyler.

“Hi, Tyler,” I answered.

“Hey, I got in touch with Matthew and Stefanie, so we’ll all be over at about 8:30 p.m. Stefanie wants to do some sort of treasure hunt,” Tyler started in quickly.