The snow had been falling since before sunrise, thick and heavy, piling against the storefronts like winter was trying to bury the whole town of Maple Bend under one giant blanket of cold. By noon, the snowdrifts outside the flower shop, Tuli, were tall enough to swallow Breanna Whatley's ankles every time she stepped outside to clear the welcome mat. And the wind? Not getting any better. It was on a personal mission to ruin her life. There should be no reason whatsoever why it should be blowing directly in her face, no matter which way she turned. Whipping her hair around and making her cheeks sting until she wondered if the weather itself was trying to pick a fight with her.
Inside Tuli, though, everything was warm and full of color. Soft lights wrapped around the ceiling beams, and it made the whole place feel like a safe, heated blanket surviving in the middle of December. Buckets of tulips, roses, daisies, carnations, and winter greenery lined the walls, filling the air with a bright, sweet scent that followed Breanna wherever she went. It smelled like life. Like one thing, winter never manages to freeze.
As the hours went by, customers kept coming in nonstop. December always had that chaotic mix of birthdays, holiday parties, Christmas proposals, holiday parties, and those sweet little moments where someone said they just wanted to surprise their person with flowers. Those were the worst. Not because she disliked the customers. In fact, she loved them. She always smiled at them with that soft, quiet warmth she was known for. But every time someone told her they were buying flowers for someone they loved, something inside her chest tugged a little harder than she would like to admit.
It wasn't jealousy. Not exactly.
It was more of a reminder of everything she didn't have.
Today, the reminder was even sharper. It was her twenty-fifth birthday, and the one person who has said anything about it that morning was the barista at the coffee shop across the street, and that was because he saw the date on her reward card app. He said it with a quick smile while handing her a free muffin. No big deal. No fuss.
And certainly, no flowers.
Breanna wrapped a bouquet of pink roses for a man who said he was proposing tonight. He shifted from foot to foot, practically glowing with excitement.
"Big night," he says. "I think she's gonna say yes."
Breanna tied the ribbon a little tighter. "I hope she says yes." She said, handing the bouquet over.
He left with a grin, the bell above the shop door chiming lightly behind him.
Another happy customer.
Another happy person heading out to someone who would be excited to see them. Another bouquet sent off to brighten someone else's day.
It wasn't that she wanted a proposal or anything dramatic like that. She didn't need grand gestures.
But there's nothing wrong with wanting.
Lord knew she didn't like attention like that. But she wished, especially today, that someone might think of her just because.
Just once.
A simple bouquet. A single flower. Anything that told her she existed in someone else's mind other than her own.
Anything that tells her she's appreciated and deserving of love.
She didn't put herself out there. She kept to herself so deeply that most people only knew her as the nice girl at Tuli whose bows always came out perfect. Well liked, wellmannered, and well hidden.
Evening crept in slowly. The sky outside the windows had turned a heavy gray, the kind that meant the snow wasn't stopping anytime soon. A few customers trickled in after work, grabbing last minute bouquets before hurrying home. The final customer left just before seven, a woman picking up carnations for her sister's graduation party. Once she was gone, the shop fell into a soft, almost lonely silence. The warm lights glowed over the flowers like they were keeping them company.
Breanna flipped the sign to CLOSED, locked the door, and stood still for a moment, looking around at the neat rows of flowers, the nicely swept floor, and the counter where she spent the whole day smiling and helping her customers. There were times where Tuli would feel like a second home, and other times it felt like a bubble where she hid from everything she didn't know how to face.
Grabbing her coat, she wrapped her scarf around her neck and stepped outside. The wind hit her immediately, sliding across her face, damn near messing up her edges she worked so hard on before coming to work.
"You have GOT to be kidding me," She muttered under her breath. "You must have some form of hit list on my ass for you to be attacking me like this." She huffs before covering her face from the opp known as the wind. The wind didn't care; it kept running fades on her, throwing snow in her face anyway. Terrible.
The grocery store was only three blocks away, but the trip felt like a whole adventure on its own. By the time she pushed through the store doors, she felt like she had icicles clinging to her elbows. She already knew what she wanted tonight. Chicken parmesan. Chicken Salad for lunch tomorrow. And a red velvet cake. A whole cake. She wasn't about to settle for a little slice on her birthday, even if she planned on eating it by herself.
She moved down the aisles slowly, letting the brightness and noise of the store fill in the space that had been tightening in her chest all day. Families argued cheerfully over cereal brands. Kids begged for desserts. Couples compared their holiday shopping lists. All of this background noise, she learned to exist around. It was pretty satisfying, better than silence, that's for sure.
She picked out ingredients one by one: Chicken breasts, breadcrumbs- SEASONINGS!
"Oh! Almost forgot to restock. What do I need again? Onion powder, Cinnamon sugar, creole seasoning... oh, I also need Sweet Baby Rays barbecue sauce. Ok... I think that's all."
Ingredient shopping turned into just grocery shopping for the things she needed for the apartment.
As she made her way in the dessert aisle as she finished up, she stared at the cakes for a moment. She wondered what it would feel like if someone surprised her with one instead of her buying herself one every year. She didn't stay long on the thought, though. She grabbed the red velvet cake and set it in the basket with the other items. Red velvet is her favorite flavor over anything else.
As she headed to the checkout, she caught her reflection in the freezer door. Curls slicked into a low bun, nose pink from the cold. Eyes are a little tired, but still soft.
Twenty-five. She turned twenty-five today.
She wondered what her life would look like if she actually let people get close. If she didn't shrink away every time someone tried to know her. Maybe she wouldn't feel so invisible. Maybe someone would have walked into Tuli's with a bouquet just for her.
Her throat tightened for a second. She looked away and set her items on the conveyor belt.
After dinner, she thought to herself how she could figure out how to change things. Maybe twenty-five could be the year she stopped hiding.
But tonight she was going home to cook her dinner, cut herself a slice of cake, and try to treat her birthday like it mattered, even if it was only her.
And in the morning, she'd unlock the doors to Tuli again, ready to smile, ready to work, ready to ignore the part of her that kept hoping someone might walk in with flowers meant just for her.
