The Irrefutable Flame⎪✓

❨06❩

♀︎

"We've only heard great things about you, Dakota," A regular customer smiles at me, her huge engagement ring shining on her ring finger. She twirls her fingers in front of me and squeals before pulling it away again, "I'll look forward to seeing the bouquet at my wedding, you're the absolute best."

I give her my best smile and hand her the jacket she forgot in the back room while selecting which flowers she'd like for her wedding bouquet. She takes it with a grateful smile and I shake my head at her, "No worries, Claire. You know how much I aspire to create the most suitable bouquets for each and every customer."

She nods at me, the sparkling glint in her eyes making it worth it, "I'm so excited, Robert wanted to design the bouquet himself, but I chose to have a color on my dress and could you imagine if he chose another color entirely for the bouquet?"

I giggle at the honest fright in her eyes by the idea, placing some of the flowers in a vase I return her smile, "Good thing you chose to do it then, perhaps it's for the best, huh?"

"Definitely!" She declares with finality. "I'm just fortunate Hetdale has their own professional florist and a very enjoyable one at that, you make it easier to live in such a small town. I can't wait for the big day."

"I appreciate the compliment," I praise with a thankful nod. "We have to support the locals, after all. Speaking of, how is everything going with the opening of your new coffee shop? I'm getting ready for the long lines waiting for iced coffee."

It's like turning on a light switch, when her eyes brighten with satisfaction and she grins at me, "Oh it's perfect! We've only now started preparing furniture and the theme with dark wood and red seats, it almost seems unbelievable how perfectly everything is going. Will you come by when we open, coffee and cookie on the house?"

My eyes widen, "It sure sounds amazing, I'm so excited to see it! And thank you for the offer, but I'd much rather buy it and support you guys." She's about to object, but I cut her off. "Honestly, you support me by purchasing your wedding bouquet, let me do the same for you with your delicious food and beverages."

Her hands raise in surrender and she smiles brightly, "Excellent, okay, I really do appreciate it. I'll slip the opening party invite in here when we know the date," Her eyes widen in awareness as she looks through her purse, pulling out an envelope and slipping it into my hands. "How could I forget? Robert and I want to formally invite you to the wedding as well."

I beam at her, throwing my arms around her, "Oh thank you so much, I would love to come!"

"That's great, Dakota," She grins at me as I pull away from the embrace, physical contact is something I've gotten better at over these past few years of owning a shop with so much love for strangers. "You have a +1 as well, just let us know a month before the date if you wish to invite anyone with you."

"I'll definitely let you know, thank you so much, Claire," I smile at her, and hide the invitation down by the cash register. I'm certain I won't forget it down there, since I will count it before I close down tonight. 

"Dakota," Another customer interrupts our conversation with a sheepish smile, he points at a space on the floor and shakes his head. One of my regulars. "Do you have more of these poppy flowers?"

"You're occupied, but remember to save the date!" Claire shouts over her shoulder as she leaves the shop. 

I hurry over to the customer and smile at him, he gives me a big smile in return. He is one of my most active customers, he loves giving his wife flowers and this is where he buys them every single week. "I don't, I'm sorry, sir. But we'll get more delivered tomorrow if that helps? Hopefully, Mrs. Widoen won't mind waiting for her weekly flower until then."

He smiles at me, a warm laugh leaving him and his frail frame. His eyes look longingly at the tag with poppy flowers, "She won't, but I want to surprise her today, it's our anniversary and I want to show her how much these years have meant for me."

My eyes widen in astonishment and I grin at him, his cheeks flush slightly by my happiness on their account, "Oh, congratulations you two! That must be so incredibly unique."

His eyes fog over in deep thought, "It truly is, we don't know how many more we'll have, so I have to shower her in love. Can you suggest another idea for any beautiful flowers? If anyone knows it then it's you, after all."

I motion for him to accompany me, he does with curiosity lacing his features, "I just received these today, hot pink carnations, a personal favorite of mine and I'm certain Mrs. Widoen will adore them. Their scent is made to create a relaxing atmosphere in the room, maybe that's what you want to go for with her?"

Turning around and showing him the carnations, his eyes widen in happiness, "They're excellent, Dakota! Remind me a lot about my dearest Sally, beautiful and with a spark that you can't necessarily express. These will definitely make her happy."

"Perfect! How many would you like?" I smile at him and prepare to grab a few of them. 

"Six carnations, for the six years it took me to finally get her to like me."

I couldn't imagine her not liking him off the bat, Mr. Widoen has this appeal to him that not a lot of people have anymore. Grabbing the six carnations I bind them quickly and push it into the cash register, "You must be one stubborn man then, sir."

He shrugged while paying for the flowers, "I acknowledged what I wanted, sweetheart. She was everything to me from the beginning, she just had to realize that as well. Now she tells me that I'm bad with my words though, so maybe that was my big flaw back then. The communication skills."

"Your love story must be one for the books, huh?" I joke with him and give him a big smile, making him laugh heartily. 

"Oh if only, both of us have made some mistakes in the past, but I'm still here getting her flowers every week till the day I die."

"I'm sure she appreciates everything you do for her," I praise him, handing the bouquet of carnations to him. 

He respectfully tips his hat at me, "Thank you for your ever so generous spirit, Dakota."

Mr. Widoen walks off when I thank him, he really is an extraordinary man and I'm sure his wife must adore him and his efforts to make sure she feels loved. This is one of the reasons why I absolutely love this job, I get to communicate with customers, hear their stories, understand why they're buying flowers. I get to smile with them, cry with them, laugh with them. I love it.

Looking at the clock when darkness settles comfortably on the sky, I notice that I have to close the shop now. Ensuring that the money adds up, I turn off the sign of 'Life in Bloom', the words now barely noticeable. I loved the name of this shop when I signed the papers, and I genuinely still do, it captures everything this shop is for me. 

Grabbing my purse I give the shop a once over, making sure I accomplished everything that had to be done today. Count the cash register, water the flowers, write in the journal, turn off the lights. Nodding in approval I walk out and lock the door behind me, this is my daily routine and I appreciate every second of it. Particularly the walk home, it always refreshes me and I love the air during the night. This happiness I have is because of my own decisions to challenge the norms and drop out of college, I'm better here.