"I don't understand why you need my opinion, Savannah, I'm pretty sure Ivy can help you to choose the flowers for your boss' party. It's her job after all."
"I know, dear, but I'm very busy and I know you are too. Lunch time is the only free period for us both today and I'll be able to do three things at once: we'll eat delicious food in the flower shop backroom, I'll pick out the arrangements my boss needs and we'll talk a little."
I nod and smile, it's actually a good plan and I'm happy she's called me to come given that I was spending a really boring morning at the office editing a long text for my own boss. Although I must admit it was taking me more time than I expected for the simple reason that I was zoning out while daydreaming with a certain tattoo artist who has turned my peaceful life into a chaos. I was happy, well, not exactly, but I was doing fine adjusting to my new job and having fun with Savannah occasionally... But now, I can't help craving what I can't have: money, sophistication, confidence, beautiful clothes, a bigger apartment, a more interesting and creative job... The kind of stuff a woman like Ruby Rose, the darling of the cultural elite in NY, would find attractive.
There're so many women going crazy for her, so many to choose from, that I don't understand why she decided to sleep with me twice. And the second one, she stayed... Among all the things that have happened lately, that's the weirdest of them all: she was in my studio when I woke up and even bought me breakfast, she talked to me showing interest for my job, my family and future plans, she said she couldn't wait to read one of my novels and my boss would be an asshole if he didn't publish them, she didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave my home but gave me a sweet kiss when she said goodbye. "See you soon," she let out before vanishing. Like she really wanted to see me again... What woman wouldn't daydream about a tattooed goddess after spending a perfect night and morning with her? She even managed to make me forget about my headache and hangover.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure when we'll meet again since I can't afford it. Judging by my boss' sour grimace, I don't think I'll get another commission in a near future.
"Wow..." I mumble surprised.
"I know, you didn't expect this, did you? When people think about New York's flower shops, they picture some fancy decoration and industrial concrete walls, everything clean and diaphanous, but Ivy sticks to classics."
"This is more than classic, it's lovely... It looks like a flower shop from a picturesque street of a French village in Provence or something like that... I love it." The grey stone wall stands out next to the white wooden frames of two bay windows, there're pots full of flowers hanging both sides of the door and more plants in boxes and on small tables on the sidewalk and stairs. The final effect is so beautiful that some people walking past can't help stopping to take some pictures. "Cloris' Kingdom..."
"The Greek goddess of spring and flowers... Let's go, I bet Ivy is waiting for us in the backroom, you'll love it because it looks like an old greenhouse. My friend inherited this small building from her grandparents and has managed to resist every single attempt from unscrupulous businessmen that wanted to buy it in order to build an apartment block."
"God, I hope she doesn't sell it, this place is beautiful."
"She won't do that, believe me, she earns a good living with her job and, in addition to that, she lives in the apartment above the shop but rents the other two floors, she has enough money. She enlarged the shop covering the small inner yard with a glass roof and it's where she keeps flowers in fridges and works on her arrangements... it's a bit chaotic but gorgeous and relaxing at the same time." I walk slowly trying to dodge pewter buckets full of roses and tulips, old bird cages that display cacti and dark wood shelves full of pots, bowls and porcelain figurines till I reach the luminous backroom where a massive wood table stands out although it's covered with so many flowers, green leaves, colourful paper and ribbons, that's barely visible.
