I'd always loved this charming stretch of Toronto. It was here that the bustle of the downtown core faded away into the shadows of the skyscrapers, allowing sidewalks and frolicking pedestrians some room to breathe. The quietness would lead right here into Yorkville, a neighborhood of lush trees, minimal traffic, and affluent people who adored strolling around in a love-struck haze.
The affluence and the love haze had always been crucial to my livelihood, given that I owned the neighbourhood's foremost flower shop, which I'd dorkily named "A Rose For All Seasons." It was true, I loved a good pun, and it wasn't so much the content of the stage play "A Man For All Seasons" that I'd liked, but the fact that up until recently, I'd had a man of my own whom I'd adored in all seasons. Yes, even in winter I'd been smitten with Ben, despite his obsession with mid-season hockey, and the way he'd caress me with his dried up "wind-chill" hands. He was a hopeless man who could never be convinced of the virtues of moisturizing shea butter, but I'd loved him all the same.
He'd loved the idea of naming the flower shop after the play, probably because he'd known it was an indirect reference to him. That should've been a sign of his massive ego, but hey...rose-coloured glasses and all that jazz.
I was handling this breakup extremely well for a woman in her thirties forced to start over, and so...if someone wanted to reward me with a gift basket full of my favourite things, like chocolate bars infused with pretzel bits, and Chilean red wine that would go down smooth so I could practically chug it by the bottle, well...I'm sure I would've graciously accepted.
Instead it was mid-July at "A Rose For All Seasons," with late-morning wanderers enjoying the blue-sky day, and me inside the shop, putting together a beautiful bouquet.
"Uhh Lina?" said my assistant.
I turned to find the bright-eyed Anna hovering behind me. Anna was my focused and sensible right arm, who I eclipsed in height, length of dark hair, and (unfortunately) in age. Did she know her resilient skin was incredibly fleeting? Somehow I didn't think she knew.
"Huh?" I finally said. It was the only quasi-word I could manage, as my inner monologue forcibly merged with reality. "How can I help you?" I added, which was also weird since she clearly wasn't a customer.
"It's just..." she started, "you ripped three petals off that Tiger Lily, but then...you still added it into the bouquet."
I laughed at her obvious confusion, before taking a closer look at my handiwork. This array of citrus-coloured flowers was being curated for a guy who wanted to wish his girl a happy birthday, but didn't want her getting any ideas about love. It was some of my finest "early stage of dating" floral work. Except for the Tiger Lily's missing three petals...
"Okay..." I said. "My bad." I shrugged it off because I was the boss, and being a boss absolved everything.
Before I could add more nuggets of wisdom into my future book about management skills, I still had to deal with Anna and her blank stare.
"Why don't you finish this arrangement?" I said.
"Sure," she replied, barely concealing a smile as she swiftly took over. Anna had the skills to do it all, it was just that floor sweeping and ribbon re-stocking tended to monopolize her time. Assistant problems.
I sauntered over to the computer, where I found the customer's personalized message to the girlfriend he didn't love. All I had to do was copy what he'd written in his online order, and paste it into the printable template. I completed step one, and then followed it up with step two. After that I entered a paragraph break, to fix up the wonky formatting. With the formatting now complete, the message was ready for printing: "Hey Babe, wishing you the greatest birthday; you look so good you're aging backwards like Benjamin Button. Hugs, Jake."
The message made me roll my eyes; it seemed he'd forgotten that at the end of the movie "Benjamin Button," Brad Pitt was a confused little boy, and who wants that in a significant other? He obviously wasn't viewing this relationship from a "long-term" perspective, which was probably why he'd signed off with "hugs" instead of "love."
"Hey Anna," I said, "imagine if it was April Fool's Day, and we changed all the messages as a joke; wouldn't that be funny?"
Anna looked up from the flowers and frowned. "I'm not sure 'funny' is the word you're looking for, given that it would sabotage the business."
During her achingly rational response, I'd highlighted the entire message, a message I should've already sent to the printer. "People need to grow a sense of humour," I said.
"Most people don't celebrate April Fool's Day," Anna countered. "And besides, can you imagine the Yelp reviews we'd get?" Anna shuddered before returning to arranging the bouquet.
Meanwhile I'd deleted the entire message, and was now typing in something new. I read it aloud as I typed: "Dear 'babe,' I didn't get you roses because we're not that serious." Anna looked up with bulging eyes as I continued to read. "I mean, it's always awkward when a birthday comes along for someone you're seeing casually." Anna rushed over to see if this was actually happening. It was. "You pretend like I'm not supposed to get you anything, but I'm no fool. So here's an assortment of blooms. Bye." I finally acknowledged Anna's freak-out and smiled. "Should I print it?"
Before I could print the message of doom, Anna literally pushed me out of the way. As I soaked in the reality of being manhandled by my assistant, she'd already restored the original message and sent it to print. She sighed in relief, as I leaned against the counter, slowly coming to terms with the fact that...maybe my breakup had messed me up a lot more than I'd realized.
"I think you need a break," Anna said.
I shook my head. "No, it isn't break time yet."
"I'm just saying...an extra-long lunch would do you good." She smiled like she was holding in a secret, before grabbing the nearby broom. Before she could begin her usual routine of sweeping, I blocked her path.
"Hand it over," I said. "I'll do the sweeping today."
Anna couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Uhh...okay."
I took the broom and got to work, hoping the rhythmic motion would be a good distraction. Within five minutes I discovered that yes, I was distracted, but only because I was ranting in my head about how boring sweeping was, and how annoying it was when the sticky petals would resist the bristles of the broom. As I stood there vowing to always force Anna to sweep from here on out, the door jingled open and I was rescued from my madness.
I looked up and smiled to greet the customer, but instead of a customer I found my best friend Penny, with a duffle bag slung over her shoulder.
"Happy Thursday!"
Penny had a way of entering every room with a boundless energy and airy confidence. Maybe it was her fiery red hair that made her bold, or maybe it was the fact that she was a really positive person. Either way, her "dealing with life" game was tight.
I set the broom aside and sighed. "Hey Penny."
She rushed over to me. "So how's your day? How's business? What's new?"
"You mean...since you saw me three hours ago?" Penned nodded in confirmation. "Oh you know," I said, "just taking over the world one petunia at a time."
Penny shook her head at Anna and laughed. "This girl..." And then, without any warning, she grabbed my arm. "Let's go for coffee."
"What?" I tried to resist but she dragged me along. "But it's not even lunch time yet!"
I looked to Anna for help but she waved me towards the door. "Don't worry I've got you covered."
I didn't know it at the time, but that innocent little break was how the "first day of the rest of my life" began...
***
We didn't have to go far for our coffee break, because right next door to "A Rose For All Seasons" was the "Java Café," a pleasant spot with a slightly redundant name (but who was I to judge another business's naming choice?).
The place was well lit with art deco chairs, and it was bustling with people who'd snuck out of work, or people who didn't work at all; either way it had a palpable energy.
I stood in line behind Penny, and focused my attention on the chalkboard menu. It was hard to make sense of the scrawled out words with my sub-par vision and glasses I never remembered. "Why am I even fooling myself?" I said. "I always order the mocha whipped cream latte thing, with one of those apple fritters." I tapped Penny on the shoulder. "You're paying, right?"
Penny smiled reassuredly. "Of course! But for today...why don't we try something lighter? They have amazing fruit salads."
Penny was a third grade teacher on hiatus for the summer, and she was also the most active and adventurous person I knew. She'd once gone skydiving just because she'd found a Groupon and thought it might be cool. And she'd never said "no" to occasional indulgences like apple fritters, so what was her problem now? "I thought you always say everything in moderation."
"I do!" Penny insisted. Without explaining anything more, it was time for us to order. "We'll have two exotic fruit bowls and two bottles of water," Penny said. She put her arm around my shoulder and smiled. "Just a change of pace!"
Once she'd paid, we brought our "change of pace" to the nearest empty table, and though I couldn't quite pinpoint it, I sensed something weird about this casual BFF meet-up. "You said you were taking me for coffee, and yet...I wasn't even allowed to order coffee?"
Penny shrugged it off. "Coffee is just an expression."
"Uhh no, it's a hot dark liquid that makes you feel awake."
Penny laughed. She was always quick to laugh at the things I said, and it felt pretty nice, but the niceness would always distract me from the point I was actually trying to make. I took a bite of the fruit salad; guava, kiwi, blueberries...it wasn't all that bad.
"Refreshing," I said.
"See!" exclaimed Penny, a little more excited than a normal person's reaction. "Doesn't it make you feel like you're bursting with...vitality?"
I shrugged. "I guess." But she wasn't done.
"Don't you just feel like you could run across the street to the gym and do a workout?!"
"Wait...what?" I gave a sideways glance to the glass-walled gym across the street. "That's just an expression like the coffee, right?"
For the first time, Penny seemed a little guilty.
I frowned. "What did you do?"
"You know I love having you around, right?"
I nodded, but suddenly I wasn't so sure, as I thought about how I'd moved in with Penny since the breakup. Neither Ben nor I had kept our old apartment; there were too many memories after three years together. Then there was the fact that our lease ran out anyway after the "the incident." It was almost like a sign to get out of there and never look back. Penny had taken me in right away, but after a month and a half, it was probably time to stop wearing out my welcome. "I'll find a new apartment soon," I finally said.
"It's not that!" Penny insisted. "It's just...sometimes when I get home, it's hard to tell where the couch ends and you begin."
I grasped for my only defense. "It's a really comfortable couch!"
"Also..." she went on, "you keep binge-watching Friends on Netflix, but it's ten whole seasons and you've already seen them." Her concern for me was sincere, but that didn't mean I had to like it. "Are you seriously planning to re-watch the whole series?"
I scoffed. "It's different the second time around! I'm seeing Chandler in a whole new light!"
"Well I just think that a change of pace would do you a lot of good."
"But we already did the change of pace," I said, gesturing to the fruit bowl. "See?" I took a bite as she watched. "Mmm!"
"Yeah well...the fruit bowl was just a pre-game thing."
I raised an eyebrow. "Pre-game to what?"
"To a gym class that starts in twenty minutes and I got you a guest pass so you're coming with me and it's totally free!" Penny stopped to catch a breath; it was almost as if she thought rambling out her confession would somehow make it go down smoother.
"You signed me up for a gym class?" I clenched my fist as I glared at the fruit bowl. "And you gave me antioxidants under false pretenses?"
Penny knew I had an issue with being lied to, and now she was scrambling to make things right. "I signed you up because I miss spending time with you!"
My eyes bulged. "I'm your roommate! I see you all the time!"
"When?" she countered. "When your face is buried in the television? That's not spending time together."
Maybe she had a point. I sighed. "Gym classes just aren't my thing."
"Have you ever been to one?"
I scrunched my nose. "Of course not."
"Then how would you know if it's your thing or not?"
Maybe she had another point. "Anyway you're a totally different skill level than me; I'd just end up being embarrassed."
"But it's a beginner class! And not intense cardio or anything like that, so we can totally gossip in the back of class." Penny nudged me repeatedly, only stopping when I finally smiled. "I even packed your workout clothes for you." She pulled a tote out of the duffle bag and grinned.
I was more confused than anything. "I have workout clothes?"
Penny nodded. "You've just been using them as Netflix clothes."
I smiled. "Oh yeah; those are comfy."
"And I bought you a sports bra," she said.
I wasn't sure whether to be touched or weirded out. I decided to let it slide. "So what's the class? Like a beginner's stretching yoga class or something?"
Penny nodded quickly, barely meeting my stare. "Yeah it's basically like that!"
This really seemed to mean a lot to Penny, and it wasn't like she was signing me up for torture. "Maybe it won't be that bad."
"Hooray!"
I immediately burst into laughter.
"What?" Penny said.
"I just didn't know hooray was a word people actually said."
"Oh go ahead and laugh, until you find a good reason to say it after the class."
I smirked. "Yeah I don't think this class is going to be my hooray trigger."
Penny gobbled up the last of her exotic fruit salad. "Well let's find out!"
I finished my last bite and followed her outside; that's when it suddenly hit me. "What about work?" I said. "I'll be gone for over an hour!"
Penny wasn't concerned at all. "I already texted Anna; she's got you covered."
I stared into the flower shop's window, where Anna was excitedly waving from behind the glass. "You're on a text-message basis with my assistant?"
Penny didn't answer, as she was singularly focused on crossing the street to the looming glass-walled gym.
As soon as I got inside I was already intimidated, as I realized it wasn't just a room with a bunch of treadmills, but a full-fledged fitness club. Sunlight seemed to pour in from every angle; was it even that sunny outside? Or was this heaven? There certainly seemed to be a heavenly quality, as everyone appeared to be pretty darn happy to be there. From the smiling desk clerks at the front, to the people chatting at the juice bar, to the sweaty conversations on the treadmills...everyone was bursting with a seemingly intangible life force. Was it possible for them to bottle it up and donate a case of it to me?
"Lina?"
I turned to find Penny finishing up at the reception desk.
"You ready?" she said.
"For what?" Suddenly I was paranoid. "Are they taking my information to force me to get a membership?" I shook my head. "Nuh-uh, I will not be a part of your scam."
The cute desk clerk named Mike was the one who seemed paranoid now; paranoid that I was about to do something crazy.
"It's okay," Penny whispered to the clerk, "she's just had some trust issues lately."
Mike nodded in understanding. "Don't worry ma'am," he said with a perfect smile. "You're a no-obligation guest, and I hope you enjoy today's class!"
His words may have been reassuring, but that didn't mean I wouldn't give him cut-eye when I walked by his desk. And I did.
I followed Penny down the corridor to the change room. "Ma'am? When did I stop being a Miss? It's like I blinked and suddenly I'm a Ma'am." I shook my head and started rummaging through my tote. I pulled out a bright orange sports bra, which didn't stretch as much as I'd expected it to. "This isn't going to choke me, is it?"
"Relax," Penny said. "I already checked your bra size so I know it's the perfect one."
"Great..." I looked deeper into the bag, and found two items that were totally surprising. "Uhh...I think you went a little overboard with the packing."
Penny doubled back until we were standing face-to-face.
"Did you think we were going on vacation together?" I pulled out the travel shampoo and conditioner she'd packed. "You know I washed my hair the other day."
Penny was avoiding my eyes like they would turn her into stone. "Well you know...lots of people like to wash their hair after taking a gym class."
I smirked. "After a beginner yoga class? I doubt it."
Penny still avoided my stare. "Yeah...I must've forgotten to mention that it's a hot yoga beginner class. My bad."
Before I could fully process the definition of "hot yoga," Penny scurried into the change room.
As I considered whether I should cut and run, a trio of women with drenched hair nudged past me on their way to the change room.
Curiosity got the better of me and I followed after them. "Excuse me ladies, what class did you come from?" They turned to me with sweaty faces. "Is there a super-soaker water gun glass I didn't know about?"
One of them laughed. "Trust me, this is all us." She sensed my confusion and clarified. "Sweat. From hot yoga." I stood there frozen, knowing I should run for my life. "And by the way," the woman added, "I've never felt better in my life."
They disappeared into the change room, and much to my surprise I followed, eager to experience whatever made them feel so great...