CTRL F5 Your Life
Sumi
“You’ll find in the folders I provided the average city income taxes paid by four other Bloomerang subsidies.
The business is sound.
The parent company wouldn’t be investing in our franchises if they weren’t.” Sumi forced herself to take a breath, swallowing hard.
Stop sounding so defensive.
You’re not administering a test to 7th graders. You’re not here to make them mad. “I’ve also included the certification that the parent company is a non-human business.”
She hadn’t discovered that part until long after she had applied for her franchise.
Cambric Creek had a whole host of hoops she would need to jump through, she’d realized belatedly, including a stipulation that businesses in the downtown district be free of human ties.
She had cried herself out the afternoon she read that particular detail on the zoning commission’s website, laying crumpled in a heap at the corner of the sofa until the sun was low in the sky and her by-then empty condo left dim.
The condo had sold, the movers were scheduled, and she had already spent several nights in the new house, testing what it felt like to wake up there, in her whole new life .
.
.
And now you’re back to square one with no job.
So fucking Ohio.
She had been clicking around on the Bloomerang website once she’d forced herself to get up, comparing the existing location with the map she had opened in another tab.
There are other towns, the city is right next door.
So you have to commute, it’s not the worst thing in the world.
She’d been checking to see if there was already a Bloomerang franchise in a place called Greenbridge Glen when her finger overshot the tab, opening the About Us section on the Bloomerang website instead.
It had been right there, not hidden at all, merely a tab she’d never bothered exploring.
Two smiling faces, similarly featured but not identical, heads together.
The photo was black and white, but it did not hide the tiny marks around their eyes, and she knew that if she could see the full color version of this picture, those markings would shine like the sun.
Pippa and Molly have always had a passion for flowers.
“We used to love going to our grandmother’s house in the spring, picking flowers with our aunts and great aunts, drying them with our great grandmother.
We learned how to make herbal teas, how to use plants to dye wool.
We learned what was edible, what was just for show, and most importantly, that a perfect bloom could brighten anyone’s day.
The tree in each of our stores pays homage to our Sylvan culture, to our grandmother and great-grandmother, all of those aunts, and everyone else who came before us. Flowers always make us happy, and we hope that Bloomerang can brighten your day as well.”
She’d been crying again by the time she got to the end.
This is a gift from your mom.
It was, truly, in every way imaginable.
A gift that solved all of her problems, for there was no need to look outside Cambric Creek if Bloomerang was Sylvan-owned.
Now she was here, before the zoning commission, desperately trying to keep her dream alive.
Advanced Rizzenomics: pleading for your life.
“We appreciate that you’ve taken the time to put everything in such readable order for us, Ms.
Trent.
Our main concern is—“
“I’ve also have my business plan analyzed by a CPA, and you can see from year-over-year statistics provided by Bloomerang that—“
“You understand our hesitation at allowing a chain store, I hope.” The speaker was a middle-aged fox woman, her ears barely visible through her mountain of teased-up hair.
Her voice was pointed, but her smile was kind.
Like a switchblade hidden in a box of chocolates.
“I do understand the concern,” Sumi began slowly.
Just stay calm.
“I suppose I don’t see it the same way.
It would be a chain if there was a giant Bloomerang sign above the door.
If the interior matched every other Bloomerang shop, all carrying the exact same product with the exact same uniform, but that’s not the case.” She took a steadying breath, reminding herself not to get sharp. “This is Pink Blossom. This is my store and I won’t have another store anywhere else. It won’t look like any other store. Yes, we’ll be a Bloomerang partner, but Pink Blossom is the name above the door, that’s the name people in the neighborhood will know. The flower shop just around the corner, when you’re grabbing your morning coffee.”
Her face was hot when she finished, the crescents of her nails biting into the meat of her palm.
The fox woman’s smile remained kind, but she looked unimpressed, as did the troll beside her.
Don’t cry.
You can cry when you’re out of here.
Not in front of them.
“We also have a concern regarding two identical businesses within a very small square mile radius,” piped up one of the two men on the panel, the thick-tusked troll.
“Particularly as that business is well established in the community.
There’s no ambiguity on its status as a chain store.”
He was talking about Ranar’s little shop, Sumi realized.
Her cheeks heated, her giddiness over the chance encounter with the handsome snake man resolutely put on the back burner of her mind until she emerged triumphant from this meeting.
Surely in an affluent community, there would be room for two flower shops?
“I think we’ve established in our prior discussions over the financials regarding this matter that the issue of whether the community can support two identical businesses is one of undue concern.”
The speaker was the other man, younger, in his early 30s at most.
Handsome, dark haired, from a distance he appeared as human as Sumi.
His voice was clipped, and unlike the Fox woman, his face bore no smile for her.
The troll huffed, but the dark haired man continued, ignoring him.
“My concern remains with the architectural plans.
I’m not seeing a long-term root abatement system in place to ensure the sidewalk or neighboring sewer line incur no damage from this tree structure, Ms.
Trent.
What is the long-term water displacement plan for the rest of the roofline once your tree has surpassed the ceiling? Without those elements in place, I cannot in good conscience—“
Her tree.
The tree that every Bloomerang franchise store had, the only design element that would tie her shop to its sister stores around the unification.
“Oh, the tree! Um, every partner shop has one, but it’s a nod to the non-human ownership of the company,” she quickly clarified.
“And like the rest of the shop, it will be unique.
But they all have them, so I’m sure all of that’s been taken into consideration.
I don’t think that’s really anything to worry—“
“I’m a structural engineer, Ms.
Trent.” A smile for her at last, although it was icy, with long canines.
Not that human after all.
“I assure you, it matters quite a bit.”
Sumi felt her heart sink.
You can look somewhere else.
There has to be somewhere within commuting distance with a space for rent.
Figure out where Greenbridge Glen is after this.
The young man had paused, just long enough to make her squirm before continuing.
“But to your point, I have no doubt these concerns have been raised before, which tells me the plans exist somewhere.
Your architect needs to unearth them.
I’d also like to see the growth projections on the tree over the next two decades.
Barring that issue,“ the young man went on, closing the folder before him, “I have no objections regarding the status of the business’s individualism.”
Her head raised, eyes widening.
No objections? Does that mean you’re good?
The troll at the center of the table sputtered.
“Owen, I think this is worthy of a second look between—“
“We’ve taken a second look, Barth.
And a third.
I looked over the financials again this morning, and I still don’t see a problem regarding the use.
The Food Gryphon now has three locations in the tri-state area, yet you’re not calling them a chain.
Bloomerang is at the very least Sylvan-owned. That’s more than we can say for the pharmaceutical company operating in the commerce parkway.”
“The community perception, though .
.
.
the Chamber of Commerce has already received quite a few calls—“
“Community perception isn’t our problem.” That sharp, icy smile from the dark-haired man once more, this time for the fox woman who’d objected, flashing to Sumi as he continued.
“It’ll be hers.”
Wait, what? The fox woman clammed up, suddenly more interested in the front of her folder than in giving Sumi her kind, disinterested smile, but the troll, still sputtering, wasn’t finished.
“Just the same, I think your father would appreciate you being a bit more circumspect with regards to—“
“My father wasn’t voted into a seat on this commission, Barth.
I was.” The young man’s tone was sharp, and even from where she sat, Sumi could see the glint of his canines, the silver flash in his dark eyes.
The room went silent.
“Ms.
Trent,” he continued several beats later, his voice still clipped, but not as icy, “this approval is contingent upon your architect submitting detailed plans to the city regarding root containment and a long-term abatement strategy to prevent damage to the municipal facilities, in addition to the other items we mentioned today. If you don’t meet the deadline previously set forth , you will not be permitted to open your doors.”
Her heart was holding its breath, the air in her own lungs non-existent, every cell in her body holding itself tightly as the dark-haired man signed the form on the table before him.
A goblin who’d been sitting in the front row of the room scurried forward, nearly falling off her chair in her haste, carrying a lacquered wooden box.
From it, the young man withdrew a long-handled stamp.
The fox woman looked away as he stamped the document, and the troll fumed.
“If I may give you a small piece of advice,” he went on, handing the papers to the troll, once she’d resecured the stamp.
“This is a tight-knit community.
You’re coming in at a disadvantage.
Get involved, and get involved quickly, Ms.
Trent. If you follow Lolly, she’ll ensure there’s nothing else we need from you at this stage. Best of luck, and welcome to Cambric Creek.”
“Hello?”
Sumi beamed when Meredith answered the phone, barely able to keep control of the fist that desperately wanted to pump the air in triumph.
“Hey, it’s Sumi.”
“Oh my gosh, I was hoping you would call! Girl, you not only got out of this place, you slapped your ass all the way out of town! I was cracking up when I heard the news!”
She blushed, knowing too well that she had been likely the topic of every conversation in the teachers lounge in the weeks after her resignation.
“Well, buckle up.
You’re the first person hearing my big news and I just had to tell someone.“ She felt as though she might lift up into the sky, floating above Cambric Creek and all of its busy residents, up until she floated away.
“I just got approved to open a business, here in the place where I moved.
I’m opening my flower shop!”
Meredith squealed.
“You know, I can’t help but feel that I’m responsible for all of this.
We manifested it all that day in your classroom.
Now all we need is to find you the hot twenty-five-year-old to blow out your back.”
“Oh, I already met him too!” Sumi was relieved that the sidewalk where she currently stood was empty, in between City Hall and the long community center.
She knew that she was flapping around like a giddy teenager, bent over at the waist as she laughed, but it couldn’t be helped.
“He’s not twenty-five, but he is gorgeous.
Definitely has back-blowing potential.”
She envisioned Ranar’s thick serpentine trunk, wanting desperately to know how he would feel against her.
She could tell even through the shirt he’d worn that morning that his back rippled with muscle.
It made sense, for he likely needed a powerfully strong core to hold up his human-like upper body without legs for stability.
What do they say? 40% of our balance relies on our big toe? She’d laid her hand over his arm that morning and she’d felt the strength in it, like a steel cord.
Sumi had no doubt that he’d be able to blow out her back every day of the week and twice on Sundays.
“We met for the first time a few weeks ago.
I bumped into him randomly this morning and he kind of asked me out? I’ll keep you posted, but if he wants to make me his breeding bitch, I’m not gonna say no.”
“Girl, say less.”
She was smiling so hard her jaw ached.
When was the last time you were this happy? When you had something good to look forward to? Can you even remember?
Seeing Ranar that morning had been an unexpected bonus to the entire day, only regretting that it had happened before her meeting when she was distracted and on a time schedule.
If you had run into him afterward, you might have offered to fuck him right then and there in celebration.
He wasn’t especially smooth, which she decided was sweet and a definite green flag.
He’s clearly not a player, or else he’d be better at this.
He asked about her move, offered reassurances for her meeting, and gave her some valuable insight regarding the town’s building codes.
Sumi couldn’t remember the last time Jordan had started a conversation asking about her, what she was doing, where she had been, how it made her feel.
Not even their final conversation had begun that way.
Jordan had been flummoxed to learn that she couldn’t wait to quit her job, was appalled that she had quit at all, and was irate in his expected condescending–disappointed parent way that he had been the last to know.
Ranar did not seem to be in love with the sound of his own voice, a sharp and welcome departure from what she had grown accustomed to over the last three years.
The sight of his thick, brilliantly colored tail undulating out the door had nearly hypnotized her, and she wondered what his scales would feel like against her skin.
Rough and jagged? Smooth and silky? Would he be heavy against her? Would he hold her in his coils like a constrictor? And the tip! He had pulled the door open with the tip of his tail, prehensile, acting like a third hand.
What else can he do with that tail?
Sumi bit her lip, forcing herself to calm down.
It was one thing to have had this sort of fantasy several weeks ago when he was just a stranger in a shop — a rude, handsome stranger, you called him.
Remember? — And quite different now, when he had offered to show her around the town.
That’s a date, right? We’re going to be alone together.
He’s going to show you things like the waterfall and the coffee shop and maybe his bedroom.
“Anyway, I literally just walked out of this meeting and I had to tell someone!”
Meredith squealed again.“I’m so glad you did! Give me a few weeks to get the kids settled into some kind of routine, and then you have to give me directions to this place.
I’ll come up and we can have lunch.
I am so happy for you, Sumi!”
She had continued walking as Meredith spoke, impulsively turning up the pathway to the community center, pulling open the door.
May as well poke around while you’re here.
That guy said to get involved, right? She had no idea what the handsome, dark-haired young man meant by her being at a disadvantage, and his remark about community perception being her problem to deal with was ominous, but she decided to take the advice.
Get involved and get involved quickly.
There was a long bulletin board running the length of nearly the entire hallway, and the whole thing was full.
Classes, workshops, continuing education.
Intramural sports, children’s programs, bake sales, ballroom dance.
There was a wire rack on the ground, full of booklets.
An outline of everything that was offered, Sumi realized, as she bent to take one from the stand.
If you want to get involved, there’s certainly no shortage of opportunities.
She had always wanted to take ballroom dancing.
Maybe Ranar would be willing to take a class with her in his official capacity as her tour guide/future spouse.
How would a naga dance? Maybe something else.
As she examined the calendar for a drop-in beginner’s life drawing class, a tall, red-skinned woman shouldered her way out of the door in the center of the hall on the opposite wall.
Burnished gold bumps rose from her black hair just above her temples. An ogre.
Sumi watched as the woman unlocked the glass panel of the bulletin board she stood before, swinging it open.
She was replacing several of the notices on the cork board, leaning back to ensure they were straight before closing the glass once more.
The ogress moved further down the hall, and Sumi found herself drifting to the space the woman had just vacated, thinking maybe she could get the jump on a brand-new class announcement.
This month in the Nippon Club — Chadō — traditional Japanese tea ceremony.
“Shut the fuck up.”
She jumped, realizing the voice had been hers, that her first action in winning over community perception had been to practically shout vulgarities in the community center.
They probably have toddler storytime going on.
Senior citizen basket weaving.
Wrapping teddy bears for needy children.
And here you are, dropping F-bombs with zero abandon, uncaring of the delicate ears who might be listening. SO cringe. Sumi turned, checking to see if the ogress had heard her. Sure enough, her head had swung around. Are you fucking kidding? They heard you back at City Hall.
“I mean .
.
.
shut the front door.”
The other woman snorted, shaking her head.
“I try to catch myself sometimes.
Or at least, I used to.
Then I just decided it was easier to teach my daughter there are some words we use to express strong feelings, but they are at home words only.
I’m just lucky cuntnugget wasn’t her first word. Believe me, it was a nail-biter.”
Sumi laughed, delightedly.
Half of the teachers at her former middle school were of the holier-than-thou variety, and they never failed to keep the other half — her half — miserably in check.
“I used to teach, so you’d think I would be better at this.”
The ogress reversed course down the hallway, coming back to where Sumi stood, her eyebrow arching as she approached.
When she spoke in Japanese, Sumi’s face heated.
Nope, that’s not gonna work.
I was raised in a jar of mayonnaise.The other woman raised an eyebrow, still grinning.
“Okay, nevermind.
No language skills, but you are interested in the tea ceremony.”
Deep breath.
You’re going to get involved.
She nodded hesitantly.
“My mother was Japanese, but she died when I was young.
I-I was raised by my father’s family. White. Human.”
Another snort from the ogress.
“But I just moved here.
I-I promised myself I was going to reconnect to .
.
.” She trailed off, raising a hand.
“Not white, not human?”
“Yeah.
That part.”
Despite her social inadequacy, the ogre woman softened.
“I get it, it’s important.
That’s why I do the club, actually, for my daughter.
My brother and I emigrated together, almost a decade ago, and this is home now.
But that doesn’t mean it’ll ever be home, you know? When I started volunteering here, I decided I owed it to her to bring pieces of home here. I don’t want her to lose that part of herself just because she’s growing up in the unification. It’s important to be connected to tradition.”
She probably needed to find a therapist, once she settled in, before the speed in which she seemed able to move from joy to tears gave her permanent whiplash.
Iced Grande Menty-B.
Sumi nodded, pushing her tongue into the roof of her mouth to hold back her tears.
She had tried explaining to Jordan what it was like growing up in neighborhoods where she didn’t have the community, but Sumi knew he didn’t understand.
What she hadn’t shared with him was that it only ever grew worse as she got older.
Those little pockets of Asian friends she had in first and second grade broke apart, the singular tie that bound them growing brittle and thin, snapping as those other children grew up into their own culture and heritage.
She had always been simultaneously too much and not enough, with no community of her own.
That’s going to change here. You’re going to find where you belong in this place.
“Well, you decided to wander in today at the perfect time.
I run the club, so I can get you all registered.”
Her real estate agent was right, Sumi reflected as she followed the ogre woman into the office across the hall, registering with the recreation department and signing up for the Nippon Club, paying her full years’ worth of dues on the spot.
She was uncommonly lucky.
Everything was falling right into her lap, and she might have felt guilty if she hadn’t felt as if she were struggling for so long previously.
“I’m Yuriko, by the way.”
“I’m Sumi, nice to meet you.”
“Oh! We had a Sumiko in the club.
She taught our ikebana class.”
Electricity thrummed in her veins.
“Oh, I’ve taken ikebana before! Just a short workshop, but I really loved it.
Is that something that will be offered again?
The ogress, Yuriko, sighed heavily.
“Unfortunately, she passed away recently.
It’s such a shame, she was the nicest lady.
Very efficient.
But once you get comfortable in the club, maybe you’ll feel comfortable leading us through a class.”
Sumi felt frozen, piecing together the other woman’s words.
Someone in the community who practically shared her name, who passed away recently, who taught a class in the Japanese club.
Heat flooded her face, the tears that lived so close to the surface of her composure these days rushing forward.
“Um, was-was she Sylvan? Did she live over on Poplar?” The other woman didn’t need to answer, her eyebrows shooting up all the confirmation Sumi needed.
“That was my great aunt.
She’s the reason I’m even here.
She left me her house after she died.” The tears overflowed, but before she could feel any mortification, she was wrapped in a too-tight hug, Yuriko practically able to lift her over the desk.
“There, there.
I’m sorry for your loss.
Like I said, she was a nice lady.
It’s kind of amazing, you just wandering in today.
Almost like she was leading you here.”
Sumi nodded, embarrassed that she was blubbering in front of the stranger.
Not a stranger.
Your new community.
“Will you be teaching at the school?”
It took her a moment to realize what the ogress meant.
“Oh! Oh, no, I won’t be.
I’m not teaching anymore.” She shook her head, wiping her eyes and snapping herself back.
Come on, get it together.
You are being HIGH KEY cringe.“No, I’m actually opening a flower shop. Just around the corner, off Main Street.”
“Oh! That’s perfect! Okay, forget what I said about getting comfortable.
You’re definitely teaching ikebana.”
She sucked in a deep lungful of air once they were standing at the doorway of the community center.
Everything is falling into place here for a reason.
This is where you belong.
It’s a gift from your mom.
“If there’s anything I can do to help you settle in, please just let me know.
My cell number is at the front of the folder there.” Yuriko nodded to the paper folder Sumi now carried.
“I’ll tell you now, this town fucking loves gossip and partying.
In that order.
Any excuse they can come up with to throw a festival, they do.”
“Yeah, actually there is something.” She thought of the dark haired man’s words again.
Get involved and get involved quickly.
When she repeated the conversation for Yuriko, the ogress snorted in laughter once more.
“Oh, you came to the right person.
I’ll get you in good with the right crowd.
Like I said, this town loves throwing festivals and street fairs.
You’re opening a new business, right? If you do a little table outside your doors and either give something away or donate all your proceeds to a local charity, you can basically write your own ticket.
Don’t worry, I’ll get you there.”
She left the community center with a bounce in her step.
Everything was coming up roses.
Her shop was going to open without a hitch.
She had already been told by her Bloomerang partner that construction would move very quickly, and that the corporate goal for her shop was to be open as soon as possible.
She was going to become a part of the fabric of this community, she was going to get in touch with her Japanese roots, she was going to learn more about Sylvan culture.
And you’ve already met someone! She would call Ranar that week, Sumi decided, make plans with him as soon as she was fully moved in.
Who knows? By this time next month, you might be in a relationship.
New life, new love, a whole new you.