Chapter 7
JAHNVI
I was going to burst. As soon as Everett’s truck came to a squealing stop, I jumped out and rushed in to find a bathroom. In the process, I pushed a little girl into a mound of green beans displayed on a table and might have ruined one of the rows of snacks by crashing into it.
But I found the bathroom; that’s all that mattered.
I finished and walked out to find Everett immediately.
His lanky figure was literally towering over people as he bent down to the little glass display to inspect the flowers.
One of the workers came over behind the display, and they started up a conversation in a language I didn’t particularly understand.
So, I stayed near the coffee and tea section since I wouldn’t be much help.
But Everett still waved me over.
This morninghadn’t been what I’d expected.
Even though I’d known the guy since the day I was born, I, embarrassingly, hadn’t spoken to him much.
He was always hanging out with his friends at school and working outside of school.
At speech, I was so busy trying to find every little thing that was wrong with him that I never actually looked at him.
He listened.
He was a good listener. He didn’t zone out when I spoke. He even asked follow-up questions and seemed genuinely interested in what I had to say. And the way that he sometimes looked at me through the side of his eyes—
Stop your train of thought right there.
He’s only tolerating you because he needs you for the flowers today. Today’s going to be over, and then he won’t give you a sliver of his attention, as usual.
Just like he abandoned Rose.
When I walked over to stand by Everett, the tone of the person he was speaking to had turned hostile.
I think Everett may have set a new record for how fast he’d upset someone.
“This man,” he said, leaning down to my ear, “is trying to sell me flowers that have clearly wilted. Just look at the state of them.”
I looked down expecting flowers going brown at the edges but found...perfectly normal ones actually.
“I don’t see what’s wrong with them,” I hissed back.
“J, come on! Look at that one, it’s clearly not fresh. There’s no way someone would buy a wreath made out of those!”
“Everett, you can’t get perfectly fresh flowers because they’re literally shipped here. These are as fresh as they’re gonna get!”
“Yes! Yes!” The guy behind the counter interrupted us. “Listen to the girl. She is smart and knows how to spot good flowers.”
“Yeah, you’re right. More than him for sure.” I pointed at Everett and smiled. “But your flowers, although fresh enough, are definitely way overpriced.”
I felt a slap on my elbow. Everett bent down to hiss in my ear again. “No, they’re not! What are you talking about?”
I ignored him and kept talking to the worker. “These used to be half the price. We can’t buy these at this rate, I’m sorry.”
“No, no, no, I can’t bring the price down.
They’re imported, and with inflation, this is the best I can do.
This is outrageous!” He muttered a few choice words in another language that made Everett tilt his head with a look mirroring disbelief on his face.
I pointed at him questioningly with my finger concealed below the display, but Everett shook his head very slightly.
I guess it’s better if I don’t know what the man said.
“Yeah, um, no. We’re gonna be leaving, thank you!” I said firmly.
“Uh, haha, wait.” Everett gave me a glare and smiled at the worker. “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. I think we will take—”
“No, I know exactly what I’m doing. Have a great day.” I smirked at the worker and grabbed Everett’s elbow to leave, ignoring the man’s protests.
After a few steps, Everett yanked me by the hand behind the snack section of the store. A bag had been opened and a bunch of something crunchy had spilled onto the floor. It had now become some kind of powder as people kept walking over it.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
“Really? You’re asking me?” Everett looked away from me for a second, biting the inside of his cheek. “Jahnvi, I need those flowers. And they weren’t that overpriced! Wilted maybe, but if they’re as fresh as it gets, then I’m gonna go buy them.”
“I know a guy who sells the same flowers for half the price. He’s thirty minutes away but”—I shrugged and threw my hands down—“Your loss. If you want those mediocre flowers for that extreme price, then go chase him back down. I think he’s gossiping about us to his coworkers over there anyway.”
Silence.
Why was Everett looking at me like that?
The hint of a smile was gone and replaced with a clenched jaw, his mouth in a razor-thin line.
It was the look I gave my titration lab in chemistry.
And then I’d try to add one more drop, which would cause everything to go bright pink and make me want to throw the whole damn set out the fourth-floor window.
But back to Everett.
He leaned so far down that I could see a sliver of bare chest and stomach through the gaping collar of his sweater and oversized jean jacket. Today’s sweater had a pattern of red, brown, and maroon stripes.
“And you’re positive about these flowers?”
Something about the way he said it made me swallow before answering, “Um, y-yes?”
He straightened back up, his head taller than the shelves. “Okay. I trust you. Let’s go.”
Now, it was my turn to yank on his hand. Oh, and yes, you heard correctly. We were still holding hands. He looked back at me with a questioning glance. I pointed to a shelf near his head at a bag of chips.
Those potato chips with Indian masala were just superior, no question about it.
“Well, it’s gonna be a long time before we get back. I’d say snacks are essential and I, um, seem to have left my wallet at home.”
“Hey, J?”
“Yes?”
“If I have to buy you another bag of chips, I think I’m gonna need to tap into my retirement fund.”
It was our fourth store, and we were absolutely exhausted. Everett’s eyes were droopy, and I was so full of chips and soda that I felt ready to burst. The sun was almost down, and if we didn’t find decent flowers at this store, I was ready to take a nap right in the dairy section.
But hello, what’s this?
Were those flowers in the back display...not wilted? Before I got too excited, I squinted to read the little handwritten price sign.
I really do need new glasses.
Oh Ganesha, if the price is reasonable, I will donate all of my burger-flipping money from the summer .
“Oh my—” I leaned on Everett, and he caught me and steadied himself quickly so we both didn’t go down right in the middle of the store.
“Hey! What’s wrong? What are you—?”
I was too excited, or maybe exhausted, to use my words. I pointed at the flowers in the back and deliriously giggled. I didn’t even need to look up to know that he was smiling too. Not that his body language conveyed that though.
He grabbed my elbow and steered me through the crowd to the back. I couldn’t keep up with his super long legs, so I stumbled and hissed at him to slow down. Not that he listened. I excused him just this once since I could tell he was just as exhausted and tired as I was.
I expected Everett to let go of my arm as he negotiated with the seller and watched him like a hawk as he packaged the flowers.
Even when he had a big cardboard box filled with enough flowers for at least three wreaths, he carried it on top of his right shoulder and used his left hand to steer me out of the store.
And honestly, I didn’t mind.
I didn’t mind at all.
His hand—even though I knew it was so very impersonal and just used to guide me out of the store so I didn’t spot any more chips—was sending interesting tingles all through my body from its contact point at my elbow.
Well, that was until we reached the door.
That’s when his hand slipped down to my hand.
Everett gripped my hand and squeezed just once as we got out of the store. I looked up at him and my breath caught in my throat. The sun was setting, and his face looked...absolutely amazing. In the half-light, a good portion of his face was cast in shadow and everything seemed sharper.
But his eyes? His eyes were something entirely different.
They weren’t clouded at all. They were in the light, and instead of the black holes his eyes usually were, I could see the dark brown of his irises in the light. They had an expression that I had never seen before.
It was an expression that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to explain.
Neither was it an expression that I would forget anytime soon.
“Hey, Pickles?”
“Mm-hmm?”
“Thank you for, um, coming with me today. You saved me a lot of money and...it was fun.”
“E-even though I cost you so much in chips?” I was making a joke to try to get him to change that strange expression on his face that had me feeling so... off-kilter. But my plan backfired, and he smiled.
And that smile, especially in the golden light, was something I could never get tired of looking at. I knew from his smile that he was messing with me, but a part of me couldn’t stop taking his words to heart.
Maybe because I’d never had someone treat me this way.
“For you, Pickles? I would go into debt buying potato chips. Now, I need to get you home.”