Sweet Love From Saturn

Chapter 1

ONE

Saturn Baker

Looking up from the floral arrangement I was working on, my brows kissed when I saw Steven coming from the back with his jacket in hand. There were no deliveries going out until this afternoon and I needed his help with the ass load of orders I was currently flooded with.

“Are you going somewhere, Steven? Is everything okay?” I questioned with a tulip still in hand.

“I’m sorry, Saturn. I didn’t wanna handle things this way but I’m leaving.

I was only planning to stay here for the summer, but I stayed longer because I liked it here.

Now that football season has started, it’s hard for me to balance a job and practice.

I’ve been late to practice the last two days and Coach is threatening to bench me if it happens again.

I’m sorry for leaving you hanging, but I gotta go. ”

“You couldn’t give me some type of notice, Steven? This happens to be the busiest day I’ve had in years and now I have no help. Had you let me know, I would’ve made other arrangements,” I stated in frustration.

My usual calm demeanor was out the window and replaced with irritation.

I had to remind myself that Steven was only a seventeen-year-old high school student.

He didn’t know any better and I understood that.

School came first and I wasn’t upset that he was choosing football over working in the shop.

Letting out a frustrated breath, I checked my attitude and told myself that having no extra help around the shop was a me problem.

After all, Steven was an employee and these things came with the territory.

“I’m really sorry, Saturn. I can have my mom come up here with me to talk to you when I pick up my last check,” he insisted.

“It’s fine, Steven. Thank you for all your help and I hope you have a successful football season.”

He stared at me, his brown eyes brimming with innocence and genuine sincerity.

With a hesitant smile, he walked past me and out of the front door with one final look.

When the door shut, I glanced down at my smart watch to see what time it was.

I had a total of six deliveries for this afternoon and I anticipated the customer flow to be at a higher volume due to an event only a block over.

Steven usually took care of the deliveries while I stayed back and ran the store, but now I didn’t know what to do.

My mother was always the first person I called when I needed help.

However, since she was a school principal, I knew she wouldn’t be available any time soon.

Trying my luck, I called my older sister to see if she was free.

Tiffany was a hairstylist and the shop she worked at was closed on Mondays.

“Hello?” Tiffany answered groggily.

“Good morning. I don’t mean to be inconsiderate on your day off, but I was wondering if you could help me out at the shop for a few? It doesn’t have to be right now. I could use the help around one o’clock if you aren’t busy,” I requested.

“Good morning, Saturn. What happened to the kid you had helping you out down there? Did he get sick or something?”

“No, he quit not even five minutes ago. He’s playing football and can’t commit to a job.”

“Oh wow. Well, I’ll be there at twelve forty-five. Do you need me to deliver or be at the store?”

“You can stay at the store. I’ll make the deliveries as quickly as I can, so I can come back and relieve you. You don’t have to stay until five,” I explained.

“Okay, that’s cool. I’ll see you in a bit, sis.”

“Thank you, Tiff, and I love you,” I stated before ending the call.

Slipping my phone back into my pocket, I retrieved the list of orders and got to work.

I was hoping I wouldn’t get any customers until I finished at least two of the arrangements.

I decided to start with the larger orders to get them out of the way.

After printing the receipts, I set a royal blue vase on the receipt to the left and a red vase on the receipt to the right.

I cut music on and turned it to the R&B station I preferred.

My day had started out rough, but I was shifting my thoughts to turn it around.

I’d been in this situation before and came out on top.

Only this time, I wasn’t so sure the odds would be in my favor.

May’s Flowers had been passed down to me from my grandmother.

As a child, I was in the shop just as much as her.

By the time I was five, I knew how to identify every plant she sold.

Instead of being involved in after school sports and activities, I stayed at the shop helping my grandmother.

When the two of us weren’t held up in the shop, we were in her backyard gardening.

My grandmother used to tell me that being a part of nature made her feel closer to God and I had to agree.

Unfortunately, Grandma May passed away from natural causes during my sophomore year of college.

It took me months to step back in the shop after she passed.

Even driving by would bring me to tears.

I was so heartbroken and depressed that I ended up withdrawing from school and moving back home.

Grief had me down bad and I was glad to be out of that space.

As much as I wanted life to stop, I had to realize that life went on and I had to as well.

The sound of wind chimes singing pulled me from my zone. When I looked toward the front door, two ladies who looked to still be in their twenties looked around in amazement.

“Hello. Welcome to May’s Flowers. Can I help you ladies with anything?”

“Hello. And no, we’re just looking around right now,” the thicker woman responded.

“Okay, just let me know if you need any help.”

Just as I turned to continue the orders, the chimes went off again.

Only this time, several people walked inside, prompting me to walk behind the register.

The next thing I knew, I was helping and ringing up customers left and right.

I was so swamped I hadn’t noticed my sister arrived.

Tiffany’s shoulder length hair was pulled back in a ponytail, while her square-framed glasses rested against her round face.

At thirty-three years old, Tiffany didn’t look a day over twenty-five.

“Hey, sis. Is it twelve forty-five already?” I questioned as I pulled out my phone.

“It is. I called you to tell you I was stuck in traffic, but when you didn’t answer I figured you were busy. There are so many people over at the chocolate fest that it’s ridiculous.”

“Yeah, it seems like there’s double the amount of people from last year. I knew I’d be busy today, but Steven walking out mid-shift was unexpected.”

“Well, I’m here now. All I can say is make sure you hire someone more reliable next time. Preferably an adult. But go ahead and finish your orders. I got the floor.”

An hour and a half later, my work truck was loaded and I was pulling onto the busy streets of downtown Pleasant Springs.

My heart was racing and I had to take deep breaths to keep my anxiety under control.

Being on time and sticking to a schedule was how I operated May’s Flowers, so being half an hour behind on deliveries was driving me crazy.

Thankfully, no one complained about the delay.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I pulled into the driveway of my last delivery and took my seat belt off.

This arrangement was the biggest and heaviest of them all.

The customer didn’t leave a note stating the occasion, but two hundred red and white roses were secured in my arms as I walked toward the front porch.

The door swung open right before I reached the top step and a man that I didn’t get to admire for long stepped out.

“Hello. Sorry about the late delivery. I put a ten percent off coupon on top of the bouquet,” I rambled.

“I’m sorry, Miss, but you have the wrong house. I didn’t order any flowers.” His deep voice penetrated my ears.

Setting the flowers on the top step, I dug into my apron to get the receipt. I looked up to read the white numbers on the home and I was correct. This was the address.

“This is 435 Wishing Well Drive, correct?”

“That’s correct, but I didn’t order these,” he countered with a finger pointed toward the roses.

“Maybe someone ordered them for you. I don’t know. All I know is this is the right address.”

“Miss, please take your roses and get off my porch. I’m telling you they aren’t mine. Clearly the address was mixed up somehow.”

“A mistake like that wouldn’t happen. There’s only one Wishing Well Drive in the city of Pleasant Springs.”

Not wanting to hear anymore, I picked the vase up and continued toward the handsome stranger.

I’d been delivering for the last few years and a mistake like this had never happened.

I could understand him not thinking the roses were his because he didn’t order them, but obviously someone ordered them for him.

Everything happened so fast, I barely registered when this man knocked the roses to the ground.

The sound of glass shattering and all the roses laid out at my feet were the only indicator that this shit had really happened.

That was it. The tears streaming down my face were a contradiction of the laughter that followed.

Defeat had overtaken me and that was the moment I lost my balance.