Chapter 3
THREE
Saturn
“I’m sorry, ma’am, but this isn’t what I ordered.”
With a fake smile, I took the receipt from the lady’s hand and looked it over.
I was grateful for every customer that came in my shop, but this lady was on my last nerve.
She’d done nothing but complain since she walked in and my patience was starting to thin.
With each flower I read, I looked at the arrangement to see where I went wrong.
It frustrated me because I knew the order wasn’t wrong, but I was human and mistakes happened.
“What seems to be missing? Everything is there,” I stated.
“I ordered two bundles of fresh lavender and there’s only one bundle there.”
Call me petty, but I loved to prove people wrong.
Especially when the person was rude and hard to deal with.
Retrieving a pair of scissors, I cut the wrapping paper and separated the two bundles of lavender before laying them in front of her.
It took all my strength not to be a bitch, but knowing I had a brand to represent kept me grounded.
I pointed. “Two bundles.”
“Why the hell are they so skinny? I’ve been to many shops and the bundles are much fuller than these,” she complained, pushing the lavender toward me.
“Ma’am, how about we don’t complete the transaction?”
“What the hell do you mean?”
“For one, you’ve been very rude with me since you got here and I can’t seem to satisfy your needs. I don’t wanna take your money, however, I appreciate you for trying us out.”
Not giving her a chance to respond, I removed the flowers from in front of her and set them on the counter behind me.
“See, this is exactly why you can’t support Black folks. The customer service is terrible. What business owner would just let some money walk out of their establishment?” she yelled, causing customers to look our way.
“Ma’am, would you like me to walk you to the door?”
“I don’t need you to walk shit! Any smart person would’ve offered me a discount or gave me the product for free to satisfy me!”
“Grandma, why are you yelling so loud? I can hear you all the way outside,” a younger woman dressed in a purple maxi dress asked.
Thankfully, the woman was in good spirits and seemed to have a level head. I loved and cherished May’s Flowers more than anything but disrespect wouldn’t be tolerated. Especially when I’d done nothing wrong.
“Franny, this woman is scamming people. She’s charging twenty dollars for a bundle of lavender that barely has anything in it.”
My shoulders dropped and I was officially over it. My mental guard flew up when the woman looked at me with a blank expression.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. Please accept my apology on my grandmother’s behalf. Your shop was recommended by so many people, but I apologize. My granny can be a handful at times,” she explained.
Relief washed over me when she took her grandmother’s hand and led her out of the front door.
Rude customers came with the territory, but I hadn’t had one this bad in a while, excluding the rude ass man who knocked the roses from my hand.
He said he didn’t mean for that to happen, but I honestly didn’t know what to think.
It all happened so fast. When I closed the shop that evening, I went through the online orders to see if the address was wrong.
When I saw it was the right address, I called the number on file but got no answer.
No one had called back or even stopped by the shop to inquire about the bouquet.
It worried me because that was an eight-hundred-dollar order.
The shop made over seven thousand dollars that day and that had never happened before.
I was excited because business hadn’t slowed down yet, but it was also frustrating.
Not having a second person here to help was doing more harm than good.
It crossed my mind to put an ad out, but I didn’t know how I felt about that.
The next person I hired to work in my space needed to have an interest in flowers.
That was where I went wrong with Steven.
As customers came and went, I was pulled in every direction, yet everything was going smoothly.
That all went out the window thirty minutes before closing.
I was so busy I hadn’t had a second to call my mom or sister for help.
In the middle of helping a customer, the bell to the front door rang.
Without looking up, I greeted the customer and kept on with what I was doing.
“Excuse me, ma’am, would you happen to have any more white roses?” a man asked.
Before I could respond, a deep voice spoke, causing me to look up.
“Right over here, sir.”
I could feel the blood drain from my face when I saw who the voice belonged to.
I didn’t know why he was here in the first place, let alone assisting one of my customers.
After he showed the man where the roses were, other customers started asking him for help and I knew I needed to hurry up.
I didn’t need my shop turning into a shit show.
While the mean ass handsome man helped direct the customers, I stood behind the counter and checked everyone out.
“Damn. You really need to hire some help. That was a big ass rush,” he stated as he walked toward me.
“Sir, thank you for your help, but what are you doing in my shop? And how were you helping people?”
“My name is Mccoy. I came down here to pay you for the roses and to apologize again. When I walked in and saw all those people, I thought I’d try to help. I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing, but it worked.” He smiled.
His pearly white teeth made his chocolate skin glow even more, causing me to smile unintentionally. Turning away from him, I gathered myself and hardened my expression before speaking.
“Well, thank you, Mccoy, but I don’t need your money. You can see yourself out,” I said as I pointed my finger toward the door.
Like he didn’t understand English, Mccoy walked behind the counter and stopped right in front of me. This was the same look he’d given me at our first run in. He was trying to read me and it made me uncomfortable.
“Your name…I need your name.”
“Why do you need my name?”
“Because I gave you mine and I’m asking. Can I assume that you’re May? You referred to the shop as yours?—”
“May was my grandmother’s name.”
“Okay. We’re getting somewhere. One day, I’d love to hear everything about your grandma. Right now, I’d like to put a name with the face.”
Giving him a hard time crossed my mind, but I was exhausted and had no energy to play my own damn games. The fact that he was here and trying to make it right had to count for something.
“Saturn.”
“Like the planet?” he questioned, sounding like everyone else.
“Yes, exactly like the planet.”
“That’s different. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with that name before.”
“Thank you. Having a unique name can be a blessing and a curse,” I admitted.
I couldn’t help but to stare back into Mccoy’s solid brown eyes as his gaze bored into me.
His sharp hair line indicated that he was fresh out of the barbershop.
The jet-black waves were so thick and uniform that it made him look perfect.
To top it all off, Mccoy had to be more than six feet tall.
The more I studied him, the more my body reacted.
“Are you involved with anyone?”
“Romantically?” I quizzed.
“Yes. Husband, boyfriend, sneaky link?” he elaborated.
“No.”
“Good. Can I take you out for coffee or lunch one day soon?”
“I don’t?—”
“No excuses, Saturn. If you find me attractive and you’re single, then just say yes. If you’re not feelin’ me after one date, then I’ll leave you alone.”
His last statement sent me into a slight panic.
Not being able to see his face again wasn’t sitting well in my spirit.
Plus, I needed a life outside of the shop.
When I graduated from high school, my best friend Ava moved to California and never looked back.
For the first year or so, we kept in touch by talking almost every day.
The calls and texts eventually died down and I never felt a way about it.
Between classes and getting to know other people, I figured our friendship would suffer.
Once Ava graduated from college, she decided to stay in Cali and her parents ended up moving out there as well.
The only person left in Pleasant Springs was Ava’s grandmother, who she never came to visit.
The last time I saw Ava was at my grandmother’s funeral, but it wasn’t a good memory.
I was grieving, but I wasn’t crying my eyes out her entire visit.
We’d gone out for a drink the night before the funeral and I had a horrible time.
Ava did nothing but compare Pleasant Springs to Los Angeles.
Her nose was in the air and that irritated me.
Before she left, she tried to convince me that I needed to move out of this small town and experience more life.
According to Ava, Pleasant Springs was depressing with nothing to do for enjoyment.
The people were different and there were more opportunities in a bigger city.
I could agree to a certain extent, but I was content where I was.
Big cities were exciting to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live in one.
Since then, I only talked to Ava if I saw her post on social media and I was okay with that. She’d always be someone I considered a friend, but we grew apart.
“Sooo?”
The sound of Mccoy’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. A sudden chill came over my body, causing me to cross my arms.
“Okay. One date.”
“There will be plenty of dates, Saturn. Your sign says you open at ten. If that’s true, I need you to be ready at seven-thirty tomorrow morning. I’ll pick you up and have you back home before it’s time to open.”
“Tomorrow? You don’t think that’s too soon?”
“Too soon for what? There’s no time like the present. Now all I need is your number, so I can call you tonight.”
After rattling off my number, I walked Mccoy to the door and locked it after we said our goodbyes.
I stood there looking on as he walked down the street and mixed into the sea of people.
Letting out a deep sigh, I flipped the sign to the closed and closed the blinds.
Normally, I’d turn the music to my favorite R&B playlist while I closed, but today I needed silence.
Needing to find help took up so much of my thoughts that it was unhealthy.
Some days were slow enough that I could handle it alone, but closing the shop while I made deliveries wasn’t a good business move.
At times, I thought about selling the shop, but my heart wouldn’t let me.
If I ever sold May’s Flowers, I’d feel like I let my grandmother’s hard work go to waste.
Corporate America wasn’t something I was interested in. Before gathering my purse and keys, I wrote down a few flowers I’d have to stock up on by the weekend. After setting the alarm, I walked outside and almost had a heart attack when I bumped into someone.
“Oh, my goodness! Are you, okay?” the woman asked with panic in her eyes.
“I’m okay,” I admitted with a hand over my chest.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was on my way around to the front when you came out.
My name is Sapphire. Becka down at the daycare told me to come talk to you about a job.
She told me you were looking for help a couple months ago.
Are you still trying to fill the position or has it been taken? ” she asked curiously.
“No, it’s available. Are you able to stop by tomorrow around nine-thirty?” I questioned.
If I hadn’t locked the shop already, I would’ve taken the time to ask her a few questions right now.
“I am. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you!” Sapphire squealed in excitement.
I couldn’t help but return the energy and give a smile of my own. Getting my hopes up was something I tried not to do, but I couldn’t shake the good feeling.
Lord, please send me the perfect fit.