7. Scarlett
Scarlett
Downtown Calla Bay was as busy as ever on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Luck was on my side as a parking space opened up just as I was pulling up. I put my directional on and waited for them to back out of their space, then swung my car into the spot directly in front of my destination.
Daisy Days Flower Shop was Calla Bay’s best (and only) florist. The bright colors and sweet aromas greeted us, along with the chime bell above the door.
Daisy Reynolds was behind the counter, working on an arrangement with peonies and ranunculus.
Her straight black hair was tied into a high ponytail, so sleek and tamed.
The apron she wore was smeared with bits of dirt.
She looked up and smiled at me when I walked in, her quarter-Japanese heritage evident in her shining eyes.
“Hey, Scarlett,” she said, her big smile taking up the whole of her petite face. Her eyes bounced between me and Aurora.
I came into the flower shop every other week to pick out a simple bouquet for my apartment, and Daisy and I had become friendly. Flowers always put me in a good mood .
“Hi, Daisy. That looks lovely,” I told her.
“Thanks. It’s for a bat mitzvah, so I want it to feel young and fresh.”
“I think you’re nailing it,” I told her honestly. “This is my sister, Aurora.”
I turned to Aurora and made the introduction to Daisy, as well.
“Hi, Aurora. I could have guessed that you two were related. You look so much alike.”
We really did. Aurora’s features were more delicate. Her hair was less wild than mine, falling in soft, wavy curls rather than ringlets, but otherwise, we did look alike. More Mom’s genes than Dad’s.
“I can deal with that,” Aurora said with a smile. She busied herself with looking at the displays of flowers while I chatted with Daisy.
“Did you want to put something together for yourself? I can put this down for a few and get some things together for you,” she offered.
I came into the shop so often that Daisy was showing me how to put together beautiful arrangements on my own.
That was how I now knew what ranunculus was.
That wasn’t what I was here for today though.
“No. I’m just stopping in to grab something for Maeve. She’s just had a baby, and we’re heading over there to spend some time with them.”
“That’s great! Give her my congratulations. I have some premade arrangements on the table if you want to take one of those. Everything was made up either yesterday or today.”
“Thanks, Daisy.”
I looked through the collection of bouquets she had displayed. Everything from funeral arrangements to two simple stems in a vase, colors, shapes, and sizes matched and married in artful masterpieces. No two were the same, and each one gave off its own vibe.
“How’s everything going at work?” she asked, continuing to snip stems while I browsed the selection. I chose a moderately sized bouquet of sunflowers, tulips, and calla lilies. The bright yellows, oranges, and pinks were calling to me, the perfect blend to celebrate Maeve and Veda.
“Good. It’s Calla Bay, so, you know, slow,” I laughed.
“I still can’t believe we had a murder in town.” She shivered, shaking out her arms like she was ridding herself of evil. “I don’t think we’d ever had a murder for as long as I’ve been alive.”
Daisy was probably twenty-three. She had lived in Calla Bay her whole life and only ever known the safety of a small town.
“That’s true. It’s been thirty-five years since the last murder. A neighbor dispute gone horribly too far.”
“Well, I’m glad they caught the killer. I didn’t like the idea that a murderer was on the loose. I have to park down the block a lot of the time, and I didn’t even want to walk back to my car. I didn’t like it. Not one bit.”
“Luke worked day and night on that case. He was determined to keep our town safe and get justice for Alana.”
“Ahh.” A dreamy look crossed Daisy’s face that had me rolling my eyes in jest. “Officer Wilder can keep me safe anytime.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I told her.
“Don’t tell me you don’t think the same thing. Every woman does.”
I left her comment alone, paying for my bouquet for Maeve instead, Aurora’s laughter filling the space my silence left.
“Thanks, Daisy. I’ll see you in a couple of days for one of these for myself.”
“Perfect. Have a good night, Scarlett. It was nice to meet you, Aurora. Tell Maeve I said congratulations on the baby.”
Aurora waited in the car with the flowers while I ran across the street to Pine Street Market.
I had made a fun iced tea mocktail, but I wanted an extra orange to cut slices for the rim, and I had used all of mine in making the infused tea.
Matt was sitting in his car with the window down as I weaved between his car and the one next to it.
“Hey, Matt.” I waved.
“Hi, Scarlett. What, uh, brings you here today?” he asked, his eyes wide with surprise, like Calla Bay was so big that running into a colleague at the market was out of the norm.
“I just need to run in and grab something quick.” Something seemed off with him lately.
Every time I saw him, he seemed uncomfortable.
His fingers were drumming against his steering wheel, and his eyes darted around his surroundings like he was clocking every movement.
It was probably just a habit from being a cop for years, but it left me feeling unsettled.
“My sister’s waiting for me, so I should get going,” I told him, not wanting to drag out the conversation longer than necessary.
“Sure. Have a good day.” He smiled, the picture of casual. I didn’t believe it.
The market was big, for Calla Bay standards anyway, but it seemed like no one else was here.
The fruits and vegetables were set up on the left in cute wooden bins.
I grabbed the one orange I needed, opting to forego a produce bag, and spun around, nearly walking into someone.
Juliet stumbled back a step, her face holding the look of contempt she often leveled my way.
“Sorry about that,” I said. It was a lie. I hadn’t meant to nearly run into her, but I wasn’t sorry either. Juliet could keep her contempt for me. I held my own contempt for her after what she did to Luke.
Her mouth pulled into a sneer that I thought was meant to be a smile but didn’t quite make it. I let her go ahead of me as we both made our way to the cashier.
Juliet paid for her items and walked out without a backward glance.
“Just this?” Debbie, the cashier, asked.
“Yup. One orange short. Go figure.” I smiled and paid, thanking Debbie as I gathered my orange and change.
Matt’s car was pulling down the street as I exited. Good. I really wasn’t looking forward to another odd encounter with him today, especially after having run into Juliet.
I pulled up in front of Wyatt and Maeve’s house five minutes later. Claire’s car was already here. We had decided that tonight would be a spa night for Maeve. Veda was three weeks old, and between managing a newborn and running after a fifteen-month-old, she was tired and ragged.
Aurora and I made our way to the door with the robes, slippers, and eye masks we had picked up special for tonight, along with the iced tea carafe. Maeve opened the door in her pajama shorts and an oversized T-shirt that I imagined was probably Wyatt’s.
“Why are you wearing that?” Her brow furrowed as she looked me up and down.
“I told her to change, but she never listens to me,” Aurora chimed in .
She did. But I had a real thing against going out in pajamas. Aurora didn’t have that same hang-up, happily strutting around in a skimpy pair of cotton shorts and a strappy camisole. My linen shorts were comfortable and loose, plus they were considered real clothes. I didn’t see any issue with it.
“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing? It’s not like I put on jeans,” I said.
“Fine. Fine. Just get inside.”
Claire was sitting at the breakfast counter, her Wilder Construction T-shirt covering whatever bottoms she had on. Her face lit up when she saw us, and she hopped off the stool to wrap both me and Aurora in a hug.
“Aurora, I’m so glad you came. This will be so much fun.”
Wyatt was in the living room, baby Veda lying on his shirtless chest. Her perfect little lips smooshed into her dad, her cheeks rosy.
She was the cutest little thing. Jane was on the floor by his feet, playing with a wooden cube and different-shaped blocks, trying to figure out how to get the shapes into the cube through the cutouts.
“Hi, Wyatt. Hi, Jane.” I stroked Veda’s head softly, making sure not to wake her. Jane babbled to me, telling me a whole story in her own special language. “You don’t say. I think you’re doing a great job. You’ll get them all in there,” I encouraged her.
In the kitchen, Maeve had set up a fruit platter and some crackers and cheese for the night. Claire was in charge of the mud masks, scrubs, and foot soaks. She even went as far as bringing a full foot-soaker machine.
“How’s things going at the library?” I asked Claire, grabbing a plate and scooping a helping of fruit onto it.
Claire had started in the Delano Library as the historian a few months ago when she decided to uproot her life and stay in Calla Bay.
Love makes you do crazy things, but so far, it’d been working out well for her.
“Really good. I’ve been partnering up with other towns, learning about the local history in this entire region. It’s been a lot to take on, but it’s going really well.”
“That’s great. I’m so glad you love it here,” I told her. “What about you, Maeve? You’re not going back at the start of the school year, are you?”
“No. I’ll go back in October. It was so good of Veda to show up a few weeks early, so now I won’t miss as much of the school year, just the first six weeks or so.”