Page 79 of Only You

“You can help me make three arrangements for Mrs. Winters. She’s coming in before I close to pick them up.”

“I don’t know how.”

“I’ll teach you.” I smiled.

We worked side by side. I taught her the different flowers and showed her how to arrange them.

“You like to paint, right?” I asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“I’ve seen a couple of your paintings. You have a creative eye. I bet you could make an arrangement on your own.”

“You think so?”

“I do. You can use any flowers you want, and when you’re done, you can take it home.”

“Wow. Really?” Her eyes lit up.

“Yep. Go on. Create away.” I smiled.

While Lucy was making her own floral arrangement, I finished mine and helped the customers who came into the shop.

“I’m done, Hannah.”

Turning around, I smiled as I stared at her arrangement. “It’s beautiful, Lucy. I knew you’d be good at this.”

“Thanks. That was fun. Can I do it again sometime?”

“Of course.”

After closing the shop, we stopped at the Seaside, picked up a carry-out, and headed home.

“How do the flowers look here?” Lucy asked, setting her arrangement in the center of the island.

“They look beautiful there.”

We sat on the stools while we ate, and I used the opportunity to try and clear the air with her.

“Did you have fun today at the shop?” I asked.

“Yeah. It was pretty cool.”

“Maybe I’m not so bad after all? I get the feeling sometimes, all the time, that you don’t like me.”

She lowered her fork, picked up her glass, and sipped her water.

“It’s okay, Lucy. You can tell me.”

“It’s not that I don’t like you. It’s just—” She looked down.

“Just what?”

“I don’t want you to take my dad away from me.”

“I would never take your dad away from you. Why do you think that?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It’s been just him and me since my mom died.”