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sleek ponytail and opted for some nice jeans and
a blouse instead of a dress or skirt. There was no reason to be in
a closed shop with all that dirt and mold around in something so
nice.
    Vince was already there, and he opened the
door for her. She looked around and saw that there were four large
fans set up inside the business, drying out the space. She could
barely hear anything else over their hum, even the traffic that
piled up outside the door as others headed to school and work.
    She saw also that more of the wall was
opened up, probably so he could fix all the wiring. A sledgehammer
lay on the floor against the corner of the room. Many of the
flowers had already been removed or put into bags to go out in the
trash. It made her wonder how many hours he had been working or if
he had even slept. “Do you need me to go back over there and get
you a coffee?” she called over the loud noise of the fans.
    He squinted up at her, pulling an ear bud
out of his ear. Apparently he’d been listening to music. She
supposed it was better than listening to those fans all day. “How
long have you been here?” she asked, rephrasing.
    He held up two fingers, which she was pretty
sure meant two hours. She held up her coffee cup and pointed out
the door towards the coffee shop. It was crude, but it wasn’t like
she knew sign language. He smiled, and she could tell his body was
starting to shake with laughter, But then he gave her a thumbs up
and walked outside with her, leaving the loud humming behind.
    Holding up one finger as he began to walk
towards the coffee shop, Clarke turned around and went to lock the
door. She couldn’t stand leaving it unlocked even in the state it
was in, but then she realized she didn’t have the key. She ran
after Vince to grab the key, but he just kept walking. “No one’s
going to want to go in there. It’ll be fine,” he assured her,
walking inside and up to the counter.
    She kept her stride next to him and stood at
the counter with him as Joe approached the cash register. Great,
just the guy she needed at the moment. What was he going to think
about her being there with Vince after all the times she’d turned
him down?
    Joe looked back and forth between them
before quietly taking Vince’s order. It was a miracle not hearing
the petty insults or attempts at convincing her he was the best guy
to date. Maybe she should have bought a guy coffee there
sooner!
    His coffee was ready pretty quick, and she
headed for the door. But Vince sat down in a window seat instead,
so she froze, wondering what he was thinking. “Don’t you want a
break form that place to sit down for a moment? How about we enjoy
our coffee?” He raised his cup as if in a toast before beginning to
sip at it and look out the window.
    Clarke sat down cautiously across from him,
her leg shaking and jiggling a little. She was anxious to do
something, but she knew there was really nothing she could do other
than wait for him to be done and watch him work again. Deep down
she knew she should just let him do his job until it was ready to
reopen, but she wasn’t good at relinquishing control at all.
    “So, why a flower shop?” he asked after a
few moments. She looked at him almost surprised at the
question.
    “I guess because there’s a lot of
opportunity there. You can do a lot with flowers. I thought it was
a good investment.” Once she said it out loud, Clarke realized how
pitiful that was, and he probably thought the same thing.
    “Uh huh,” he nodded. “So, other than sell
flowers, what do you do?”
    “Well, I help make plans for events like
birthday parties and weddings. I meet with clients a lot.”
    He started laughing; practically squirting
coffee out of his nose, and Clarke wasn’t sure what to make of it.
Did she have a bug on her face or something? “No, I meant what do
you do outside of work for fun?” he clarified, still choking on
some coffee.
    It was another tough question because her
work was her life.