The bell dings my announcement as I walk through the door of Edward's Flower Shop, causing my insides to jump. I'm instantly hit with the overwhelming punch of flowers, sweet to the point of suffocating.
Stanley steps in behind me and takes a deep whiff, and smiles. "Wow, isn't this something? I just love flowers, all kinds. Always have". I smile back at him in agreement, but he doesn't see; he's already moved past me deeper into the store, pausing every few steps to bend over and inhale a flower.
"Welcome to Edward's Flower Shop," a man peeks out from the back room wearing a pink button-down shirt with a floral tie and dark denim blue jeans. "How can I help you both today?"
Stanley steps forward and puts his hand out. "Hello, I'm Stanley Foster. You have such a lovely shop" Stanley actually sounds giddy now.
"Well, thank you" the man's smile widens, exposing rows of sparkling white teeth. "I'm so proud of my flowers," he responds as a flush appears on his cheeks. Are you looking for anything in particular?"
"Well, you're" the expert." Stanley chuckles.
I clear my throat, trying to draw attention my way. "Oh, hi," Edwards says cheerfully. I'll "be right with you after I'm done helping this customer."
"Um, we're together."
"we'reWhat?" the man's brow lifts in surprise. "Oh, uh, yes," Stanley jumps in awkwardly at last. "We're here to look at some flowers," Stanley says with a smile.
The man glimpses at me, then back at Stanley again. Then smiles a knowing smile. "Of course, something for your mother?"
Well, this is not going well; he thinks we're brother and sister. What the heck? "Um, it's for a wedding… for OUR wedding," I respond with emphasis.
The man scans Stanley again, then composes himself. "Of course, I'm so sorry. You're my four o'clock. How can I help you" He moves closer, then hooks a right leaving me facing his back.
"So, is there anything, in particular, you have in mind?" Edward begins to walk through the flower shop, pointing out flowers, as Stanley scurries to keep up.
I think, please don't wait for me as I stand there dumbfounded. What's that guy's problem? My stomach rolls for the second time since lunch. That chicken salad sandwich wasn't agreeing with me.
I begin to walk. Through the flower shop, I'll do my own tour, then decide I'm being childish and scan the shop of Stanley and. Edward amongst the jungle of plants and flowers. Their voice echos told me they were somewhere about 20 feet to the south of where I stood.
I head in that direction as the nightmare I had the previous night begins to interrupt my thoughts. I hate nightmares that won'tI'mI'll die. It's bad enough to experience them in the middle of the night, but when they follow you through the next day, it's horrible.
My thoughts flash to the party scene where my nightmare began. Stanley was there, my mother, and a bunch of people I didn't know. They were all laughing and dancing and carrying on. I kept trying to join them, but I was forced to climb over bookshelves and furniture, and they kept getting further away.
I yelled for Stanley, reaching my hand out. He looked right at me, then turned back to the party, ignoring my calls for help. Then the room turned dark, and suddenly, I was all alone and lost, wandering down a street that kept getting darker and creepier. I knew I needed to turn around, but I couldn't figure out how.
Prickles rose on my skin, thinking about the feeling of standing alone on that dark, creepy street with no way out. I swallowed hard, feeling nausea rise in my throat. "Ruby, hey, what's going on?" Stanley shook my arm. Suddenly the smell of flowers invaded my nose, and I saw Stanley's face inches from mine. "Ruby, are you okay?"
"What? Um, yes, I was just…." Edward and I have come up with some great ideas. In fact, his shop closes at five, but we really don't want to stop this flow. I know you have to get home to start dinner. Why don't you go ahead? I'll stay and finish up with Edward, okay?"
I scan the room and see Edward in the distance with an excited look on his face, then I look back at Stanley. "Sure, that sounds good. You two go ahead. I don't want to ruffle my mother's feathers."
Stanley smiled back in sympathy, then turned and walked off, leaving me standing alone in the front of the flower shop. I watched them disappear through the plants, listening to their voices rise in laughter. Hmm, Edward must have said something funny.
I turned and headed to the front of the flower shop. Then pushed the door open to the sound of the chime. As Stanley said, I might as well head home and get dinner started.
On my drive home, I reflected on what happened at the flower shop again. I did pick the wedding reception table and chairs out without Stanley being there. We didn't have to do all the wedding planning together.
I should be thrilled that Stanley wanted to be so involved in our wedding. From what I read in Bride magazine, in the advice column, many women couldn't get their fiancees interested in their wedding at all.
What guy would spend that kind of time on flowers if it wasn't for him wanting me to have a perfect day? I'm just not seeing this in the correct light.
As my mother reminded me the other night, I'm lucky to have Stanley. His sweet intentions, like what he showed today at the flower shop, just warmed me to him more, which is what I needed to stay focused on moving forward.
I found out a few days later when Stanley and I met for an early dinner that the time he spent with Edward on flowers paid off in the end.
He proudly displayed the photos on his phone of what he finalized with Edward for all of our wedding flowers.
My bouquet was breathtaking with alabaster garden roses, lily of the valley, and white and soft blue hydrangeas. The flowers were tied with soft lavender and periwinkle velvet ribbons.
I mean, I could never have come up with something like that. It was a show-stopper! The arrangement looked like something out of Martha Stewart Magazine.
Yeap, this guy was a keeper. I would probably start falling in love with him even before the wedding if he kept this up.
It was hard to believe six weeks had flown by so fast. When my mother told me she'd booked the Holiday Inn Garden Room for our reception for two months from the night I got engaged, I thought she was crazy.
But it was all coming together, and in two more weeks, I would begin my new life as Stanley's wife; I would become Mrs. Ruby Foster.
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