Page 16 of Insurgent

I fully turn around as she starts removing flowers to cut the stems. “Okay?” I ask, nervous. Maybe my moping has been too much. I hope she isn’t firing me.

“I’ve been talking with my husband and I’ve finally got him convinced. We’re buying a farm.”

“Oh,” I say, surprised. This is not the conversation I expected. “Congratulations?” I say questionably, because who wants to do all that work?

She laughs. “Thanks. I know it’s going to be a lot of work, but I’ve always wanted one. It’s been my dream, actually.” I walk over to help her, grabbing some vases from the bottom of the table and walking behind the counter to fill them with water.

“So, what does this mean exactly?”

“This means, I won’t be here hardly at all and I need someone to run the place. I know you’re about to be finished with school and you’re probably thinking about colleges.” She looks back at me.

“Which, by all means, shoot for the moon, girl, but I wanted to toss an idea by you. Since I won’t be here, I wanted to see if you would run the shop for me. Full-time. I would increase your pay substantially.

“You would be in charge. Of course, you could hire someone to help out when you need time off and that wouldn’t cut into anything you earn.”

I place the cut flowers into the vase, trimming down any excess leaves that fall below the waterline.

“Think on it. I know it’s a lot.”

“Why would you trust me to run this place? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m flattered, but I don’t have a degree or anything that qualifies me to run a business.”

“You have something that, to me, is better than a degree. You have experience and a drive to learn. You’ve been a big help to me, and I trust you.”

“Thanks,” I say.

“You’re welcome. Take some time to think about it. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will this farm, so we’ve got a little while before things change dramatically, and when you decide…if the answer is yes, I’ll teach you everything you don’t already know. I would pay you well, Bexley. You would be helping my dreams come true, and I hope to eventually expand this place and bring in the fresh produce I grow and the eggs my chickens will hatch. It would be great,” she says excitedly.

“I’ll definitely think on it,” I tell her.

“Good.” She nods. “Now let’s get these finished up and put in the fridge. That bride I’m dealing with is a complete nightmare,” she says. “If they look even a little wilted, I’m afraid she might burn the whole place down.”

I laugh, and for the first time in a while, it feels real and I feel like I have a little hope that things just might be okay.

As I’m about to leave work for the day, my phone rings. I nearly drop the thing and break it to pieces to hurry and see who it is. When I see it’s my uncle, I feel my whole body droop. Did I really think it was going to be Danny?

“Just checking in,” he says after I answer. “The storm’s going to hit us hard in a little while.”

“I’m leaving now,” I say

“Good. We’ll see you in a bit. Be safe.”

I hang up and slide my phone into my pocket, thinking I should throw the thing away so I can get over this shit already.

“Hey, Bex,” Billie says as I’m about to walk out the door.

“Hmm?”

“It’s going to be all right. We all eventually get over our first love, and we go on to realize that maybe we are better because it happened and because it’s over. Every ending is a beginning.”

“Yeah,” I say, trying to muster up a smile.

“You need to get out. Enjoy life. Be a teenager.”

“I’ll try that,” I say, giving her a wink before I push the door, thinking how I wish people would stop telling me that. Be a teenager, like it’s something you must take advantage of before it’s yanked from you. Before you have to grow up and live in the real world.

Well, I’m already living in the real world. I open my umbrella and walk to my car. I open the door and get inside, tossing the wet umbrella into the passenger side floor after I close it. The rain picks up, hitting the roof of my car. I start it, place my hands on the wheel, and drop my smile.

I’m alone now. Nothing but the rain and me. I’m grateful for Billie’s offer. It’s like a dream really. I love this side of town, so that’s a plus. I’ll talk it over with Uncle Hale and see what he thinks. I exhale, put my car in drive, and pull out onto the road.

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