Elly In Bloom

  “Keith, I…I just can’t. I don’t have it in me.”

  Keith was circling around Elly, making her quite dizzy. “Have you thought about the repercussions for NOT taking this wedding?”

  Elly’s combative mood faltered. She hadn’t considered the consequences. All she had to do was picture Lucia in a wedding dress, and she was thrown into a flurry of illogical emotion. Yes, there would be consequences. Sunny was a very prominent member of the St. Louis social hierarchy, with connections to many socialite charities and hospital boards. Elly imagined that once she abruptly dropped her daughter’s wedding, Sunny would speak ill of her to all her friends and acquaintances. Elly might lose some business, but wasn’t it worth it? Wasn’t it?

  Sensing Elly’s inner conflict, Keith sat down beside her on the bench. He hesitantly put his hand on her shoulder. “Elly. Tell me this, how much more of your life are you going to let him control?”

  It was the right question. For the next two hours, in the secret park, Keith and Elly discussed every possibility until her hands were damp and stiff, her skin swelling with moisture. She cried, she ranted and Keith took it all in. The sun dipped behind the horizon, and the weather went from pleasantly chilly to a damp cold. They walked back in silence, Keith holding Cadbury’s leash and Elly staring off into the distance, deep in thought, her hands shoved into her green sweater pockets. They arrived in front of Elly’s shop.

  “Would you like to come up for apple pie?”

  Keith declined politely. “No, it seems like you need to time to evaluate things. You know, consider it, think it through…maybe eat some cheese...”

  Elly nodded, taking Cadbury’s leash from him. “Keith, I don’t know how to thank you. You are possibly the best listener I’ve ever met.”

  Keith waved his hand at her, obviously embarrassed. “Don’t worry about it. Give what I said some thought.”

  “I will. I promise. Goodnight.”

  Keith looked into her eyes. “Goodnight Eleanor.”

  Elly felt a small thrill rush through her body. Aside from Sunny, only her mother called her Eleanor. Hearing it warmed her heart and brought tears to her eyes.

  After putting Cadbury into her bed, Elly sat in the dark, staring out at the street below. Her answering machine showed that Isaac had called three times, but she didn’t have the energy to talk to him. Instead, she sipped mulled apple cider with rum and stared out the window. Even though she knew she should be thinking only about Aaron and the wedding, she wasn’t. She was thinking of her mother. She was up at one in the morning when the first raindrop fell, the thunder rattling her windows, and at four am when the downpour ceased. At six am, exhausted, she climbed into her bed, said a quick prayer, and dialed Anthony’s voicemail.

  “We need to have an emergency meeting tomorrow morning,” Elly paused, rubbing her bloodshot eyes. “No, scratch that, tomorrow afternoon. Bring Snarky Teenager with you.” She paused. “We’re doing the wedding.”

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY

  Elly looked into the mirror above her small fireplace. Her blond curls were pinned up against her head, and her tortoiseshell glasses reflected the light. She hooked small snowflake earrings into her ears and dashed on some tinted lip-gloss. Her dark jeans hung loosely around her hips, and her pale pink button down shirt clung tightly to her bra.

  “I can do this,” she breathed. She headed down the stairs with Cadbury in tow, wrapping a bright red pea coat around her body before heading outside and walking briskly to Ada’s Coffee. She ordered a tall hot chocolate with all the extras: whipped cream, chocolate curls, and something heavenly called toffee crunch.

  Thinking to the groveling to come, she also ordered drinks for each of the staff, and some cranberry zucchini bread. Elly sipped her drink slowly as she walked back, feeling with each step that she should mentally arm herself for what lay ahead. She stood outside her shop and looked in the window. Sitting at her now glass-less table were Kim, Snarky Teenager and Anthony. They were all talking animatedly, with Kim waving her hands around like a maniac. Elly smiled. She truly loved these people, she really did. And she hoped they would love her after this. Cadbury, seeing Kim’s Lexus parked at the curb, started barking excitedly, causing all three to look up to the window.

  “Here we go,” mumbled Elly, and stepped inside. Cadbury ran to Kim and collapsed at her feet. He was a total fool for her. It was something she understood well.

  Elly stood in front of the group, trying to keep her voice calm and under control. “As you all know, I have decided that we are going to do Aaron’s wedding. I hope that you will respect my decision and understand my reasoning. Now, if that’s all…”

  “ELLY. YOU CANNOT DO THIS!” interrupted Kim. “This is WRONG. You cannot handle this wedding! Aaron cheated on you and wrecked your life and you cannot REWARD him by doing this.”

  Snarky Teenager piped in. “Are you a masochist or something? Is this you punishing yourself for leaving him? You are dating that hot guy next door now, you don’t need to care about anything that has to do with Aaron.”

  Kim went on, livid. “Elly, listen to me. You have spent the past three days sobbing about this dirt bag! And it’s justified! But taking this wedding will just prolong your pain, and it will give Lucia a chance to gloat in your face! Elly, I love you and I think you are a very strong person, but you will not handle this well. I know that much.”

  Snarky Teenager flung her arms into the air. “Not to mention that you will be making the bouquet OF THE WOMAN HE LEFT YOU FOR!” She paused, her eyes lighting up with mischief. “We should set it ON FIRE!”

  While the two of them continued ranting, Anthony stayed silent, his eyes lingering on Elly. He finally raised his hand, and Kim and Snarky Teenager fell silent. “Elly, why don’t you tell us why you want to take this wedding.”

  She paced in front of them. “It’s hard to explain” she started, wearily. “I stayed up all night thinking it through. I know this is the right decision. I…” Elly steeled her nerves. “I can’t let Aaron ruin MY life. He destroyed me. So much that I created a whole new life for myself rather than face what he did. I’ve spent the past few years pushing him out of my mind, the very place that I should have control over.” She paused, catching her breath. “Let’s be honest - I need to move on. If I don’t do the wedding, it will always be there, the fact that Aaron could take one more thing away from me.”

  She shakily raised her Ada’s Coffee bag. “Also, I bought you zucchini bread, so you have to do this, okay?”

  Utter skepticism was still displayed on their faces. Elly bit her lip out of frustration. Kim rose out of her seat and put her arm around her shoulder. “Elly, we love you. We’re just having a hard time understanding.”

  Elly took a deep, purging breath.

  “You might not realize this, but not doing this wedding will have repercussions. Sunny is a very well connected woman. We don’t want all of St. Louis society and every hotel owner from here to St. Charles thinking that we cannot handle a large wedding. They won’t know the details of why we pulled out at the last minute; they will just know that we acted unprofessionally.” High point, she thought. They looked half-convinced. “And, I know that this is silly, but I really, really like Sunny. She is a sweet woman, and I wouldn’t be able to tell her why I would suddenly decline the wedding. It’s too late. She would never find another florist who could give her what she wants with this short notice.”

  Kim jumped in. “Elly, we aren’t worried about Sunny. We’re worried about you. We just want you to do the best thing for you. I think that you may be making this decision emotionally, out of some stubborn desire…”

  Snarky Teenager spoke quietly. “I think you may be mistaking Aaron hiring you for his wedding with Aaron coming back for you.”

  Everyone fell silent, as Snarky Teenager had spoken the words that everyone thought but didn’t want to say. Elly put her drink on the table where she sat and looked her workers and best friend in the eyes. ??
?Please understand. I know it won’t be easy. I know that it will probably break me a little more. But I need to do this. I need a resolution. I need my heart to be free from Aaron.” She raised her eyes to the ceiling and muttered quickly: “I also may need to pay off my apartment.”

  Kim shrieked. “Are you kidding me!? This is about money?”

  Elly hung her head. “Maybe. But it’s mostly about reclaiming myself. Kim, I need you to trust me. I will not have my heart held captive by Aaron Schuster forever.” She looked right into Kim’s sea glass eyes. “I have thought this through. I talked to Keith about it for hours yesterday.” Elly couldn’t be sure, but she thought she glimpsed a wink of pleasure in Kim’s eyes when she said Keith’s name. “This isn’t a rash decision. It’s not something I decided because I felt guilty. I was all for declining the wedding yesterday. But I’ve thought it through - I need to do this. And yes, the money is almost too good to refuse.” They stared back at her. “Fine. I’ll give you each a $500 bonus for doing the wedding.”

  “SOLD!” said Anthony, banging his hand like a gavel. Snarky Teenager gave her a thumbs-up and headed to the back room to get started on the day’s designing, followed by Anthony, who was looking at color swatches.

  Kim and Elly sat alone. Elly ran her hands over her now cool hot chocolate. She looked pensively at Kim. “I can’t do this without you. I need you to support this decision.”

  Kim lay back in her seat and rested her hand on her swollen apple belly. “So what’s the next step?”

  Elly could have kissed her with relief. “In two days, I have the final consultation scheduled with Sunny and Lucia. I actually think that will be the hardest part. I don’t know if I’ll be able to be in a room with her.” Elly stood and tossed her cup into the trash, as Kim waddled over to the cooler and helped herself to some Blue River delphinium and pale pink lisanthus.

  “Don’t take all the lisanthus; I’m pairing it later with some black magic roses,” Elly instructed.

  Kim stood back and looked at her arrangement. “I miss designing so much.” She plunked her arrangement sadly into a petite glass vase ringed with pink dots. Brushing her hands on her black lace maternity shirt, she sat down at the table. “Well, I guess if you’re meeting with Lucia in two days, then we have a lot of work to do.”

  This caught Elly off guard. “What do I need to do? I already showed everything to Sunny, so we don’t need another centerpiece or table trial. We’re just supposed to run over the contract with the bride.” Elly forced herself to say the woman’s name, a hot liquid on her tongue.

  “Lucia. I need to run over the contract with Lucia.” She paused, proud of herself for being so mature. “THAT WHORE!” she yelled, kicking a trash can and sending stems all over the floor.

  Kim raised her hands defensively and backed away from Elly. “Yeah, okay. See, that’s what I was talking about. We have a lot of work to do.”

  Elly shrugged her shoulders with exasperation. “I’m not at peace with this. I’ve made the decision to do this wedding, but I can’t change that I’m not over him completely.”

  Kim smiled at her coyly. “No, you can’t. But you can pretend that you are.”

  The swivel chair seemed barely strong enough to hold Elly, as the hairstylist swung her around to face the mirror. Kita looked to be about 18 years old and fresh off the boat from some Eastern European nation that bred supermodels. She had black spiky hair, a nose ring, lush dark eyelashes and a tattoo of a wolf fighting an eagle. Her harsh beauty made Elly feel uncomfortable. Kim had brought her to Krasa, an elite salon in Ladue. Every surface and wall was white, and the place had the feeling of a stylish mental institution. All the stylists wore black and each station had a single orchid on the table. There were no magazines, no couches, no waiting area. Bizarre piano melodies were pumped out of loud speakers set inside the walls. Isaac would like this crazy music, thought Elly affectionately. She was surprised by the warm feelings coursing through her at the thought of his name.

  Kita lifted Elly’s glasses off her face and pushed her hair back, peering closely at Elly’s puffy eyes. “You want her to look younger, yes?”

  “Yes,” Kim piped in. “In two days she is meeting with the woman who stole her husband.” Kita clicked her tongue.

  “I have stolen many husbands in my day, but their wives were all happy to let me take them.” She winked at Elly. “But some were better than others.”

  Her red lips quivered next to her ear. This crazy girl is going to lick me, thought Elly. Kita straightened her back and stretched her arms above her head, pulling up her black t-shirt so that Elly was able to glimpse a perfect stomach, complete with a pink rhinestone belly ring.

  “Here is what Kita will do for you,” she announced as she leaned backward against the mirror. “Kita can tame unruly curls into gorgeous tendrils. Your coloring is awful, unsophisticated and bland. I will lighten the hair to a wheat blond, with strawberry gold and butterscotch highlights.”

  “Am I getting a sundae or a hair cut?” joked Elly.

  No one laughed. Kita curled her lip. Stupid fat woman, Elly thought, always thinking of food.

  “After the coloring, we’ll trim the ends and add side swept bangs.” Kita glanced at her fingernails. “You could use manicure, pedicure, brow and bikini wax, and facial scrub, yes?”

  Elly started to decline but Kim interrupted her. “Yes! She could.”

  Elly shot a nasty look in her direction.

  “I’m pregnant” Kim said, grinning wickedly, “And therefore you will do as I say.”

  Kita sighed loudly, her time obviously being wasted by their banter.

  “I can do all this,” she circled her hands around Elly, implying that “this” was Elly, “for $700.”

  Elly started to climb out of the torture chair. “Absolutely not! That is -”

  “That’s reasonable,” said Kim over Elly’s voice. “I’m treating, so yes that sounds reasonable.”

  Elly stared at Kim. “Kim! You cannot pay that much to make me look a little bit nicer.”

  Kita spun on her spiked stiletto and leaned over Elly menacingly, her perfect face alarmingly close. “A little bit nicer? Kita will not make you look a little bit nicer. Kita will make you look like a new woman. This woman who steals husband will not hold a candle to Kita’s work!” Kita put a strong hand on Elly’s shoulder and pushed her back into the chair roughly. “Now you sit and let Kita work. NO TALKING!”

  Kim waddled towards the door.

  “Where are you going?” whispered Elly. “Don’t leave me alone here!”

  Kim smiled. “Call me when you are done. All the sudden, I’m craving a turkey burger with feta cheese and a chocolate milk shake and I’m going to find one.”

  Elly opened her mouth to ask Kim to bring her one when she felt Kita’s bony fingers on her chin, pushing her mouth shut. “I cannot study your face while your mouth is open. No more talking. Besides, you do not need burger.”

  Elly sat quietly while Kita peered at her every pore, mumbling to herself as she went. “Eyebrows of Genghis Khan, hairline is slanted,” and Elly couldn’t be sure, but thought she heard, “Double chins.”

  This is going to be a long day, she thought.

  Soon, Elly was lying back in a cold hard chair, her hair being violently washed by Kita. “So, this woman, who steal husband? She beautiful?”

  Elly squinted her eyes shut to avoid the shampoo dripping down her face. “Unfortunately, she’s pretty much the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I mean, morally reprehensible, but very beautiful.”

  Kita roughly wiped a towel over Elly’s face. “Well, beauty is not everything. The inside, it is what counts.”

  Elly opened one eye and peered at Kita, a stunning creature in her own right. “Do you really believe that?”

  Kita smiled, revealing dazzling white teeth. She’s a vampire, thought Elly. “Not at all. Beauty is only true measure of success. But Kita will make you as sexy as possible.”

  El
ly closed her eyes and exhaled for the first time since she had learned about Lucia. “Do your best. At this point, I have nothing to lose.”

  It took five hours. First there was the hair washing, coloring, and highlighting. This took two hours, for most of which Elly was forced to abject humiliation by walking around the salon with tin foil on her head like Winnie the Pooh with a motorcycle helmet on. Then came the waxing - the brows were not that bad, neither was her upper lip. There was a moment of agony, and then sweet hairless bliss. However, when Kita hoisted Elly’s naked leg up upon her shoulder and applied burning hot wax onto her upper thigh and nether regions, Elly felt a rush of fear.

  “Um, Kita? I don’t really see how waxing that area will help me here. I’m positive Lucia will not be looking THAT closely at me. In fact, I just feel that I should tell you that no one sees me that closely.”

  Kita moved her leg aside, grunting under the weight of it. “You not get bikini wax for someone else. You get bikini wax for you.”

  “That’s the problem.” Elly quipped back. “I’m completely happy going a little more natural.”

  Kita squinted down at her. “That is not natural. That is rainforest.” And with that, Kita reached down and ripped the wax off, flourishing her prize high above her head. Elly let out an unattractive howl. In the interest of distracting Elly from the searing pain below, Kita then smoothed Elly’s brain into mush with a rejuvenating facial and head massage.

  “I love you,” murmured Elly as Kita softly rubbed her temples.

  “So does everyone,” Kita confirmed.

  Finally, after five hours of primping, pulling and the all-out torture of a bikini wax, Elly was ready. She sat with her back to the mirror, Kita putting some finishing touches on her lip gloss.

  “Now, I send this home with you, so you can do yourself, yes?” Elly nodded, subdued by this gothic princess. “You show that woman that she cannot own you.” Elly smiled at her. “Okay, you start like potato pauper Ablachi” – I’m not sure what that means, thought Elly – “And now you are like royal princess.”