Elly In Bloom

  “What the…” Lizette let out a string of curses, suitable for a sailor. “My gawd, what is happening? You did NOT just touch MAH face.” She looked both surprised and terrified.

  Elly wrapped her arms around Ardelle, trapping her arms to her side. “Calm down!” she yelled.

  Ardelle nodded, and Elly could feel the tension make her body go rigid.

  Ardelle pointed her chin at Lizette. “Who are you to touch zees flowers? This creation took me three hours, and you have ze audacity to pluck a rose out of it?” She bared her teeth at Lizette. “Why did you touch it? It’s not yours, it’s mine! Do you know much time I put into this arrangement? How I put zat rose right in that place so that it would complete the design aesthetic? I have more talent in my little finger…” She held the rose in her hands, in front of Lizette’s wide eyes. “Does zis rose look wilty to you? Or does it look like a perfect bloom? In France, women pay much money to have zeir roses look of this consistency. But you don’t know that – no!”

  Ardelle struggled under Elly’s arms. I don’t know how much longer I can hold her, thought Elly, she’s very strong for someone so petite.

  “You don’t see the beauty, because you are too busy with your trailer trash hair and those heels, zey are made for strippers! Do you know, if you remove this from the water – it dies? You knew zat, correct? Perhaps you are not from here, but here, we leave our flowers in water.”

  Lizette held a shaking finger in front of her face. “Are you talking to me ME, mah dear? I can’t tell because of your ridiculous Euro-trash accent.” Her voice was unsteady, and Elly could see that her confidence was broken.

  Lizette continued. There was no trace of her Southern accent when she spoke this time. “Do not come near me…again. Do you hear me?” She turned to Elly, eyes blazing. “Call off your French Poodle!”

  Ardelle snarled “A poodle? Who are you calling a poodle? Vous etes le chien! If you were an animal, you could be a lazy bovine!”

  Lizette stepped close to Ardelle. “Lady, you do not know who are talking to. I am the premiere wedding coordinator in St. Louis. Mark my words, you will never work in this town again.”

  Ardelle gave a sly smile. “I do not want to work in this town anyway. It is hot and disgusting. Ze moment I get my visa back, I will be off to Provence and you will still be here, chasing after brides and using glue in your hair.”

  Lizette screamed at Elly. “Get her out of here! Your worker just assaulted me!”

  Elly turned to Ardelle, her temper flared. “GO!” She pointed to the foyer and pushed Ardelle in that direction. Ardelle paraded proudly out of the ballroom, her head held high and her scarf flying behind her. Elly turned around, mortified. To her surprise, Lizette had already moved on the next table and was adjusting a hanging crystal as her assistant held a Kleenex up to her face.

  “Um, are you okay?” Elly asked. I’m going to be sued, she thought.

  Lizette turned around, still no trace of her Southern accent. “I’m fine, and I have a job to do. Actually, I kind of like that woman. She’s as crazy as a loon, but she’s got spunk. I appreciate that. She reminds me of my sister.”

  Elly blinked. “Are you sure, because she, er, scratched your face!”

  “You think a little ol’ scratch is going to stop Lizette Kobul from doing her job? Then you are dead wrong, Ellee Jordan. Besides, don’t you have WORK to be doing, mah dear? This ballroom looks half-done,” Lizette chirped. Her accent was back in full force.

  Elly nodded, still in shock.

  “Then maybe you should get to it. Lucia is not gonna like how this is looking at the moment.” Lucia’s name shook Elly back to reality. “ASHLEE!!” Lizette barked at her assistant. “If I wanted to hold my own Kleenex, I would! Keep it steady GIRL!”

  Elly had barely been in the ballroom for forty minutes. She stomped out to the foyer, where Ardelle was staring at her reflection in a mirror as large as a door. She was calmly brushing her fingers through her hair and humming to herself. She was nuts.

  “What are you supposed to be doing right now?” Elly asked. “What were you doing before you attacked the wedding coordinator?”

  “I was moving ze low centerpieces to the tables and looking over each one, adding when necessary.” She scoffed. “Which it never is. My work is impeccable.”

  “I know. Can you go do that? It looks like there are still some tables waiting for them. Also, stay AWAY from Lizette.” Ardelle stalked away, grumbling in French. Elly turned to Snarky Teeanger, who couldn’t stop laughing. “Time to work,” she said, and this time she meant it.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-NINE

  Elly was in charge of mounting the tall centerpieces, which sat on scattered tables around the room. It was a slow process, one that was both physically and mentally exhausting. First she set down the tall gold candelabra, making sure that it was secure on the bottom and level at the top. Next came a brick of floral foam, secured by a large plastic handle and which was additionally taped and glued at the top. The white orchids dripped and bounced from the floral foam as it fell into the open slot of the candelabra. Each orchid was then checked over, and the base was covered with a dry green moss. More bright yellow mimosa was added piece by piece, until there was a brilliant explosion of white, gold and pale yellow on each table. Snarky Teenager finished the table with petite glass hourglasses – one for each place setting, filled with blown tea roses, in every pale shade of creams. They had finished ten when Elly’s phone buzzed. She pulled her taut apron up to her face, wiped the sweat from her brow and flipped open the phone. This better not be Isaac, she thought to herself, because I am going to murder him.

  “ELLY?” Kim was screaming into the phone.

  Elly almost dropped the bucket of mimosa. “Kim, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

  “No…I’m in labor! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN MANAGE NOT TO KILL US??” She let out a high-pitched wail. “Sorry. I’m in a cab on the way to the hospital. GO FASTER! I will give you a hundred bucks if you get us there in the next five minutes WITHOUT CRASHING THIS PIECE OF CRAP CAR!”

  Elly inhaled. “How can you be labor? You aren’t due for another month!”

  “Yes Elly, well contrary to your belief, not everything revolves around this wedding. Like this baby’s impending birth. WHICH WOULD HAPPEN FASTER IF THIS MORON KNEW HOW TO DRIVE!! ARRGGHHHH!!” Kim let out a loud bellow of pain.

  Elly winced. “Is Sean with you?”

  “No,” Elly could hear Kim gritting her teeth. “No, he was at work, at the hospital, so he’s meeting me there. Lucky for him he can just walk down from his office, get some coffee and watch his wife have a baby! It’s all very convenient. Owwwww…THIS HURTS!!!”

  Elly widened her eyes and ran her hands over her face. How could this be happening? Of all days, of all times.

  “Did you leave the store locked? Was everything picked up…I don’t see anything missing…”

  “Elly. This. Is. Not. About. YOU!! AIEEEE!!!”

  Elly pulled the phone away from her ear. “You’re right. I will be there as soon as I possibly can. I think we may have about two hours left, but I’ll hurry, I promise, I will be there.”

  “You better get here fast, because your goddaughter is on her way.”

  Elly felt tears of joy spring to her eyes. “I’m coming. I love you.”

  “I love you too - Do you not see that TRUCK?? THAT TRUCK COMING RIGHT TOWARDS US? WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” Kim hung up the phone, right in the middle of berating her cabdriver.

  Elly took a deep breath. Okay. She could do this. She waved Ardelle, Snarky Teenager and the hired workers over to her. “Everyone, our deadline has just narrowed. We are going to finish the tables first. Ardelle – can you start dressing the chairs? Each chair is mounted with a gardenia on a folded ti leaf, tucked under and around the bow. Understand?”

  Ardelle squinted her eyes at Elly. “Of course I understand. Do you know zat I studied under Madamoiselle Lorelai at ..”

/>   “Okay, off you go.” Elly turned to the Russian students, who all standing around looking equal parts confused and amused, expect for the handsome one, who couldn’t take his eyes off Snarky Teenager. “This entire platform needs to be covered with pale pink rose petals, in the buckets over there. Then take the remaining rose petals and cover the buffet table. Can you handle that?”

  They nodded and stalked off, grumbling. She turned to Snarky Teenager. “After we finish the tables, I need you to lay down the cattalaya orchids on each place setting – that shouldn’t take long – and then start instructing the men on cleaning up and packing the vans.” Elly looked at her watch. “I need all the trash out of here and everything ready to go by 4 pm. The cocktails start at 5:30. Do you think we can do this? We need to hurry.” She grabbed Snarky Teenager’s arm lightly and pulled her close. “Kim’s in labor. We need to get the hospital.”

  Snarky Teenager’s mouth twitched into a surprised o. “So…we need to hurry.”

  “Yes, we need to hurry.”

  The next hour was a blur of fast movement and flying flowers. Elly worked at a constant furious pace, stopping every twenty minutes to guzzle water, look around, sigh in frustration and continue mounting centerpieces. At 3:30, Elly finally finished and checked on how the rest of the progress was coming along, only to find herself swept away in the romance of it all. Ardelle had almost finished with the ti leaves mounted to each chair, which gave the room a slight whisper of a tropical breeze. The orchid centerpieces stood tall and luxurious, while the low centerpieces were sophisticated and extraordinarily lush. Under the flower chandelier, the raised platform for the bride and the groom was covered – inches thick – with rose petals. They scattered out from the center, mingling with tall glass cylinders that held floating candles, along with submerged callas. Crystals winked and sparkled in the light, and the entire room was a whimsical fairy tale, a place brides would only imagine in their wildest dreams. The wedding guests would find themselves immersed, bedazzled – and mumbling about just how much money must have been spent for such lavish details.

  Elly sighed, filled with relief at the near- finished product. A low hum had fallen over the room as the workers had begun packing up their supplies: Boxes, knives, buckets, foam, ladders, carts and even a small scaffold. Snarky Teenager approached Elly as she walked among the tables, pulling roses open and picking up loose petals.

  “What’s left?”

  “Hmm…” Elly flipped through her immense contract. “The entrance flowers – you are handling those, correct?”

  “Those are the giant urns filled with white anemone and the New Zealand hydrangeas, right?”

  “Perfect. Finish that and then get the workers packed up and on their way. I don’t want to worry about them touching everything.”

  “That one is kinda cute…”

  Elly snapped her fingers. “Focus.”

  Snarky Teenager rolled her eyes. “We are as good as done. Stop flipping out.”

  Elly ignored her and glanced over her checklist. Bathroom flowers, done. Foyer entrance, done. Arrangement placed on desk for the catering manager, done. Table numbers… She bit her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was the table numbers. She looked up to see who she could assign to the task, but everyone was knee-deep in their projects, including Ardelle who was cleaning up a broken vase.

  Elly stomped over to the labeled boxes on the other side of the ballroom. She ripped open the first one, giving herself a small paper cut in the process.

  “Ow!” she yelped. A small drop of blood dripped into the box, and Elly dove after it. She came up with a large photo: Aaron and Lucia, looking healthy and tan in their bathing suits, smiling at each other on a boat. Elly grabbed the next photo. Aaron and Lucia, sitting in front of a fireplace, wearing big wooly sweaters. Her arm around his neck, his hand on her knee. White heat gripped Elly’s chest and she crumpled the photo in her hand. His face. Please…. She hadn’t seen his face since that day, years ago. He had barely aged. His long hair had been buzzed short and he was sporting a goatee, but his beauty was still the same. The hazel eyes, the playful smile, that roguish look that had captured her immediately…it was him, her love, her life.

  This wasn’t worth it. The thought rattled Elly, but she knew it to be true. All the money in the world wasn’t worth looking at this picture, having to help in the celebration of their love. Not worth it. She dug in the box, pulling out the revolting prints and tucking them reluctantly into the photo holders. Small postcards of Aaron’s painting, Evening Ghosts, were put on the opposite side.

  Elly felt a presence behind her. Ardelle was looking down with sympathy. “I’ll put those on ze table for you.”

  Elly was grateful. “Thank you.” She pushed them toward Ardelle, who picked one up thoughtfully.

  “She might be pretty, but she’ll never have what you do.”

  “What? Size sixteen pants? A Sheepdog to sleep with every night? An addiction to chocolate and wine?”

  “No.” Ardelle smiled, wise lines stretching across her face. “She is ze mistress, you know? The mistress who temporarily replaced ze wife, and she will forever have to worry about lovers just like her.” Ardelle’s face was etched with sadness. “Trust me.”

  Elly looked at the picture of Lucia and Aaron, decked out in hiking gear and posing proudly on a mountainside. “I don’t think so. They look quite happy.”

  “They always do.” Ardelle plucked the pictures up from the table. “I’ll finish zis.”

  Elly looked at her gratefully. “Thank you,” she mouthed softly. Ardelle Buche may have belonged in a mental hospital, but at this moment Elly was very thankful for her.

  Soon, they were all engaged in a frantic clean-up. Elly crawled around the floor on her hands and knees, picking up tiny flower petals that had gone astray. The hired laborers packed and carried all the supplies down through the service elevator. Chairs were brushed off, crystals were secured, and Ardelle walked slowly by each table, adjusting and cradling flowers in her skilled embrace.

  Finally, half an hour before the ceremony was to begin, they were finished. Snarky Teenager snapped photos of each corner of the room and of each centerpiece.

  “This is going to increase our business like crazy,” she whispered to Elly. “We should post these on the website.”

  Elly pushed the camera down and shook her head. “I never want to see these pictures, do you understand?”

  Snarky Teenager frowned. “Okay, but…”

  “No buts. Take a couple of more pictures and then get the workers on their way. Drive the van back to the shop. Take any leftover flowers in and put them into the cooler. Don’t worry about clean-up. We’ll do all that tomorrow.” Elly pushed her fingers into her throbbing forehead. “I can’t even THINK about the clean-up.”

  Snarky Teenager gave her a sympathetic look. “You look awful.”

  Elly didn’t doubt it. Even under her apron, her beautiful ruffled black shirt was covered with soil and moss. Her hair, once so pretty, was frizzed out in every direction and pulled back into a loose bun. The knees of her khaki pants were brown from crawling on the floor, and dirt was caked under her fingernails and on her face. She had sweated off any hint of make-up while setting up the ceremony, and all in all, she had never been so exhausted.

  “Get moving. All I have left to do is decorate the cake, and then I can go out to the van and head to the hospital.”

  Snarky Teenager flung her supply bag over her shoulder. “This looks good Elly. We should be proud. I’ll see you back at the shop.”

  Elly nodded. Snarky Teenager walked away from Elly, the workers trailing behind her like ants. A sudden silence fell over the ballroom as the immense door slammed behind them, interrupted only by a single waiter, humming softly as he polished the silver. Elly picked up the only remaining bucket and limped over to the cake table in the corner of the room. The cake was a six-tiered masterpiece. It was an ivory confection, with a white lace and fleur de lis fondant o
verlay. The surface had been lightly dusted with sugar crystals, giving the cake a hint of shimmer, and it stood proudly in front of a large window swaged with long sheer curtains. Elly rolled her eyes. She was too exhausted for all this drama. The décor for the cake was simple: a long cascade of cattalya orchids – the same ones adorning the napkins – down the cake and around the base.

  Elly made quick work of it, tucking flowers into the corners of the tiers, making sure not to touch the delicate icing while securing the blooms so that they wouldn’t fall. She stepped back and admired her work. Perfect. She looked up at the topper, a white hand-made porcelain statue of two entwined lovers, their arms twisting around each other to form a heart. Elly gagged. Without thinking, she reached up on her tip toes and snapped the bride’s head off, tucking it securely it into her apron pocket. She gathered up her tools, throwing each one haphazardly into the bucket.

  She turned to leave, taking a long last look at the ballroom. His steps made no sound as he approached behind her. She felt his presence before she even saw his face.

  “Hello, Elly.”

  Elly turned around slowly. Aaron.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY

  Elly’s hands gripped the chair in front of her. Please God, no… Her legs felt weak; she was going to faint. A black tunnel opened up in front of her and she was quickly whirling out of control. She pressed down against the chair, summoning all her strength to stay upright.

  “Elly, Elles – are you okay?”

  Elly pressed out her hand towards him, the other one still gripping, white knuckled. “Stay back. Stay away from me Aaron!” Oh God, oh God, please help me…

  “Elly, are you afraid of me? Let me look at you.”

  “Stay AWAY from me. Please, I mean it, don’t come any closer.”

  “Elly,” he said sweetly, pleadingly, “Stop. Look at me.”

  She shook her head and closed her eyes. “Go away Aaron.” Her voice quivered on the last note. “Leave me alone.”