drawn up wasn’t the only one I’d thought of – it was simply one of many. I was confident that, when the day came for me to design and open my own shop, it would be with more thought than what I’d put into the design Helen was currently using.
I wished her all the best.
Wanting to view the entire shop, I began to walk the flower trail. Lesley, who’d been the manager when I worked in the shop, wasn’t around from what I could see, and I didn’t know either of the two middle-aged women who were currently working in the shop, so I didn’t strike up conversation. Once I told them I was just browsing, I took my time looking around the arrangements, pieces and loose flowers on display. The smell of all the mixed scents was like a drug. It always brought a smile to my face; it was a scent that made me feel very much at home. I’d missed it.
I couldn’t wait to get back to work.
Excited that I hadn’t lost my love for flowers and the desire to work with them, I wondered when I could realistically look into flower shops that were hiring. I mean, as soon as I got home I would be researching my arse off, but I had to think of when I would be ready to work again. The only thing holding me back right now was my leg. Normally wearing a boot cast was only a six- to eight-week ordeal, but as I had fractured the same leg in two places once before, the newest fracture was even more severe and had required more screws, pins and metal plates to repair it – which left me wearing the boot for at least ten weeks.
I had another four weeks of wearing the boot, and I had eight physical therapy sessions left during that time that would strengthen my leg and get me walking crutch- and boot-free. As much as I didn’t want to wait until then to get back working, maybe it was what was best for me. I was still fresh out of the hospital, and a few more weeks of taking it easy and adjusting to a regular life again would be good for me.
It would be good for Elliot and my parents too. When I took on a responsibility that would allow me to be left to my own devices all day, with only myself to depend on, it would be an adjustment for them too.
I took my phone from my bag when it pinged. It was Elliot messaging me and asking if I was awake. I suddenly felt like a little kid who’d been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. I wasn’t going to tell him I was out and about in Tulse Hill at my old shop. He would probably have a heart attack out of fear I would suddenly collapse or something. So I played it cool as we sent texts back and forth. I couldn’t text and walk at the same time due to my crutches, so I wrapped my conversation up with Elliot and left the shop.
There were no signs I could see that the place was hiring, and I wasn’t sure if I’d left the shop on good or bad terms with Helen the owner, but I thought I would add it down as one of the shops to check when I eventually applied. It had been a few years since I’d worked there . . . Helen probably wasn’t even the owner any more.
I walked back towards the bus stop, but I felt like skipping. My little adventure was rewarding, thoroughly enjoyable, and had given me a plan for the future and the determination to go with it. Having my drive back and something to look forward to would make the next few weeks more bearable. I had a goal, and I knew that once Elliot could see that I was getting stronger, he’d support me and help me in whatever way he could. My parents too.
I had to walk uphill to get back to the bus stop – in reality it wasn’t much more than a little incline, but my body was beginning to feel the ache that all this movement was causing. I paused and leaned against a wall, just to catch my breath. I frowned as I stared at the scene before me. There were piles of flowers against a partially damaged building wall –