Courageous Love - Jerry Cole Page 0,7
like the present, let’s get you an apron” she declared. “What should I call you?”
She changed subjects as fast as a light flickering and I was struggling to keep up with her. “It’s Adam.”
“Adam, welcome to Eden.”
***
After finding me an apron from a box tucked away behind a bunch of green foam blocks I had never seen before and had no idea the purpose for, she started to explain the basics of the job. I would mainly be taking orders as a cashier but soon she’d need me to help make arrangements when we had down time.
“So are you always really busy?” I asked.
She looked me dead in the eye. “The cemetery back there is the only one in the county Adam. We are the only flower shop in town. The math checks out!” She didn’t sound the least bit worried about it though. She had the kind of never ending, infectious energy that I couldn’t help being somewhat swept up in as she explained how to trim flower stems so they could live the longest.
“Why doesn’t anyone else work here?” I asked as I trimmed stems while she put together a beautiful arrangement with flowers I should probably learn the name of eventually.
“The past few hires, as they turned in their two-week notice, noted that it was too hectic and sad.”
Hectic I understood. “Sad?” I asked.
She sighed, seemingly finally slowing down slightly. “I don’t get to make bouquets for very many weddings Adam. It’s best if you know this now but all of our customers are here for the same reason: death.”
I shuddered slightly.
“More often than not, you have to face people who are still grieving. I bet other florists don’t have to deal with it as often as we do it here. I’ve been told it takes a toll on people.”
“What’s your advice?” I asked dryly.
“Stay positive and don’t think about it that much.” She gave me a huge smile and then turned back to her work.
I thought I could probably handle it, it’s not like I was going to know anyone who was going to come here. I wouldn’t let them make me upset. I’d be the best at this job.
I had to be or else.
***
Stacy’s mood swung from the happiest I’d seen her to almost the most frustrated with me in almost no time. She was overjoyed when I told her I got a job but when I told her how I thought for sure she was going to hit me over the head with her tablet.
“You can’t just start out with “give me a job”!” She threw her hands up in the air. “You have to introduce yourself and ask politely to see if they are hiring!”
I shrugged. “It worked didn’t it?”
She gave me the cold shoulder the rest of the night but I found my apron nicely folded on the kitchen counter later so I took that to mean she was forgiving me, for now.
Later that night, I found myself drawn outside again. This time I wore shoes and actual clothes instead of my pajamas. I thought I was insane for once again willingly stepping into a graveyard, but in my situation, what else was I to do?
Back in the city, I was a social butterfly. I went to parties and had hundreds of numbers in my phone. If I wanted, I never had to spend a night alone. But trapped here and without my phone I was so lonely. I had Stacy but she liked to go to bed at the “reasonable” hour of ten o’clock at night and I hadn’t made any friends in town besides maybe Beth but it was too early to tell. I needed to talk to someone. Literally anyone.
I gazed out into the cemetery and saw a bright figure pacing in the distance. Time to talk with my favorite ghost.
Chapter Five
“You came back.” Cecil blinked his wide eyes like an owl might.
“I told you I was going to yesterday,” I said easily as I followed next to him, narrowly avoiding tripping over headstones.
“I didn’t think,” he paused as his face scrunched up. “Never mind.”
“So I’ve been wondering,” I started. “What do you do out here at night?”
He turned and flashed his light on my chest. “Check for trespassers.”
I laughed a little nervously. “Am I one?”
“You were. But I technically invited you this time.”
I smiled. “Do you get a lot of people coming here at night? Besides the actual ghosts.”
“It’s more of a tradition,” he said quietly. “But I