a few arrangements if you’re willing, just so I can see if your work is at a level I need. Reba will show you where everything is, and if you need something, just ask. We're working an anniversary party and a funeral right now. Let's go pull a couple of work orders. I’d like to see what you do with them."
"Of course," Gracie said.
Donna stood, grabbed a pair of crutches from the corner, and led the way out of her office back into the work room.
"Reba, honey. Will you please get a work apron for Gracie?"
Reba ran into the break room and came back with a clean, pink-bib apron.
Gracie put it on as Donna began going through the work orders for the anniversary party, then pulled one, and handed it to Gracie.
"This is for a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary party. They want a cut flower arrangement for the table where the cake and punch will be served, so it needs to be lovely and showy, without being so large that it's in the way. I think there is a height request on the work order."
"Got it," Gracie said, and laid it aside as Donna pulled one from the funeral and gave it to her, as well.
"The funeral is for a seventy-three-year-old man, and as you can see by what they paid, they want a big, showy basket of flowers in a three-sixty format."
Gracie took the last work order, then looked around.
"Where is the cooler?"
Reba pointed.
Gracie nodded. "Okay...next question. I have no idea what the different prices per stem are for flowers, so I'll need to know that, to stay within the customer's budget," Gracie said.
"Reba, do you know where those charts are that I made up when they raised prices on us last year?" Donna asked.
"In the work drawers," Reba said, then opened the drawer in the table next to Gracie and handed it to her.
"Thanks," Gracie said. "And last question. For the twenty-fifth anniversary party, do they have a color scheme?"
"Oh...good call," Donna said. "Yes. Their colors for the party are the wedding colors, which were pale pink and mauve."
"Got it," Gracie said, and pointed to a worktable that was already equipped. "Is it okay if I work there?"
Donna nodded. "Yes. That's my table. Work away, and just send Reba back to get me when you've finished."
Gracie had the price chart in her hand as she headed for the cooler. She was going to do the funeral arrangement first, and after looking through what was available at the correct price range, she began getting a picture in her mind of what she wanted to create.
She came out carrying myrtle, silver dollar Eucalyptus, blue and lavender hydrangeas, green poms, and white peonies. Then she chose a large, white plastic standing basket and began cut and packing it with floral foam.
At that point, she began sorting and cutting hydrangeas, staggering the heights and colors as she placed them within the basket, then filled in with white peonies and green poms, then the shiny green leaves of silver dollar Eucalyptus and long stems of myrtle to add definition and height.
She stopped, stood back to look at it, then checked the price sheet, and went back into the cooler. She came out with a few stems of gold Peruvian lilies, dark yellow stock, and purple and yellow irises and began filling them in within the arrangement until it was a riot of color from every angle.
Then she paused. "Hey Reba, are bows expected on funeral arrangements?"
Reba stopped, frowning. "Well, usually yes. But as beautiful as that is, I don't know that it's necessary."
Gracie thought about it a minute, and then went to the ribbon shelf and pulled out a roll of ocean blue. She began cutting off six-inch lengths, notching them at one end and fastening each to a floral pick. She used them as filler around the base until she had finished it off. At that point, she filled it with water to saturate the foam, totaled up the florist's cost, and set it aside.
Then she picked up the work order for the Silver Anniversary. She chose a cut crystal vase from the supply shelf and walked back to the cooler for the peonies she'd seen in there earlier. She came out with lavender-pink peonies with feathery petals, two other varieties in varying shades of pink, and tree fern for the greenery.
Since the vase was clear, she was going to need clear marbles rather than floral foam to hold the stems in place.
Once