A Arrangement for Rose Read online

  He’s the first one to step away, tossing a twenty dollar bill on the counter and grabbing the bouquet, he turns and storms out the door.

  My knees practically give out once the door closes behind him. Moving to the door, I lock it, turn the sign to closed and turn off the lights. Balancing out the register, I head out the back door ready to go home for a long soak in the tub and glass of wine.

  Chapter 10

  Alek

  Just as I pull into the hotel, I receive a text from Vince.

  Vince: In the hotel bar. Stop by after you check in.

  Me: Will do.

  Phone in hand I send a quick message to Rose, letting her know I’ve arrived and will call her soon. She replies with a smiley face, and I smile in return.

  I step out of the car and stretch my back as the valet makes his way over. I pop the trunk and grab my bags, before handing him my keys. Taking the ticket he hands me, I put it in my pocket and walk through the double doors to the reservation counter.

  Once I’m checked in, I take my luggage to my room and then make my way to the bar to check in with Vince. I step into the dimly lit bar, and spy Vince seated at one of the high-top tables. I walk over and slap him on the back as I take a seat across from him.

  “There he is,” Vince says as I settle onto the barstool. “How was the drive?”

  “Long,” I reply as the waitress approaches with a menu.

  “Can I get you something to drink?”

  I skim the menu, “Do you have any local ale?”

  “We do. Bottle or tap?”

  “Bottle, please and a Philly cheesesteak with fries.”

  “You got it,” she says as she takes the menu and heads back to the bar.

  I turn my attention back to Vince, “Everything ready for the performances?”

  Vince tilts his head, giving me an incredulous look, as the waitress returns with my beer. “Do you even have to ask?”

  I chuckle at his question, “Not usually but you never know when you’ll decide to go slacker on me.”

  Vince scoffs, “Funny man’s been alone in the car too long.”

  “What’s the itinerary look like?”

  “I know you like to break up the formal performances with the hospital visit, but I could only get us a spot for tomorrow afternoon, at one o’clock.”

  “That’s fine, I’m just happy to get to do those appearances.”

  “Good. I know how much they mean to you.”

  Before I can say anything else, the waitress brings my sandwich. I add some salt and pepper before taking a bite, immediately realizing this sandwich has nothing on the one Rose made for me.

  Vince waits until I take a sip of my beer, “Have you talked to Rose lately?”

  The mention of her name makes me smile, “I texted her when I arrived. I’m going to call her when I get back to my room.”

  “Are you going to see her again?”

  “I hope so,” I reply cautiously. “Where are you going with this Vince?”

  He holds up his hands in surrender, “Woah, Alek, relax. I’m just asking a question.”

  I take another sip of my beer, “She’s not like any woman I’ve met before. She’s beautiful and smart, she owns her own business and as a bonus she loves classical music.”

  Vince studies me for a minute, “She sounds amazing.”

  I smile at his comment, “She really is.”

  Vince and I talk a little while longer while I finish my sandwich and beer. When the waitress brings the check, I pay for my meal, say goodnight to Vince and head back to my room.

  Once I’m back in my room, I walk over to the window and push back the curtain. Stars are just starting to fill the sky as the moon begins to glow brighter over the Ohio River. I pull my phone from my pocket and call Rose.

  “Hello?”

  The sound of her voice sends a rush of warmth through me. “Hey you. I hope I’m not calling too late?”

  “Not at all, in fact I really needed to hear your voice.”

  Her reply and tone of voice set me on alert, so I press for information. “Everything go okay at work today?”

  “Yeah, for the most part, everything was fine.”

  Fine. I’ve been in enough relationships to know when a woman says things are fine, they are far from it. “What happened?”

  “Nothing I’m not used to.”

  “Rose, tell me. Please?”

  She sighs, “Todd came in as I was getting ready to close.”

  My grip tightens on my phone. From what she’s said, her ex-husband was never physically abusive, but she spent years being verbally abused by him. “What did he do?”

  “He heard I’d been seeing someone and wanted to know…” Her voice trails off.

  I close my eyes knowing I don’t want to hear this but knowing I need to know what he did to upset her. “What Rose? What did he want to know?”

  I hear her sniffle and my chest tightens, her voice is barely audible through the phone as she says, “He wanted to know if you knew what a whore I was.”

  Son of a bitch. Anger courses through me at the way he belittles her, they’re divorced for crying out loud, can’t he just leave her be? Every instinct inside me tells me I need to go to her, and if I were still in Charleston, there’s no doubt I’d be by her side. However, the fates aren’t always kind, and the distance between us keeps me from her, for now.

  “Rose, I’m so sorry.”

  “You don’t have to apologize, Alek. It’s not your fault my ex is a bully.”

  “Maybe not, but you don’t deserve to be spoken to that way. You are beautiful and kind, you deserve to be loved.” She’s quiet, possibly mulling over my words. “I should have been there,” I whisper into the phone.

  “Alek, as much as I’d love for you to be here, you have responsibilities. Although,” she draws out the word. “If you had been here, you would have got to see the look on Todd’s face when I threw him out of the shop and told him I‘d call the police if he ever came back.”

  I can’t help but chuckle, “You didn’t?”

  “Oh but I did.”

  I shake my head, even though I know she can’t see me. “And here I was thinking I needed to be your knight in shining armor and rescue you from your ex.”

  I can hear the smile in her voice as she says, “Oh brave knight, haven’t you heard? Here in the twenty-first century, it’s the fair maiden who rescues the knight.”

  She may have been only teasing, but she has no idea how true that statement is. Until I met her, I hadn’t realized how lonely life on tour truly was. Rose gave me more purpose, something to look forward to at the end of the day and a reason to want to go home at the end of the tour.

  Chapter 11

  Rose

  Just like every morning since he left, I wake to a good morning text from Alek. Every morning those texts put a smile on my face and brightened my day.

  As I wait for my coffee to brew, I look over Alek’s tour schedule displayed prominently on the refrigerator, not that I haven’t already committed it to memory. Yesterday was a travel day for him, going from St. Louis to Dallas. I’ve learned Alek likes to drive to each city whenever possible claiming it’s easier to drive than worry about his violin getting lost in the shuffle. Today he’s spending time rehearsing for his first performance, so I won’t hear from him until later.

  Finishing my breakfast, I gather my things and head off to work. It’s funny how much my life has changed since meeting Alek. I never considered myself lonely, yet I find myself looking forward to our conversations. I always enjoyed the solitude of my home, now I find myself wanting to share my space with him.

  I walk into the shop with a smile on my face, “Good morning, Janet.”

  “Morning, boss lady. What’s got you so happy this morning? Did Alek make a surprise trip to see you?”

  I stop at the edge of the counter, “What? No, he’s in Dallas preparing for his performance tonight.”

  Janet laughs, “Have
you considered surprising him?”

  “Surprising him? You mean at a show?”

  Janet snickers as she replies, “Yes at a show. There’s this amazing mode of transportation called an airplane that will get you where you want to go in a quarter of the time it takes to drive.”

  I roll my eyes at her, “I know what an airplane is, Janet. And yes, I may have thought once or twice about surprising him. But in case you haven’t heard, I own a business and I have obligations that need to be met.”

  This time it’s Janet that rolls her eyes, “Please, save the obligation speech for the newbies. You know I can handle anything that needs to be done around here. So, the next time you feel like you need a day off or need to surprise that incredible man that basically fell in your lap, go. I got this.”

  All my defenses relax, because honestly, I don’t know what I would do without Janet. She loved my grandmother almost as much as I did, and she’s right she could handle anything I asked her to do. I step forward and wrap her in a hug, “Thank you Janet. Have I told you lately how amazing you are?”

  She steps out of my embrace, “No you have not and you’ve been here for more than ten minutes.”

  I laugh and shake my head as I walk back behind the counter, “I’m going to check on a few orders before Megan arrives for our meeting.”

  “Okay, I’ll let you know when she gets here.”

  “Thanks.”

  I step into the workroom and put my things away before turning on the computer. I take a seat at the desk and bring up the site for our wholesaler. Checking on my latest order, I see that it’s supposed to arrive today. Breathing a sigh of relief, I close the program and check for any orders placed overnight.

  I pull the flowers I need for the order and select a vase for the anniversary bouquet to be delivered to the bank before noon. Just as I finish tying a ribbon around the vase, my phone alerts with a text. I wipe my hands on my apron and open my messages. I smile when I see it’s from Alek.

  Alek: Off to rehearsal. Tonight and tomorrow’s performances I’ll be accompanied by a full orchestra.

  Me: That will be amazing. Wish I could be there.

  Alek: Me too. Wish me luck.

  Me: You don’t need luck, you’re the most talented person I know.

  Alek: You’re sweet and good for my ego. ;) I think I’ll keep you around.

  I laugh at the winking emoji he included in his message.

  Me: I was hoping you would. :)

  I hear the bell over the door ring just moments before Janet peeks her head in. “Megan is here for your meeting.”

  “Thanks, I’ll be right out.”

  Me: Gotta go take care of a bride-to-be.

  Alek: Good luck with the bride. I’ll call you tonight after my performance.

  Me: Okay, talk to you then.

  I gather my file for Megan, along with the ribbon that will bind the bouquets, and walk out to meet her.

  I smile as I greet her, “Megan, so nice to see you again.”

  She turns from where she’s looking at the arrangements in the cooler and walks over to the counter. “Rose, thanks for seeing me. I just wanted to stop in and make sure everything was set for this weekend.”

  “Of course. I checked with the supplier this morning, and the flowers are scheduled to be delivered today.” I take the ribbon samples out of the folder and place them on the counter. “I have the ribbon in stock and ready for all the bouquets and the containers for the table arrangements for the reception came in yesterday.”

  “Well it sounds like you have everything under control.”

  “We do. Flowers will be delivered to the church by three o’clock, and then we’ll deliver the table arrangements to the reception venue.”

  Megan sighs and I see her visibly relax, “Thank you Rose. You have no idea what a relief it is to not have to worry about this.”

  Her compliment fills me with pride, “Weddings are stressful enough, I’m so glad we could ease your mind of at least one thing.”

  She smiles, “You know, I don’t know if you knew this or not, but every bouquet of flowers, Patrick has ever given me has come from your shop. All of them have been so beautiful, that I always knew you’d be the one doing my wedding.”

  “Well, I’m honored to be part of your special day, and I hope to be creating arrangements for you for many years to come.”

  Megan smiles, “I hope so too.”

  Once Janet and I are alone again, we work out a plan on how we are going to create twelve table arrangements, four bouquets, nine boutonnieres and six corsages.

  “So when the order arrives, I’ll separate out the flowers we’ll be using for the bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres, the rest we’ll use for the table arrangements.”

  “Sounds good. So we'll do the arrangements on Friday?”

  “Yes, and we'll keep them in the cooler so they’ll be fresh for delivery on Saturday. I did, however, buy enough extra flowers that we can make a practice table arrangement today.”

  Janet hops off the stool she’s sitting on, “Well, if we’re going to be busy all afternoon sorting flowers and making practice arrangements, I’m going to go grab our lunch. You want the usual?”

  I hand her my debit card, “Yes, please, and get us each a cookie for dessert.”

  “You got it boss lady. Be back in a jiffy.”

  While she’s gone, I decide to get ahead of the game. I locate the box I need, move the ladder into place and climb up three steps. Taking hold of the box, I give it a tug. It’s heavier than I remember, and wedged tightly between two other boxes. I pull again and it slides off the shelf causing me to lose my balance and the ladder to tumble sending me to the floor as everything goes black.

  Chapter 12

  Alek

  As the last notes fade, the applause begins and I take a bow. Turning to the orchestra behind me, I spread my arms and bow to them, thanking them for their amazing performance as well.

  I approach the conductor and offer him my hand, “Thank you maestro, it was an honor to perform with you.”

  He grips my hand with both of his, “The honor was mine.”

  With a last wave to the audience, I walk off stage to find Vince waiting with my violin case in hand. “Another spectacular performance.”

  Taking the case from him, I place my violin inside. “Thank you Vince.”

  “Want to grab some dinner before going back to the hotel.”

  “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll just order room service and check in with Rose.”

  Vince grins and shakes his head, “No, I don’t mind. I need to check in with my wife too.”

  “Thanks, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I walk out of the venue to where my car is parked and drive back to the hotel.

  Entering my hotel room, I place my violin case on the dresser and flip through the room service menu. I pick up the phone and call in my order, a turkey club on wheat with fries and a soda. I settle into one of the chairs, pull my phone from my pocket and call Rose.

  The phone rings three times before it’s answered, when a frazzled voice comes on the line.

  “Alek?”

  “Rose?”

  “No, it’s Janet. Thank God you called.”

  “Janet? What’s wrong? Where’s Rose?” I go on high alert, a feeling of dread consuming me at what she’s about to say.

  “There was an accident.”

  Those four words stop my world from spinning and everything else she says goes unheard. Once I collect myself, I ask her to repeat the last part she said.

  “Rose fell off a ladder. She has a broken arm, fractured shoulder and a concussion. She’s being prepped for surgery now. I would have let you know sooner but her phone was locked, so I’m glad you called.”

  “Thanks Janet. I’m going to make a few calls and I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Okay, safe travels,” she says before ending the call.

  As soon as Janet hangs up, I call Vince.r />
  He answers, foregoing the usual greeting, “Hey man, change your mind about dinner?”

  “No, that’s not why I called. I need you to cancel tomorrow’s performance, and everything scheduled for next week as well.”

  “What? Why?”

  I throw my suitcase on the bed and I begin throwing things into it as I talk. “It’s Rose, there was an accident and she’s being taken into surgery. I have to get back to Charleston.”

  “Jesus, Alek. Is she okay?”

  “From what her employee told me, she has a broken arm, shoulder and a concussion. She has no one else Vince, I need to be there for her.”

  “Of course. What can I do?”

  “Can you book me on the first flight out, while I finish packing?”

  “You got it. I’ll send you the details.”

  “Thanks Vince.”

  Ending the call, I plug my phone in to charge, as a knock sounds on the door. I open the door and allow the hotel employee inside with my dinner order. I reach into my pocket and offer him a tip as I thank him and usher him toward the door.

  Taking a few minutes I sit at the small table and eat my sandwich, when another knock sounds followed by the door opening, as Vince steps inside.

  “Hey, I just sent you your flight info, but thought I’d come down and see if there was anything else I could do.”

  I take a drink of my soda and shake my head, “Thanks. I’m almost finished packing. Then I’ll head to the airport.” I take another bite of my sandwich before I continue. “I feel bad about cancelling the performances, so feel free to offer to reschedule. Make sure they know it was a family emergency, and go ahead and make the donation to the hospital’s art program.”

  Vince nods, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of everything here. You just focus on your girl.”

  I finish my dinner and rise from my seat, and clap him on the shoulder, “Thanks Vince, I really appreciate all you do for me.”