by Laila Kelly
Joleigh pulled the keyboard closer to her and put the email in her junk folder. She had too many orders to do today to be concerned with whatever weird things that Tamara was supposedly involved in. Sam had already prepped all of the flowers for her first order of the day and she started on that one. Putting together her arrangements and sipping iced coffee was Joleigh’s version of a productive work morning. “Hey Sam, has your dad said anything about any weird things happening around here?” He looked up from his pile of flowers. “It depends on what you mean by weird.” Joleigh picked up another Nippon daisy and plopped into the vase that she was working on. Grabbing some pye weeds and adding it to the outside perimeter of the vase she casually prepared another question in her mind. “Are there any weird things happening with those people who stay in that new subdivision?” Sam looked up at the ceiling like his answers were going to come from up there.
“No, he hasn’t mentioned anything about the new subdivision other than the houses over there were expensive and look nothing like any of the other houses in town.” Joleigh nodded her head. Either Sam’s father didn’t have any knowledge of anything going on over there, or Sam wasn’t telling her about it. Whichever one it was, she would continue to believe that Tamara didn’t have anything to do with anything wrong. From the two interactions that Joleigh had with her, she seemed like a kind and sweet woman. Maybe wherever she was before she ended up in Flowery Branch might have something to do with it, Joleigh concluded. Still, whoever it was looking for her would have to find out another way, without Joleigh’s help.
Once she finished her first arrangement, she let Sam add the finishing touches and sent him off to deliver it while she worked on the other orders for the morning. She heard her phone vibrating on the table behind her hand she walked over to see who had texted her. It was Sam sending the picture that he took earlier. Joleigh zoomed in on the picture and walked into her office. She sat down in the chair and pulled up her Facebook account. Wondering if the man that was sitting outside of the shop this morning was Jamie, she looked up his name in the search bar. The results that came up on the first page weren’t from Texas, and she clicked onto the second page. The first result that came up was a Jamie Caldwell from Piney Point, Texas. Figuring there couldn’t be too many people with the same name from the same state she clicked on his profile. Scrolling down his page, she looked for his pictures. Comparing the pictures on his profile to the picture that Sam took this morning, she knew that it wasn’t Jamie who was sitting outside of her shop this morning.
Joleigh took a deep breath. “I really need to let this thing go,” she said as she ran her fingers through her hair and patted her face. “This is about to run me nuts thinking about it.” She walked back over to her prepping station and began her third order of the day. Joleigh was so into her task that when Sam came through the door, he scared her. Sam almost jumped out of his clothes and screamed. Clenching her chest, she stood against the counter. “Jesus, Sam you scared me!” Sam grabbed his shirt and straightened it out, “And you almost gave me a heart attack.” He put his keys in the drawer. “I know all of these calls and weird visitors are making you jumpy, but you don’t have to kill off the only other person that’s in the shop with you every day,” he joked and walked back into the refrigerator. Joleigh laughed nervously and placed both of her hands on the counter to stabilize herself. Sam was right, she was jumpy, and she needed to relax before she messed something up.
She walked back to the small kitchenette area of the shop and looked in the refrigerator for a bottle of water, opened it and drank half of it. She turned around and turned on the faucet and ran her fingers under it to splash on her face. Getting this worked up over something she wasn’t even sure was something that needed to be worked up over was Joleigh’s specialty. Shaking her head and finishing off the bottle of water, she walked back to the counter and finished off her arrangement. Sam walked up next to her and put his hand on her shoulder, “Joleigh, I know the guy from this morning freaked you out, and he freaked me out too, but I can assure you that you are safe here. I text my dad the picture that I took and he’s looking into it.” Joleigh smiled and sighed, “Thanks, Sam. That makes me feel better,” and she meant it. Sam’s dad, Joel, was one of the best sheriffs in the county. He was always stopping by on the day’s that Sam didn’t work at the shop to make sure that everything was okay. It meant a lot to her knowing that someone was always close by. Not that Joleigh didn’t trust the security that the Pavilion offered, they were just a little slow on their response time and responded better to teenagers illegally skateboarding down the sidewalks than actual problems.
“Do you want me to take that order out, or do you want to deliver it?” Sam pointed at the wreath that she just finished. She looked at it and at the sun shining its rays through the front door and decided that she needed to get out for a moment to calm her nerves. “No, it’s ok. I’ll take it out, I need a little fresh air anyways,” He shrugged and headed into the kitchenette. He came back a few seconds later with a bottle of Gatorade and began drinking it while turning the flowers around and looking for a ribbon to tie around the vase. “What do you think about blue?” She looked at the flowers and tilted her head to the side. “Yeah, that seems appropriate. I’m delivering them to the hospital to a new mom of a baby boy,” Sam wrapped the vase in the blue ribbon and threw the baggie with the packet of flower food onto the table next to it. “I’ll get started on the next bouquet while you’re gone.”
Joleigh headed to the office and grabbed her keys. Against her better judgment, she finished off the rest of the iced coffee that she had left and grabbed the vase. “I should be back in about a half an hour,” Sam waved and walked to the flower storage area. Sam was a good employee he was smart, quick-minded, and he was good at his job too. Joleigh hoped that she would be able to find someone as good as him after Sam decided to leave for the military. If not, she would be in a world of trouble. She tried not to let the thoughts of the inevitable consume her, rather being pleased with how the present is going. If she spent too much time worrying about what all could go wrong, she would work herself into such an emotional frenzy it would result in tears.
Instead of listening to music on the way to the hospital, she turned on a business podcast. Joleigh tried her hardest to stay abreast of what was happening in the business world. Without a degree, a lot of people doubted that she had the knowledge to even run her business at all. The pressure became insurmountable when she first took over the business and the anxiety that she felt almost drove her to just sell the business and move onto something else, until some advice from Geno and Amber’s mom helped her realize that a lot of the business owners that she knew didn’t have a background in business. All she really needed was a willingness to learn and a good work ethic. Throughout her life experiences, Joleigh figured that she had both of those and that it would have to be enough when she attacked the beast of running her parent’s business.
The drive to the nearest hospital was only five minutes from the shop, and she found a parking space rather quickly. The receptionists at St. Mary’s Hospital in the maternity and intensive care units knew her quite well, as she delivered a lot of orders to those two wings. She waved at Shirley, one of the maternity wing nurses, as she walked up. She was one of the older nurses that treated everyone like they were her own child. Every time Joleigh came to the hospital, she had a bit of motherly advice for her. Shirley stood up and admired the flowers as Joleigh signed the guest log. “Ooh, Joleigh it’s like you always outdo yourself. These are absolutely beautiful!” Joleigh blushed, not quite being used to getting compliments from her work. “Why thank you, Shirley, I really do try to.” She sat back down at her chair, “Who are you delivering these to?” Joleigh pulled out the card. “Um, it says these are going to Michael and Sadie Hicks?” Shirley tapped at a few keys and scrolled down a list. “They’re in that room right over there,” She pointed at a room with an open door, “Room 314.”
Joleigh
waved and headed towards the door. She knocked lightly, not wanting to disturb anyone in case the baby was sleeping. A short man with brown hair stood up and walked to her. “Hi,” she whispered. “I have a flower delivery for a Sadie and Michael Hicks and baby?” he smiled and reached out for the flowers. The woman in the bed was asleep and she stayed close to the door. In between the chair and the bed was the baby. He was wriggling and had a ton of hair on his head. Joleigh felt her heart melt for a moment, and she hoped that she would be able to experience that one day, sooner rather than later. “Thank you, these are beautiful. I know when my wife wakes up she’ll love them,” Joleigh handed then over and smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Hicks, please enjoy.” He smiled and carried the flowers over to the table with other bouquets on them.
Joleigh stood at the door and watched as he walked back over to his son sleeping in the bassinet. She turned around slowly and walked out into the hallway and back to the nurse’s station. With a wave to Shirley, she pressed the elevator button. Even though Branch Medical Hospital had five floors, Joleigh felt averse to exercising any more than she already had to, and the thought of doing so gave her headache. “Joleigh!” Shirley called out to her and ran over. “Yes?” Joleigh looked at the bear that she was holding. “Here, this is for you,” she held it out to her and smiled. The bear had a blue shirt on it that read ‘Congratulations’ with a matching hat and pants with honey pots on them. “Aww this is the cutest little bear I’ve ever seen,” and then Joleigh’s face dropped. “Um, Shirley, I’m not expecting a baby,” she ran her hands over her stomach and wondered if the way that her shirt was looking gave her that impression.
Shirley held up her hand and patted her back, “Oh I know you aren’t pregnant Joleigh. Hopefully when that time does come for you, you’ll let me know. I gave you this bear because I want you to be encouraged. I can see that you have heaviness on your mind, and this bear will help you to think positively every time that you see it. I want you to put it in your shop, somewhere that you can see it and know what it means.” Joleigh held the bear closer to her chest. She wasn’t aware that her stress and anxiety easy so easily spotted by Shirley. “I didn’t know that you could see that,” Joleigh whispered and stood off to the side of the elevator doors opened.
Shirley grabbed her and hugged her so tight that she was struggling to breathe. She rocked her the way that her mother used to when she hugged her, “Sweetheart, I remember seeing you when you were a little girl. You’re such a happy and cheerful person it’s easy to see when something is off with you. I don’t know what it is, but I do know that whatever it is that you’re going through is nothing that you can’t think your way through,” she released Joleigh from her bear hug and held onto her shoulders. “Remember, if there’s anything that you need, please do not hesitate to call me,” Shirley had a few missing teeth, but with the genuineness of her smile, you wouldn’t even notice. Joleigh felt a tear rolling down her face. “I will,” she whispered. Shirley pressed the elevator button and walked back over to her station. Still holding onto the bear, Joleigh stepped on the elevator. When she looked up, she saw Shirley smiling and waving at her until the elevator doors closed.
Taking another deep breath when she reached the ground floor, Joleigh walked out of the hospital and looked for her car. She saw the security officer ride by, and she smiled and waved. She needed to lighten up. If Shirley could see that she was frazzled, then it would definitely be clear to anyone else who had seen her and decided not to say anything. Flowery Branch is too small of a town for her to be walking around with her face twisted. Speculation from the mean neighbors was the last thing that she needed to put on her plate. Small town gossip was worse than a California forest fire. At least those get put out eventually, this fire would be the very thing that could swallow up. When she got into her car she put on a podcast on positive thinking. Getting her mental state back into alignment was the first thing that she needed to do in order to get back into her normal rhythm.
The ride from the hospital back to the flower shop was enough time that she needed to feel her spirits lighten up. Sam was waiting by the door when she got back, something that was odd for him to do. He opened up the door when she got closer and looked like a teenage girl that just won tickets to her favorite boy band’s concert off the radio. “Um, Sam what’s going on?” He ran back to the office and came back with his phone. “So I asked my dad about who that guy was from this morning, you know the one sitting outside of the shop,” Joleigh rolled her eyes while Sam scrolled down his text messages. Just as soon as she thought that this foolishness was behind her, here it comes resurfacing its ugly head. She wanted to tell Sam that she didn’t want to know who the man was as long as he didn’t come back anymore, but before she could get the words out of her mouth, he jumped up again. Clearly, he had had his fair share of coffee this morning, she thought to herself.
“He said that that’s one of the cadets that he had taught in the police academy a few years ago. Now he’s a part-time private investigator,” Joleigh’s face contorted. “So, what does that have to do with sitting outside of the shop?” confusion filled her voice. “Well he just got out of the Marine Corps a few years back, and guess what?” Joleigh pulled the bear out of her bag, not wanting it to get squished in between her junk. “My dad looked at his file and he was in Kosovo a part of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit,” she held out her hand, still confused. “What does that have to do with anything? I’m not in the Marine Corps and neither is anyone else that I know.” Sam looked down at the bear and furrowed his brows, “Why do you have a baby bear? Are you pregnant?” she rolled her eyes at him, “No, Sam, I’m not. Someone gave it to me.” Sam shook his head so fast that his hair went all over the place. “Anyways that’s not the point. I looked up that Jamie guy that called here the other week to see if he was really a private investigator from Texas and not some mass murderer. I found out from one of my dad’s Marine friends that he knew Jamie, from where?” He gave a dramatic pause. Sam was way too invested in whatever mini small flower shop investigation he had going on. “Kosovo!” he yelled, slapping his hands on the counter.
Joleigh walked around the counter and into the office and put down her purse. Sam followed, “Are you getting what I’m saying?” She turned around and leaned against her desk. “Of course I get what you’re saying, Sam,” She ran her hand through her hair and steadied herself. “You’re saying that you believe that the man that was sitting outside of the shop this morning is somehow connected to the man that called the shop last week?” San nodded his head and slammed his hands onto the counter. “Exactly!” he exclaimed. She sat down on the stool behind the counter and placed her head into her hands. “But why would he send someone out here to sit at the shop?” He raised his hands and shrug his shoulders. “Probably to see if he could find the person that they’re looking for.” Joleigh cleared her throat and stood up, “Excuse me,” she excused herself and went into the office. She closed the door behind her, turned off the light and walked over to her desk. She sat down and stared out of the window. Who was Tamara really? And what did she know or have that would cause this much of a fuss to be made over her?
Joleigh shook her head, lost for answers. She continued to watch the chickadees play on the tree branch outside of her window. She wished that she could grow wings and take flight sometimes, just like they did. The thought of just being able to fly anywhere she pleased would definitely help to alleviate some of the anxiety that she was beginning to field again. Of course, if Joleigh were a bird, she would most definitely be a hummingbird. Migration wasn’t an issue, but she would always return to her favorite birdfeeder, and she didn’t want anyone else to drink from her bird feeder.
The birds outside of her window continued to play with one another and she could tell that they were male and female. The male chickadee had much darker feathers than the female, and he was a little smaller. A few moments had passed of her staring at the birds when she heard a knock on her door. Sam pe
eked his head in, “Um, Joleigh, it’s a man out front who wants to speak with you,” She looked at him, wondering why he couldn’t take this order while she gathered her scattered thoughts. “Who is it?” he shook his head, “I have no idea. I’ve never seen him before a day in my life,” She stood up and walked to the door. Sam followed her out to the front. “Hello,” the man turned around and she instantly felt as if her knees were going to buckle out from under her.
He was certainly not someone that was from around here. Whoever he was, he was the most handsome stranger that she had ever seen. He looked up at her and smiled and began to walk over to her, holding out his hand to her, “Hello Joleigh, my name is Graham, Graham Brentwood.” She held out her hand to him and he shook it with gentle firmness. Getting distracted by how her hand felt in his, she came back to her senses. Who was this man and how did he know her name? “Excuse me, I don’t think that I know who you are,” He stepped back and ran his hand through his thick light brown hair. “I’m sorry, I know this may seem kind of weird. My name is Graham Brentwood and I came here today to see if I could get your help with something?” Her face lightened up and she turned around and grabbed the ordering pad, “Oh, alright, what can I get for you? Is this for an anniversary?” She looked at his hand and noticed that he wasn’t wearing a ring, but that didn’t mean that he couldn’t be married. There were plenty of men who didn’t wear their wedding bands every single day.