The two made plans to meet later and went their separate ways.
. . .
Twenty-three million miles away, give or take a few thousand, Chris was struggling with her own work. She'd had an exhausting week, full of learning curves and not-so-subtle hints from one particular customer about the fact she was not, nor would she ever be, Mrs. Davis.
Closing up the shop on Friday night was pure bliss. “Finally.” She sighed as she locked the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk. She knew she still had to come in early on Saturday, but at least a full night’s rest would help her weed out all the negative emotions she had endured during the day.
“Stupid idiot,” Chris grumbled, making her way to her car.
Early Friday morning, Chris had gotten a call from a Mr. Gregory saying he needed a dozen roses to be delivered to a certain address at a specific time. Knowing full well she couldn’t make the delivery, until Amy came in after lunch, she told Mr. Gregory it would be her first stop on her route.
That discussion led to an argument resulting in Mr. Gregory accusing Chris of being a sub-par replacement for Mrs. Davis. He then canceled his order, only to call back an hour later, apologizing and re-ordering the roses, saying he would pick them up himself.
Needless to say by the time he picked them up, Chris couldn’t wait to see who this Mr. Gregory was, in order to put a face to the name of the man who had been such a prick to her over the phone.
To her surprise, Mr. Gregory was a small man of Italian descent. He appeared to be in his mid-forties, with an olive complexion and a receding hairline. He was fairly nice when he got to the shop, but Chris couldn’t help feeling bitter about the way he had treated her over the phone—regarding a delivery, no less.
She greeted him curtly, smiling when she had to, only to scowl when he left the shop with his flowers in-hand, leaving Chris feeling uneasy about the whole exchange. She figured she was tired and somewhat irritable due to her lack of sleep and stress over her first week without Mrs. Davis there to guide her.
Now as she got into her car, she couldn’t help the sigh of relief that escaped her lips as she sank into the driver’s seat and inserted her key into the ignition.
One more day.
Andrew was coming home tomorrow. All she had to do was survive one more day without feeling his arms around her, comforting her with his warmth.
. . .
“Hey man, ‘bout time you come see your old buddies. Where have you been, Andy?” Carla asked as she eyed Andrew’s tall, lean frame walking toward her. She'd had a minor crush on Andrew all throughout college, but had never done anything about it. As it happened, every time she was single, Andrew was with someone and whenever Andrew was single, she wasn’t.
Not knowing about Chris, Carla smiled sweetly and hugged Andrew close, pressing herself against him as much as she could, without blatantly throwing herself at him. She knew he was only around for a visit, but she figured she would give it a try, if only for one night.
“I’m great, Carla. How have you been?” Andrew gave Carla the simple one-pat-friendly-over-the-shoulder hug and smiled at Tonie, who stood up to get her turn at welcoming her old friend. “Hey Tonie, aren’t you a sight?” He grinned at her and let go of Carla to greet Tonie.
Tonie had been a good friend to Andrew. She was loud and an avid sports fan. Her relationship with Jason was volatile at best, but the two were inseparable. Tonie was one of the guys, and Jason was the only one of them for whom she had ever had eyes.
“How have you been, Andy? Holy shit, man, small life treatin’ you good?” Tonie asked, hugging Andrew tight, almost to the point of pain.
Andrew whimpered, his lungs constricting from lack of oxygen. “I’m good. Jesus, woman, not so hard.”
“Ha! That’s what she said,” Tonie simpered, letting go of Andrew, taking a seat next to an amused looking Jason.
Andrew greeted his friend with a manly guy handshake and asked, “So, where is everyone else?”
Jason shrugged and answered, “Tai had to work late, so he may not come.”
“And Rachel has the flu,” Carla informed him as she wrapped her lips around a pink straw, blinking several times, trying unsuccessfully to get Andrew’s attention.
“That’s too bad. Would’ve been fun to get the whole gang together,” Jason said, putting his arm around Tonie, pulling her close to him. “But, ya gotta tell us about Westfield, man. How’s all that going?” he asked, teasingly. He had wondered why Andrew would move so far away from everything. He knew a bit about Andrew’s past, but still couldn’t comprehend why any sane thirty-year-old would willingly uproot their life like Andrew had done.
Andrew sat back in his chair and sipped his beer. “It’s actually better than expected,” he told his friends, grinning. “I met someone.” His skin prickled and his stomach did a weird fluttery thing when he thought of his girl. His Chris. “She was actually my best friend when we were kids.”
Tonie awed and Carla rolled her eyes as Jason commented, “That’s great, man. I’m happy for you.”
“That’s super, Andy.” Carla stood up and made her way through the throngs of people, suddenly interested in getting herself a drink—or ten.
Oblivious to Carla’s mini-tantrum, Andrew took a pull from his beer and smiled. “Yeah, she’s great. I definitely did the right thing. She was worth it.”
“Whoa, is Andy in love?” Tonie teased, looking around for Carla, then back to Andrew.
Andrew couldn’t stop smiling, thinking of Chris. “Oh yeah, she’s the one, Tan.”
Tonie grinned, happy for her friend. Andrew had a tendency to be shy around women. He seemed to be the type to choose who he dated carefully, so for him to tell them he had fallen in love was a big step. This was the first time she had ever heard him acknowledge the word “love” when referring to a girl.
“Well, this is new,” Jason said, raising his glass. “To Andrew! Man, if moving away brought you love and happiness, then who are we to try and keep you here. I have to tell you though, I did miss you. These chicks are driving me crazy.” He laughed.
“Thanks, guys. Really, I missed all this and you, but I miss Chris even more. I can’t wait to get home to her.” Andrew finished his beer and put the bottle on the table.
The three friends chatted amicably about their current lives. Seemed as though Jason was doing well in the advertising world. That morning, he had run into Andrew after signing a multi-million dollar contract for his company. Things were looking up for him and Tonie.
Happy for his friends, Andrew elaborated a little about his relationship with Chris and how they had met when they were kids. The group chatted over a few more drinks before Andrew decided to call it a night.
“I guess Carla left,” he observed, standing from the table, looking around. The three had been so enthralled in their conversation they hadn’t noticed her not coming back to the table.
“She’s been doing that a lot lately.” Tonie shrugged. “I think she’s going through a midlife crisis or something. It’s her loss, Andy. I missed looking at your ugly mug.” She smiled and went around the table to pull Andrew into another bone-crushing hug.
Jason pulled his girlfriend away from Andrew, laughing as she pressed herself harder into his embrace. Andrew’s face contorted from pleasure to pain to a giggling fit as the three said their goodbyes.
“I’m glad to have seen you, man,” Jason stated, pulling Andrew into a manly hug. “Promise you’ll invite us to your wedding, yeah?”
Chuckling, Andrew shook his head and sighed. “You bet I will.”
Exiting the bar, he realized he missed his friends, but nothing was better than being back home with his girl.
. . .
Saturday morning started out rough for Chris. Tossing and turning alone in her bed, she had spent a good portion of her night unable to fall asleep and was now paying for it.
“Why don’t you take a break?” Amy suggested as she speared a piece of wire through a f
oam form. The girls had to put together a few arrangements for a funeral being held the next morning.
“I’m sorry, Amy. Do I look that bad?” She tilted her head, running her fingers through her hair.
“You kinda do,” Amy agreed, shrugging. “I can get these done in no time. Go to lunch or something.”
Chris nodded. “I’ll call my dad. He asked me over for dinner this week and I had to say no. I think he misses me.” Her heart ached at the thought of her poor old dad sitting alone in his house and missing her.
Henry answered his phone on the first ring and offered to make her lunch. Chris couldn’t help the surge of energy as she relayed the message to Amy. “I haven’t seen him in a week. That’s pretty unusual for us, you know?”
“Then go. I promise things will be fine here, Chris.” Amy’s bubbly personality could sometimes be grating, but she had a heart of gold, and nobody could deny her that.
“All right, I’m going. Please call me if you need any help. I’ll be back in an hour,” she promised, as she took off her apron and hung it by the door. “And if we get any orders, make sure to let them know we’re closed tomorrow afternoon,” she reminded Amy. Some customers seemed to think the shop was opened twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
“Yes, boss lady,” Amy trilled, and Chris laughed, rolling her eyes, walking out the door.
. . .
Henry was ecstatic to see Chris. He hadn’t been able to catch up with her in a while, and even though the two lived in the same town, rarely did they run into each other.
He greeted her at the door and noticed immediately how tired she looked. Once he asked about Andrew, though, that spark in her eyes returned and she seemed completely at ease.
“He’ll be back tonight,” Chris explained.
“That’s great, honey. And the shop; how’s that going?” Henry asked as he cut up some lettuce to add to their sandwiches.
“It’s better than I thought it would be.” She beamed. “With the exception of a few jerks that miss Mrs. Davis, things couldn’t be better.”
“Well, she has to retire sometime.” Henry shrugged, handing the plates over to Chris and helping her set the table.
“Thanks for having me over, Dad.” Chris smiled and tucked into her food. Henry had made sandwiches and canned soup, but to Chris they tasted like home. She was used to her father’s rudimentary cooking and loved it. Even the reheated soup.
The two were bathed in comfortable silence as they ate until Henry spoke up. “Lynn asked me out to dinner again last week,” he commented, averting his eyes. He couldn’t imagine saying yes, but since Chris had been open with him when she started seeing Andrew, he decided to give her the same respect.
“And did you finally say yes?” Chris asked, trying to mask her hopeful intonation. She hated seeing him always alone and, as much as she understood him, she also worried he would end up bitter if left on his own for too much longer. Her mother had been gone for years. Nobody could come close to holding a candle to Eva, but there was no harm in his accepting a simple dinner date.
“I said I’d think about it, Christina. I don’t think I could do that to your mother,” he admitted. This was the first time he opened up to Chris this way and her heart clenched for her father.
“Lynn is nice, Dad. She’s sort of quiet and seems to be taken with that mustache of yours.” Chris smirked, lightening the mood with her remark.
Henry’s mustache twitched as he fought a smile. Lynn had been asking him out subtly at first, offering to bring over some pie to have with coffee, but had now graduated to blatantly asking him to come have dinner at her house. Her son, Eric, was twenty-two, recently married and now living with his own wife and son. Lynn would often complain to Henry about making too much food for a single person.
“And she’s really pretty,” Chris added quietly. She figured planting the idea in Henry’s head that she was okay with him dating, maybe someday he would actually go have dinner with the sweet Lynn.
Henry nodded. He couldn't deny that part. Lynn was the complete opposite from Eva. Where Eva looked a lot like Chris, being petite with dark hair and hazel eyes, Lynn was rather tall with flowing dark blond hair and grey eyes. The fact he had remembered the color of her eyes was pretty telling. “Maybe next time.”
“Ah, come on, Dad. She likes you, and admit it, you like her, too,” she goaded, her sandwich suddenly forgotten. “I’m serious, Dad. You have to move on. I...I hate seeing you alone all the time,” she admitted, looking down into her bowl of alphabet soup.
“I know, honey. I’ve been thinking about it all week. I guess; if you’re okay with it?” He shrugged; his eyes downcast, watching the noodles go around in his bowl.
“I’m more than fine with it, and Lynn’s great. Give her a chance, Dad. Please...for me and for Mom. She’d hate for you to be alone all the time, and you know it.” Chris smiled softly as Henry’s eyes met hers. “She’d want you to be happy, Dad.”
He nodded, his eyes lighting up. “Okay, I’m going to do it. Lynn won’t know what hit her.”
“Go get ‘em, tiger.” Chris giggled and took a bite of her sandwich.
. . .
Andrew’s plane descended on the tarmac minutes before ten a.m. He grinned as he took in the line of trees and greenery surrounding Seattle. Home beckoned to him and he couldn’t wait to sink his nose into Chris’s hair and breathe her in.
The trip home was longer than he remembered, but as he drove down Main Street, he couldn’t help the rise in adrenaline that went with the thump-thump in his chest and the smile tugging at his lips.
She was there. Her car was parked down the street by Daisy’s Flowers, and Chris was right in there. A few more minutes and she would be in his arms.
. . .
“Frank, I said no. I’m not going back to you, you idiot. I’m happy. I’m with someone else, and he’s what I want. Now, get the hell out of my shop before I call the cops.” Chris’s voice sounded frantic as Andrew made his way down the sidewalk and into the small flower shop.
The bing over the door quieted the two individuals inside as Andrew walked in. “What’s going on here?” He looked at the tall, blond man standing in front of the counter and at Chris with her arms crossed in front of her chest and her face set in a scowl.
“Nothing that concerns you, man.” The blond guy tried to dismiss Andrew as he straightened his back and attempted to make himself appear taller.
Andrew still had a couple inches over him.
“Chris, are you okay?” Andrew asked, directing his question to her, his eyes pleading as he made no move to go to her. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure of what was going on, and having only heard half the conversation, he could only deduct a few things.
Chris smiled, her eyes shining and her face lighting up the whole room. “I’m great, Andrew. Frank, this is my boyfriend, Andrew.” She emphasized the words boyfriend and Andrew. “Andrew this idiot is my ex, Frank.”
Andrew grinned, moving forward, closer to Chris. “It’s nice to meet you, Frank. I guess I owe you some gratitude.”
A confused Frank had his eyes going from Andrew to Chris and back to Andrew as he spoke. “Gratitude?”
“Oh, yeah,” Andrew replied, slipping behind the counter, wrapping an arm around Chris’s waist. “If it weren’t for your stupidity, I wouldn't have Christina in my life. So, yeah, thanks for that, Frank.” Andrew grinned as best he could, while his arm possessively pulled Chris into his side.
“So, this is the clown you’d rather be with, Chris?” Frank seethed, his face twisted up in a sneer. “Fine, you can have him, but don’t come crawling back to me when he leaves your boring ass, too.”
With a last withering look, Frank turned on his heels and left the store, the overhead bell ringing loud and clear for his departure.
“Well, that was entertaining.” Amy stepped out from the back of the shop.
“Did you call Officer Bryers?” Chris asked, taking Andrew’s hand in he
rs.
“Yeah, I kept him on the line until I heard him leave,” Amy said, handing Chris the receiver from the portable phone. “Nice to see you again, Mr. Harris.”
“Likewise, Amy,” Andrew returned, not knowing what else to say.
“Amy, can you close up? We’re done with the bouquets for tomorrow. I’ll deliver them first thing in the morning to the funeral home.” Chris gave Amy what she hoped would be a meaningful look.
Amy wiggled her eyebrows and smiled. “Sure thing, boss lady. Have fun, you two.” With a large arrangement in her hands, Amy disappeared inside the fridge as Chris pulled Andrew into a much-needed hug.
“Hi,” she whispered into his lapel.
“Hi back, sweetheart.” He buried his nose into her hair. “I’m sorry I walked in on that.”
“I’m not. That idiot needed to leave,” she stated, not letting go of Andrew. She had missed him so much and didn’t know if she would ever be able to let him out of her sight again. “Come home with me. Please. I missed you,” she pleaded, her voice hoarse and her eyes prickling. She'd had a tiring last couple of days and her emotions were getting to her.
Andrew pulled back a bit and kissed her lips. “I’d follow you anywhere, Christina. I missed you more than I could ever tell you without losing my balls.”
Chris laughed, tears making their way down her cheeks. “I love you, Andy. So much.”
“I love you too, pretty girl.” Andrew pulled her into another hug, stroking her back, letting her lean on him. Her emotions were clearly all over the place, and he hoped that now he was around, he could help her deal with them. “I can’t wait to get you home.”
Chris groaned. “By the way, I started my period this morning. This day sucks ass,” she mumbled into his shirt. “I really missed you.”
Andrew chuckled heartily. “That’s all right, sweetheart. We’ll get chips and ice cream and watch a movie.”
Man in the Moon (Sweet Escapes Book 1) Page 11