“Hey, where’s Poppy?” Dad asked.
“She left in a limo,” said Mom with a laugh. “Maybe we should go find her!”
Uh-oh. “She must still be with the wedding party,” I said. I could only imagine what my little sister could be up to. I rushed to the cocktail hour, where people were sipping champagne from delicate flutes and balancing small plates in their hands as they chatted with one another. I looked around in amazement. There was a sushi station, a man in a tall paper hat carving up big hunks of delicious-smelling meats, huge piles of crab claws, lobster tails, and more shrimp than I had ever seen in my life. I spotted an ice sculpture of the bride and groom’s entwined initials. But I couldn’t find one small substitute flower girl anywhere.
“Where is the bridal party?” I asked a man in an expensive-looking suit with a pencil-thin mustache. He told me they were in the greenhouse taking pictures. Sure enough, when I made it out to the greenhouse, there was Poppy, front and center, grinning away for the camera.
I looked at Corinne. She shrugged. “Olivia said she wanted the flower girl to be a part of the pictures!”
When the photographer was done, I took a still-grinning Poppy by the hand. The cocktail hour was over and the guests began filing inside the ballroom. I joined my family in the hallway just outside the doors and we watched everyone parade by in their wedding finery.
“There’s the mayor!” whispered Dad. I looked over; his tuxedo shirt looked a little snug, but he was laughing and looked very happy. And not, thankfully, having a deathly allergic reaction to lilacs!
As the bridesmaids and groomsmen lined up in the hallway outside the ballroom, waiting for the bandleader to call their names, Olivia left her new husband’s side and headed over to us. She gave each of us a hug and a kiss. “I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful wedding,” she said. “You Blooms really outdid yourselves.” She turned to Ashley, who stood nearby. “Don’t you think so?”
“Yes,” Ashley said sweetly. While Mom and Olivia chatted, she turned to me, her face serious. “You saved me back there.”
“I know,” I said lightly. “It would have been totally awk,” I couldn’t help adding.
She nodded. “Def.” She smiled. “You guys did a really great job.” She took a deep breath. “You know, at first I was happy when that wedding planner suggested that Olivia go to that other florist. But now I’m really glad you guys did it.”
“Huh?” I said. Then it hit me — Ashley had had nothing to do with us almost losing Olivia’s wedding! And I had been blaming her the whole time. I gave her a grateful smile. Maybe she wasn’t as bad as I had —
Then Ashley spoke again. “But don’t think I’ll be nice to you at school because of this,” she added snippily.
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I retorted.
Just then the wedding planner rushed up to Olivia and whispered in her ear. “That’s a great idea!” Olivia said, then turned to us, a smile on her face. “Turns out an entire table full of Todd’s cousins are fogged in in DC and weren’t able to make it. Would you guys like to come to the reception?”
“Yes!” shouted Poppy. We all laughed.
“But Rose’s show tonight …” Mom said.
“We have plenty of time,” Rose insisted, her eyes glowing.
Mom smiled. “Sure,” she said, “we’d love to.”
And that was how we ended up as guests at the wedding of the year. We were seated just in time to see Olivia and Todd make their entrance.
“Introducing, for the first time as husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Todd Worthington!” announced the bandleader. The crowd cheered. Then their song began to play for their first dance. “Edelweiss.” I grinned, and Mom squeezed my hand.
Then I realized — all that hard work, all the craziness, was all for this moment. The beautiful bride and the handsome groom, dancing together. I got choked up as I saw Todd gently wipe a tear off Olivia’s cheek. (Mom, of course, was wiping her face with her matching bandanna!) They were so happy together — and so much in love. Suddenly, I found myself thinking of Hamilton. A deep blush spread over my face.
Then the food started coming. Course after course of delicious food. My glass of ginger ale was never empty. Our work was done, so my family and I just relaxed and enjoyed ourselves. We laughed at the best man’s funny speech. We gasped as an overenthusiastic bridesmaid tripped and slid across the floor in a mad attempt to catch the bouquet. We oohed and ahhed over the chocolate fountain with strawberries and pound cake for dipping. We danced and danced between courses. And then, at the end, we all got teary as the wedding party serenaded the couple with “So Long, Farewell,” the good-bye song from the play that had brought them together, The Sound of Music.
And just before we left, my family took a moment to raise our glasses.
“To the Blooms,” said Mom. “And the best family business in town!”
We clinked glasses and grinned at one another. We had pulled off the impossible — a demanding bride, a crazy schedule, and a whole lot of unexpected competition. And we had done it together.
When we got home late that night, after Rose’s play, we discovered that the message light on our answering machine was blinking.
“Now who could that be?” Mom wondered aloud as she pressed PLAY.
“Hello!” Aunt Lily’s voice rang through the room. “Congratulations! I heard you did a wonderful job at the wedding. I am very proud of all of you.” Slightly shocked, we all grinned at one another again. But then she added: “You do realize that prom season starts in two weeks? Just a reminder! Have a good night.”
The smiles left our faces. I could feel my heart sink. What was one bride compared to a hundred girls in fancy dresses?
No one said a word. Then Aster broke the silence with a low whistle. “Holy corsages!” she said, and we all burst out laughing. Poppy, who’d been fast asleep in Dad’s arms, woke with a start, and miraculously started laughing, too.
I smiled at my family. My often crazy, sometimes annoying, and always there-for-one-another family. Together, we would figure this next challenge out.
“You said it, sister!” I replied.
Chapter Thirteen
We were all gathered in front of the computer screen, elbowing one another to make sure we were in sight of the video camera. It was our very first iChat with Gran and Gramps.
Suddenly, they appeared on the screen. “Oh!” said Mom. “There they are!” Seeing their familiar faces after all these weeks filled me with instant joy.
“Oh, it’s so lovely to see you all!” Gran said. “Lily told us the wedding was a smashing success!”
“Yes, congratulations!” said Gramps.
“And how was Rose’s play?” Gran wanted to know.
“It was great!” Rose said eagerly. “I’ll send you the DVD really soon!” As she jabbered on about the show, I studied Gran and Gramps. They looked so tan and healthy. Gran had a big pair of sunglasses perched on top of her head and Gramps was wearing a very bright Hawaiian shirt.
“We wanted to talk to you in person.” Gramps laughed. “Or as close to in person as possible. We have some news.”
I took a deep breath. I had a feeling about what was coming next.
“We’ve made a decision,” said Gran slowly. “We can’t handle another New Hampshire winter. We love it down here so much …” Her voice trailed off.
“You’re not coming back,” I said.
Everyone looked at me, silent. “And that’s okay,” I went on. “You guys deserve to have fun. We can handle the store — as long as we do it together.”
Everyone smiled at me. Poppy even patted my hand.
Dad nodded. “And now we have a great place to visit!”
Mom swallowed, then spoke. “I have a suggestion,” she said. “It has to do with the store’s name. Customers have been saying that Flowers on Fairfield sounds so old-fashioned.” She bit her lip. “I know it’s been in the family for years but I wonder if we could …” Her voice
trailed off.
“Change the name!” boomed Gramps. “It’s your store now; name it whatever you want!”
“I never really liked it, anyway,” Gran confessed. “It is a mouthful!”
We started tossing names around.
“Flower Power!” said Rose.
“Bloodflowers!” said Aster. We all gave her a funny look. “It’s the name of a Cure album,” she said with a shrug.
“Blossoms?” suggested Mom.
“Blooms?” offered Dad.
“How about … something with Petals in it?” I asked, thinking of the rose petals Poppy had tossed onto the aisle at the wedding.
“I know, I know!” shouted Poppy. “Petal Pushers!”
We all were silent for a moment as we considered it. Then we all grinned. “That’s it!” Mom said. “Great idea, Poppy!”
We said our good-byes to Gran and Gramps. It was a bittersweet moment. It was exciting to have the store all to ourselves. But it would be hard with Gran and Gramps so far away. Everyone looked so sad. I had an idea.
“You know how I feel about continuing with our Friday Movie Nights,” I said.
“Yes,” Dad said warily.
“But how about Sunday Movie Nights instead?” I said. “We can start tonight! We can eat an early dinner and watch a movie. It can be a new Bloom tradition!”
“It is a nice way to start out the week,” said Mom.
“I like it!” Dad added.
“I love it!” said Rose, and even Aster beamed.
“I vote for cake batter ice cream!” said Poppy.
“No, peanut butter brickle!” Aster and Rose said together.
Mom and I were chosen to go out and pick up the supplies. We stopped off at the video store first. My friend Amy had told me about this funny old movie called Galaxy Quest, so I found it and handed it to Mom. She got in line.
I was checking out the new releases when I bumped into someone. I looked up. Yikes! It was Hamilton!
“Hey, Del!” he said. He held a DVD in his hands, but he angled it so I couldn’t see the cover.
“Movie Night at your house, too?” I asked.
He nodded.
“Hamilton!” called a voice. “Did you find My Big Fat Greek Wedding?”
Hamilton blushed. “It’s my mom’s turn to choose,” he explained.
I turned around — and there was a tall blonde lady waving to us from across the store. I squinted at her. She looked so familiar … And then I suddenly realized who it was. The lady from Fleur!
“Hey, how do you …” I started to say.
“Just a minute, Mom!” Hamilton called back.
Mom? I thought, bewildered. Then it hit me: Hamilton’s mom was the owner of our rival flower shop! So that was how he knew that delphinium was a flower.
I was speechless. Could it really be?
Hamilton’s mom started heading over to us. Luckily, my mother had just paid for our movie and came over.
“We’re all set,” she said, smiling at Hamilton.
“Great,” I said. I grabbed Mom’s arm and dragged her toward the door. “See you on Monday!” I called to Hamilton.
When we were safely out the door Mom said, “What was that all about?” She grinned at me. “And who was that cute boy?”
“It’s a long story,” I said, feeling dazed. “I’ll tell you about it sometime, I promise.” My stomach rumbled. “Let’s make it quick at the grocery store. I’m starving.” Then I had a scary thought. “Just promise me that you’re cooking tonight!”
Mom laughed. “I promise!”
Preview
Read on for a sneak peek at the next
Petal Pushers book!
“May I ask how many prom orders you’ve gotten so far?” Aunt Lily asked.
“We were just discussing that,” said Mom. “Not so many. But Del just told us there’s to be a middle school prom, too, so we’re feeling optimistic….”
Aunt Lily cut her off. “As I suspected,” she said. “It seems as if our rivals are trying to take away our business. Again.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. My heart sank. I knew this couldn’t be good.
“Benjamin, would you please hold up the paper?” commanded Aunt Lily.
Dad complied, lifting the paper so we had a full view of the front and back pages. And what we saw made us gasp.
The entire back page of Saturday’s paper was an ad. An ad for Fleur. There was a photo of a girl’s wrist with a simple orchid corsage on it. Under the photo were the words:
FLEUR.
ELEGANT. SOPHISTICATED. STYLISH.
WHY GO ANYWHERE ELSE FOR YOUR PROM FLOWERS?
Fleur is our competition. The new, fancy florist in town with software so you can design virtual bouquets. Fleur is in the mall, is twice as big as Petal Pushers, and has tons of flowers we don’t normally carry.
And there’s one more part of the Fleur story. The store is owned by Hamilton Baldwin’s mom. Yes, Hamilton Baldwin — the new guy in school who I think is cute. The guy in gym class who Ashley has a crush on. But Hamilton doesn’t know I know his mother owns Fleur.
As if things weren’t complicated enough.
Mom took a closer look at the ad. “Oh my,” she said in a small voice. “It says ‘Become a Fleur Fan on Facebook’!”
So Fleur was at it again. Last month they had tried to steal away our first big job — a large wedding. Luckily, we had managed to keep it. Now they were taking out newspaper ads and creating Facebook pages. I glanced around our store. It was sweet, small, and very old-fashioned. We had no website, no virtual bouquets, and certainly no Facebook page.
“So you think everyone is going to Fleur instead of us?” Dad asked with a frown, putting down the paper.
“Yes,” said Aunt Lily. “Especially if they’re doing a lot of advertising.”
Mom cleared her throat. “I’m sure all the kids will start coming in this weekend.”
“I am, too,” said Dad optimistically. “I’ll bet we have a line out the door this very afternoon!”
“I hope you’re right,” Aunt Lily said. But she didn’t look convinced. I didn’t feel convinced, either. “Good day,” she said. She gave us a curt nod and marched out the door.
We all stared at one another after she left.
“Well I think that proms sound bee-you-tee-ful,” Poppy pronounced. “Mommy, can you make me a corsage?”
“Another time, my love,” said Mom. “I have to start another arrangement. Del, can you help me?”
I busied myself cutting flowers for the new arrangement. But inside I was fuming. I couldn’t believe Fleur was trying to take away our prom business.
This means war! I thought.
Read all the Petal Pushers books!
Too Many Blooms
Flower Feud
Best Buds
About the Author
Catherine R. Daly has been a children’s book editor for many years and has also written or adapted more than one hundred books for children. She lives in New York City with her family. Her middle name is Rose, which perhaps helps explain her lifelong love of flowers. Petal Pushers is her first series for young readers.
Copyright
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., Attention: Permissions Department, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Copyright © 2011 by Catherine R. Daly
Cover illustration by Bella Pilar
Cover design by Yaffa Jaskoll
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
First edition, March 2011
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been gran
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e-ISBN: 978-0-545-41494-4
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