Making Friends of the Garden Variety

Who: Chelo & Lucius
When: 7pmish
Where: The Garden Party

Funny how a simple phone call could really change so much. His mood lately hadn't exactly been sunshine and fucking rainbows, but now with Hannah headed out of town he wasn't exactly a happy camper. He hadn't made many friends in this town and losing Hannah now that they were getting close wasn't exactly hitting him easily. Along with the thoughts of Hannah were those of Marlowe and the advice that Isabella had given him about getting some flowers and parking his butt at her house. He was still walking around aimlessly and he happened to glance up and find himself in front of a flower shop called 'The Garden Party'. He smiled to himself as he thought about Isabella asking if flowers would fix him and Marlowe and finding himself in front of this shop at this moment seemed to be some sort of sign. "What the hell." he mumbled as he pulled the door open and headed inside. The entire room was littered with flowers of every sort. He ambled through them and up to the woman standing behind the counter. "Please tell me that you can help me find some flowers that'll say something like 'Hey I'm a jerk, please take me back anyway'."

Chelo looked up from counting out cards, grinning widely at the first customer she’d seen in ages. Or, more likely, the first customer she’d seen in an hour. Reaching out she turned down the music – Black Sabbath – and grinned wider at Lucius. “Sorry, I didn’t hear you,” she admitted, tucking cards that were for funeral arrangements into their compartment of the counter drawer and shutting it again, “What was it you wanted?” She asked, reaching out to stop the CD and switch it over to something else just in case there would be a sudden influx of customers who wouldn’t appreciate Ozzy’s “dulcet” tones.

"You didn't have to change it." he told her with a smile. "Black Sabbath right?" He didn't wait for her to finish instead he mentioned again what he came there for. "Well my girlfriend and I kinda had a fight. One of those 'I'm not really sure if you're even still my girlfriend anymore' kind of fights and I really just needs some flowers that'll help me make the answer to that question move a little more in my favor."

“Alright, let’s see what we got, then, si?” Chelo moved out from behind the counter with a grin, an Aretha Franklin CD starting in the background as she surveyed her plants with a proud eye, hands resting on her hips. “Have you noticed any specific scents she might care for, or colors?” The emotions she was picking up from the man seemed true, so she would definitely help him pick out flowers. If they hadn’t been, he wouldn’t be receiving any help at all.

He shrugged a little. "I want something that just... is like her I guess. She's fiery and passionate and... crazy and fun and..." he could have gone on for days about all the things that Marlowe was in his eyes but he decided to spare the woman his descriptions. "Sorry... I kinda get carried away when it comes to her." he sighed. "I just want something that she'd like and I'm not the greatest at doing things she likes right now so hopefully this works out." He smiled slightly.

It was hard work not to laugh as Lucius babbled, but somehow Chelo managed, though the grin stayed on her face as she turned to look at her flowers, then headed deeper into the jungle that was Garden Party. She needed flowers that fit the personality her customer had described; something crazy; something fun. She could do that. Gardenias, roses and lilies were quickly dismissed, as were petunias.

Chelo was beginning to grow annoyed with her ‘jungle’ when a possibility caught her eye. Carefully moving some plants out of the way so that Lucius could see she waved her hand at a cooler that held bouquets of wildflowers – there were arrangements of different colored daisies, arrangements that held some goldenrod, for those who weren’t allergic to the weed that she liked to call a flower…hopefully one of the arrangements would be right.

He smiled as he followed her to the cooler and looked inside at the wildflower combinations. "Definitely Marlowe..." he whispered as he reached into the cooler and pulled out one of the bouquets. "You're pretty amazing a this ya know." he said, turning his head towards the girl, his blue-green eyes lighting up with his smile.

Never one to be modest – at least not when it came to her plants – Chelo smirked slightly, pretending to preen. “I know I am,” she commented, reaching out to take the arrangement Lucius had picked out for Marlowe, admiring the colors of the flowers herself and smoothing over the petals with light touches. “The plants are my friends, so they let me be amazing,” She was half joking though the part about the plants being her friends was true. “Do you want a vase to put these in?”

He nodded at her question. "Yeah, that'd be great, thanks." he told her as his eyes trailed across the flowers. He really hoped that these flowers would make a difference for him in Marlowe's eyes. A guy can hope can't he?

Chelo picked up on the new wave of uncertainty coming from Lucius and reached out to pet his shoulder lightly before heading up towards the counter and the row of shelves behind it which held the vases. "Women like flowers," She said, sounding as if she was speaking from experience. "Well, most do. Just getting them for a woman means that you care about her, and that's sometimes the most important part!" She set the flowers down on the counter and turned to look at the vases. "Don't worry so much."

A small smile flickered across his face as the hope that this woman was right drifted through his mind. Flowers might not help, but it wasn't like they'd hurt the situation anymore than he'd already seemed to have done. He followed her back to the counter and watched as she looked over the vases.

She came back to face him with the first vase which she placed on the counter, and then a second later there was a second beside it. Both had streaks of pale color in the glass, worked through it like someone had taken a paintbrush to the vase and brought it up in a slow spiral. “Either of these vases would look nice,” she commented, taking her hands off them, “Which is why I’m not going to touch them anymore – it’d be a shame if they shattered.”

He smiled and pointed at one of the vases. "That one looks nice." he told her. "Are you clumsy?" he questioned as he looked up at the girl. "You said 'if they shattered'..." He wasn't trying to be rude by assuming, just a bit curious as to what she'd meant by her statement.

“Understatement of the millennium,” Chelo commented with a chuckle, ducking down to search for a box and some newspaper that they could wrap it in while he had to transport it – if he wanted it. “If I can break it, I usually do,” She aimed a cheeky grin at him as she set the items down on the counter. “When I get around to hiring someone again I’m going to leave them all the fidgety work like playing with the vases so I can make sure I don’t go breaking any.”

He let out a light chuckle. "I guess everyone has their little quirks don't we?" he told her, his eyebrow raising slightly. That was the understatement of the millennia. He didn't have to worry about breaking things like she did, but he did have to worry about moving things with his mind. Quirks was definitely not the best word for it.

“Oh yes,” Chelo said as she laughed, “Some big, some small, but everyone has them! People would be boring and cookie-cutter without them.” She looked at the vase, newspaper held in her hand, then looked back at Lucius, holding the newspaper told him. “Do you want to wrap it or should we see if I can keep still long enough to get that done without breakage?” She asked as wind coming in from one of the back windows blew past them, ruffling her shirt and pulling at the newspaper.

"Yeah, people are boring enough as it is. It's interesting to see all their quirks..." he agreed. There was truth to the statement, though some peoples quirks were harder to handle than others. "Actually, I'm thinking of heading over to her house after this, so you can just put the flowers in it if you want. I'm pretty sure I can keep from dropping it til I get there." Despite the wind he wasn't too worried about breaking the vase.

Nodding to indicate she’d got that, Chelo reached for the flowers again, lifting them gently out of the cellophane that they were wrapped in and setting them on the counter before she headed for a nearby sink with a plastic pitcher. “You’re braver than I am,” She said over her shoulder as she filled the pitcher with water and then reached for plant mix, pouring a little in, “I wrap everything I have to deliver in bubble-wrap if I have it. But that’s just me.”

He grinned. "Well thankfully clumsiness isn't one of my quirks." he told her. "If this convinces her to take a chance on me again, you might get a lot more business from me." he told her. Hell if this worked he'd be in a lot to buy flowers just because.

Chelo returned to the front counter, setting the pitcher down and reaching for a box of flattish marbles. “I’ll look forward to it,” she said in response to Lucius’s statement, scooping out a handful of the shiny glass marbles and placing them in the bottom of the vase before pouring the water on top and then picking up the flowers again so she could place them in water. “And I really hope they work, you look like you’re really sorry for whatever it was you did.”

"I walked away. Like an idiot." he told her. "I think I need to start listening a little more and not walking quite so much. But I'll let you know how it goes. Name's Lucius by the way. Not much for politeness these days either I guess."

“Then I’m impolite as well, aren’t I? So don’t worry about it.” Careful to reach where she couldn’t possibly knock over the vase she held her hand out for Lucius to shake. “I’m Consuelo, but don’t call me that or I’ll hurt you,” Except she wouldn’t, not really, “Call me Chelo,” she snickered slightly, shaking her head. “Or Audrey. You just make sure you do remember to tell me how it goes.”

He nodded as he shook her hand. "Will do." he agreed. "I'll be sure to stop back in and let you know either way."

“Thanks.” Chelo pushed the vase towards him and then leaned on the counter. “That’ll be $25.95” She chewed her lip, shaking her head. “Nah, on second thought, that’ll be $15.50, we’re having a sale.” The look on her face brooked no arguments, her decision was final. Oh, how she loved owning her own store.

He smiled and handed her a twenty. "Thanks Chelo." he said taking the vase and turning before she could complain about his slight overpayment. "I'll be back." he promised as he disappeared out the door. "God let these flowers work." he muttered.