Free Too Many Blooms by Catherine R. Daly Page A

Corinne,” she said into the phone. “I look forward to seeing you and Olivia tonight at five o’clock. I can personally guarantee that Fleur will create the wedding of her dreams!”

Chapter Eight
    Becky looked at me, wide-eyed, and I could only stare back at her in shock. So it
was
true — we’d lost our biggest customer! Mom was going to be so disappointed. I felt terrible.
    The blonde woman hung up the phone and walked back over to us. “Is everything okay?” she asked, seeing our wan expressions.
    “Um, we have to go home now,” said Becky. “Our mom is … I mean my mom … uh, my grandma …” Her voice trailed off. “We have to go home,” she repeated lamely.
    And I couldn’t criticize Becky for her fumbling, because I wasn’t even capable of forming words at that point.
    The woman seemed confused for a moment. Then she smiled and handed us each a magnet with the Fleurwebsite’s URL on it. “You can design your virtual bouquet at home!” she said. “As long as you have a major credit card. And your parents’ permission.”
    I took the magnet and shoved it in my pocket. “Thank you,” I said miserably.
    I waited until we had exited the mall before I spoke.
    “Ashley!” I hissed as we unlocked our bikes.
    “Huh?” said Becky.
    “I know what happened,” I muttered, fuming. “Ashley told Olivia that we call her Bridezilla behind her back,” I said. “So Olivia changed florists.”
    “You really think so?” said Becky.
    “Oh, I know so,” I said. “I bet Ashley even told her all about Fleur. You know how much time Ashley spends at the mall.”
    “Maybe,” said Becky thoughtfully.
    After I dropped Becky off at home, I pedaled back to the store in furious silence. Ashley was without question the most awful person I had ever met in my life. It was bad enough when she was mean to me. But to take away my family’s business — that was inexcusable. Just thinking about it made my blood boil.
    “This is very bad. Very bad!” said Aunt Lily, pacing back and forth in front of the counter. I had just filled her and Mom in on my store visit. “Twice as big! Twice as many flowers! Visual bouquets!”
    “Virtual,” I corrected.
    Aunt Lily glared at me. “And they’ve stolen the biggest wedding of the year right from under our noses!” She turned to Mom. “Our store is in big trouble,” she said. “We could go out of business. Your parents never should have left.”
    Mom just looked crestfallen. After Aunt Lily walked out, muttering to herself, I helped Mom put the flowers back in the cooler before we closed for the night.
    “True, Olivia was a handful,” Mom said with a sigh as she locked the front door. “But I put a lot of work into her wedding. And it was such a big order! Fifty centerpieces!” she said. Her shoulders sagged. “I can’t believe it,” she added sadly. “What a disappointment.”
    I balled my hands into fists. I didn’t have the heart to tell Mom about the Ashley connection. The afternoon had been hard enough as it was.
    I walked my bike between us as we made our way home. “Do you think we should tell Gran and Gramps?” I asked.
    Mom, Dad, and I had decided that we wouldn’t bother Gran and Gramps with work stuff unless it was a life-or-death emergency. Otherwise, Dad said, they’d come running back to fix things. But this was starting to feel a little like life or death to me. Maybe it was time.
    Mom shook her head. “There’s nothing they can do,” she said. “It will only worry them. They’ll find out soon enough.”
    “But is Aunt Lily right? Can we lose the business?” I couldn’t imagine us closing up Flowers on Fairfield … for good. There was just no way.
    “I don’t know, Del,” she said. “But it will happen whether or not we bother Gran and Gramps. So let’s let them get settled before we tell them the bad news.”
    “All right,” I said. We walked home the rest of the way in silence. The only sound was my squeaky front wheel.