Elly In Bloom (20 page)

“No, but I think I might have lost my leg hair. Do you find that attractive?”

Elly slapped his chest with relief and tried to stand up. “Whoa…I’m still a little woozy still.”

Isaac slowly stood up and walked around the room blowing out the candles. Elly collapsed on the bed, rubbing her sore knees.

Did that just happen? Lord, I dodged a bullet there,
she thought to herself
. Man, I was so drunk. He got me drunk! Thank you, pants on fire!
She lay her head down on the pillow and closed her eyes, the siren of sleep calling her into floaty weightlessness. Suddenly, Isaac was over her, kissing her face and touching the strings that held up her reindeer pants.

“Isaac.” She sat up, kissing him softly. “You were on FIRE. Does that not bother you?”

“Nope,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “It’s not the first time I’ve been on fire this weekend. Just looking at you makes me excited.”

That was it.

“OH-KAY.” said Elly, feeling in control of herself once again. She pushed him off her roughly.

“Isaac. Seriously. I love being here with you. This has been one of the best days ever. You kiss me and I completely lose myself. I have such a good time with you, and I literally count the minutes until I see you again. But I told you in the car that I wasn’t ready for this.”

“Mmm..hmmm,” Isaac murmured, “But I knew you were just saying that.”

Elly pulled herself away from him. “No. I wasn’t. I’m not sure who you’re used to dating, but I’m not that kind of woman. It’s too soon.” Elly paused, weighing her next sentence heavy on her tongue. “You don’t know this, but…I caught my husband having sex with another woman.”

Isaac sat back, shocked.

“Sex is still something that I associate with the worst moment of my life. Aaron was the only man I ever slept with. It might not be a big deal to you, but it is to me. I’ve spent the last two years trying to overcome that one, awful moment.” She cupped his face. “I hope you understand – until I met you, I had not been able to forget about it. Now that I’m with you, I feel alive again. You are so familiar to me. My heart seems to know you. I’m not saying never. I’m just saying not right now and maybe not until I’m married again. I have my Mother’s values.”

Isaac groaned and lay at her side, running his fingers over her arm.

“Okay. So it’s just that? It’s not a religious thing or something?”

“Well, maybe it is a little. I’m a good old-fashioned church girl, you know.”

“That’s hot.”

Elly gave him an exasperated smile. “Listen, I’m just not ready.” She kissed him gently. “But if you still want me, you have my permission to kiss me as much as you want.” Isaac raised his eyebrow.

“Anywhere I want?” Elly growled at him. He laughed lightly. “You are quite the woman Elly Jordan. Frustrating, but intriguing. Thank you for sharing this with me.” He nibbled her ear softly. Elly ran her hand over his back.

“Just one more thing.”

“What?” he said, exasperated.

“Never. Ever. Try to pick me up again.”

He kissed her shoulder. “Yeah. That didn’t go so well. You’re solid.”

Elly closed her eyes. “And with that thought, I’m going to sleep now.” She curled gently against him, pressing her lips to his temple. Isaac fell back into the sheets, disappointed. Elly slipped into a hazy sleep, barely aware of the new and invisible space between them.

CHAPTER

FOURTEEN

In the back of the store, Elly stocked tall gold candelabras for the Kepke wedding into her broad storage closet. Dust showering around her, Elly pushed further and further into the space, pushing aside old boxes and praying that spiders were not nesting in her hair. At the very back of the closet, Elly saw a large white bag, hanging on a hook attached to the wall. She sighed. In that bag was her wedding dress, carried in the back of her car all the way from Georgia. She kept it hidden but safe, never really sure what to do with it. Elly purposefully turned her body the other direction so that she would not have to look at it.

After jamming in the last candelabra, followed by bags upon bags of hanging Swarovski crystals, Elly closed the closet door and dusted off her shirt. She bent down and gave Cadbury, who was napping blissfully on the sun drenched floor, a quick peck on his black nose and headed to the front. It was a simmering day at the tail end of August. Late summer light with the promise of fall filtered through the giant windows at the front of the store, which was already decked out with autumn décor. Gold aspen trees arched delicately over the entrance, framing the Posies sign. Inside the store, pumpkins and gourds covered Elly’s desk, and maple leaves hung down from the white chandelier above. A plate full of Keith’s cinnamon cookies sat uncovered in the corner, filling the room with a warm delicious scent. Anthony walked back and forth, humming show tunes and dropping blood red dahlias into amber mason jars for the front display window, while Snarky Teenager updated contracts.

She looked up from her pink glasses.

“Do you have a consultation today?”

“Yes,” answered Elly, moving a yellow squash in front of her computer. “I’m getting gelato with Kim, and then I’m meeting Sunny Kepke to finalize the details of her daughter’s wedding.”

“I think that wedding is going to be a disaster,” she said, twisting her long blond hair around her finger. “TOTAL train wreck”

“Thanks for your encouragement” said Elly, taking a consultation form from the printer. “You exude such a positive energy.”

Snarky Teenager rolled her eyes. “I’m just bringing the real.”

Elly wasn’t even sure what that meant. “Well, I’m just bringing the paycheck, so you better be ready for that wedding.”

“Is Kim helping out?”

“Kim will be due within three weeks of that weekend, so I doubt it. If anything, she will run things here at the shop. She can’t carry anything, but I think between you, me, Anthony and all the temp workers we’ve hired, we should probably be all set.”

“Well, I’m definitely looking forward to it. I bet there will be tons of rich guys there…”

Elly put her hands on Snarky Teenager’s shoulders. “You are not old enough to want to meet rich guys. You need to hang out with your girlfriends, watch a movie, play sports...”

“Get a class ring, go to a sock hop…” Snarky Teenager continued.

Elly gave up. “I’m going to Ada’s for a quick hot chocolate. Do you want anything?”

Snarky Teenager shook her head. “Those drinks are so sugary, you should think about how many calories...” Elly left her talking to herself in the front and poked her head in the back.

“Anthony? Would you like anything?”

Anthony, always unfailingly polite, sniffed a gorgeous red and orange kangaroo paw bouquet. “Yes, may I have a danish?”

“That’s my man.” Elly skipped out of the store. Entering Ada’s, Elly relished in the buzzing energy of the coffee shop. She adored this place, all dim lights and yuppie music. Having a coffee shop a few steps from your work place was both wonderful and dangerous. After picking up her drink and Anthony’s pastry, Elly headed back to the shop, walking extra slowly to enjoy the leaves swirling around her feet.

Early autumn was her favorite time of year in St. Louis. The dripping humidity had subtly vanished into the cool air, and the weather was no longer comparable to hell. Her hair stayed curled for more than an hour, and she adored the feeling of pulling on something other than a thin tank top in the crisp mornings. As she rounded the corner to the shop, she felt a hand brush her waist. Elly jumped, spilling hot chocolate down her ruffled blouse.

“Crap!” she yelled, as hot liquid poured between her breasts.

Isaac looked ashamed. “Wow, that was totally smooth. Good morning gorgeous, how are you – would you like a coffee bath?”

Elly cracked a small smile in his direction. “No coffee. Hot chocolate, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right. You’re ten years old.”

“Very funny,” she retorted.

Isaac cupped his cold hands over her cheeks and kissed her nose. “You look cute today. I like your hair.”

Elly nuzzled his nose. “Thanks.”

“Hey, I was wondering if you would want come see my band play tomorrow night. We’re playing at the Paradox Club downtown.”

Elly groaned inwardly. Many, many nights in the past two months were spent hanging out with Isaac’s band, in smoke-filled living rooms, listening to endless riffs on the guitar and Tifah and Gene discussing jaded idealism while insulting local bands. Elly was going to bed later than 1am most nights, and while the long kiss that Isaac planted on her at the end of the night was well worth it, the mornings were rough. Also, Cadbury was in a constant state of passive aggression, leaving secret “presents” behind the dressers and in Elly’s shoes. Another band night…ugh…the thought made her cringe.

Elly ran her fingers lightly over his stubbly chin. “How about we go out to dinner before your band plays and then maybe you can call me afterwards?”

“Awww...” Isaac suddenly looked crestfallen, like a child who had his new truck taken away. “I wanted you to come. I’m singing a song that was inspired by you, babe.”

Babe
, thought Elly to herself.
Babe, like the pig. Fantastic.
Still, her brain buzzed with the idea that someone had written a song for her. That was so romantic, in an 8
^th
grade kind of way.

“Okay, I’ll go. But I have to be in bed by midnight. I am not a night person.”

Isaac winked at her. “You aren’t really a morning person either, just so you know. You’re kind of scary before 10 am. Like a monster. Like a really cute, terrifying monster.”

Elly laughed and lightly swatted his shoulder. “Why am I dating you again?” she asked, pulling his arms around her.

Thirty minutes and many kisses later, Elly entered the gelato bar down the street from the store carrying a light green glass vase full of sunflowers. As a hunky Italian man seated her at the table, Elly waited excitedly for Kim and pondered her gelato choices, staring at the voluptuous peaks of multi-colored cream. Between Kim’s pregnancy, a very full wedding season, and Elly’s late night jam sessions with Isaac, they hadn’t been able to see each other as much as they would have liked. Their occasional gelato fixes were the highlight of Elly’s week.

Through the wavy glass, Elly saw a large figure waddle past the shop, stop, come back and head inside. She stood as Kim huffed around the corner. She looked…awful. Her normally long and ethereal hair was pulled up in a messy bun, and her bangs were plastered against her forehead, winging out in every direction. Kim always projected an impeccable sense of fashion – it was thoughtless perfection, a look that turned heads and inspired others, but the only word Elly could think of today was “frumpy.” Kim donned a bright orange top and a long, shapeless khaki maternity skirt with last season’s Ugg boots poking out of the bottom. Her belly, round and glorious, preceded her around corners and bumped into the table.

She dropped her shopping bags in front of Elly and sighed loudly. “I just walked a mile dragging these heavy bags full of overpriced stuffed animals, about five strangers molested my belly without permission, and I keep farting and having no control over it.” She collapsed into her chair. “I’m huge. I see people looking at me, talking about how large I am. Elly, I know it. I’m like a walking whale. A walking whale wearing bright orange.”

Elly gulped some water. “Yeah, that shirt was maybe was not a great choice for today.”

Kim’s face fell into devastation. Elly instantly regretted her words. “Oh, sweetie, that was totally a joke. I’m sorry. You’re always gorgeous, Kim, you’re glowing! Now you just know what it’s like to be an average person who doesn’t look like a supermodel.”

Kim wiped her hair off her forehead. “It kind of sucks. You know, normally that would have been funny, but I’m so sensitive lately. Everything offends me, or makes me cry or gives me mania. I’m a total nutcase.” She rested her hand over her swelled belly. “Is this what fat people feel like?” she asked no one in particular.

“Um, yes. Yes it is,” said Elly, laughing.

Kim rolled her eyes. “Stop. You’re just sexy plump. Go get me two gelatos, you’re buying. This baby is taking all my energy, my thoughts, and my ability to control my bowel functions. I deserve a free cup of mango.”