50 Writer’s Block: Petals and Posies

For a lonely young woman, losing one special person may open the door to finding another

For a lonely young flowershop owner, losing one special person may open the door to meeting another.

Julie is single and not so happy about it. It crosses her mind that she feels like she’s on a downhill slide, and doesn’t know what she’ll be landing in at the bottom. She’s guessing it won’t be chocolate.

Petals and Posies is the name of her downtown flower shop, and Julie does a good business. She has a steady clientele and Margaret O’meara is her favourite customer. Margaret is over 80 now, a tiny, bird-like woman who insists on wearing a hat in public and always carrying tissues because “You just never know who’s going to need one, dear.” Margaret comes in every Monday for a bouquet for home and then again on Friday to pick up a rose for her late husband Henry’s grave.

Julie admires how devoted Margaret is in tending to Henry’s memory, but it saddens her that Margaret is alone. It also scares her that she, Julie, is heading in the same direction; nothing but memories for future comfort, and Julie doesn’t even have a lot of those worth keeping.

As the new week dawns, Margaret fails to make her Monday appearance. Julie is concerned, but really, she’s just Margaret’s florist, not her keeper. All week though, Julie worries and when Margaret doesn’t come in on Friday, Julie leaves the shop early and heads to the cemetery, a single rose in her hand. It’s a small cemetery and Julie doesn’t expect to have trouble finding Henry’s grave, but when she arrives, she’s more correct than she realized. A small crowd is there and a priest is praying over Margaret’s casket.

Julie is stricken with grief. She doesn’t belong here, she’s not a family member or a close friend, but her sadness immobilizes her. The graveside service is just ending and a tall man with kind eyes

notices Julie standing off to the side. He reaches into his pocket to pass her a tissue.

“Gram always carried these around with her,” he says, “She always told me…”

“You just never know who’s going to need one, dear,” Julie finishes the sentence for him, taking the tissue.

She wipes her eyes and blows her nose as unobtrusively as possible. The man turns out to be Margaret’s grandson, Jason. Margaret had mentioned him before, “A fine young man and single, Julie!” Margaret also mentioned that Jason often stopped by to help her out around the house.

Jason tells Julie that Margaret passed away quietly in her sleep and now she and her beloved Henry are together again. Julie lays her single rose on the casket and tells Jason how sorry she is. She also tells him how much she enjoyed Margaret’s visits to the store, then turns and walks away.

Mondays will never be quite the same for Julie, but that Friday, Jason shows up to buy flowers for both Margaret’s and Henry’s graves.

Julie chooses two deep red roses, wraps them carefully and hands them to Jason. As she exchanges a smile with this “fine and single(!)” young man, it crosses Julie’s mind that her Fridays might not be the same again either. ■