Blueprint for Romance

How'd it Go?

Vanessa

“Hey,” Mandy greeted me as I entered Little Blossoms. I smiled in greeting as I looked around. As always, the place was bustling. It wasn’t as busy as the café, but the floral shop was always bustling with activity. “How did your meeting go?” she then asked curiously.

“Hank showed up instead of Damon,” I complained as I leaned against the counter. I was out of the way if a potential customer needed to pay for something, but I also wanted to be discreet. I had no idea if Naomi was in or not and the last thing, I needed was her blabbering.

“What? Why?” she asked, and I shrugged as a customer came up with a bunch of flowers. Mandy didn’t hesitate as she assisted them as quickly as possible.

“I have no idea. Miller was already there when he arrived and then Hank showed up. I didn’t want to make a scene…so…”

“So?”

“So, we discussed the things that needed to be fixed and that was that,” I explained. Mandy looked thoughtful as she stared at me.

“But…why?”

“I have no idea,” I said with a sigh.

“But the whole idea behind this was for Damon to see the place,” Mandy argued, and I nodded. That had been the plan, but Damon hadn’t shown up for whatever reason. “I mean, is Hank going to be working as the lead? Or was he just filling in for him?”

“I wish I knew,”

“Vanessa! Hey!” I looked over my shoulder to see Naomi coming from the back. I smiled as I made a point of looking her up and down.

“I mean…looking good,” I remarked. Naomi blushed as she smoothed her wrinkle-free skirt.

“Thank you…have you heard from Damon lately?” Naomi then asked as the smile faded and was replaced with a frown. “He hasn’t answered any of my calls,”

“Ah…I saw him last…Tuesday night,” I answered. “He stopped by the café,” I added as an explanation. No one other than Molly and Mandy knew that there was something more between Damon and me. Not that it mattered.

“Huh…I’ll ask Molly…anyway, I heard you bought a house,” Naomi then said, and I frowned as I glared over at Mandy. “Oh, don’t blame her, she is excited for you. As am I,”

“It’s not a secret or anything,” I hurriedly said. “Just…I don’t know…”

“Settling down? Moving in? Making yourself at home?” Naomi offered as her smile returned. “I think it’s great,”

“Thanks,” I replied as I pushed off the counter. “Anyway, I should be heading back,” I waved at them as I left the store. I wasn’t in any hurry to return back to work, but as I crossed the road, I spotted Damon’s truck parked alongside the road. I picked up the pace and when I entered the café, I saw him sitting with Molly in one of the back booths. His back was to me, but when Molly saw me, she waved me over. I still had ten minutes left of my break, so I headed over to them. Damon glanced over his shoulder and the smile he shot me was clearly forced.

“Hey,” Molly greeted. “We didn’t see you when we came in,”

“Oh, yeah, I went to see Mandy really quickly…Naomi is asking about you,” I said to Damon, who for some reason couldn’t – or wouldn’t – look at me. “And I was expecting you this morning for my meeting with Miller…but then Hank showed up,”

“I’m going to check on our order,” Molly said as she stood up and hurried off. I slipped into her seat and looked at Damon, who was still avoiding eye contact.

“Damon, what the hell?” I asked. He finally looked at me, but I could tell that there was something wrong.

“I think we need to take a break,” he whispered, and I frowned. Of course, I knew exactly what he meant, and my heart dropped. “I just…I think Atticus and Alastair are getting ready to make me partner and…”

“And?” I pushed when he fell silent.

“And I want to focus on that right now,” he finished. I slowly nodded as I looked around the café. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do, so I finally stood up when he didn’t say anything else. “Vanessa,” Damon said, as I made a move to leave. I paused and looked at him. “We are still friends,”

“Right,” I said with a nod. I didn’t want him to see me cry, so I took my time walking to the back of the café. Thankfully, I made it all the way to the restroom before the tears started to fall. I was embarrassed, hurt, and pissed off. I hadn’t even managed to execute the first part of my plan, and I had already lost him. It felt as if someone had reached inside my chest and ripped my heart out. It was rather overwhelming, and I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent off a text to my brother. He was the only one I was still in contact with, and I needed him. Now.

Vanessa: How soon can you get here?

I pocketed my phone and made sure all the evidence of my tears and heartbreak was gone before I headed back to the front. I was horrified to see that Damon and Molly were still here, but there was nothing I could do about it.

“Are you ok, love?” Rachael asked when I stepped up to the till. “I can cover for another few minutes if you’d like,” she offered. Rachael was two years older than me, and she had just finished her last exam. She would be leaving the café soon to apply for a teaching job, but none of that mattered as I quickly shook my head. “Are you sure?”

“Sure,” I answered. Rachael stared at me for a moment before she nodded. I could tell she knew something, but she also knew better than to push. She headed off for her lunch break just as I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.

Lance: Tomorrow. See you then.