Page 7 of Flowers Go Flying in Crumbleton
‘So close,’ huffed Milly. ‘Anyway, I did the flowers and the bride asked me. I couldn’t exactly turn her down, could I?!’
‘Why not?’ said Caroline in surprise. ‘That’s what you usually do.’
‘Yeah – but this time the wedding is literally just down the hill from the shop,’ said Milly.
This time, she’d had a crush on the best man forever… not that she was going to tell Caroline that.
‘I didn’t want to be rude!’ she added.
‘But-’
‘Sorry - hold that thought!’ said Milly as she felt her mobile phone vibrate in her pocket with an incoming message. She quickly fished it out and glanced at the screen. Having let Jo loose on the deliveries, she didn’t want to risk missing an SOS call.
Sure enough, the message was from Jo – but there wasn’t any kind of emergency afoot that might save her from Caroline’s interrogation.
‘Everything okay?’ said her friend.
‘Yeah,’ said Milly, raising an eyebrow in surprise. ‘It’s just Jo letting me know she’s finished delivering the flowers.’
‘Blimey – cutting it a bit fine, aren’t you?’ said Caroline. ‘I mean – the bride’s probably dressed and ready to go by this point!’
‘I did the flowers for the room yesterday,’ said Milly with a shrug. ‘It’s just the bouquet and the bits and bobs for the men and the flower girls. It was the best way to make sure they were fresh and didn’t get damaged before the ceremony.’
‘Fairy snuff,’ said Caroline.
‘Listen to this, though,’ said Milly, still staring at the text.
“Flowers delivered. All fine though had to use the front door. Heads up - best man is a total douche. Felt like flobbing in his hip flask”
Caroline snorted. ‘Now that’s the kind of customer service everyone deserves.’
‘Yeah – but what about the bit about him being a douche…’ muttered Milly.
‘What about it?’ said Caroline with a shrug. ‘Being a best man doesn’t automatically make him a good guy, you know. There isn’t an entrance exam. Wait… do you know the best man?’
Milly paused for a beat. Did she?!
‘No,’ she said. ‘No, I don’t.’
After all, it wasn’t really a lie. She’d met him once, and then glimpsed him in the distance a handful of times since. So… she might have pounced on him – in this very carpark in fact – but she’d barely spoken two words to him! That didn’t count as knowing him, did it?
A strange feeling of hollow disappointment seemed to be swirling in her stomach. She’d been so sure that Murray was one of the good guys - that he was a fairytale waiting to happen if only she could summon the courage to do something about it. But…
‘Why do you look like someone’s just pooped on your pansies?’ said Caroline curiously.
Milly shrugged, quickly casting around for an excuse for her sudden change in mood. ‘Just trying to decide how I’m going to discipline Jo for this,’ she said, waving her mobile – the text still visible on the screen.
‘Are you kidding me?’ said Caroline in surprise. ‘If she’s managed to deal with an obnoxious bloke on a wedding-fuelled power trip without any kind of retaliation, the girl deserves praise for her restraint. Not sure I’d manage to do the same!’
‘Thank heavens you don’t work in customer service,’ said Milly, glancing at the text again.
‘I’ll second that,’ said Caroline with a nod. ‘Look – they’re calling everyone inside.’
Sure enough, the silvery tinkling of a handbell being tortured by a toddler in a suit echoed across the carpark.
‘Time to get this show on the road!’ said Caroline, offering Milly her arm. ‘May I escort you?’
Milly hesitated for a brief second and then grabbed Caroline’s elbow with a sense of resignation. It was just as well her friend was there - without Caroline towing her in the direction of the impending nuptials, Milly would have chosen that exact moment to skip out on the whole thing.
