Ch-3: The promise of a date

"Make way, bouquet incoming!" announced the guard.

The flower seller had finally prepared the bouquet for the big man, and as the norm, personally went to deliver it.

Making his way inside the manor as the servants hurriedly opened the doors and made way for him.

The bouquet absolutely could not be ruined before the big man saw it.

Otherwise, his wrath would be intolerable.

There was an instance when a maid had accidentally tipped off the bouquet placed in the library right as the big man entered.

He was furious, and was about to fire her.

It was only after the begging of the poor maid and the assurance of the flower seller that he will give him an even grander bouquet, did the big man finally allowed her to stay.

But his anger didn't evaporate.

He then went around the manor, inspecting every nook and cranny and finding even the smallest of flaws in everything.

He made another servant trim the grass in the driveway with a pair of scissors and a scale.

Instructing that every blade should dare not be longer than 5 centimetres.

The poor man did as he was told all day, only for the big man to not even re-evaluate his work when he was done.

The big man remained in a bad mood that entire day and everyone tread around him carefully, the slightest mistake could cost them their job.

After that, everyone working in the manor had made their own unofficial rule.

No one messes with the bouquets.

Today too, was an important day, the flower seller was carrying the gigantic bouquet of 36 million roses.

It was definitely heavy, but no one dared touch it fearing that they might accidentally ruin it.

The flower seller never minded the lack of help.

He understood their fear.

He sympathized with them.

He reached the big man's bedroom and stopped, briefly scrutinising his appearance for any flaw.

The big man hated sloppiness.

He had one rule and that was that every person in his manor must look and dress properly.

The flower seller motioned the butler to open the door after two knocks and entered the bedroom.

The big man had woken only a few minutes before.

"Good morning sir." said the flower seller as he handed him the bouquet.

The big man with his customery ritual, admired the bouquet for 45 seconds, before giving it a good whiff and feeling it's weight, and placed it in a vase on his bedside.

"Make the next one even grander." he said as usual.

The flower seller gave a short bow but as the big man expected him to leave like usual, the flower seller paused.

"What is it?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"I need a four hour break sir. Don't worry there won't be any hindrance in producing the bouquets." said the flower seller.

"When? Now?" asked the big man.

"No sir. Later. But I will make sure that you will be duly informed of my absence." he replied.

"Well, whatever then." said the big man unbothered.

"Huh?" said the gardener as the flower seller posed the question.

"I asked whether will you go to a date with me?" he repeated smiling.

"No, I heard you the first time. I mean, why?" she said.

"For the help you did yesterday, with the cart and the band-aid." he said squatting down beside her, observing her hands as she applied some fertilizer in the soil.

"That was no big deal. You don't need to treat me for that." she said continuing her work, looking away from him.

"Don't think of it as a treat then. Think of it like a date. We get to know more about each other." he said smiling brightly.

She considered it for a moment.

Earlier, her first reply would have been a no.

But due to the moment they shared earlier in his shop, she was inclined to weigh in her options before giving her answer.

Get to know more about each other?

Sure, that would be something new, since she didn't knew much about him. No one did in the manor. For the flower seller always kept to himself, save for the occasional conversations he would share with the manor's guards and the big man himself, which was mostly business.

She could treat it as an outing, a date, between colleagues perhaps?

It wasn't necessary for a date to happen between lovers after all.

"Sure. Tomorrow?" she said after a while.

"4 pm." he said his face lighting up even more.

"But it should be nearby, I cannot stay away from my flowers for long." she said.

"Absolutely. I know a cafe nearby. I will take us there." he offered.

She nodded and he stood up.

"See you tomorrow then." he said as he left.

'A date' she thought.

She had never gone to any.

No one ever asked.

Neither did she.

She didn't mind it. But felt the need to be presentable.

She was a beauty herself.

But her daily work in the garden mandated her to wear those clothes she could allow getting soiled.

She looked at her roses and began thinking about what she would wear.