just bloom

people s a y you don't know what you have until it's gone but, the t r u t h is you knew what you had and thought you would never lose it greta mitchell owner of perfect petals mother. daughter. widow.

[greta-mitchell]

itswillbennett‌:

Will couldn’t tell if she was happy to see him again, or if she was just kind and accommodating to all of her customers. It didn’t really matter in the scheme of things, but he was the type to worry about things like that. Ever since his wife left, he’d craved authenticity like a starved man craving for food. Passing interactions didn’t feel as if they were enough anymore. 

“Maybe,” he admitted, a grin inching on the edge of his lips. “They were lovely. Found myself just stopping and smiling every time I left the house.” Which was true, but he didn’t touch on the fact that as soon as he left he doorstep, an impending sense of dread would fill up again. 

At this point, Will paused, unsure and a bit afraid of what to say next. Should he reveal to her that when he’d seen the chrysanthemums, he’d been reminded of her as well, and her kind smile and soft voice? That perhaps, it hadn’t necessarily the flowers that brightened his day, but the thought of her? 

But it didn’t feel right. They had spoken for what, fifteen minutes, the last time he was here? It felt grossly over the line, and he was sure that she got enough of creeps popping in to “say hi” or whatever perverts did these days. 

So he lied. Lying by omission, but a lie nonetheless. “So I’m back for more. It’s a shame that they don’t last for very long — but then again, if they did, I guess you’d be out of business.” 

She smiled sincerely when he spoke.  There was something nice about knowing she helped make someone’s day.  And he was a very nice man who seemed to deserve some nice things in his life.  Nothing about that was going to change.  The way she looked at him, she could almost see his mind spinning, but thought nothing of it.  That was the way people were at times.  Greta could understand that.

“I’m really glad to hear that,” she told him.  “I might be out of business if they lasted longer, but I like them so much i wouldn’t mind.  But then sweet people like you wouldn’t stop by and brighten my day,” she told him honestly.  He did seem like the kind who could put a smile on her face and help distract her when things got tedious.  It was something she was glad for.

Pausing, she lifted a hand and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.  “So were you thinking chrysanthemums again or something else?” she asked curiously.  No matter what he selected, Greta was sure it would look nice, and she would be glad he stopped by again.  She’d thought of him a few times in the last two weeks, curious to how both he and the flowers were.  Needless to say she was grateful he materialized back in her shop.

[greta-mitchell]

droliviabloom‌:

“It’s just a money spinning game,” she pointed out. Olivia had a tendency to put things down, to assume they were just a waste of time or a way to get people’s money. Sure she was curious to her heritage but the rest was all just rather pointless.

She nodded at the comment, “oh me too, I had to do family tree projects and that kind of shit almost at every new school I attended,” she stated. Olivia had been to many schools, and most had seemed to take no notice of her family situation.”

“Teachers who don’t listen are the worst,” Greta replied.  It was such a problem and teachers didn’t stop to consider what sort of a problem it could be for kids in the aftermath.  “I’m already dreading when Quinn’s teachers start having kids so like....father’s day presents and stuff.  It’s going to be hard.”  She could try talking to the teachers, but she knew that it wouldn’t really matter and Quinn would either end up upset or thinking her life was incomplete because her dad was gone.  That hurt more than anything.  Especially when Greta spent so much time trying to make their lives whole again.

[greta-mitchell]

itswillbennett‌:

Will was a bit relieved that she didn’t bother to comment — he wasn’t sure what he would’ve said to her, honestly. At her soft reassurance of his choice, he nodded, striding over to the register as he pulled out his wallet. “Chrysanthemums it is then.”

***

Two long weeks had passed before Will found himself standing in front of the little entrance to the flower shop, half-surprised that he even made it back to the place at all. Not that he didn’t enjoy the flowers per se, and in fact, he did find himself to be a bit more cheerful when he’d left in the morning and came back in the evenings, but the effects were neither life-changing nor long-lasting. After all, if the flowers had been the key all along, he would have drowned his home in petals a long time ago. 

But despite this, there was something that drew him back, something that he wasn’t sure of, and wanted to test out. He’d surrendered science as a viable career years ago, but some of the scientist was still left in him. The logical part, he supposed. 

As he strolled back into the shop, it was like deja vu without the irrationality — everything seemed the same since he last visited, and the familiarity soothed his prickling nerves. Would she recognize him again — but of course she would; she’d recognized him after a year. Two weeks was nothing. 

“Hi,” he started, smiling a bit sheepishly. “I’m back again.”

The fall colors were replacing the summer ones as Greta prepared the shop for the changing of the seasons.  Those days when Quinn was at school were the best days for her to focus.  While it had been hard to send her daughter to school before, now her it was a nice break.

Greta had just finished taking an order for a wedding in December when she heard the bell over the door.  She finished jotting down her thought before looking up from the note pad and seeing him there.  She smiled, a little surprised to find him back.  After all, it had been a year since the last time and now what?  A week? Two?

“Back already?  I guess those chrysanthemums did the trick?” she half teased him, a smile on her features.  Flowers were the best way to boost moods and brighten a living space.  She believed that fully and was glad he saw it.  She was also glad he was back.  She enjoyed it when he popped in, even if she had made a fool of herself last time.

“Have I fully convinced you to adopt fresh flowers into your life?”

[greta-mitchell]

evelynhawthorne‌:

The sudden voice drawing her attention made Evelyn jump, and she shot the woman a look before she opened her mouth to snap and drive her away. But the words didn’t come. Pitiful and small, Evelyn had only a rough squeak in her before it morphed more into a sob, and she turned her back to the woman to press a fist to her mouth and squeeze her eyes shut.

Fuck. Fuck. Right in front of the whole goddamn world. Even now, Evelyn could feel the eyes on her, the whispers and gossip spreading. God forbid someone attach her to Gabe, bring some kind of awkwardness on the office or make people think he only hired crazy people.

Evelyn’s shoulders began to shake as she devolved into nothing but wet, wrenching, primal sobs, and when she turned her head again and saw the woman still there she barely managed a wretched “I-I’m sorry.”

The woman was super upset and Greta felt terrible.  She didn’t really know how to help her, but she didn’t want to just leave her standing there to sob.  It was heartbreaking.  Something had to be done to help cheer the woman up, but Greta didn’t have a clue what that should be.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Greta reassured her once she spoke.  “You’re upset...is there anything I can do to help?”  Maybe there wasn’t, but Greta wasn’t going to make that assumption and do nothing, not when there was a chance she could help.

[greta-mitchell]

droliviabloom‌:

“Oh of course, there is science in DNA matching, but mine gave me a wellness report, it told me how many hours I sleep each night, which was well off.” The whole thing just felt rather far fetched, she didn’t believe the data. 

Olivia knew that the DNA probably was being sold off somewhere, but in all honesty she wasn’t that worried, what were people going to do with her DNA anyway. She wasn’t a big name or a celebrity, so why would people care. “Americans just like to think that they are anything but American,” she laughed.

Greta laughed.  “I can’t see how they would have pulled that info from your DNA but props to them for trying.”  It was interesting to think about, but she knew there was no way to really know that.  Or at least that was her belief.

“They definitely do.  I mean...I can sort of understand the appeal.  We did pie chart graphs with our ethnicity when I was in school.  I didn’t know how to fill it in.  Probably the worst part is my teacher knew I was adopted but still expected me to do the assignment?  Total crap.”

[greta-mitchell]

droliviabloom‌:

Olivia hadn’t really lost anyone, because to lose them you had to have them in the first place. Olivia had lost a cat, that was about as deep as it got, and honestly she hadn’t been much of a fan of the cat. It had belonged to one of her foster families, until it got mowed down by a car. Olivia had been blamed for it’s disappearance until it turned up looking rather worse for wear. 

She smiled as Greta laughed, enjoying the sound of it, it reminded her of her own laugh. “Higher chance of alzheimer’s but that was about it,” she explained, trying to remember if anything else had come up. “Then some ridiculous things that are definitely not based in science,” she said. She hadn’t really trusted the test that much, if Greta didn’t look so much like her then she’d probably question the whole thing.

She nodded a little.  A higher chance for Alzheimers wasn’t good but there were worse things that could have turned up.  “I’m not really sure how much of this science is accurate either.  I mean, comparing DNA I get or we probably wouldn’t be sitting here,” she admitted.  “But some of the other things?  It feels like they make some of it up as they go.”

It was a cash cow for them though, so she understood why they would want to keep doing it.  There was a lot of potential questions linked to where people came from, even for those who grew up with their birth families.  “I wonder how many of the people who do this thing actually are invested in figuring something our and how many are just doing it because it’s trendy?”

[greta-mitchell]

droliviabloom‌:

Olivia wished she’d down her research a little more thoroughly, though dead husbands didn’t usually turn up when you googled someone, as it wasn’t something you posted a facebook status about. “Sorry for your loss,” she said, knowing that the words were pointless, but she felt like she needed to say them. 

She nodded at the mention of her daughter getting her through it. At her next words Olivia held back an eye roll. This was what she was worried about, suddenly she was a good person in Greta’s eyes, they barely knew one another and yet she was making generalisations, Olivia wasn’t a good person, she didn’t feel like she deserved the affection. “I mainly just sent it to see if I had any hereditary disease,” she admitted, wanting to lighten the mood. 

Greta didn’t want to dwell on Bryan.  She wanted to try and move past it.  He wouldn’t want her sad forever and she knew that.  They’d talked about it, albeit in a joking way.  Neither one of them ever expected something to happen before they were old and grey.  Now she just wanted a chance to get to know her sister.  It was strange to think of Olivia as more than a stranger, but they shared DNA.  She wanted them to at least be friends.

But then Olivia spoke and Greta chuckled, pulled from the sadness that had taken hold of her for a few moments.  “I mean, that’s as good a reason as any,” she replied.  “I didn’t come up with any, thank god.  So I’m guessing you’re good too?”  They did have different fathers though, so who knows really.

[greta-mitchell]

itswillbennett‌:

Will could see the small smile teasing the edges of her lips as she spoke about the flowers and he couldn’t help but grin at her authenticity. It was always refreshing to see someone speak about something they had a clear passion for. It was a trait that he found himself constantly drawn to — seeing someone light up at a topic they clearly loved. 

At her mention of tulips however, Will’s expression visibly darkened. Years ago he’d gone to the Netherlands to see the tulips blooming, but now, that was a memory soured by what he’d lost. The moment passed, and he recomposed himself, eyes darting around the shop briefly, as he settled back into reality. “Um — sorry, chrysanthemums. Would look on an entrance table, yeah?” He gave her a large smile, although it’d lost some of its initial spark.

It wasn’t hard to see that something she had said had upset him momentarily.  The way his expression darkened and smile briefly faltered.  She wondered what she had done and said, but she didn’t want to pry.  Perhaps she had mentioned his wife’s favorite flower by accident?  It truly wasn’t any of her business, but she couldn’t help the sympathetic look she gave him.  If he wanted to talk, she would listen, but she didn’t want to pry.

“Yes, I think chrysanthemums would look lovely there,” Greta reassured him.  “I’ve found flowers in an entrance often softens things?  It makes people feel a little more comfortable.  At least as long as they don’t have allergies.”

[greta-mitchell]

droliviabloom‌:

Olivia knew she’d put her foot in it as soon as the word’s hit Greta and she saw the way her face changed. She listened, chewing the inside of her lip and having no idea how to respond. Having no family or close friends meant that Olivia had never truly felt loss, nothing like this, and she had no idea how to react.

“Oh shit sorry,” she said, before realising that crass language probably wasn’t helping. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry, I didn’t know.” Olivia honestly wished the ground would swallow her up, as it seemed the only way to get out of this unscathed. 

“It’s okay,” Greta assured her.  “It’s been a long time...I’m used to people knowing.”  It was hard to talk about Bryan, though she did her best to make sure Quinn knew her daddy loved her and knew all about him.  It was why they’d go visit Bryan’s family once a year so Quinn knew she had those people in her life.

“It was a pretty hard time, but Quinn got me through it.”  Though there were few things as horrible as being widowed while five months pregnant.  “I think he would have liked you though.  He’s the one who encouraged me to send my DNA in to that website.”

[greta-mitchell]

droliviabloom‌:

Olivia had all but given up on the idea of family. It was something that she decided she didn’t need, she’d coped thus far without one so surely they couldn’t be all that they were cracked up to be. This all felt rather strange, she actually had family, a sister and a niece, though they were strangers, people she knew nothing about.

She nodded as she was thanked. “Husband?” Olivia asked, she hadn’t spoken about the husband before and Olivia wondered if this was more family that she had, sure it’d be an inlaw but more than she currently had. All she had as Diane, who she was incredibly thankful for, but they’d never really been a family, not how others were.

She hadn’t expected Olivia to ask.  Honestly, she’d forgotten that Olivia didn’t know.  People in Lakeham who had been around then tended to remember the news stories about it.  Greta wanted peace and quiet, she didn’t want to dwell.

“Bryan,” she started softly, sadness crossing her features as she glanced down, unable to meet Olivia’s eyes in that moment.  “He passed away when I was pregnant with Quinn.”  She paused briefly before clarifying, “There was a car accident.”

[greta-mitchell]

evelynhawthorne‌:

@greta-mitchell 9:14am, Sunday, 9/22, Outside Talk Is Cheap

It was nothing but a series of bad things on a bad day. Sundays were supposed to be sacred - the one day Evelyn refused to work. But even still, when she woke up, she tripped out of bed, her hands still feeling bruised from catching herself. Her hot water heater refused to work during her shower. She found a hole in her favorite skirt. And finally now, on her way down the sidewalk, the worst happened.

It was a bad habit, checking social media, following Cora every which way she could - just making sure she was alive, happy, healthy. But Evelyn’s nose was so buried in her phone that, when she tripped through the crack in the sidewalk, her phone went flying.

“Fuck!” Evelyn raced after it, scooped it up - and came to see such a shattered screen that she could barely read it.

It was the last straw. Evelyn pressed her fingers to her eyes, took a deep breath to collect herself - then promptly burst into tears.

There were good days, bad days, and average days in Greta’s life.  Today had been average and relatively uneventful.  It wasn’t a bad thing.  Obviously things could have been much worse, but lucky they weren’t.  At least not for her.

She’d avoided a bad day, though it was still early.  She’d just dropped Quinn off at her mother’s so she could run some errands.  It would do her some good to be away from her daughter a bit.  But that thought barely crossed her mind before witnessing the woman tumble.  

Moving down the sidewalk, Greta approached in time to see the woman begin crying.  No doubt this was the last straw on a bad day or a bad week.  Greta understood what it felt like bottling emotions up until they couldn’t be contained any longer.

“Are you alright?” she asked carefully.

[greta-mitchell]

itswillbennett‌:

“Oh – gosh, you’re totally fine; please don’t apologize,” he replied, waving his hands in front of him. “Seriously. I just mentioned it because I thought it’d be awkward later on if I lied.” He smiled, a bashful look inching his way onto his face. The last thing he wanted was for her to feel bad for his problems. It was only natural that she assumed. 

At her question back to the flowers, he scratched his head, looking a bit lost at all the arrangements besides him. “Erm – well, I don’t know very many flower names. I guess something colorful?” Most of the furniture and decorating, he had left up to his wife. “What kind of arrangement would you be impressed by in a guy’s house?” Not that he was really trying to impress anyone. He only said it because he thought he’d end with the best result, the opinion of the expert. His intention wasn’t to flirt, but hey, he was allowed to have a bit of fun, wasn’t he?

He was sweet about it and Greta was grateful.  She knew firsthand how awkward it could be having to remind people a marriage was no longer existing, no matter the reason.  It was heartbreaking no matter why it happened.  She did feel bad for him.

But as he spoke she smiled a little.  “Hmm,” Greta pondered.  What sort of flowers would impress her if she walked into his house?  “Honestly, I think most women would be impressed that a single man would even have fresh flowers,” Greta admitted with a laugh.  “But for me?  I’d want to avoid the cliches.  You don’t want roses.  Then it seems like you’re trying too hard, but they can be a hearty flower.  Lilies are a fun and colorful option, but if anyone has pollen sensitivity it’s a bad idea.  Chrysanthemums are beautiful.  Sunflowers and Gerber Daisies are also a good option.  I’d suggest tulips if they were in season, but they aren’t.”  

[greta-mitchell]

droliviabloom‌:

Olivia had had a rather crummy start and she had spent a long time wishing things had been different, but now she was in a better headspace. There were still knock on effects, she struggled to make strong connections and she wasn’t at all trusting. Olivia was who she was because of how she grew up, and it allowed her to be great at her job, so she had to remind herself that a she heard about the completely different world that Greta grew up. 

She nodded softly at the mention of Theo being a cutie, though by this point her memories had almost all faded. “You can keep that,” she said, motioning towards the photo. “I have another copy.” Olivia didn’t have many photos of her family but she wasn’t an idiot, she had copies and she’d scanned them all in.

Olivia smiled slightly at the mention of Quinn, though it all felt rather strange, as it was another stranger that she was apparently related to. She looked at the photo and almost saw herself looking back, a cleaner, more well fed child, but still with very similar features to a young Olivia. “Mom is quite tall, as am I, so could be genetic,” she shrugged. “She looks lovely.”

Greta couldn’t help but feel both strange and content as she looked at Olivia.  She’d never had a sister before, but she wanted to build up the friendship between them so they could have something of a bond.  Family was so important.  She realized that clearly when she lost her husband.

“Thank you,” Greta said with a smile before tucking the photograph into her purse.  She was glad to have it.  “I’m tall too, so you’re probably right.  Though my husband was tall too.  Quinn could have gotten it from anywhere.”  She liked to pretend it came from Bryan.  Greta always wanted to see Bryan in their daughter so he could live on through her.

[greta-mitchell]

gabrielsmiths‌:

It had to be some silly, built-in parental thing, how it was impossible not to feel a splash of pride when someone complimented you on how you’d managed to raise your child. It wasn’t obvious on his face, but Gabe felt it for sure. After so many years on their own, they had both found a rhythm that worked for them in the end, a system even. Mila knew Gabe’s rules, and he knew her every habit. “Yeah… thanks.” A mild smile spread onto his lips, and he glanced over at her by his side.

At her next words, a mild laughter slipped through his lips. “Yeah, tell me about it. Don’t think I’ve ever been so anxious about something as her first day of school. It was a nightmare.” Shaking his head slowly, Gabe added, “For me, clearly not for her.”

“Oh of course,” Greta laughed.  “The first day of school is nothing but fun for them.  They don’t realize how traumatizing it is for us.”  Greta would definitely cry.  It was a good thing Quinn was getting older and growing up, but each new milestone only served as a reminder of everything Bryan had missed.  That was perhaps the most devastating part of it.

“I’m probably going to cry in my car after dropping her off. I don’t know what that says about me though,” she half laughed, trying to brush it off as her eyes tracked the girls playing in the park.  They seemed to be having so much fun.  Greta was glad Quinn had a friend.

[greta-mitchell]

itswillbennett‌:

Will knew she meant well, he really did. After all, she was just trying to be a savvy entrepreneur and a good person by remembering that yes, the last time he walked into Perfect Petals, he’d made a purchase for his wife. But a pained expression couldn’t help but flash over his face at the mention of the word wife, which was quickly replaced with a sad smile. He should’ve lied, and hidden, saying that he was just looking for a bouquet for his niece’s graduation, or for something to put in a vase at home (which was the truth), but her kind face felt like an invitation for the truth. 

“Actually… I was just looking for something for home. Just to brighten things up a bit. I’m…. we are actually not together anymore.” It was better to clear the air. He remembered he’d been quite chatty the last time he was here, praising the virtues of his wife. The last thing he wanted was for her to bring up something else he’d said, and have it be even more awkward than before.

Immediately Greta regretted saying that.  She remembered how hard it was telling people she wasn’t married anymore, granted she was a widow.  Things were different, but still.  “Oh...I’m so sorry,” Greta said quickly.  “I shouldn’t have assumed.”  If nothing else, at least she could learn from this.  Maybe she’d keep her mouth shut until she knew.

“But yes, I’m sure we can find something to brighten things up.  Do you have any flowers in mind?  Or colors?”  It was a little awkward, but Greta was trying her best to cover for her snafu.  Despite it, she knew she could find him exactly what he wanted for his house.

[greta-mitchell]

droliviabloom‌:

She nodded as Greta mentioned it being good, “yeah, I got moved into this really really crappy group home so she pulled me out,” she said. Diane had never become her mom, Olivia was too old to give someone that mantel by that point, but she was the only person that had ever truly been in Olivia’s corner, and she was pretty happy about that. 

“Amy Collins,” she added, realising that it was probably important to be clear that Bloom wasn’t their family name, it was one that Olivia had inherited when she was adopted. “I get that,” she mused, “the photos still make me feel a bit weird, it feels like another life.” Olivia had distanced herself from her past so strongly that sometimes it felt like it was someone else. “That’s Theo,” she said as she mentioned the baby, “he was a really cute baby.” Olivia paused for a moment, “how old is your daughter now?”

Her heart broke for Olivia.  Greta was very aware that this could have been her life had her mother not given her up or had the Mitchells not adopted her when she was still an infant.  She couldn’t remember a time in her life before the Mitchells.  It was luck that things worked out that way and she knew it.

But as Olivia explained things, Greta kept looking at the picture of their mother.  She was young but Greta could see pieces of herself in the woman’s features.  That was perhaps even more jarring than seeing pieces of herself in Olivia’s.  “Theo...he’s a cutie,” Greta agreed, her mind being pulled from her thoughts when Olivia asked about Quinn.

Her daughter was a much happier topic of conversation and she glanced up with a smile.  “She’s four,” Greta explained.  Reaching for her phone, she unlocked it and pulled up a photo from a few days earlier, Quinn’s sandy brown hair done in pigtails, a feather boa draped dramatically over her shoulders as she served imaginary tea to a stuffed unicorn.  “Everyday I swear if I blink she’ll grow another five inches.”

[greta-mitchell]

droliviabloom‌:

“Diane,” Olivia clarified, “she was my key worker and ended up adopting me,” Olivia said, a soft smile appearing on her face. She wasn’t adopted until she was 10 so by that point she was well past the idea of having a mother, so Diane had never taken on that term. She nodded as they spoke about her brothers, though Olivia was pretty sure it was a dead end, she’d spent years looking, but maybe Greta had a few more connections, Olivia barely had any of those. 

Olivia felt very awkward, the girl had obviously been searching for a family, and she didn’t really feel like she was everything that the other had been dreaming of. “Here I am,” she shrugged. She reached into her bag and pulled out a photo of a pregnant woman with a baby in her arms and a very grubby child with a dark toothless grin sat in front of her. “This is our mom,” she said, sliding it towards Greta, “her name is Amy.”

“Oh,” Greta replied, a small smile on her lips.  She was glad that Olivia had found someone to adopt her.  It was important, having someone look out for you.  She knew now how important it truly was after watching Quinn grow up.  “That’s really good then.”

What Great didn’t expect was pictures.  She didn’t expect too much of anything from Olivia if she was being honest.  All she wanted was the chance to get to know her sister so maybe they could be friends.  “Amy,” she said as she carefully took the photo into her hands.  “I feel like I’m looking into a life I didn’t live....it’s kind of weird, honestly.”  She paused.  “The baby looks kind of like Quinn did when she was born.”  Though babies always changed in appearance it was hard to get a good judge of how they’d look.