“This seriously must be the most irritating job in the world,” Max thought to himself, driving around the city. The backseat of his car was full of big bouquets of flowers, mostly roses. “A flower delivery guy? Why the hell did I even take this job anyways?”
But he knew exactly why: he’d agreed to help Siva around Valentine’s Day. Siva owned a flower shop and, while he had a delivery man for just this sort of thing, it got way too busy this time of year. So every Valentine’s Day was the same, with Max driving around London, making other people happy instead of being happy himself.
He sighed as he pulled up to another apartment building. This one was a cozy-looking brownstone, with ivy growing up the sides and large bay windows on each floor.
Max reached behind him, grabbing a big bouquet of light pink roses. He looked at the envelope, which read “Maggie” in bright red cursive. He looked down at his clipboard to make sure he had the right address. When he was sure he wouldn’t make a fool of himself (he’d done that far too many times today - double-checking the address was a must), he got out of the car and walked up to the building.
He reached the front door and turned to the buzzer. He pressed the button next to apartment 201 and waited.
“Hello?” A voice came through the speakers, crackling slightly.
“Erm...flower delivery for Maggie?” Max replied, hoping he was talking to Maggie and not someone else. Every so often, Siva wrote the apartment numbers down, causing Max to ring the wrong person. Nothing ruins Valentine’s Day more than getting a girl’s hopes up about a flower delivery only to have to break her heart when you say you got the apartment wrong.
“Sure, I’ll be right down,” the voice came through again. Max thought he heard a loud sigh but shrugged it off. What girl could be upset about getting flowers on Valentine’s Day?
But the girl who came out to greet him certainly didn’t look happy. In fact, her expression was miserable and she was wiping a tear from her eyes.
“These...these are for you,” he muttered after she opened the iron gate protecting the front door. He didn’t quite know what to do. Usually he simply handed a smiling girl a bouquet of flowers as she jumped up and down or said things like “how sweet!” or “oh my god!”
She took them and murmured a thank you, grabbing the envelope and opening it. He was surprised when she read it out loud.
I’m so sorry. She meant nothing to me. I love you so much. Call me, please?
“I...I’m sorry, I can’t take these. Can you maybe get rid of them for me?” she said, handing them back to him. She wiped another tear from her eyes and ripped the card in two, letting the pieces flutter to the ground.
Max took the flowers and looked at her, unsure of how to react.
“Um, sure. I can do that for you, Miss,” he said quietly. “Are you going to be okay?”
She tried to steel herself, straighten her shoulders, wipe her tears. But who was she kidding? She wasn’t going to be okay, not today.
She sniffled and shook her head, giving him a sad smile. Before he could stop himself, he’d dropped the flowers and wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
She didn’t respond for a few minutes, her shock obvious. But she let herself fall into him, burying her head in the crook of his neck. He let one hand run through her hair, rocking her back and forth.
After a few moments she pulled away, wiping her eyes. She let out a pained laugh, as if trying to disguise the reality of the situation.
“So, you’re a flower delivery guy? Is that even a job?”
He chuckled, replying, “Only on Valentine’s day. Lots of flowers being sent around, you know. I help out my friend and he pays for my meal tonight. Plus, I get to spend Valentine’s Day making people happy. Well...most people.”
His eyes met hers and she blushed, looking down at the bouquet of flowers strewn across the ground.
“This might be the worst Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had,” she said quietly.
“Can I try to make it better?” he asked, taking her hand in his. She looked up at him, raising her eyebrows.
“Come with me. Deliver a few flowers, make some people smile. And I’ll take you out to dinner after. If you’ve got something better to do, I understand but -”
“The only thing I’ve done all day is curl up on the couch with a pint of ice cream and some movies. I definitely don’t have anything better to do,” she said with a small smile.
He waited outside, leaning against his car, as she ran up to grab her purse and a jacket. She turned off the tv, put the half-melted ice cream back in the freezer, locked the door, and ran back downstairs.
“Ready to go, love?” he asked with a smile, holding the car door open for her. She nodded and got inside, buckling her seatbelt.
He got in the driver’s side, giving her a smile as he started the car. She looked at all the flowers in the backseat then looked back at Max.
“We’ve got a long day ahead of us, Maggie,” he said, pulling the car away from the curb.