Chapter Text
The Whispering Flower Shop – 4:35 PM, Monday
If Raine was able to travel to the past and told their 35-year-old-self that in 10 years they would be back to the town they swore never to come back to, work in a flower shop 4 days a week, and be having their eardrum tore apart by a raging bride, their younger self wouldn’t have laughed but they would be concerned and wondering how Raine came to be in this position.
45-year-old Raine wouldn’t know either.
But yet, here they are. Pen quickly jotting down notes from the woman currently screaming to their ear.
“And all the bouquets must be half red and half pink, you hear me? It’s our favorite colors!”
They rolled their eyes, almost snapping the pen in their hands in half, but put on their best fake and amused voice, hardened by years of customer service while in college and years of working in theater.
“Yes, Ms. Miller. Half red roses and half pink roses.”
“Did you jot down the exact amount for each bouquet?”
“Yes, plenty of times. 10, for the day where he asked for your hand.”
“Exactly.” She seemed to calm down and Raine could breathe for just a second before they heard her mouth pop open at the end of the line and Raine’s frown deepened, “Oh, and don’t forget-”
A knock and their door being opened got their attention away from the call.
“Hey, boss?” Raine looked up to the door of their small office, seeing Katya, a slightly worried expression on her face.
“Excuse me for a second, Ms. Miller.” They said to the woman before lowering their phone to fully pay attention to Katya, ignoring the bride’s screams of protest in the process, “What is it, Kats?”
“New customer entered the store and she’s looking for a specific flower with a certain meaning.” She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away shyly, “You know that I don’t know anything about it and Derwin went to make a delivery so…”
Right, they should start looking for more employers, Raine thought and sighed before smiling at Katya.
“Let me handle it.” They said and got up from their old wooden chair before turning to the phone they were still holding and raising back to their ear, “Can I call you back in 10 minutes, Ms. Miller?”
“Of course not! This is an emergency, Mx. Whispers. My wedding is in 11 days! I’m sure whatever you’re handling can wait until we sort out the details for my flowers!”
Raine strained their smile and looked at Katya who looked like she was pitying them.
“Not really, Ms. Miller. It’s a customer here at the store, they need to be tended to.”
“If you end this call, consider my hiring of your flower shop done for.”
Raine grimaced. They really couldn’t afford to lose a client out of the blue, wedding flowers paid for half of their monthly income.
“Are you ending this call, Mx. Whispers?”
“O-Of course not, Ms. Miller. I’m perfectly capable of handling both situations at the same time.” They smiled at Katya, who seemed to be pitying them even more with a twinge of horror by the way her eyes widened. They grabbed their pen and their notepad before putting the phone between their shoulder and ear and scouring off their office, “Please, do continue.” They almost dared her but chose to be polite instead.
While they were now standing behind the counter of the store, they looked around and their eyes fell on the customer in question. Long red hair already graying, leather jacket and a red dress. She had her back turned to them, examining a few bouquets on top of a table in front of the main window of the shop.
Raine walked over to her, still mindful of the woman screaming in their ears.
“Hello, I’m Raine. You told my employer you needed help picking a flower with a specific meaning?”
“Are you talking to me, Mx. Whispers?” The bride on their shoulder questioned at the same time the woman in front of them spoke up.
“Yeah. What is a good flower good luck or happiness?”
“Sorry, Ms. Miller, I’m talking to the client.” They whispered, still looking down at their notepad, “Good luck or happiness? There’s plenty. Do you want flowers that represent both or only one of those meanings?”
“Mx. Whispers, are you listening to me?”
“I mean, I wouldn’t be opposed to both.”
“Yes, Ms. Miller, continue.” They continued jotting down her instructions about the very specific ways the flowers should be arranged, “Then you’re in luck. My favorite type of flowers, Snapdragons have a similar meaning to what you’re looking for!” They looked at a small shelf, full of snapdragons. “The yellow ones mean smiles, happiness, and overall good luck.”
“I guess that’s gonna be my order then.” She said behind them and Raine beamed on the inside. Katya could handle the payment and they could go back inside and deal with this woman screaming in their ear without having to multitask.
Then the customer behind them snorted a laugh and said:
“I didn’t know Snapdragons were still your favorite, Raine.”
Their brain short-circuited and they finally realized they never got a good look at the woman behind them. They turned to look at her and let the phone between their shoulder and ear fall to the floor.
Edalyn Clawthorne hadn’t changed a lot from the day they last saw her twenty years ago. In fact, Raine was pretty sure they would’ve recognized her voice if they weren’t so busy with the client screaming in their ear.
Her long hair was still the same, except for the graying. She took off her sunglasses and put them away in her shoulder bag, her eyes golden as ever. They could see some tattoos peeking out on her arms where her leather jacket didn’t cover.
Raine had to repress a squeak and quickly scrambled to get their phone off the floor along with their jaw. They quickly realized that the call was still going on and hurried to say something to the woman on the other side.
“I’m s-sorry, Ms. Miller, I accidentally dropped my phone.” They kept their eyes away from Eda, not wanting to see her reacting to the mess they were in now.
“Boss?” They heard Katya and turned to look at the young adult.
“Katya, can you uh, help Ms. Clawthorne pay for the yellow snapdragons?” They pointed to the shelf the flowers sat. Katya nodded before walking towards them.
“Sure thing. Go handle the bridezilla.” She patted their shoulder before turning to Eda and before they knew it, Raine was in their closed office.
Raine rested their back against the wooden door, attempting to calm their racing heart.
They knew it would happen eventually. Eda would never leave Bonesborough. They had been living in the city for almost two months already, it was a miracle they hadn’t bumped into her yet.
But still, meeting Eda at their shop wasn’t how they imagined their reencounter would happen. They thought they would be ready for whatever life threw at them when Eda finally popped into their life again. They weren’t, clearly.
“Mx. Whispers are you even there?”
Her voice snapped them back to reality, they cleared their throat before speaking:
“Yes, Ms. Miller. C-Can you repeat that last part, I don’t think I got it in full.” They said, getting up from the floor (when did they get on it in the first place?) and walking towards their chair, setting the notepad and pen on it.
After what seemed to be an eternity (and at least half a dozen pages of notes about flowers), their client seemed satisfied and turned off the call. Raine practically melted into their chair, bones becoming liquid as they let out a groan, eyes closing.
This was too much to handle in one single afternoon, they thought. Handling customer service and seeing my ex after 20 years-
Their eyes snapped open as they got up from their chair and walked out of their office quickly.
They peeked inside the store, ready to see Eda still in there.
To their surprise, the store was empty except for Katya who was looking down at her phone.
“Where’s she?” Raine asked Katya, who looked up from her phone at them.
“Eda? She left.”
“Oh.” They sighed, putting their hands in their apron pockets, “Right.” Then it clicked in their brain, “Wait, how do you know her name?”
“Who lives around this neighborhood and hasn’t heard of Edalyn Clawthorne? She’s like the most famous tattoo artist that lives around here. In fact, her parlor is just down the street, a place called The Owl House!” Katya smirked before reaching for her sleeve and pulling up, revealing a small tattoo of a bat with the moon behind it Raine had seen a few times, “She’s the one who made this tattoo 4 years ago, I just didn’t recognize her at first until I was facing her.” At Raine’s silence, Katya turned to look at them, “Isn’t this how your heard of her?”
Raine blushed embarrassingly and Katya raised her brow at them.
The bell above the door ringed and Raine snapped their head towards it, expecting Eda to be entering their store once again.
“Got the delivery done!” Derwin said, tossing the keys of Raine’s car to them. They were too numb to catch it so it just hit their chest before falling to the floor, “Oops, sorry Mx. Whispers.”
“I-It’s fine.” They crouched down to grab the keys and put them in their pocket, “Can you take over the cashier so Katya can have her break while the store is empty?”
The man only nodded and Raine heard Katya let out a relieved sigh before heading to the small breakroom.
Raine glanced at the shelf with the snapdragons. A single bouquet of yellow ones was missing.
For a second, they wondered what would Eda do with the flowers. She had never been one to give gifts. Her language of love had always been quality time. Raine was the one who gave most of the gifts, so why would she need-
They shook those thoughts away.
It didn’t matter.
They left Derwin by the counter and reentered their office, taking the notepad in their hands.
Even if Eda had stopped by their store, it didn’t mean anything. She could’ve only been looking for flowers and now that she knows I own this place, she’s gonna avoid it like the plague.
This is going to be my only and last encounter with her, they thought. After today, we can follow our lives like we were before it happened.
They took a deep breath and chuckled to themself out loud while dialing the number of their floriculturist, ready to order the flowers needed for the order.
“Yeah,” they said to no one after a few beats of silence, “I mean, what are the odds that we’ll keep seeing each other everywhere we go? Bonesbourough is a big city.”
Their floriculturist picked up and Raine was already focused on their work once again.
Artwork of the AU by @phaica_art!
