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I walked up to Ivy’s door and struggled a bit to knock or ring the doorbell. I ended up just kicking the door a few times because of the two bouquets in my arms.
Her boyfriend opened the door. Of course. “Oh, hey Laura,” he said, disdain in his face. I couldn’t help but glance at the yellow carnations in the bouquet I crafted specifically for him.
I tried to be chipper. “Hey Logan! Is Ivy in?”
Instead of answering, he merely opened the door wider for me to walk in. I did, resisting the urge to shoulder-check him on the way.
“Babe, Laura’s here!” he called into the apartment.
From within was her reply. “Coming!”
At the sound of her voice, I looked at her specially-made bouquet. In it, I had coral roses and ivy, her namesake, for friendship, arborvitae for unchanging friendship, blue stars to admire her strength and determination, and yellow tulips to say “There’s sunshine in your smile”. It was a beautiful arrangement.
As I kicked off my shoes, I started to hand Logan’s bouquet to him. He just stood there, scrunching his face up in disgust. I couldn’t help but think I’d chosen his flowers well.
“This one's for you,” I said with a smile, still struggling with my shoes.
“Uh, thanks. I guess.”
He didn’t know flowers’ meanings like I did, but that is exactly*the reaction I would’ve had if I were given this specific bouquet. It had lavender for distrust, yellow carnations for disdain, a few yellow roses for jealousy and infidelity, begonias for caution, tansy for hostile thoughts and declaring war, and a single orange lily in the centre for hatred. There were exactly three yellow roses because I knew he had cheated on Ivy with three different women.
“You should put those in some water, Logan,” I said as Ivy came into view.
“Laura! Oh. My. Gosh. Are these for me?” she asked, beelining straight for the flowers in my hand. “They’re stunning!”
“Yes!”
“Thank you so much, hon. Logan never gets me flowers like this.”
I already knew this. But I wasn’t going to tell her that outright while her boyfriend was in the other room. Instead, I said, “Of course! I thought you’d appreciate them.” Leaning in close, I whispered, “Be sure to check the card in your bouquet.”
She nodded conspiratorially, then smiled. Little did she know, I’d given her the meanings to every flower in each of the bouquets. She’d figure out my meanings eventually. If she asks me about what i meant by the bouquets, I’ll tell her about how terrible her boyfriend is outright.
“I’ll go put these in a vase! Thank you again, Laura, you’re the best.” Ivy gave me a little kiss on the cheek.
I glanced at my phone for the time. “I’ve actually gotta get going, but enjoy the flowers. I’ll see you later!” I put my shoes back on and quickly exited the apartment. I wasn’t a confrontational person, but I meant what I said with the tansy in Logan’s arrangement. This was a declaration of war.