Who: Eloise, a couple of co-workers, and a handful of customers When: Friday, March Seventh, afternoon Where: The flower shop where she works What: El refuses to be paid, gets pinched for almost cursing, and tells children about Hogwarts and her spots. Complete
Bending her head down slightly to smell the flowers, she savored the aroma of the tulips and the freesias before lifting her head and reaching in front of her to pluck up a few hyacinths. Adding the flowers to the arrangement with the most loving care Eloise pulled back slightly to survey her work. Lips curling back into a satisfied smile, she grinned slightly at the spring-themed floral arrangement.
"Oh, deary, thank you so much. It's better than I wanted it!"
Eyes widening slightly El turned toward the sound of the voice before she smiled once again. She had completely forgotten where she was and had gotten lost in the plants before her. She had been thinking that she needed to make a few more arrangements for her flat. It was looking sparse and dreary, and with the weather soon to get warmer, it needed to catch up with the times. Then she started thinking that she would need to buy new drapes to liven up her small kitchen. Which then led her to think that she didn't have enough money for drapery but she did have plenty of floral scraps from the table cloth that she had made and time willing she could sew some together. Then ... well, then her mind had gone in twenty different directions in typical Eloise Midgen fashion causing her to space out and function only in her head.
"Thank you." She beamed, flushing slightly in pleasure, her tone taking slight tilt of shyness. "I am so glad that you like it! I like purple and lilac but I wasn't sure that you did so I took out some of the purple and added some pink and some green, you know, for the foliage, and I thought that would give it more of a fairytale garden appeal. And I remembered you liked my LAST fairytale garden appeal so I decided to make you another one but of course with less red and green because last time it was for Christmas and now it's spring and spring is yellow, blue, purple, and pink, and ... oh. Of course green." Eloise said with a broad grin, not at all short of breath.
Her elderly customer, however, being used to the one breath diatribes of her flower girl, simply nodded and said, "That's nice, lovie."
"So, it's enough purple or is it too much purple? Not that I really think there is such a thing as too much purple but some people don't like purple ... such as men and purple-haters." It was quite easy for Eloise to pick up full speed on perky chatter. Any thing that caught her slightest interest she could ramble on and on about, never loosing speed, and barely ever repeating herself. She would pull new ideas, logical if not entirely valid, out of the air to feed her monologue. It was up to the listener to find a way to stop her because Eloise rarely ever noticed when she was babbling. "Which is silly since purple is such a majestic and regal color. You don't see people having royal beige do they? No, it's royal purple and-"
"The purple is fine." The older woman firmly, but gently, cut in.
"Good. Okay. I'm glad that it is. It'll be your usual price."
The woman raised a sharp, grey brow, "No. No. I refuse to take this darling thing for free. I insist on paying."
"You will not! I offered to make this for you. You don't charge on offers. Not for favorite customers or friends. It's free." She said stubbornly.
"I will. Such a piece of art deserves to be paid for.
If you charged for all the pieces that you create, you would be able to retire by now."
A co-worker who had been listening passed by El and hissed, "She's right ya know. Charge the old hag, double the price."
Turning quickly, her eyes the size of saucers Eloise turned to glare at her co-worker. Her face scrunched up in distaste at the younger female’s words she opened her mouth to chastise her but was cut off. "She can pay for it. Do you see those shoes? Those heels? Walking advertisement for lots of insurance. Take it, if not for you for me."
El rolled her eyes; though her expression showed that she was still displeased with the words, her lips quirked ever slow slightly in mild amusement. "If you want more money you can actually make something yourself." She returned with a pointed look and a raised brow.
Janice, the co-worker, rolled her eyes. "Why should I when you actually like things like this? The only reason I'm here is because my mum has stopped giving me money for my pack of fags."
The customer cleared her throat causing El to blush. She had almost forgotten about her. Turning back around with a sheepish smile she shook her head to signify her insistent refusal. "I'm sorry. I will not take your money. I said it was free and I absolutely meant it was free."
"I think you're being stupid." Janice muttered.
"And I think you should stop minding my business." El said through clenched teeth, even as she continued to smile at the elderly woman.
"Why?" Janice asked in a dry and bored tone "You mind everyone else’s but your own."
El flushed slightly. "It's free. Thank you for coming. If you ever need any other arrangements, I'd be happy to do them for you. Any special ones ... for free."
"If you insist, dearie."
"I do." Before turning towards another customer.
With her back turned she didn't see the woman giving Janice 100 pounds. With a smug smile the teenager put it in her bra. Seventy-five for El and twenty-five for her. After all if it hadn't been for her the girl wouldn't have gotten anything.
"What kind of flowers would you like?" Eloise asked with a sunshiny bright smile. It was a haggard looking woman with three children. The older two, about ten and seven, were running around and poking their noses into the plants on display. The youngest one, no more than a year or so younger than the second, was clutching to his mother's skirt and staring up at everything with wide green eyes. "A rose for the pretty lady?" She asked gently, smiling encouragingly at the little girl.
Clutching tighter to her mother she pressed herself into her mother's legs but seemed unable to take her eyes off of Eloise's face.
"Say thank you, Emma."
"Emma?! Your name is Emma?"
The little girl nodded slowly, warily.
"Much prettier than Emma Woodhouse. You don't get a rose. You get something better. I know just the thing for you, poppet!"
Both mother and daughter watching the flower girl with curious interest, Janice rolled her eyes. She was surprised they weren't going out of business with all the free plants that Eloise constantly gave.
Rushing towards the back, only stumbling slightly, Eloise spotted just what she was looking for. Taking a vase, some plastic paper, and the flowers she was about to make her way to the door when she remembered the shears. Turning back she grabbed onto them not truly paying attention to what they were next to in her hurry to get back out front she knocked down three pots full of dirt in her effort to yank it off of the shelf. Chestnut brown brows shot up as her pink lips formed a perfect 'O' shape, "Uh-oh." She said with a sheepish smile.
"I'll get it, Elly." Victoria, another shop girl, said quickly. In fact she was already kneeling down with a small broom and the rubbish bin.
"Thanks."
"The Cack-handed One strikes again." Janice smirks.
Having a lot of things in her hands was the only thing that kept Eloise from flipping the younger woman off, so instead she settled for sticking her tongue out at her.
Janice simply grinned.
Making her way back to the register Eloise placed everything in her hand carefully onto the counter, "Now Emma Woodhouse, she was a complicated thing." She continued as if she had never stopped her previous thread of conversation. "Lovely, contrary, a pain. But surprisingly very good hearted and well intention. A carnation would definitely have been her flower. However, I think you're much more warm hearted than that Emma was, you're certainly much more sweeter in disposition." She smiled down at little Emma who was now half-way away from her mother's leg.
Making a show of what she was doing Eloise tilted her hands in away so the small child could see what was happening, "For you, I'll give peonies. Still unusual, but so much more wholesome and I think much more smarter. Would you like them, sweetie?"
Little Emma nodded her head quickly. "Say yes and please Emma." Her mother reminded her. "Yes and please." The little repeated shyly, quietly.
"Most excellent!" Effortlessly creating the child a simple flower arrangement Eloise became lost in her work not noticing when Emma's older two siblings stopped their game to come and see what was happening.
"I want one too!" The middle child demanded.
"Vanessa behave."
"But I want one." She pouted.
"I don't." The ten year old sniffed with she probably hoped was sophisticated maturity.
Finishing positioning the flowers Eloise caught the child's comment and her lips quirked slightly. She remembered her third year when she had been all about sophisticated maturity. It had been a rather hard face to pull through since she had began getting her horrid spots in that year.
"Well, I do."
"Then I'll make you one."
"Eloise, we do have paying customers."
El turned to glare at Janice who simply shrugged, "Well. We do."
"The paying customers can go sc-" Victoria passed by and jabbed El in the stomach. "..erm, scuba diving for all I care. I am currently busy. There are two other shop girls. If they want me they can wait."
"We did come to buy something and we'll also pay for the peonies."
"Nonsense. They're gift. I like Emmas."
The woman gave Eloise a strange look but smiled when her eyes fell on arrangement inspired by her child. "All right then. I'd like to buy-"
"Mum. Her nose is weird. It looks like it's off-center."
"Vanessa!" The woman hissed embarrassed even as her eyes suddenly flicked towards Eloise's face and then widened slightly.
Janice snorted out a laugh, although not meanly, "El, you've found a kindred spirit in lack of tact."
"Here I thought it was you. Yes, my nose is off-center." Eloise said with a patience that she had for children. It had been anyone else she would have been mightily ticked off by now. Yes, her nose was off-center and no, she didn't want to a new one. She didn't think she could even get it newly centered.
"Why?" Vanessa asked.
"Vanessa!" The mother looked mortified but Eloise barely paid her any mind as she hopped onto the counter and made herself comfortable.
Looking down at the three girls from her position she began to tell them why, "You see, when I was thirteen I went to this magic school."
"Oh, Lord." The eldest girl rolled her eyes. She was stopped from further comment by the look Vanessa and her mother gave her. One was annoyed and the other was chastising.
"A magic school. Really?" Vanessa asked dubiously.
"Cross my heart and hope to eat vegetables forever if I'm lying."
Satisfied by that swear Vanessa gave a regal nod to continue.
Eloise gave a small crooked smile as she did, "At this magic school there were all types of spells and charms and potions."
"Did you use wands?" Emma piped up.
"Most definitely. What kind of witch would I be without a wand?"
"Only wizards and warlocks use wands." The eldest daughter replied haughtily.
"There are no such things as warlocks." Eloise returned just as haughtily.
"Be quiet Annie, I want to hear about why her nose is so weird!"
Annie rolled her eyes again.
"So, here I was in this school filled to the brimmy timmy tippy tip top with magic and with the most horrendous things on my face."
"Three noses?" Emma asked.
"A caterpillar?" Vanessa asked.
"No! Although those would be rather horrendous things. Almost as horrendous as what I had."
"Well? What was it?" Vanessa demanded barely letting Eloise have time to form a thought.
"Spots. I had spots. More spots than you have hair on your head."
"No. That's not possible." Vanessa, the skeptic, said.
"Yes!" Eloise insisted. "It most certainly is."
"Spots?" Annie queried quietly touching the sting by her nose that seemed to grow redder by the day.
Eloise felt a wave of empathy for the girl but had enough tact, and memory, not to make any fuss about it. "Spots." She affirmed.
"But you don't have spots now. Your face is marvelously clear."
"Why thank you." El smiled. "It's because of my nose. You see I tried to get rid of them with magic ... then BAM! Nose. And I still had these dam-" Victoria passed by again and pinched Eloise. "Ow! Ow. Dratted spots. They faded with time though, luckily. But my nose has permanently shifted. It's not so bad though. I can smell better than I ever have before for some strange reason."
The three girls blinked at her. Suddenly Emma giggled and Vanessa exclaimed, "Mum, we should do that for Annie."
Annie scowled at her younger sister, looking more sixteen then ten all of the sudden. "It's just a silly story brat. It's not real."
"Is so! She swore. Vegetables!"
Annie rolled her eyes and gave a belabored sigh.
"Thank you." The woman smiled.
It was Eloise's turn to blink. She went back to noticing her surroundings and saw that Victoria had given the woman the flowers she bought.
"Let's go girls."
"But I want flowers too and that spell for Annie!"
"Shut up I said. It's not funny."
"Next time Vanessa."
Vanessa poked her bottom lip out.
"I promise I'll have them for you as soon as you step in. Posies, daisies, or pansies?"
"Anything purple!"
Eloise gave a broad grin, "My type of girl!"
The woman smiled, "Let's go girls. And thank you." She said to El.
"Bye!" Emma waved shyly as she clutched her flowers against her chest in her little arms.
Emma's smile softened slightly, "Bye." She waved back.
"Magic?" Janice asked with a snort of amusement.
El turned to look at her co-worker with a thoughtful tilt of her head. She wondered at exactly what age humans started looking for convoluted meanings and started missing the obvious unblemished truth. "Yep!" She chirped. "Best way to fix anything you know."