It didn't take Audrey long to decide just how much she liked her new job. It was only her first day, and Mushnik's Floral Shop was already so much better than anywhere she'd worked before. The boss was grouchy, but at least so far, he seemed to be more bluster than anything, which was more than could be said about many of the previous men she'd worked for. And then there were the flowers. She absolutely loved flowers, but they were something she almost never saw on Skid Row. It was hard to believe she now had a job where she could be surrounded by them all day.
The bell over the door chimed, and she glanced up. It wasn't a customer, but her new co-worker, back from delivering an order. Her new boss lowered his paper and also looked at the doorway.
"Did you get it delivered?" He demanded.
The boy nodded silently.
"In one piece?"
He nodded again.
"You didn't screw it up somehow?"
The boy shook his head.
Mr. Mushnik grunted in acceptance and looked over at Audrey to comment, "Small miracle with a klutz like him." He soon buried himself back in his paper, muttering something that sounded like "worthless slob" under his breath.
Audrey thought these words seemed rather harsh, and turned back to look at Seymour. He immediately turned a bright red color, and did his best to pull the brim of his cap over his face as he scurried away.
Her co-worker was another thing that was very different about her new job. In the past, she'd always felt that the best she could hope for were the jobs where she got ignored. Because if she wasn't ignored, she was usually either being insulted, or she was being hit on by men who gave her the creeps. Sometimes both. Seymour didn't seem like the kind of person who was going to stand around eyeing her up all day. He didn't seem unkind either, and he'd been nothing but nice to her over what little time they had interacted. And though he was quiet, she didn't think it came off the same way as the people who ignored her because she wasn't worth their attention. Still, he really was remarkably quiet.
The more rational part of her mind knew that he was probably just shy. And she could definitely understand that. Opening up to new people didn't come very easy to her either. But she'd also spent a lot of time being made to feel that she was always doing something wrong, and it was hard to shake the habit of feeling that way. She couldn't help but worry that maybe he didn't like her very much. And that was another thing she could understand. She supposed she couldn't expect someone like him to want to be around someone like her, and she felt absolutely terrible about the thought that he might resent her coming in and expecting to work alongside him.
Seymour still kept his head ducked as he took the money from the order out of his pocket and placed it into the cash register. This was proving to be one of the most stressful days he'd ever had. He didn't have a lot of experience with… well, people, really. He had his plants to talk to, but human beings were very different. Back in the home for boys, there had been a small handful of kids who didn't pick on him, but no one he could consider a friend. He'd hoped to have a family someday, but it seemed the closest he was ever going to get was a boss. In a strange way, it almost made it easier to know that Mr. Mushnik already didn't like him and nothing was likely to change that. And then there were customers. Even that could be enough to make him nervous, and those were the people who clearly didn't care about him unless they needed his help, and who'd probably forget all about him the moment they left the shop. But a co-worker… that was someone who'd be coming in every day. Someone who'd probably remember if he made a complete fool of himself. And it was someone he'd really like to be friends with, but he didn't have the first clue of how to go about it without actually making a complete fool of himself.
He risked a glance up, and immediately managed to accidentally make eye contact. Audrey offered a friendly, if timid, smile.
'Do something!' He tried to command himself. 'Say hello, smile back, something!'
He did do something, if hurriedly ducking behind the counter and pretending to search for something counted. He wasn't sure if he was so nervous his stomach hurt, or if that feeling was just a deep pit of hating himself.
Much of the day passed in silence. For Mr. Mushnik, it was the usual bored silence of reading his paper and waiting for the clock to hit closing time. Completely unnoticed by him, for his two employees it had become a nervous and uncomfortable silence of wanting to do something besides just standing there but being far too reluctant to be the first to speak up.
Though he immediately felt it was a stupid thought, Seymour had to push back an impulse to call out for his boss not to leave when he noticed that Mr. Mushnik was heading back to his office. Two people lingering silently in the room really shouldn't feel that different from three. But boy, did it feel completely different.
He hoped that having something to do might make things feel a little more natural, and decided to take up his usual chore of sweeping the floors. It did not make things feel more natural. It just meant he was keeping his head ducked and trying to avoid notice while moving around the room instead of hovering by the counter. He also really should have remembered that he had enough trouble not tripping when he was paying more attention to where he was going, let alone when he was steadfastly staring at his own feet.
Half a day. He made it roughly half a day before his new co-worker watched him catch his foot on a piece of chipped linoleum and tumble to the floor. Honestly, was it even worth picking himself back up again?
"Oh my goodness! Are you alright?"
Pulling himself to his knees and trying to ignore the way his palms stung where he'd caught himself, he almost missed the rapid clicking of heels until she'd already rushed over.
"Here, let me help you."
He looked up to see her crouch down and reach towards him, and his immediate reaction was to draw in a sharp breath and flinch.
With that one little motion, Audrey could swear she felt her heart break. It occurred to her that maybe, just like her, life had taught him that a hand coming towards you was never a good thing.
But a moment later, he took another look. His eyes trailed up from her hand to her face. His brow was furrowed in a questioning expression, as if looking to be certain that she really was offering to help him. Slow and tentative, he finally reached for her hand and let her help him up.
As if the universe was determined to be absolutely sure she knew how pathetically clumsy he was, he almost immediately started to trip over himself as he tried to pull himself to his feet. He would have expected her to jump out of the way when he nearly stumbled into her, but instead she placed her hands on his shoulders to steady him.
"Are you okay?" She asked, her voice full of a genuine concern.
Seymour still didn't quite trust his voice, but gave a small nod. He couldn't help but wonder if maybe he'd unknowingly hit his head when he fell, because this was so different from what he was used to that it was hard to believe it was really happening. He certainly wasn't about to manage eye contact, but his gaze flickered over and came to linger on his shoulder where her hand still rested. He tried to will himself to keep a neutral expression, but he was so uncertain of what to do that he was sure he looked more than a little flustered.
It was Audrey who first got self-conscious enough to pull back, and she clasped her hands behind her back. He still seemed so quiet around her, and it was hard not to let all her worries rush back again. Working as a florist was her dream job, but she'd already made up her mind that she'd quit if he didn't seem like he could be comfortable with her there. It seemed only fair. Still, it stung to be reminded of just how much she wasn't meant to be around a nice sort of guy like him.
Though he couldn't tell exactly what she was thinking, Seymour noticed that she was starting to look almost sad, and immediately felt guilty, especially considering what a kind person she seemed to be. He was still very nervous, but he really had to say something.
"T-thanks."
Audrey almost couldn't hear him, and looked up to be certain he'd actually spoken.
"Thanks… for, uh…" He trailed off and gestured towards the spot where he'd fallen. A moment later, he managed a shy, awkward smile, and it seemed to lift a weight off her shoulders.
Maybe she really had been worrying over nothing. It seemed there might be some hope he wanted to be friends after all. She carefully tried to think over what would be a natural thing to say next.
"So, I… I'm still finding my way around the shop. Would you mind showing me where everything is?"
It turned out that was a very good thing next, because talking about plants seemed to come a lot easier to him than anything else. Audrey watched her co-worker gradually loosen up a little as he led her around the shop and explained what flowers they had in stock and where they usually kept what. She found it interesting to see just how fast he transitioned from a closed-up silence to eagerly rambling things that couldn't seem to spill out fast enough. She could tell that this was more than a job to him, it really seemed to be a passion of his. And even more than that, she soon found just how much she liked listening to it. She could ever remember feeling this comfortable around a man. But it was still a rather small store, and the tour didn't last long. Desperate to keep things from lapsing back into an uncomfortable silence, she tried to steer things into a more conversational direction.
"You really like flowa's, don't you?"
He smiled a little sheepishly, as if suddenly self-conscious of how much he'd been talking. Still, he'd never really found anyone willing to listen about this sort of thing, and he couldn't quite manage to pump on the brakes again. "Yeah, I-I guess I do. I like all plants, really. I keep a collection of some unusual ones. It's always been kinda a hobby of mine."
Audrey immediately gave a wide grin. She'd spent plenty of time in the brown streets of Skid Row dreaming of more things green. It was nice to find someone else who appreciated it too.
"I'd like to see that sometime."
Seymour ducked his head as he smiled again, but this time she did feel confident in thinking that it was just shyness and not a dislike for her. And honestly, it was rather endearing after all the overbearing men she was used to. She was surprised by just how much she already liked him. And suddenly, a very strange feeling came over her.
When it came to men, she was used to thinking that she should take what she could get. And if she was lucky, maybe it would be someone who wouldn't treat her too rough, and who wouldn't get bored with her too fast. She wanted someone, but always seemed to wind up afraid of just about everyone who did come her way. She didn't think there had ever been a time when she looked at someone and found herself desperately wishing that the next man who would come along could be him.
What was the matter with her? She shouldn't be having these thoughts. Not this fast. Not about him. She wasn't someone he'd want. How could she be? And yet, the moment he looked at her, she suddenly felt about a million butterflies swoop in her stomach.
Well, even if she should know better than to think he could ever feel that way towards her, she did like him. She liked him a lot. And it really seemed that he liked her too. She was going to enjoy working here, she could tell. And maybe, just maybe, this was going to be the start of the best stroke of luck to ever come her way.