I couldn't wait for this day to be over.

Chapter 13

No phone call from Edward last night. I had only just seen him that morning prior, true, but I still hoped for something. Regardless, I woke up feeling better and glad to see the back of Monday. I showered, got dressed, had a quick Eggo waffle for breakfast, and grabbed a banana on the way out the door to work.

Once I arrived, I discovered there was actually plenty to keep me busy. Some orders had come in shortly after I opened for a funeral the next day, and I had several online orders to fill. We had a small website for the shop, but Donna, the owner, also had connected us to a nationwide flower site that sent orders for us to fill on occasion. Between them, I was occupied for the next couple of hours.

I stopped for lunch a little after 12 and went to the backroom to have a bag of chips, water and my banana from home. I left the open sign in place because I could still hear the bell over the door if someone entered. While I was munching and reading a book, Emmett came in the back door where the loading dock and parking area was located.

"Hey Bella," he said, taking the empty chair across from me.

"Hey." I slid a piece of paper in to mark my place and set my book down, smiling at him. "Having a good day?"

"Yeah, it's not bad." He stole some of my chips and shoveled them into his mouth. I gave him an incredulous look, which he ignored. "It was great to see you and Alice at Molly's this weekend. Not that I don't see you all the time during the week, but, you know. It's nice to see you with your hair down once in awhile." He winked at me.

"I get what you're saying, and I did have a good time," I said, moving the chips bag out of his reach. "Well, aside from that Mike guy, anyway."

He laughed heartily at this. "Didn't make much of an impression on you, I guess?"

"Well, aside from the fact that I won't be eating alphabet soup any time soon, no."

We both laughed, and too soon it was time to get back to work. I talked to Emmett some more while he loaded the orders that were ready, told him I'd see him later and went out to the front counter.

The bell rang about an hour later and I looked up from my paperwork into the smiling face of Donna, the owner of Eternally Yours. Of course, this made her my boss.

"Hi, Donna," I said, taking a moment to take in her appearance. She was nearing 50, but didn't look a day over 40. She had brilliant auburn hair that was kept in shampoo commercial condition every single time I saw her, and flawless skin. Her clothes were always impeccable and very stylish. Despite this air she had of always seeming a little too together, she was a very sweet lady. I adored her.

"Bella, how is my favorite employee?" An ongoing joke, as I was her only employee besides herself.

"Good, thank you. Yourself?"

"Oh, can't complain! I was just out and about and wanted to stop by to see you." She came around the counter and placed her purse down on one of the prep tables behind me, then leaned it to give me a hug.

"Good day for running errands," I said, noting the uncommon occurrence of a sunny day outside.

"Yes, it is." She smiled, but then it fell and was replaced with a more serious face. "I spoke to Jessica over the weekend."

"Oh yes?" Donna's daughter Jessica was the same age as me and also had brown hair, but that was pretty much where the similarities ended. She moved to California once she graduated from high school and had lived there for the past several years. She was a reasonably talented actress in her school productions and thought that would automatically transfer over to Hollywood. I think she'd gotten a handful of commercials and bit parts in the six years she had lived in Los Angeles, definitely nothing of note. "How is she doing? Landing any good roles?"

"She said she had a break in her schedule and wants to come visit for a week or so." This usually meant that Jessica was feeling dejected and needed her mother to give her a morale boost. Or she was low on funds. Probably both, now that I thought of it.

"That's nice. When will she be here?" I hoped that I would have some time to prepare myself.

"I'm picking her up at the airport this evening."

Well, shit.

Jessica was not a bad person by any means, she was just horribly shallow, entitled, and really annoying. Because her mother owned the florist and was, therefore, the Queen Bee, Jessica fancied herself the Princess Bee. I had no idea if such a thing even existed, but you get the idea.

She stayed at home whenever she came back to visit, at her Mother's sizable house. Probably in her old bedroom, unless she had turned it into a shrine for when she became a famous movie star. Her old friends from around here didn't ever want to see her when she came back, "they're just jealous" she had told me when I asked, so she hung out around the house. Then before long, like clockwork, she would get bored with that and end up here at the shop. One of the things that I particularly liked about my job was the autonomy. Donna was a wonderful boss who knew I could do my job efficiently, so she did not hover and left me to my own devices. Jessica thought that the five or so days she put in a year made her an expert somehow, and she was always there to offer her "expertise". She liked to critique my arranging skills, move displays around to what she thought was a more desirable location, and just generally make my work day hell. This would last until she either went back to L.A. or found something or someone else to occupy her time.

Smiling as best I could, I said, "Oh, well that's…great!"

Donna studied my reaction, fake grin and all, and smirked a little. She knew how crazy Jessica made me, even though I had never said a word on the matter. She had raised the woman, so I was sure she knew all about it. Donna is nothing if not gracious, though, and she changed the topic shortly after to our online orders.

I decided to call and check in with my Dad that evening. Charlie lived in a smaller town about an hour and a half away from me, and we talked on the phone pretty regularly.

"Hey Bells." Caller ID, gotta love it.

"Hi Dad. How are you feeling?" When we talked last week, he had some kind of stomach bug that was going around. He's not the type to complain about an illness or feeling bad, like most men, so I wouldn't even have known anything was wrong if he hadn't excused himself twice while we were talking, presumably to run to the bathroom.

"Oh, I'm feeling better. Sue brought me some soup for lunch today, and I managed to keep it down." He and my Mom had divorced years ago, but he'd only started dating about a year ago. He had been seeing this nice woman named Sue for the last five months or so. "Crackers and ginger ale were getting old. I'll probably go back to work tomorrow."

I had no idea he wasn't going in to work, so it must have been worse than he let on. "Well, I'm glad you're on the mend," I said, feeling a little guilty. "How is Sue doing?"

"Kids are driving her crazy, but she's good, she's good." Sue had two kids, a boy and a girl, both a little younger than me. "Seth 'borrowed' her car on Saturday night and hit a deer on his way home. He's fine, of course, but the car is not. She's been using mine to get to work while it's being repaired."

"Yikes."

"I know, that kid gets away with murder." I could just picture him shaking his head in dismay. "But I think it'll be fixed in a day or two. Is your truck running okay?" I hadn't mentioned it the last time we talked, but I knew he would ask eventually. I told him about my issues with it lately, mostly a lot of engine noise and sometimes trouble starting. "When was the last time you changed the oil? Try doing a filter and oil change first and see if that makes any difference."

My Dad had taught me how to change a flat tire and the oil and oil filter when I got my first vehicle, and it was information that had served me well over the years. What can I say, I've only ever owned used cars. "I guess it probably is close to being due anyway. Tell you what, I'll do that this week and let you know if it helped."

"All right, Bells. Well, game's coming on in a little bit, so I'm going to go watch. Take care and don't forget to lock your doors." He had been saying the last bit to me ever since I moved out of his house.

"Of course, Dad. Love you."

"You too. Bye, Bella."

I hung up just as Alice yelled, "Hey Bella, you never wear these purple corduroy pants anymore, do you?" Sighing, I walked back to my room to see what destruction awaited in my closet.

I know, there's definitely a lack of a certain green-eyed fellow this chapter. He will be back in the next one, but I just had been holding on to this one for so long and wanted to get it published. Now seriously, please show some love and motivate me to get the next one out much sooner. (And a beta would still be nice, if anyone is interested!)