Once again she glanced at the clock on the wall, in all her life Mary had never known time go so slow. She wanted to rush, it was quarter of an hour to closing time and as it was a practically cold April evening and they never usually had customers this late. She reasoned however, that even if she got to the hospital early, they probably wouldn't let people in outside the allotted hours. Once again she rearranged some of the bouquets in the window. She enjoyed this job, she had not worked since she became engaged to Jim, and she was very grateful to Connie for giving her the job and one of the two flats above the shop. Connie lived in the top one as she said all the stairs keep her fit and healthy and Mary and the children shared the bottom one, which had previously been rented out, rent free. Mary worked in the shop as way of rent though Connie usually gave her a more than generous salary as well. To make up for this in her own conscience Mary did a lot of Connie's house work for her as well.
During these times they would talk non-stop. They seemed to compliment each other, Mary's quietness and Connie's vibrant personality. They both enjoyed the cinema, when money would allow, both loved flowers and children and dancing and both came from a families owning pubs and had started working at the bar. And both had lost their husbands.
So it was times like this that Mary wished she did not have to make deliveries on Fridays. The clock turned ten too and Mary decided to lock up ten minutes early and take a slow walk to the hospital.