Disclaimer: All stories are individuals of themselves and are unrelated to each other.
Posy cried.
It was the only reason Gale was buying flowers for her. Because she cried when no one made a big deal over the fact that she was entering 3rd grade. Kindergarten to 1st grade, maybe, or 5th to 6th, but to the 3rd grade? He panicked, hopped into his car, and drove to the closest flower shop he could find while his mother quickly mixed batter for a cake that would be going in the oven shortly.
He was scanning the rows of flowers when a soft voice hummed over his shoulder, "Looking for something?"
"Yeah," he answered, his eyes catching on sunflowers. "Something to make a girl feel special. Like you didn't mean to forget something important to her." He spun around to find the girl who had asked and froze. She had a golden eyebrow arched and was studying him with cool blue eyes. "No," he blurted, "uh, I didn't mean—they're for—"
She held her hands up and smiled, "I'm not here to judge." Flowers were pretty but the girl in front of him was absolutely breathtaking. Her name tag was handwritten, curly loops that spelled out Madge. "Follow me," she said. Madge turned around and Gale nearly stumbled over his feet to do so, still unraveling her in his head. She had a mess of golden curls on the top of her head that were falling from the ribbon that tied them up and pale skin dusted with freckles. "Are you willing to spend more money?"
"No," Gale shook his head. "It wasn't that important." Madge cocked another eyebrow at him and he groaned inwardly. "Well it was to her but honestly…"
"Like I said," she shrugged, "not here to judge." They stopped at a row filled with small bouquets. "Favorite color?" Madge asked.
"Pink," Gale said, looking at the different collections of flowers. "Definitely pink."
Madge explained to him the different flowers in each of their arrangements. This one had daisies, that one had tulips. Gale's mother was the gardener, not him, but he nodded as though he was thoroughly interested. Finally he settled on a collection of bright pink carnations and Madge led them to the cash register.
"So you work here?" he asked as she punched in numbers.
Her head bobbed, "Since I was 17. It doesn't get as much business as it used to but I get to spend all day wrapping arrangements, so it's nice."
"You make these?" he asked, gesturing to his purchase. She nodded and the cash register made a few scary noises. "They're, uh, nice." She smiled at him and told him the total and he pulled out his card to swipe. Her eyes met his and again his body felt frozen, her eyes were so blue he felt like he could see the sky in them. "Name's Gale," he said.
"Madge," she responded. "I hope whoever she is, that she forgives you."
Gale grabbed the flowers from the counter and sighed, "Me too." He bid her farewell and she waved. Only once he was outside the shop did he kick himself for not asking for her number.
Posy loved the flowers.
A few days later Gale was still beating himself up over the fact that he hadn't asked Madge for her number, so he decided to make the trek back out to the flower shop. When he walked in and the bell tinkled overhead waves of panic bubbled in his stomach. He was normally great at talking to girls, but that was usually at a bar where people were looking for people to hook up with. What if Madge was seeing someone? He didn't want to make her uncomfortable, hitting on her at her workplace. His mother had raised him well enough that he knew his boundaries.
"Welcome back," a voice called. He turned to find Madge a few yards from him with a smile on her face. She had some petals in her hair and again he was overwhelmed with her beauty. "How'd the apology go?"
"Went well," Gale forced out. He couldn't ask her for her number, not until he knew that she wouldn't find it creepy.
"Oh?" she strode toward him, sliding a pair of scissors into her apron and brushing her bangs out of her face. "That's good."
"Yeah," he nodded. "Thanks for the help. I, uh, need some more." Her eyebrow arched like it had last time he was here and he and it made him smile. "Maybe?"
"It is my job," she said. "What're you looking for?"
Gale thought about this for a moment. "Flowers that will impress," he said. Madge smirked as though she knew something he didn't. He wanted to know what was going through her mind. Maybe she thought he was getting them for his boss, or his mother, or impressing someone's parents. "Anything in mind?"
"Well," she started off down the winding aisles, weaving in and out as Gale followed on her. "I would go with an assortment, unless you're trying to use one type of flower to send a message."
"Flowers mean different things?" Gale asked with a frown.
Madge nodded and stopped in front of a new arrangement of flowers. "I've always liked sunflowers," she told him. "But they're less serious and more casual." She gestured to some more. "Peonies are nice, maybe mixed with some orchids," she scanned until she found one she liked and picked it up, turning to Gale with it in her hands. He wondered if she made this arrangement, too. He had to admit there was a certain beauty to the way the flowers had been organized. "Will these do?"
"Did you put them together?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Then they're perfect," Gale said. He couldn't help but feel a rumble of victory in his chest when her cheeks turned pink. Madge led him to the cash register and typed up the order as Gale inhaled the scent of the flowers. She watched him from the corner of her eye and tried her hardest to focus on the buttons she was pressing. "You work every day?" he asked.
"Except for Christmas and Easter," she hummed.
"Out of school, then?" he asked.
"Oh, I only have morning classes." Madge pressed a button and cash register groaned. She frowned and reached down under the counter and pulled out a new wheel of receipt paper to place in. "Sorry about this." He shook his head, clearly having the time to waste. "I'm studying to be a nurse," she said, "but I love gardening. My mom used to help me plant things in the yard when I was little. It was mostly vegetables then but flowers are much prettier."
"Agreed," Gale nodded.
"Only a few more semesters still I can go to graduate school. I'm looking close by so I can keep my job here." She bit on her bottom lip and waited for the receipt to finish printing. "Sorry. You don't need a rundown of my life story."
"Trust me," Gale leaned forward, his elbows on the counter. "I don't mind."
Her cheeks turned that lovely shade of pink again and she reached forward, ripping the receipt from the printer and handing it to him. "Right. Well, um. Thank you for stopping by, Gale." He smiled. She remembered his name. "Have a nice day."
He tipped his head at her, "You too."
Okay. Going back to the flower shop hadn't been the best idea. Especially because he still hadn't gotten her number.
He gave the flowers he purchased to his mother, saying that he wanted to brighten her day (which was true, but not the real reason he bought them) and she raved about them to all of her friends. And then a few more days had passed and he still hadn't shaken Madge from his mind and, once again, he found himself at the shop.
She strolled from the backroom when she heard the bell ring and froze, staring at him. "What, did your last arrangement die already?"
"Healthy as ever," he responded. "I just need more flowers."
Madge blinked a few times. "You must be making up for a big mistake," she said absentmindedly, walking toward him. "The last person who was in here as often as you had been in an affair."
Gale frowned, "I'd never do something like that."
She smiled, "I was teasing. But good. Proud of you." He cocked an eyebrow at her this time and her smile widened. "What do you want this time?"
"Something… something…" he looked around the room. "I don't know. Nothing specific this time. Just something."
Madge turned to look at the shop, her eyes studying the large room. "Well we definitely have something."
It was an excuse, really. She would lead him one way and he would ask to see something else, and then the cycle would repeat. As they searched for the perfect arrangement he learned so much more about her, just little things. Her favorite color was purple. She liked Bon Iver and made the playlists for the shop, she had an impeccable taste. She'd been working here for so long because her grandfather, who used to own the shop, got sick when she was in high school. He passed away last March.
And she would listen to him as he responded, telling her about his family full of wonderful siblings and an overbearingly protective but incredibly wonderful mother. He mentioned his degree in architecture and how he just picked up a job at the firm in the city, so the drive wasn't too bad and he still got to see his family. He liked making her laugh, liked the way her eyes brightened when he said something unexpected.
Dammit, he liked her.
"Well we've walked the entirety of the store," she said. "Nothing, yet?"
He hadn't realize how distracted he had been. Gale looked down at the flowers in front of him. "These will do," he said.
Madge reached for the sunflowers slowly and bit down on her bottom lip. "There are the ones I first showed you, you know."
Gale shrugged. "I like them now."
He was running out of people to buy flowers for. Posy had some and his mother had some and his boss had some and his friend Katniss had some and Katniss's sister had some and he took some to his father's grave and gave some to the office secretary and honestly, really, there was no one else he could think to buy for.
So when Gale walked into the flower shop for about the eighth time that month, Madge laughed a little. "Why am I not surprised?" she called. She was in the middle of spraying flowers with a water bottle to give them something to drink. "You know, you should just propose to her."
Gale cocked an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"
"The girl you keep buying flowers for," Madge said. She smiled a little awkwardly and brushed her hair behind her ear. "She's um, she's really lucky to have you." Gale stared at her, blinking and confused. She thought he was buying all of these flowers for the same person? "I work at a flower shop and no one's ever thought to buy me flowers once," she said with a light laugh.
"Right," he nodded. "Of course. Only I'm not seeing anyone?"
Madge paused. "Oh. What?"
"Uh," Gale scratched the back of his neck. "They've all been for people I care about, sure, but no one that I'm dating."
"Oh," she repeated. She looked away and wrinkled her nose. "I'm sorry to have been so assumptive." Her cheeks were a brilliant shade of pink again. "Gosh," she pressed her hands to her face and turned back to him. "Anyway, um, what can I help you with?"
Gale pulled out a list from his back pocket. Today was the day.
"I want to make my own arrangement. Think you can help?"
"Certainly," Madge nodded.
He showed her the list and she led him around the store, helping him gather the flowers from each necessary location. He wondered if she knew what he was doing but considering she blushed and looked away every time they made eye contact led him to believe she was distracted. Hopefully a good distracted, if things were playing in his favor.
By the end he had a lovely bouquet of an assortment of flowers. Madge rang him up and he paid, smiling as she slid the wrapping around them. Before he accepted them from her he held his hands up.
"They're for you," Gale said.
"Oh, Gale," Madge frowned, looking at the flowers. "You don't need to get me flowers just because I said no one had gotten me any."
"That's not why they're for you." He pulled out another list from his pocket. "Listen, I'm not very good at making moves. But that day I walked in here you told me flowers meant certain things and I, uh, I did some research."
She looked down at the flowers in her hands, her cheeks turning pink again. "Gale…"
"Ornithogalum's for hope, because I'm hoping this works," he started as her fingers brushed against the white petals. "Hyacinth's because this is most definitely the most sincere thing I've done in a long time." She giggled suddenly. "What?" he asked.
"Yellow chrysanthemum's mean secret admirer."
"Mm," he nodded with a grin. "I know. I did my research." Gale continued on the list. "I wanted to do red tulips because they were a declaration of love, but to be fair I don't think I've gone down that rabbit hole yet."
"Thank God," she breathed with a smile.
"So I went with pink because they mean caring." He lowered the list and met her gaze. "And then daisies, because they're your favorite." Madge smiled at him and bit down on her bottom lip. "So, uh," Gale scratched his forehead. "What do you think, you wanna go out with me sometime?"
She nodded, lifting the bouquet to take a whiff of the flowers. "I'd love to," she exhaled.