15-05-2021-052358It-Ends-with-Us

tonight.” I tell her goodbye and watch her walk outside, then turn my
attention back to Allysa.
“I’m not really hiring yet,” I say. I wave my hand around the room.
“I’m opening up a floral shop, but it’ll be a couple of months, at
least.” I should know better than to hold preconceived judgments, but
she doesn’t look like she’d be satisfied with a minimum wage job. Her
purse probably cost more than this building.
Her eyes light up. “Really? I love flowers!” She spins around in a
circle and says, “This place has a ton of potential. What color are you
painting it?”
I cross my arm over my chest and grab my elbow. Rocking back on
my heels, I say, “I’m not sure. I just got the keys to the building an
hour ago, so I haven’t really come up with a design plan yet.”
“Lily, right?”
I nod.
“I’m not going to pretend I have a degree in design, but it’s my
absolute favorite thing. If you need any help, I’d do it for free.”
I tilt my head. “You’d work for free?”
She nods. “I don’t really need a job, I just saw the sign and thought,
‘What the heck?’ But I do get bored sometimes. I’d be happy to help
you with whatever you need. Cleaning, decorating, picking out paint
colors. I’m a Pinterest whore.” Something behind me catches her eye
and she points. “I could take that broken door and make it
magnificent. All this stuff, really. There’s a use for almost everything,
you know.”
I look around at the room, knowing full well I’m not going to be
able to tackle this by myself. I probably can’t even lift half this stuff
alone. I’ll eventually have to hire someone anyway. “I’m not going to
let you work for free. But I could do $10 an hour if you’re really
serious.”
She starts clapping, and if she weren’t in heels, she might have
jumped up and down. “When can I start?”
I glance down at her white capris. “Will tomorrow work? You’ll
probably want to show up in disposable clothes.”
She waves me off and drops her Hermès bag on a dusty table next
to her. “Nonsense,” she says. “My husband is watching the Bruins play