Page 29 of A Home for Harmony (Blossoms #16)

OPEN AND ACCEPTING

“ D anielle,” Harmony said two days later. “How have you been?”

“Great,” Danielle said. “I’m so glad you had the time to squeeze me in for this call.”

“Anytime,” she said. “I was stunned to get your email. Lizzie never said you left Media Creator. Can I ask what happened? Not that I don’t appreciate the business, but there are plenty there you could have gone to.”

“I think it wasn’t a good fit for me,” Danielle said shyly. “I’d only been there two years and everyone is such a big personality.”

Danielle had been a loner in many eyes. She was an assistant to several, being bossed around more than anything else.

She always felt a little sorry for Danielle and wished she could have spoken up more, but people can’t change who they are.

“That makes the world go around,” Harmony said, smiling.

“That’s because you’re more open-minded than the rest,” Danielle said. “I love Lizzie and all. She’s nice, but I don’t get to work with her much since she changed departments.”

“That happens,” she said. “So, what are you doing now?”

“I’m still looking for another job,” Danielle said. “I mean, I’ve got money put away and I’ll be fine. I moved back home with my mother to get out of the city and think I’ll do something part time, but I really want to focus on my vlog.”

“I’d love to help,” she said. “I never knew you were interested in doing that. What’s it going to be about?”

Danielle smiled on the other line. Her brown hair was straight and down, a part in the center. Her clear framed glasses were almost too big for her face, but it gave her character.

Everyone may be quirky in their own way and the oversized burgundy sweater with a black checkerboard pattern was vintage unique.

“I love doing origami. There is an entire world out there of people doing it and I thought it’d be neat to help everyone see what we do. You can make amazing things with paper.”

Harmony smiled at the light and excitement in Danielle’s voice. Something she didn’t see often. “I’d love to see something. I’m surprised I never saw anything on your desk before. Or that you never brought it up when we talked.”

There were times Danielle tagged along with her and Lizzie when they went to lunch or had a drink after work, but Danielle did more listening than partaking.

The few times Danielle asked if they could go out, just the two of them to do something, Harmony always had something else going on.

Danielle reached over, picked up a frog and put it in front of the camera and then moved it closer and turned it to all the sides.

“I didn’t have any on my desk,” Danielle said. “You’d be surprised how many people make fun of it.”

“Boo on them,” she said. “No one should make fun of another person’s passion. I love it. It’s so cute. You’ve got to have a lot.”

Danielle picked up her camera that was attached to her laptop and moved it around. Harmony saw a big scan of the room and everything made of paper imaginable on shelves and a dresser, the desk.

“I spend a lot of time doing it,” Danielle said. “It keeps me entertained. I’ve got some OCD and anxiety that I’ve never mentioned before. I’ve always found it hard to talk to people in person. Don’t you feel so empowered behind a screen?”

“I don’t think I’m any different behind a screen than I am in front of it. Just be you whether it’s in person or not. People can spot someone who isn’t genuine a mile away.”

“Oh,” Danielle said, her head dropping.

“Hey.” She waved her hand. She didn’t know what came over Danielle just now. “You’ve never had a problem talking with me.”

“That’s because you’re more open and accepting of people,” Danielle said. “But as you can see, it’s a hobby that turned into more. I’m not saying I want to make a living doing this.”

She knew a topic shift when she saw one and wouldn’t embarrass Danielle more talking about their different personalities.

“Well,” she said. “First off, think bigger. Or small. That’s your choice. You said you want to get this vlog set up to show people what you do, so are you talking about doing instructional videos?”

“Oh,” Danielle said. “I hadn’t thought of that. I just thought I’d share with others the things I’ve made.”

“That’s a great way to start. But you could also do some instructional videos and post them.

You’ll get a following that way. It could lead to income there.

You could also market special events to sell your creations for.

Find a shop like Etsy, and maybe make items for weddings, bridal showers, baby showers.

Things like that. People could and might enjoy giving them away for favors. ”

“I’ve never thought of that. I’ve got flowers. Hang on.”

Danielle jumped up and walked out of the room, so Harmony took that time to do a quick search and found there was a small market out there for paper bouquets. Just an idea.

“Those are so beautiful,” she said of the bouquet that Danielle brought in of roses. “I love flowers. I always have.”

“I know,” Danielle said. “You’re always wearing those designs from the Blossoms products you get.”

“I can’t help it,” she said. “They are great. I’m going to share my screen with you right now on what I’ve found and I’ve got to say your bouquet is much nicer. Check these out.”

Danielle’s jaw dropped. “I never realized I could sell these.”

“I don’t know enough about the market, but with some research I’m sure you can tap into it. For now, we should decide how you want to start. Do you want to set up a website or just a YouTube channel, Instagram, or TikTok?”

“I think I should just start with the channel first,” Danielle said. “Then once I get the hang of that, I can move onto other platforms.”

“Well, there are free design sites that will help you put content on your videos. I’ll send you a list of them when our call is done, but I’m positive you know them from your last job.”

“I do,” Danielle said. “I’ve never played with them much.”

“You are clearly very creative, and I’m sure you’re going to learn quickly.” There was a glow on Danielle’s face from the words of praise. Harmony looked at the time on the top of her screen and had about forty minutes left on the call and knew they’d use up every minute.

“Thank you for saying that,” Danielle said. “No one has ever said that but my mother before.”

“Now you’re going to show everyone just who you are and how creative you can be. I’m so excited for you.” She punched into her keyboard and had fireworks going off on the screen.

Danielle almost looked as if she was going to cry over the words.

“You don’t know how much that means to me. It’s always been hard to make friends. I had such a good time with you and Lizzie on New Year’s Eve. I appreciate you letting me tag along.”

“Anytime,” she said. “It was a blast.”

It wasn’t until after that she’d found out from Lizzie that Danielle had overheard the plans that night and asked if she could go.

Harmony didn’t care, but Lizzie was bummed, as her friend just wanted it to be the two of them. It wasn’t as if Lizzie didn’t like Danielle, just that she thought Danielle was a bit odd and would hold them back that night. It hadn’t happened.

Wasn’t everyone odd in their own right?

She thought so.

The two of them got through a lot of information and scheduled another call for the following week so that Danielle could try to get things set up through trial and error.

She loved when she could make a difference like that for someone.

It was why she enjoyed posting videos and words of encouragement so much too.

Even though she’d told herself she’d cut back on it, she found she missed it.

She picked her phone up and sent Lizzie a text and was surprised when her phone rang a minute later.

“Hi,” she said. “I didn’t think you’d call me. You like to text.”

“I have a few minutes,” Lizzie said. “You talked to Danielle? About what?”

She wouldn’t go into too much detail. It’s not as if they had some contract to not talk about it, but she’d still be light.

“She sent me an email. She needed help with a few things, nothing major. I couldn’t believe she’d left. Did you know she was going to?”

“I didn’t even know she left,” Lizzie said, laughing. “That is why I called. She’s kind of forgettable or invisible oftentimes. I know that is horrible to say and I feel bad. When did she leave?”

“She said a few weeks ago. She said little about it and I didn’t pry.”

No way she’d admit that Danielle said there were some big personalities there. It could be good or bad, depending on the person’s point of view.

“You know how this place is,” Lizzie said. “Everyone is cutthroat and sitting on a high horse. They all think they know it the best.”

She laughed. “They do.”

“No one was as good as you and that burned many people. They wanted to hate you, but then loved you at the same time.”

Harmony knew that and brushed it off. “That isn’t my problem. I was only doing my job.”

“Some people are just naturals,” Lizzie said.

“You were. You are. That is why so many clients requested you. Anyway, I always felt sorry for Danielle. I knew it took a lot for her to ask me to have drinks, but I never wanted to hang out with her outside of work. You’re the only one I became close friends with outside.

I’ve learned not to mix the two. It’s too messy. ”

“Trust me, I know. Which is why you agreed to let her go with us on New Year’s Eve. I know, you felt bad. She thanked me for letting her come. I didn’t know how to answer.”

“I felt horrible when she asked. I kind of hesitated and she probably noticed it. I couldn’t tell her no even though I wanted to. She was talking about you and how she missed you and always had a good time when she tagged along with us.”

“We all had a good time and that matters,” she said.

“See, always the nice girl. Since I’ve got you on the phone, what’s been going on? Are you getting any more of those emails?”