Page 31

She would never get tired of the smell of fresh flowers mingling with the earthy aroma of damp soil. As the morning sun slanted through the windows, the rhythmic snip of Luna’s scissors cutting through stems provided a steady, meditative cadence as she worked.

She’d done this countless times before by now. Trimming, arranging, tucking in the greenery. But today, the process felt different. Intentional somehow.

Responsibility. For so long, the word had felt like a chain around her neck, tethering her to expectations that she’d never wanted. Responsibility meant rules and restrictions, losing herself. But as she carefully arranged her bouquet, she thought about what it really meant, what she’d realized.

Responsibility wasn’t about being caged. It wasn’t even really about rules. It was about showing up for the people who mattered. And maybe the biggest reason that her grandmother wanted her to be responsible was because her grandmother herself was responsible. Because long ago, her grandmother had shown up for a little girl that needed a place to be.

All this was about building something real, not because she had to, but because she wanted to.

She thought about Mia, and her heart ached. She’d spent so long pushing away the idea of stability, afraid that it would make her someone that she didn’t recognize. But what if that wasn’t the case at all? What if stability didn’t mean sacrificing herself? What if it meant becoming someone better? Someone capable of love, of commitment, of being there when it mattered the most?

She exhaled. It was time to figure out what she really wanted in life.

There was a crash and a grunt as Jan wrestled an oversized box of new deliveries through the back door. She set it down, wiping her hands on her apron. “It must be about a hundred degrees out there already, and it’s not even lunchtime yet.”

“Mmm, it’s going to be another hot one.”

“I’m all for summer, but this is getting ridiculous. It’ll have to break before long.”

She took a long drink from her water bottle and then eyed Luna. “You’ve been quiet this morning. Either you’re making life-altering decisions or you’re plotting a crime. Which is it?”

“Neither,”

Luna snorted. “I was just thinking, that’s all.”

“Thinking about what?”

Jan asked, folding her arms and leaning back against the counter.

Luna sighed. “Responsibility,”

she said. “About how I’ve always thought that responsibility is about being trapped, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe it’s about being reliable. And maybe reliable doesn’t have to mean boring. Maybe life can still be exciting, even if you’re in one place.”

She tried hard not to think about swimming in the waterfall with Mia.

Jan raised an eyebrow. “Look who’s growing up.”

“Don’t make it weird,”

Luna grumbled, though she was smiling.

“So? What are you going to do about it?”

asked Jan.

Luna put her scissors down. “I suppose I need to talk to my grandmother.”

“Face the music, admit you’re wrong. I like it,”

said Jan. “Go on then.”

“What? Now?”

Luna asked, thoroughly unprepared.

“Why not? Best do it before you change your mind or nerves get the better of you. Go on, take an early lunch.”

LUNA HAD MADE up her mind, and once that was done, she was determined to do what needed to be done. She was seeing things so much more clearly now, and feeling lighter and better than she had in years.

She practically marched into the house, pushing through doors until she finally found her grandmother sitting at the dining table, the remains of breakfast in front of her and a newspaper open on the table.

“Tell me you haven’t been fired,”

her grandmother said without looking up from the newspaper.

“I don’t want the money,”

Luna said, not wasting any time at all.

This made Evelyn look up. Her expression was unreadable, but there was a flicker of something there. Interest, perhaps. “Oh?”

“I don’t want my life dictated,”

Luna continued. “I don’t want to change to meet some arbitrary standard that you’ve set.”

“Luna—”

“No, I’m not finished,”

said Luna. “It’s more than that, though. I need to build something for myself, not just inherit something that I didn’t earn.”

Evelyn studied her for a long moment before closing her newspaper. “And what will you do instead?”

Luna hesitated, but only for the shortest of moments. This woman had always been there for her. Whether she appreciated it or not, whether or not they were different personalities, her grandmother had stepped up and been responsible when she didn’t have to be. And now she deserved more. More than being left, more than being fought, more than the old Luna had ever given her.

She deserved to be treated like a fellow adult, because that’s what they both were.

“I’m not sure,”

Luna said. “Maybe study something? Maybe build something for myself.”

For a second, Evelyn said nothing, then, unexpectedly, she nodded. “You’ve always been creative. Perhaps something in that sphere? You have excellent taste. Let me know if there’s any help you need, recommendations, that sort of thing.”

Luna’s eyes opened wider in surprise at the compliment. “Um, yes, absolutely. Thank you.”

“Think nothing of it,”

her grandmother said, opening up her newspaper again.

LUNA POURED THE tea and served Jan, who was sitting at the small kitchen table in the flower shop. The shop was officially closed for the night, but Luna had something to say. Or perhaps something to ask.

She sat down and took a deep breath. “I like working here.”

Jan laughed. “I should hope so, you’ve stuck around for long enough.”

“No, I mean, I really like it,”

said Luna, struggling to put into words something that she’d only just worked out herself. “I actually like coming in here every morning, I like working with flowers, I like arranging bouquets, I like working with you.”

“Well, flattery will get you everywhere,”

Jan said, still smiling. “But I’m glad you like it. I like having you around, to be honest. And people love your arrangements.”

“Good to know,”

Luna said, taking another breath. “So, I’ve been thinking… What if there’s a future for me here? Like, a real one?”

Jan leaned back in her chair, studying her. “Go on.”

Luna bit her lip for a second, her stomach churning with nerves. “Well, what if we expanded?”

she said. “Not just flowers, but interior design, bigger arrangements, making spaces feel alive. You’ve talked about expanding, I’ve heard you, and I know you’re interested in interior design and decorating too. So what if we actually did it?”

Jan’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Are you serious? You want in on this?”

Luna nodded. “But as a partner, not as a liability. I’d take out a bank loan to put in my share of the money for the company and we could use that to finance renovations and the like.”

“You really are growing up and getting all responsible, aren’t you?”

Jan said, exhaling and considering the proposition.

“What do you think?”

asked Luna anxiously.

“I think that we need to make business plans and we need to have a clear way forward, but in principle…”

Jan grinned at her. “In principle, I think that we should do it.”

Relief flooded Luna’s chest and Jan got up and squeezed her tight into a hug, and then insisted on opening a bottle of fizzy wine to celebrate, which meant that it was already dark by the time Luna left the flower shop.

She slowly walked back home, finding the house darkened and remembering that it was her grandmother’s bridge night. Closing the front door behind her, she saw a note propped up on top of a pile of papers on the side table.

Pausing for only a second, she picked up the note, which was clearly addressed to her, and absent-mindedly scanned through the papers on the table. Financial. Everything signed and dated today. Frowning, she opened up the note.

“You shouldn’t need my permission to access what is yours,”

it said. “Use the money as you see fit, I shan’t interfere. Though if you need guidance, I shall be happy to be of assistance.”

The note was signed by her grandmother. No love, no kisses, not even a ‘yours sincerely,’ just a name.

Luna grinned. It was such an Evelyn thing to do. How long had she fought for this money? And now, when she’d already turned it down, here was her grandmother handing it over without a single string attached.

Perhaps that was how it had to be, though. Perhaps she’d needed to give up the idea of the inheritance to really deserve it. And there was no denying that the money would come in useful to get renovations on the shop started.

She collected all the paperwork and took it up to her room, before taking a cool shower to try to dissipate some of the immense heat in the air.

Then she sat on her window ledge, what little breeze there was drying the rest of the water on her skin.

Stars stretched out above her, a reminder of how vast the world was, how many possibilities there were. She smiled. She’d found something, she was sure of that. Found a path, something she could believe in. She wasn’t going to run anymore. She had responsibilities now, and the word made her smile. No empty future.

But there was still something missing.

Someone missing.

She loved Mia, that was clear as day. She’d given up fighting that idea, given up pretending that she didn’t have feelings so deep that she couldn’t even explain them.

But the question remained. Could she really offer Mia the kind of life that she deserved? The life of stability and security that she would have had with Mikey, the kinds of things that Luna had only just started to grasp?

Her chest tightened at the thought.

She exhaled, breath stirring the still, hot air.

“I love her,”

she said, looking up into the sky at the stars. “But is love really enough?”

The question drifted unanswered as she watched the stars, searching for an answer that she wasn’t sure she was ready to find.