"Family doesn't always mean blood."
Chan's father had said this to her when she was saying goodbye to him. Veronica had been so taken aback by his words that she didn't know what to reply to that. The whole dinner had been a bittersweet affair for her. His parents were like him. Caring and welcoming. And while every personal question had felt like a blow, they had been nothing but kind in their replies.
She knew that nothing was embarrassing in the fact that she hadn't gone to a university after school. She hadn't lied when she had told Hannah that it hadn't been financially viable in her situation. Her mom barely made enough money to pay rent. Veronica had accepted this fact very early in her life that higher education wasn't possible in her situation. She had always been pragmatic and had harboured no secret desires for it either. But saying it out loud last Friday, in front of Chan and his family had made her feel small. Just for a moment.
"What flowers did you order from Felix's?" Martin's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
She found him looking down on her, holding a bunch of peonies in his hand. "Lilies and chrysanthemums. Why?"
"Do these look like lilies to you?" He gave a pointed look to the peonies in his hand.
She wondered if someone had slipped something in his coffee this morning. "No, Martin. They don't. I guess they sent over the wrong order. I can call and check."
"Yes please," He said, dropping the peonies at her desk. "And tell the guy on the phone that he should invest in a hearing machine if he wants to continue being in this business."
"I will, Martin," she replied sweetly. She picked up a peony and put it behind Martin's ear. "Goes so well with your shirt." He huffed out an angry breath and walked away. Veronica realized a second later that he hadn't removed the flower. Well, the next time he shouts at someone it would make for a hilarious image.
She told Manny to manage the front desk as she was going out to talk to the florist. The wedding they were hosting at the inn was in two weeks and despite the short window, the bride kept changing things at the last minute. Before lilies and chrysanthemums, it had been roses. The bride decided a week ago that she wanted a huge archway erected near the altar and that every piece of furniture in the wedding should be wrapped with flowers. Veronica and Martin had tried explaining the possibility of insects and bees getting attracted by too many floral decorations but the bride had simply told them to find a way around it.
Felix's flower shop was a fifteen-minute walk from the inn. Veronica took this opportunity to grab a cup of coffee before heading over. She went to the cafe Chan had taken her to, the Mudhouse and saw Han standing behind the counter.
His lips widened into a smile when he saw her come in. "What can I get you today, Veronica?"
"Coffee, please."
"So, how is it going?" He asked as she took a seat at the counter. The cafe was relatively empty during this time of the day. "Well, I have to go and make sure that Felix gets to keep his job as a florist so I decided to fuel up before that."
"Sounds intense," Han replied, passing her the coffee mug. "Where do you work?"
"At the Hawthorne Inn." Veronica took a sip from the mug.
"Fancy," he commented. "I often walk by that place. It is really beautiful. You guys host weddings and stuff right?"
"Small weddings," she replied. "Currently, I have to figure out how to stop insects and bees from infesting a wedding that would have truckloads of flowers."
"You can always hand out insect repellent sprays at the gate," Han said, leaning on hands against the counter.
Veronica had to swallow her laugh. "I will definitely run it past my boss." She could already see Martin's face in her mind. She might actually tell him that, just to see his reaction.
When her coffee was over, she paid and bid goodbye to Han. The walk to the flower shop was short but Veronica took her time to enjoy the crisp air. She loved the town in the fall. Some people had already started putting out their Halloween decorations. Pumpkins and rubber bats hung from the doors. Even the air smelled different.
She entered the flower shop unable to keep herself from looking at the flowers Felix had on display. The shop was relatively new and there were other flower shops in the vicinity but Felix offered good quality at cheaper costs. It also helped that he was always super nice to everyone. She spotted him working the cash register and made her way to him.
"Felix my man," she said, making him look up.
"Ah, Veronica, I didn't know you were coming over," he said, his voice like a deep resonating basso profundo.
"Well," she started. "There's been a small issue with the flower order I placed last week."
He scrunched up his eyebrows. He had bleached his hair a bright silver, whereas the last time she had seen him, it had been a deep blue. "What's wrong?"
"See, I ordered lilies and chrysanthemums," Veronica explained. "And you sent over peonies instead of lilies."
He opened his mouth in surprise, flipping through the pages of his register until he found the one he was looking for. "Oh, I am so sorry. I wrote down lilies. I hired this new guy to help me with the orders, maybe he screwed up. I will make sure you get the lilies by tomorrow."
She held up her hand to calm him down. "It is okay. I just wanted to be the one to tell you before Mount Martin erupted on this shop."
Felix winced. "Was Martin pissed?"
"Well, Martin gets pissed if you breathe too close to him so I wouldn't worry too much about that."
He laughed and walked away from the counter. Picking up a pink rose he gave it to her. "Thank you for understanding. And I am genuinely sorry for the mix-up."
Veronica took the rose, her heart swelling inside her chest. "Oh, thank you so much."
She walked out of the shop. It was because she was so busy looking at the rose Felix had given her that she ran into someone.
"I am sorry," she started apologizing. "I wasn't looking." She looked up to see who she had run into. It was Diana.
"Hi," Diana greeted, startled. "Veronica, wasn't it?"
Veronica blinked, unsure if Diana truly forgot her name or was just being passive-aggressive. "Yeah. I am sorry I wasn't paying attention."
"It is okay," Diana replied, sneakily gazing over Veronica. "Fancy running into you though."
"I work at the Hawthorne Inn, there were some issues with our flower supplier," she explained. "I was just here to sort that out." Diana was dressed in a beautiful yellow sundress and yellow cardigan and held shopping bags in her hands. "You were shopping?"
Diana looked down at the bags and said, "Oh yeah, ever since coming back from my Europe trip I feel like none of my old clothes look good on me anymore. So, I decided to give myself a little treat."
"Oh yeah, Channie told me about your trip. I bet it was amazing."
Veronica watched if Diana would react to the nickname. She assumed only Chan's mom called him that. She watched her gamble pay off as Diana's nostrils flared a little. "Oh yeah, really beautiful," she gritted out. "Have you ever been to Europe?"
"I haven't been that lucky yet," Veronica replied, pleased with herself. "Well, it was really nice running into you but I should get back to the inn."
â¤ï¸
Veronica was just about to start making dinner when her doorbell rang. It was Cassie holding a bottle of Merlot.
"Oh, well." Veronica grinned, letting her in. "Isn't it Amphictyonis, my dear old friend."
"I had the longest day known to the human race. Line up all the people in China and my day was longer than that." Cassie said, making her way to the kitchen and taking out two glasses.
"I made some chocolate mousse cheesecake yesterday, it's in the fridge."
Cassie took out the cake and batted her eyelashes at Veronica. "You take such good care of me. Will you marry me, Ms. Lovejoy?"
Veronica took out a fork from the drawer and offered it to her. "Sure, Sweetie. So why was your day longer than the population of China?"
Cassie leaned against the counter and took a bite from the cheesecake. "Classes. Stupid people. Global warming," she replied in between the bites. "Pumpkin, my baby, hello."
Veronica watched as Cassie picked up her cat and started cooing at her. Pumpkin for her part was thoroughly enjoying the attention.
Veronica finished loading the dishwasher. "Okay, let's go to my room." As if her cat understood what Veronica had said, she jumped down from Cassie's grip and started walking towards Veronica's room.
Cassie settled on the chair next to her bed. "So, dish?"
Veronica took a sip of the wine and leaned back into the pillows. Pumpkin jumped up on the bed and made herself into the most perfect loaf Veronica had ever seen. She quickly took a photo.
"Absolutely!" She said, setting her attention back to her best friend.
Cassie took a big gulp of her drink. "My dad has invited me to his house for dinner next week."
"He did?" Veronica asked, raising her eyebrows in wonder. "What do you think it's about?"
"Pretty sure he's gonna tell me that he's getting married again," Cassie explained. "I wonder if the girl is gonna be older than me this time?"
Veronica picked up Pumpkin and put her in her lap. "Did you know he was seeing someone?"
Cassie let out an amused laugh. "You know how much my dad loves to keep in apprised of his life events. The last I heard from him was that he was going to court for something and he wanted me to be his character witness. Which I totally ignored."
"What was he on trial for?" She asked.
"Who knows?" Cassie waved her hand in the air. "Extortion? Selling his soul to the devil? Can you go to court for being an asshole?"
Veronica shrugged. "If you find a good lawyer."
Neither of them spoke for a while. Veronica had met Cassie's mother, Barbara, once. She was visiting Cassie and had invited Veronica to dinner with them. She took them to a three-star Michelin restaurant. Veronica ate some of the weirdest food she had ever eaten. The whole time they were there, Barbara just talked about the new implants she had gotten and the new guy she was seeing. She didn't ask Cassie one thing about her. When Veronica told her that because Cassie was studying computer science she had been able to help her when the computer at the inn got infected with a virus. Barbara had just looked at her daughter and said, "That's what you are studying?" Veronica still remembered Cassie's face at that exact moment. Heartbreak was always hard to hide. Her whole face crumpled. It was the last time Cassie met with her mother, as far as Veronica knew.
She had yet to meet Victor, Cassie's dad, but everything she had heard about that man pointed in the negative direction.
"So," Veronica said, draining her glass of wine. "Are you gonna go?"
"Of course," Cassie replied with a sly smile. "Fancy hotel, free alcohol, hot men and women to make out with. You should come too! It would be the perfect getaway. You can even invite Chan."
Veronica had to laugh. "Let's see if he's even getting married before making bracelets and picking out bikinis. But I have to talk to you about Chan."
Cassie wiggled her eyebrows, pouring herself some more wine. "Oo, trouble in paradise?"
Veronica just shook her head and took a deep breath. "Well, let me lay out some facts."
She explained the whole situation to Cassie starting with their first encounter at Mano's. She explained how she promised Charlotte not to tell Selena about her drinking adventures. Cassie's eyes kept getting bigger and bigger but she did not interrupt. She explained why she and Chan had decided to keep up with their pretence which was when she finally decided to speak up.
"Wait, so you are fake dating to make his ex jealous?"
Veronica nodded. "And to keep Selena from sending me on any more blind dates. I am tired."
Her phone buzzed in her hand. It was a message from Chan.
Are you home?
"Man, I should stop believing what I think I see when I am wasted," Cassie commented.
Veronica mumbled in agreement as she typed out: Yes, why?
"I really thought you guys were on a date."
Buzz me in.
"But I was also high as fuck."
That was all his text read. She sent a bunch of question marks which he didn't reply to.
"Veronica? Hello?" Cassie called out. "Who are you texting?"
She looked up from her phone. A confused frown on her face. "It's Chan. He's downstairs."
"He's downstairs? Well, buzz him in." Cassie told her, putting her glass down and heading to the front door.
When the doorbell rang she pressed the buzzer to open the main gate and waited for him at the front door. She watched him rush up the flight of stairs, already grinning. Veronica was surprised to find her lips spreading into a smile automatically. She tried to wipe it off but couldn't.
"What are you doing here?" she asked letting him in the apartment.
"I have-" he broke off when he saw Cassie standing in the hallway. "Hi, Cassie!" He put a hand around Veronica's waist assuming that they had to continue pretending in front of her best friend.
"It's okay Chan, I told her," Veronica informed it. His hand around her waist was gone as soon as she said it.
"Oh, okay. Good."
"Your secret is safe with me." Cassie winked at him.
"So," Veronica turned to him. "What are you doing here?"
His whole body was radiating excitement. His glee was almost contagious. She liked how the smile lit up his entire face. It was almost like looking in the sun. Hurtful but illuminating.
"I have something for you?" He said and Veronica narrowed her eyes.
She took a step back. "Something for me?"
Cassie moved right next to her, grinning. "What is it?"
He pulled something out of his back. At first, all Veronica could make out was a flat rectangle package. Then her two brain cells did the math and she realised it was a vinyl record of Everyone Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We by The Cranberries. She let out a small choked scream. Then she noticed the black etching at the bottom of it and she made a sound that started like a whale dying.
"Is this what I think it is?" she managed to speak out, her voice strained.
He nodded enthusiastically. "It's signed by Dolores."
She squealed, grabbed the vinyl and ran a hand over the signature like it was a sacred object. Her heart was hammering in his chest. "This is one of the most epic things I have ever seen."
"How did you get this, Chan?" Cassie asked.
"Well, the father of a guy in my class owns this really cool record store. Bands I have never even heard of," he explained. "He asked me if I wanted to see and of course, I wanted to. And as I was perusing through the records, I noticed this. And I saw all those albums in your room the other day and I knew I had to get it for you."
Veronica stared at him. "For me? Oh no, Chan. This must be so expensive."
"Veronica," he started, raising his hand to stop her protests. "I knew this would make you happy so I got it. Please, just take it."
Veronica didn't know how to feel. It was probably one of the most thoughtful presents she had ever received. She felt her throat choking up as she hugged the vinyl against her chest. While a big part of her brain just wanted to keep saying thank you to him. A small, more familiar and louder part of her brain wouldn't shut up about how this gift was too much. Why would he want to get her something out of the blue if he didn't expect anything in return? Strings. Everything came with strings. She wanted to scream at that part to shut up and let her enjoy this.
"Where did you say this store was?" Cassie asked.
"On Maple Street, next to the dry cleaning store."
"Chan," Veronica finally managed to say.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you so much." Taking a few steps forward, she hugged him trying to convey how much this meant to her.
The hug took him by surprise but soon he loosely wrapped his hand around her waist. "You're welcome. I am just glad that you took it." He patted her gently.
"Do you want to get dinner? I was about to make some," Veronica said, moving away. She needed to analyse what this gift meant and what she wanted it to mean. More importantly, she needed to look at the signature for at least thirty minutes.
"Oh yeah," Cassie said. "Join us. We can even watch a movie."
"Are you sure?"
"Channie," Veronica teased and watched in amazement as Chan blushed. He liked her when she called him that. She put away that little snippet of information for later examination.
"Okay, but how about we get pizza and watch a movie?"
Veronica shrugged. "Pizza sounds amazing."
"What should we watch?" Cassie asked, linking her arm through Chan's.
"I am okay with anything."
The three of them walked into her room. Veronica placed the vinyl record carefully on her table, admiring the album. Chan and Cassie were debating in the background about how no one could ever watch too much of The Notebook.
"The notebook?" Veronica joined the conversation, turning around. "You made me watch it last week. Not again Cassie."
Cassie gasped and put a hand on her heart. "Betrayed by my own best friend. I am an island."
Veronica rolled her eyes at the melodrama. "How about something none of us have watched?"
"That will take forever to decide," Chan commented. "How do you like your pizza?"
"Extra cheesy," Veronica and Cassie said at the same time.
"Since Chan is joining us, he should get the movie selection privileges," Veronica commented, trying to come up with some semblance of protocol. "Chan, you are in charge of picking the movie."
"And in charge of adding some vegetables to the pizza," he commented with a low chuckle. "Let's see, I really want to watch those Final Destination movies."
Veronica's jaw fell open as she and Cassie shared a look. "You are telling me you have never seen any Final Destination movie?"
He just shook his head and put his phone back in his pocket. "Okay, pizza will be here in thirty minutes."
"Oh," Cassie squealed out in happiness. "You have such education in front of you. Get ready for an epic saga full of eccentricity, gore-
"-and a lifetime full of trauma," Veronica added, grinning.
"Well," Chan grinned back at her. "Sounds perfect."