***
Lily was pleasantly surprised when she opened up the flat. There wasn’t much up there, and her dad had used the bedroom as an office, so the facilities weren’t too dusty. It was quite modern too, and she could easily move in, with a lick of paint and a few pieces of furniture. She looked out of the front window of the living room, which overlooked Foxley Street, and gasped. The view was amazing. She could see the fields beyond the few houses and streets dotted around, and although it was misty, she could see the top of Mayweather House too.
She drank her hot drink, watching the world go by, imagining herself living here. A space of her own. She could see a couple of people working in the fields nearby, and she wondered with a jolt whether one of them was Will. She tried to peer further, but movement on the street below caught her eye. She groaned loudly, grabbed her empty cup, and headed for the stairs.
Her mother was here. She felt like a naughty schoolgirl, being caught skiving off school. She locked up quickly, racing down the steps as fast as she dared. She was just heading into the shop when she heard her mother’s loud tones coming through the door. Poor Roger. When Lily walked in, willing her face to not betray her bizarre guilt, Lizzie was giving him tips on a floral centrepiece he was working on for the local hotel.
‘You see, dear, that colour just won’t pop as much as it could, using that colour ribbon. I would definitely change it for the yellow. Nice spring tones. Hello, darling!’ Her mother spied her and set off rapidly, grabbing her in a too tight hug. Lily couldn’t breathe momentarily as her mother squeezed her, and Roger pretended to hang himself with a piece of peach-coloured ribbon behind her back. Lily mouthed ‘sorry’ at him and he blew her a kiss in response. All was forgiven obviously. If they could survive this visit, of course.
‘Ow, Mum, you’re crushing me. Can I help you at all?’
Her mother released her slightly, and Lily felt her lungs fill again.
‘Well actually, dear, it’s how I can help you!’
Lily looked back at her with trepidation. The icy digits of dread were finger-walking up her spine. ‘Help me, how?’
‘Well,’ her mother said, busying herself with fluffing out her hair. ‘I thought I would come back to work!’
Lily’s mouth dropped open. Working with her mother again! Not a snowflake in hell. She glanced at Roger over her shoulder, and he was busy trying to catch flies with his own horrified expression. Lily took a step forward, taking her mother’s rather cold hands in her own.
‘Mum,’ she said softly, as you would speak to a tiger that had crossed your path unexpectedly. ‘I did love working with you, but … Love Blooms is kind of my thing now, and I have Roger …’
‘Oh Roger could get another job, dear! I could save you money. I wouldn’t need a wage as such.’ A flash of silver glinted in Lily’s vision, and she saw that Roger had picked up his shears and was stealthily walking up to her mother with a look that screamed bloody murder. She raised a hand to him, warning him with her eyes not to bludgeon her mother to death in the middle of the shop. Roger turned on his heel, scissors still in hand, and headed for the front door.
‘I am going to take my lunch now!’ he practically screamed as he stormed across the room and slammed the shop door shut behind him. His tone of voice made it sound like he was wanting to say something a lot less tactful and polite. Lily made a mental note to double his Christmas bonus next year, if only to reward him for not shivving anyone.
‘Mum,’ she tried again. ‘Bit rude, don’t you think? Roger works here now, and to talk like that in front of him was a bit impolite.’
Lizzie had warmed to the theme of the conversation now, Lily could tell, and she wasn’t one to be stopped easily. ‘Exactly, he WORKS here. I could help you out for a fraction of the cost. I know the business and I am family.’
Lily gripped her mother’s hand tighter. ‘I know, Mum, and I appreciate the gesture, but I need to be independent now, and do my own thing.’
Her mother was about to open her mouth again when Irvin walked in.
‘Morning, Lily, just thought I would come to see you. I had an i – oh, what are you doing here?’
Irvin stopped still, a paper bag in his hand. It was then that Lily noticed a similar bag sticking out of her mother’s handbag.
She was being used as a pawn yet again. Except this time, they had come to her work, her sanctuary from home, and they had come laden with bribes. Vanilla slices were her downfall, and the reason she was always a size 12 rather than the 10 that everyone coveted in magazines. They knew this, since she was the person they had raised in this world from scratch. Lily felt herself getting mad, but her parents were too busy circling each other like tigers to notice.
‘Hi, Dad,’ she said, trying to douse down the shake of anger in her voice. ‘What did you want?’
‘Er well,’ he said gruffly, and she let him dangle a little before she relented and saved him.
‘Did you want to come back to work, by any chance?’ Irvin’s face lit up and she wanted to cuddle him. Her dear old dad. He was struggling too, she knew that, but she hadn’t realized just how much till now.
Irvin Baxter was always the easier going of her two parents, the one who would blow off the routine to do something fun, while her mother looked on tutting and complaining about getting back to put the meat in the oven. They were both slowly driving her crazy, but as usual, it felt as though the switch had only just been flipped in her head, and she was noticing everything for the first time. She needed to change things, and fast. She looked from one parent to the other, and took a deep breath. She needed to stop being the passenger in her own life.
‘Mum, Dad. I love you both, but you can’t keep doing this to me.’
Her mother opened her mouth to object but Lily cut her off. She had to get this out now, or she would be shouted down as usual.
‘No, Mother, let me speak.’ Both Lizzie’s and Irvin’s eyes widened and they said nothing. Lily felt a little surge of confidence flicker through her. ‘I bought this business from you because I didn’t want to be handed something; I wanted something of my own. I worked hard to get it how I want, and I have big plans. I can’t have you two working here – it just won’t work.’
Irvin’s shoulders sagged and she knew that her father understood. She saw a look of shame cross his features, and she wanted to hug him tight again. Her mother was a different story. She looked positively ferocious, and Lily knew what she had to do.
‘I love you both, but I am a grown woman, with my own business. I need to build my own life too, separate from you two. Whatever is going on with you two, I can’t be in the middle any more. I just can’t. I’m sorry. That’s why I am moving out.’ Her mother looked ready to explode. Her dad looked like he was about to burst into tears.
‘This week,’ Lily added quickly. ‘Or sooner, if I can get my furniture organized.’ She risked looking at Lizzie, just to check whether or not her head was spinning around like a top. Her dad broke the silence thankfully, crossing the room to take his only child into his arms. She smiled, letting her dad envelop her. He smelt faintly of mints and suddenly she was four again and sitting on his knee in the shop, whilst he taught her about the different flowers and arrangements they used. She squeezed him tighter, and he pulled back to look at her.
‘I am proud of you, Lily, you know that, right?’
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak as she saw her dad dab at something in the corner of his eye. He pressed the paper bag gently into her hand and left the shop. Her mother, who had been frozen like an exhibit at a taxidermist convention till this point, suddenly came to life, nearly spiking her heels through the floor as she marched across to her handbag. Picking it up, she took out the paper bag and rammed her handbag onto the crook of her arm.
‘Mum,’ Lily started softly, trying to cushion the