A Bouquet of Love by Janice Thompson

Author:Janice Thompson [Thompson, Janice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042040, FIC027020, Florists—Fiction, Weddings—Fiction, Love stories, Christian ­fiction
ISBN: 9781441245175
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2014-07-06T16:00:00+00:00

16

Babes on Broadway

You might be Greek if every Sunday afternoon of your childhood was spent visiting Papou and Yia Yia or extended family.

On Sunday morning we went back to Scarlet’s church. I loved every minute, especially the worship service. Scarlet led the songs, her voice as pure as angels singing from on high. Armando sat on a stool to her left, playing the guitar. They sounded great together. Maybe one of these days I’d work up the courage to ask if I could sing along with them. My years on the praise team back in Santa Cruz had afforded me plenty of time to grow my skills.

Still, I’d better not ask Scarlet about it just yet. After all, I didn’t know if we’d be staying at this church. And if she met my family, she might just mention that I’d been to her bakery after visiting Parma John’s. And heaven forbid she should wish my mother a happy birthday. Wouldn’t that just be the icing on the cake?

I scooted out of the service quickly and followed along behind my siblings as we made our way to our aging minivan. I glanced wistfully at another family as I overheard their lunch plans. How great would it be to go out to dinner on a Sunday afternoon? Hang out? Not work?

Wouldn’t happen in the Pappas family, especially with the new business. After all, Babbas had made plans for us to spend the day filming the new commercial using some local teenage boy he’d hired as a videographer.

When the teen canceled at the last minute, Mama tried to convince my father that we should rest. “Even the Lord took one day off, Niko,” she said as she took her seat in the van.

“He could afford to. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.” My father gestured for my younger siblings to get into the van. “My cattle—er, lambs—are mortgaged. We will rest when the new shop is stable. In the meantime you will call Athena to set up a plan for her visit. The kids and I will do inventory.”

And so, after a quick lunch—food from the shop, of course—we dove right in. Mama called Athena for the third time in as many weeks, and we “kids” got to work alongside Babbas. Turned out the inventory didn’t take as long as we’d expected. By midafternoon I found myself curled up in bed with my sisters snoozing in their beds nearby. Though I tried valiantly to read a book, I found my eyes drifting shut.

A knock at the door roused me.

“Come in.”

The door eased open a few inches and Darian peeked inside.

“Hey.” I smiled. “What’s up?”

He took a couple of steps into the room and noticed the other girls were sleeping. “I need some advice,” he whispered.

“That’s priceless. You’re the one who needs to be dishing it out, not me.”

“Not this time.”

I could tell from the concerned look on his face that something had him troubled, so I gestured for him to come in the room.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.