He Said He Would Be Late by Justine Sullivan

Author:Justine Sullivan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.

Type:     CASH

Subtotal:     $200.

‘Thank you for supporting local business!’

‘THANK YOU!’

Two hundred dollars is a fairly expensive bouquet, I think. But then again, Thurston Flowers is pretty pricey.

There is no other visible information regarding the arrangement that was purchased—whether it was a summery combination of lavender-hued hydrangea with curving stems of lysimachia, or two dozen long-stemmed red roses.

Were they a birthday present? A new baby gift? A “congratulations on your recent promotion” bouquet?

When you think your husband might be cheating on you, details matter. Context is everything.

I bite my lip. How could I figure out what this purchase was for?

Cash payment made it impossible to track through our bank statement, and I couldn’t very well ask Arno. He’d want to know why I was snooping through the trash like some sort of dumpster-diving rat.

Could I call Thurston’s? Ask one of the managers if someone named Arno Bennett purchased a flower arrangement last week, and if so, what it was?

I shudder.

No, that wouldn’t work either, for a number of reasons. Number one, they might ask for my name and remember me. We purchased nearly fifteen thousand dollars in flowers from them for our seaside wedding: sculptural rose displays on every table; monstera fronds and elephant ear centerpieces; a full-on canopy of greenery above the hors d’oeuvres; take-home succulents and terrariums for every guest. We’d even been featured on their website: Arno and I, entwined beneath hanging branches of flowering cherry blossoms, rosy-cheeked and tipsy, as the Atlantic Ocean thundered its raucous applause on the shoreline.

Secondly, if Arno just walked in, waited for his flowers, and paid in cash, it’s unlikely that whoever rang him up caught his name.

I scratch at my hairline, still unused to my newly short locks. It’s frustrating not being able to throw my hair into a ponytail or messy bun when feeling overwhelmed: a small act of control I now lack. I settle on the next-best form of sleuthing: I run back into my office, where my laptop sits, patiently waiting for my return like an old friend. I Google Thurston Flowers and peruse all of their current products arranged by occasion: Anniversary, Birthday, Congratulations, Get Well, Housewarming, Love and Romance, New Baby, Thank You, and Sympathy.

It takes a long time to scroll through all of the “Over $100” options, which have ambiguous names like “Dahlia Daydream,” “Berry Blush,” and “Violet Enchantment.” Many of the arrangements appear in multiple categories. It doesn’t seem right that you can purchase “White Rose Hedge” for both the birth of a child and the death of a friend’s parent.

After an hour of looking at dizzying arrays of baby’s breath and sunflower sculptures, I come up empty-handed. I have no better idea of what Arno might have purchased than before I logged on. If anything, I feel even more flummoxed. Even if I call the florist, and he says Arno purchased the design of the month, it could mean any number of things. I only know that whatever it was wasn’t for me.

A flash of pain at my temples signals an impending migraine.

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.