How To Build A Flower Shop

Chapter FIVE

'Come on, chop-chop!'

It isn't so much as labour work as she'd please, but Bobbi smirks as she watches Roberto clear off the rust on the "Gracious Gardens" sign above the window.

She borrowed the ladder from next door, and whilst he swept the floor she went across the road to the store for a cleaning tool to remove rust. She asked one of the workers if she knew how to remove rust from metal and the woman suggested dipping a cloth in white vinegar and scrubbing at the metal, so that's what she bought.

She also bought a bin to put the swept up dirt in and a bucket she filled with water -she kindly asked next door if she could use their hose- to wash at the outside door and window, a job Roberto did before climbing the ladder and scrubbing at the letters.

Bobbi holds his jacket, her arms folded, as she watches him work. It amuses her to see him tired. She does want to redecorate her mom's shop, but she wants to see him do the first bit of work alone. See him sweat. He wipes his forehead with his arm and puts the cloth in his right hand.

Looking down at her, he says, 'Can I stop for a minute? My arm hurts.'

'Scrub with your right hand,' she suggests, nonchalant. Shields her eyes from the sun as she looks up at him.

'Why are you here? Tell me why you say I work from half-five to seven, set me rules and order me around? Like, I think I have an idea of what to do since you gave me lists. I don't understand why you waste your time with this. Do not you have a life?'

'I want to redecorate my mom's shop with you. It's something special to me, but I want you to realise that you haven't gotten off that easy first. Even if it is just cleaning.' Mumbles the last sentence.

The sun shines on his face at an angle, highlighting just how perfect his face is sculptured. His skin is flawless; tan, no freckles or acne, not even acne scars, and his light stubble makes him look mature. His defined jaw, in the angle the sun shines on him, is immaculately square and sharp. His pale grey eyes sparkle in the light and it almost looks like there's a hint of blue in them. He even has long eyelashes; Bobbi and other girls are envious of that. His nose is probably his prominent feature: long and up-turned in a cute way. His pink, long lips are a pouted shape. His hair is dishevelled as usual, but as usual the dishevelled hair suits him; the chocolate brown colour highlights under the sunlight.

He closes his eyes and rolls his shoulders, whilst he mumbles words in Italian, before looking down at Bobbi again.

'I sweep the whole floor and wipe down the counter, which is useless since you throwing it out--' that she did purposefully--'You make me wash the door and that big ass window that are new, so they didn't need to be cleaned! Give me-'

'They collected dust over time.' She smirks.

He looks down at her, arms crossed, unamused. 'I need a break.'

'Alright, you got fifteen minutes.' She takes a small step away from the ladder.

'Twenty.'

They negotiate over it for a whole minute until Bobbi gives in. Knows he won't give up, so she has an idea.

'How about, working five days a week here, you can take a fifteen minute break whenever you want? You call it and I'll allow it. Doesn't matter what you're doing at that moment, if you're tired you can call a break for fifteen minutes and get back to it. Sound good?'

Roberto moves his jaw from side to side in thought. 'It sounds so incredible, I think I'll take on that break now,' he says in a fake joyful voice. He wears a fake smile as he drops the cloth into the bucket, a cheerful spring to it. The bucket rests on the windowsill beside Bobbi and with that bit of arm into dropping the cloth, the water splashes out and onto her.