How To Build A Flower Shop

Chapter TWENTY FIVE

Immediately when Jamelia she gets home from her date, she calls up Bobbi to tell her all about it. They drove a little out of town to play mini golf and went to her favourite place to eat. She says they really hit it off given that they had real time to each other instead of a two minute talks in the corridors before class or texting on their phones. There wasn't any awkward silences, which she loved and was relieved about, and she says it was the perfect date for her that she couldn't believe it went so well.

Bobbi teases through the phone, 'Aren't you glad I stopped you from cancelling the date?'

'You bet! I owe you big time!' she beams on the other line, still on a high from the date. 'Seriously, thanks for stopping me from almost doing something stupid. I really owe it to you.'

'I'm gonna hold you on that!' On Bobbi's end she hears Jamelia whine, almost as if she regrets saying it because she knows Bobbi would want something big, a typical thing for a friend to do.

**
'I feel like a Billy-no-mates,' Bobbi says jokingly to her dad, who is getting ready to go out with Carlos. 'Friday night I stay in and Jamelia is on a fantastic date, and now it's Saturday night and I'm in again but it's my dad going out this time.' She smiles at her dad, ecstatic he's socialising again.

'No you're not, doll.' He understands the term as she recently started watching a British TV show on Netflix, so she has picked up on some UK slang. She's obsessed with it that she started using these terms around her dad and Jamelia only. Lucas gives her a side look as he adds, 'You're a Bobbi-no-mates.' A cheeky grin spreads along his lips as he wipes down this navy blue sweater.

She guffaws and her father soon joins.

Lucas turns away from the mirror above the fireplace and to Bobbi, his eyebrows raised expectantly. 'How do I look?'

'Amazing. Carlos is a lucky man,' she teases, and Lucas' head tilts to the side, a vacant expression on his face. Joking aside, she says, 'You look great. It's okay to be nervous, but try not to be. You'll have a good time.'

As he wipes down his jeans from nerves, something Bobbi got from her father, Lucas frowns. 'I know. It's just, after all these years, I bet I'm going to be awkward.'

Bobbi gets up from the couch, places her book on the coffee table, and stands in front of him to smooth down his shirt. 'Try not think about that. You never know, women might be there and come talk to you.'

Lucas' eyebrows shoot up and he backs away from her. 'Whoa, now doll, one step at a time. Don't go on about dating. I'll feel like I'd be cheating on your mom.'

At his words, she tilts her head to the side with her eyebrows knit together, a pout on her lips, and she feels sudden anger towards herself. She wishes she remembers more about her mother. Wishes she remembers something her mother said to her, let her know how much she loved her father so she can tell him everything will be okay. That it's okay to start again. Bobbi envies her father and uncle for knowing her much longer than she had. The only things she has of her mother are the photos on the walls, the stories, and her Prom dress. She doesn't have real memories or real time with her. Bobbi takes a deep breath to let go of the anger she held in, and gives her dad the pep talk he needs.

'She'll be happy, you know.' Her voice comes out stronger than she thought it would. Her throat is already sore from wanting to burst into tears. 'I'm pretty sure mom is smiling down at you right now, seeing you go out and making friends, instead of being stuck in the house all day doing work. I... I m-may not remem...ber her...' her voice is brittle as tears line her eyes, her stomach pulling at her. She swallows down the lump in her throat. 'But I know that she wouldn't like to see you alone and would want you to be happy. I'm not saying to forget her– no, never...' Her throat strains and she can't go on.