Penny Royals (Grand Opening) -OPEN-
WHO: Penny Nichols, OPEN
WHERE: Penny Royals florist shop
WHEN: Mid-morning
It had been a busy week. Even though it was her shop, Penny had tried to stay out of the way of the people who'd volunteered to set up the shop for her. There was so much to do... so she picked out paint colors, wrote up a list of supplies and merchandise to order, and drew up a simple floor plan. Just being out in the sun had been pleasing, if a little bit overwhelming after so long underground, and then trapped in a room for who knows how long.
Finally, the shop was ready to open. She'd tied a length of ribbon across the doors and then cut it herself with a pair of trimming scissors, as a little ceremony - so that it would feel 'real'.
Then she'd stripped off the ribbon and thrown it away, because the dangling ends bothered her.
After putting everything out where it belonged and setting up a cheery display in the shop window (a low planter full of succulents next to an earthenware vase full of irises and daffodils), Penny filled up her watering can and started the daily routine of watering the plants and checking the soil in the pots.
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Arienne entered the flower shop, looking around and smiling as she saw the blooms within view. "Good morning." she said, addressing Penny as she headed over towards the woman. "This place seems to have shaped up beautifully. I merely saw the floor plan you'd drawn up, I couldn't wait to come check it out personally." she told her. "It looks lovely." While she knew her husband was doing the equivalent of glad handing the locals on the journals, she had a few stops to make herself in other areas of town, in person. She offered her hand. "I'm Arienne." she introduced herself. "And you're Penny, I believe?"
A small bell above the door let out a quiet, soothing chime when Arienne walked in. Penny looked up at it, then at the visitor. "Hi," she offered almost shyly, with a gentle wave of the tin watering can. "Thanks, I can't believe they did such a good job in only a week. The construction crews and volunteers really did all the work - I just helped a little." Penny's eyes flickered to the outstretched hand, and the young woman seemed to hesitate for a moment before reaching out, shaking it lightly, and then letting go. "Yes, I'm Penny. Nice to meet you, Arienne."
Penny turned to put the watering can down on the counter, turning the handle and spout to align parallel with the edge of her workspace. "I don't have a lot of cut flowers... I really like to sell them potted. It seems nicer to them. But I have some roses I was going to give out as opening-day gifts, if you'd like one," she offered, motioning to a cooler that contained several colors of tea rose, cut and arranged individually.
"So you're pleased with everything then?" Ari asked, smiling as if this news was what she'd been seeking. "I'm glad that you're satisfied, that everything's to your specifications." She smiled again. "I would love one. But I would also love some plants. I find a house isn't quite a home unless it has some life in it. Do you have anything you could recommend for me?" she asked, turning her attention onto Penny. She looked open and like she wanted any advice the young woman could provide for her.
"I'm as happy as I can be," Penny smiled in return, shifting from foot to foot. Anything was better than the experiments. "I feel the same way, really. They make a house seem like home." The blonde walked toward a round display of leafy green houseplants. "There are plenty of types that have just foliage, and don't really flower often enough to be considered floral. They're nice, but a little uninteresting. My favorites are the succulents - they're easy to take care of and look interesting too."
Penny picked up a mid-sized plant, about ten inches tall, with smooth brown stalks and round, flat, podlike leaves. "Jade plants are especially nice, if you like that sort of thing. I have a few in my house. They just look friendly, and they don't like to be watered too often. If you keep one in good conditions, they produce tiny pinkish-white flowers shaped like stars." She held it carefully, where Arienne could look closely at the smooth, jade-colored leaves from which the plant got its name.
Arienne leaned closer, smiling as she looked at the plant. "I think I have the perfect place for a plant like this in my living room." she decided. "I'll take it. Also, I was thinking about a few starter plants as well. Something that might make a nice gift. I'd sort of like to have a few, there's a lot of people in town that I think could use a little something in their lives that isn't quite so..." she paused as if she needed to cast about for the appropriate word. "...manufactured." she landed on. "A lot of the official people around are stuffy, they're forgetting the human face here. And if I can combat that in even small ways I'd like to. And your shop I think is wonderful to have in town, and perfect for that."
Arienne leaned closer, and Penny leaned back a mere inch before remembering herself. No, it's okay. She's here to help. It's not underground - there's room to breathe here. "I... that's why I wanted to open a florist's in town, instead of waiting until I got back home. In addition to helping myself," she confessed. "It's a nice place, but it feels a little unreal."
A tall display to her right contained about two dozen small plants in rounded terracotta pots. "These are nice for gifts... aloe vera, tiny palm, the spiky-looking ones with with orange-red centers are bromeliads, the pretty pink flowers are baby azaleas, and the large leaves with very light centers are dieffenbachia." Penny did a little mental math while holding the jade a little closer to her chest. "Mm... the jade is 250 roubles, and the little gift plants are all 100 roubles each, whichever you like. I think." She had the vague feeling that perhaps she was undercharging, but it didn't matter - she hadn't paid very much at all for these plants. A sympathetic distributor had practically given them to her, anyway. "Um, I have the trolley in the back. If you'd like to use it."
Arienne paused and then stepped back, looking worried. "I'm sorry--am I making you uncomfortable?" she asked, as if very concerned about that. "I didn't mean to. Apologies, I'll keep my distance, if that would help." She looked like she was very upset about having possibly offended Penny.
"Anything you're charging, I can get it paid for, could I get things packed up and collected tomorrow? I can probably send my husband down to get them."
Penny had the good grace to blush. "Sorry," she murmured, then cleared her throat. "I was in the bunker experiment. There was very little privacy... I still have a weird thing about personal space." Yeah, that was putting it mildly.
"I can have everything ready for you tomorrow, no problem." She seemed happier when talking about her business. "It won't take long at all, you could actually have them in about an hour if you liked. Of course tomorrow is fine too." Penny made a mental note: if she was going to have that much time to prepare, she should print out care cards for the different plants and attach them to the pots.
"I'm very sorry." Arienne said, voice dropping slightly, a softer tone. "I will keep my distance, please don't apologize to me over it. You've been through more than enough, you definitely don't need to say anything to me over it." She gave Penny a light sort of smile. "You shouldn't have to apologize for anything that happened with you to anyone, period." she added.
"Tomorrow should be fine, and I'd love to get enough for a lot of people. I'll be able to cover whatever it is you want to set up for me, I trust your judgment." Then she smiled. "Do you have stickers, or cards that could go with them, with your name and business information on it? I would appreciate everyone knowing where the plants came from. You'll deserve credit."
Nodding, Penny smiled tightly, gratefully, for Arienne's ability to simply accept her problem. "I... yeah." She shouldn't have to apologize. But it was still her nature much of the time. "I'm still waiting on the sticker and business cards to come in. But I was planning on printing out little cards to let whoever gets one of the plants know how to take care of it. I can put the shop name on them if you think that's a good idea." Penny didn't care much either way if people knew where they came from - after all, her shop was the only florist in town to her knowledge, and if people wanted to buy houseplants they would probably come here anyway. Right?
"I'll have the moving trays ready tomorrow with everything all prepared to be picked up. If you or your husband could return the trays to me when you're done that would be great - no rush though. You can bring them back when the shop's open or just leave them at the front door if it's more convenient for you." Nobody was likely to steal them, she thought, and smiled.