The Accidental Florist

The next day, four big boxes appeared in her driveway.
    She assumed they were the pieces of the shed. If not, she couldn’t imagine what else would come in such big boxes. She called Shelley and told her to get the boys ready and asked if she had a box cutter with a fresh blade. She wasn’t surprised that Shelley had one handy. The boys were excited. They’d already dug up the grass and leveled the area where it would sit. Todd had found an old painting tarp with pink paint speckles. Whatever was it doing in the garage? Jane wondered. Nothing in the house had ever been painted pink. They’d put it on the ground and set all the bags of screws and handles in the right order.
    Jane and Shelley decided to watch the process. They took two patio chairs out on the lawn. The boys moved the table and the umbrella for them, in a bit of a temper because it was slowing them down.
    The boys did a good job. They, unlike Jane, read all the directions before starting. Jane never read the instructions until she realized she’d done something wrong.
    Late in the afternoon, she called Mel and said, “I’m making chili this evening. I know it’s winter food but I have a craving for it. I want to show you my new shed as well.“
    “A new shed?“
    “To clear out the other side of the garage for your car,“ she explained. “All the big stuff is already in there and most of the rest is going out in the trash.“
    She didn’t mention the pictures she’d found of Mike and Katie going camping as little kids with their father. They grabbed at her heart. He was a good dad. Just not a faithful husband.
    Mel looked a bit wrung out when he arrived for dinner. “Your mother?“ she asked.
    “Yup. I won’t even tell you what she said.“
    “It was probably as bad as what my mother-in-law said to me yesterday. Forget it. I’m sticking to my guns about the rules. No matter how mad your mother is, does she understand that I mean it?“
    “She does. But I need to reinforce it several times before the wedding.“
    After the chili was chowed down, she called for Todd and John to come show off their work. Even Mel was impressed. “Now let’s see the garage.“ He was pleased.
    Jane said, “Wait for what will impress you more. Let’s sit outside for a while.“
    When Mel had carried the table, umbrella, and chairs back to the patio, and they’d taken their coffee cups and some store-bought chocolate chip cookies to nibble, Jane sprang her plan on Mel.
    “I’m building you an office just behind the dining room.“
    “Jane, you can’t do that. You don’t know how, in the first place, and it would be too expensive. You could just clear out that big closet-sized sewing room.“
    “It’s too small. And where would I put my sewing machine?“
    “When did you last use it?“
    “Oh, I think it was around 1923.“
    That made Mel laugh again. He hadn’t even smiled earlier.
    “I’ve consulted Uncle Jim. He put in a room for his retirement hobbies. He knows who to ask. As for the expense, consider it a long-term wedding gift. You would feel too guilty to ever leave me.“
    “Jane, quit joking. It would cost the earth.“
    “Mel, I don’t think you realize how much money I have. When I married the first time, my husband was a one-third owner of the family pharmacy. They were about to go under. It was a rental and the owner raised their rent by half again what it had been. I used a fairly large inheritance I’d received to help them get a better location.“
    “That was good of you,“ Mel admitted.
    “Not really. If the business had gone belly-up my husband would have lost his job. Anyway, he wrote a will in which it said that if he died before I did, he wanted his third of the business profits to go to me for all time. And he did die. Running off to meet his bimbo on an icy night.“
    “You never told me that part,“ Mel said. “You just said it was a car accident.“
    “I don’t tell many people. Only my kids and Shelley know. And the kids don’t know why he was out that night and never will. So the upshot of this long story is that the family pharmacy has spread like a veritable plague. There are Jeffry pharmacies all over the Chicago area, and they’re opening two in St. Louis this month and one in Indianapolis. I still get my third share of the profits. And they’re substantial. In short, I can afford to build out a new room where you can have lots of space, lots of light, and all your stuff. And if you don’t