Meeting the Flower Girl: A Forward Jump in TimeTanz yawned and turned over in bed as the alarm started blaring. It would read 6:11 in big angry numbers if he bothered to take his head out from under his pillow to glance at it.
“It’s too early.” He grumbled to no one in particular.
The ten year old could hear his dad’s brother rummaging around outside while getting ready for work. Neil had to leave soon to open the restaurant. Shiri was most likely still in bed where he would stay until Tanz either jumped on him like he did every morning, or he smelled breakfast cooking. Food and violence were the only things that would get his father into the world of the living.
There was a knock on Tanz’s door as he threw back the sheet allowing the cold morning air to wash over him.
“I’m leaving now. Breakfast is on the counter for whenever you guys get up.” Neil said through the door as Tanz wiped away the sleep from his eyes.
“ ‘k.” Tanz muttered back intelligently as he looked under the bed for where he dropped Monkey last night.
Monkey was his most prized possession besides Shiri. Thought someone doesn’t usually view a parent as an object, but Shiri was more like a dog in the sense that he needed a keeper to stay out of trouble.
Pulling on a clean looking sweater off the ground Tanz heard the front door slam and lock shut. Neil had just left to go open the café. Now Tanz just needed to take his own shower, wake up Shiri and eat breakfast before 8:30 when they had to leave to get to the café right before it opened for the day.
The café that Neil and Shiri worked at was owned by their older brother Kent. But he recently got married and was on his honeymoon so he left the two brothers, Shiri and Neil, in charge.
Since both of the men had to work today Tanz had to go with them because he would get too lonely staying at the apartment by alone.
Humming to himself Tanz grabbed Monkey from where he fell under this bed the night before and placed him gently on the bed before he bolted out of his room and down the hall to where Shiri was sleeping.
Tanz smiled slowly as he opened the door and took a flying leap onto the bed. This happened every morning yet Shiri acts surprised every time.
All was silent in the apartment complex until a scream and a laugh shattered it, startling people a block in each direction before they rolled their eyes and went back to their business.
- ~ - ~ -
The café Shiri worked at was nestled in between another restaurant and a newly opened flower shop.
The closed sign on the café window was still flipped when Shiri unlocked the door and let Tanz in ahead of him.
Shiri yawned as he waved to Neil, who was fussing with the tables, and walked into the back to get changed. Shiri didn’t get dressed for work at the apartment when he was half awake, he instead waited until he got into the café to put on his uniform. If he did he would look just like Tanz did, the kid was wearing a green sweater inside out and a pair of pants that were so wrinkled that they couldn’t have come from any other surface but the floor.
So Shiri tended to leave his uniform at work so he could get dressed when he was more then semi conscious.
Neil was still washing tables when Tanz took his spot in the back of the restaurant. Since he spent much more of his free time here in the café he was given his own table closest to the kitchen so he could be monitored even when the café was at it’s busiest.
Tanz always brought a coloring book and something to work on when he spent the day at the café. He usually worked on the homework that Neil and Shiri got from the book to keep him updated on his studies.
The only thing that was different about today was that it was the grand opening to the flower shop right next door to the café.
- ~ - ~ -
Tanz hummed as he danced with the trash bag until he got bored and just threw it into the dumpster behind the café. Unbeknownst to Tanz he had acquired an audience to his amazing ballet with the black garbage bag.
“What are you doing?” A small cut through Tanz’s humming.
“Ahh!” Tanz squeaked in surprise as he dropped the trash bag when he was about to go into a dramatic dip.
Luckily the trash bag didn’t rip, but Tanz wasn’t paying attention to that. His eyes were for the girl staring at him from the back step of the flower shop.
She was petite with blond and auburn curls framing her freckle laden face. She could be no older then Tanz himself, the girl might have even been a year or two younger.
She giggled at his staring and Tanz realized that is he hadn’t already dropped the trash bag, it would have plunged to the ground when he heard that melodic voice. It was like a thousand bells ringing in unison.
Tanz felt his cheeks heat up as the girl giggled again before she went back into her shop.
He didn’t know how long he stood there staring at the now closed door, but when he finally came back to the real world Tanz noticed that someone was standing right next to him.
“Tanz.” Otto smirked as he looked at the young kid. Tanz didn’t like Otto because he seemed to always say his name like it dripped off his tongue. Otto was one of the new waiters that was hired when the owner got married a week ago.
“What do you want?” Tanz glared at the trash bag he dropped an undetermined about of time ago.
“You know,” Otto said conversationally, “ If I didn’t know you were adopted, I woulda’ sworn you were Shiri’s real kid. You both react the same way when faced with something you find attractive...”
Tanz glared at the snickering waiter as he picked up the abandoned trash bag and resisted the urge to throw it at the man standing next to him.
Otto got in one last laugh as Tanz lobbed the bag into the big green dumpster and stomped back into the restaurant. Tanz told himself told himself that he wouldn’t look back at the flower shop hoping to see golden auburn curls in the window.
- ~ - ~ -
Tanz dropped his head onto the table with a groan. Now that Otto found out about his fascination with the girl next door, the waiter went and told all the customers. So now they were all giving him money to go buy some ‘flowers for the sweet little girl’.
Tanz was about ready to strangle someone or at least dance on their liver when an arm fell around his shoulders.
Turning around Tanz got ready to tell Otto to go take his red haired butt somewhere else but when he glanced up it was only Shiri looking at him with a concerned smile.
“Everything alright ‘Z?” Shiri whispered as he took the seat next to Tanz on the booth. Tanz fully relaxed for the first time that day when his father used his favorite pet name to address him.
Sighing Tanz rubbed his head and looked down at the table shaking his head a bit. He had been so out of it today that he didn’t even notice that Shiri had come over to talk to him. By now Tanz was usually helping with everyone and getting drinks for the customers. But he just didn’t feel like it with all the commotion that was going around in his head.
Tanz couldn’t get that girl or her laugh out of his mind.
Shiri waited patiently for his kid to sort out his thoughts. Early on in their relationship Shiri noticed that Tanz was always doing something. He was never the kind of kid to stay idle. If he wasn’t dancing around the room, he would be swinging his at the tale while drawing or just tracing the grains of the fake wood with his fingers. Tanz was always in motion, it was something that Shiri learned to love about him.
Shiri cracked a smile as Tanz reached out to grab his hand to fiddle with while he was thinking. Tanz also had an obsession about needing to touch the person he is closest to because it helps him ground himself while his mind is somewhere else.
“The flower shop opened today.” Tanz muttered not looking at his guardian.
“It did?” Shiri asked in mock surprise.
Tanz scrunched up his nose and ignored Shiri’s comment. “And while I was taking the trash out a girl laughed at me and then went back into the flower shop.” Tanz smiled.
“You were dancing again weren’t you?” Shiri asked as Tanz blushed and mumbled something under his breath as he continued to play with Shiri’s fingers on the table top.
Shiri smiled as he glanced around the busy café to find something to talk about. Tanz seemed really obsessed with this little girl. He hasn’t been around too many girls, so he doesn’t really know how different they look then guys. So he could just be stuck on the differences so he can’t stop thinking about the pretty girl he just met.
As Shiri was looking around he noticed that the flower vace by the cash register was empty. He smiled as he turned back to Tanz. Shiri was going to make a suggestion that Tanz couldn’t refuse.
- ~ - ~ -
Tanz sighed again as he tried not to blush as he walked the short distance from the outside café patio to the front yard of the flower shop where there was all sort of potted plant left out for decoration. The flower shop had a ‘Grand Opening Sale’ banner strung along the top of the windows.
Gripping the money Shiri gave him to go buy flowers so tightly they probably left imprints, Tanz took a deep breath and walked towards the woman watering plants in the front of the shop.
The lady had the same curls as the little girl did earlier, but this time they were longer and held back with a clip so a few fell forward to frame her face. She had to either be her mother or older sister, there was too much of a resemblance to be anything but.
“Excuse me.” Tanz said to get her attention. The lady jumped and switched off the hose as she turned to see who wanted her attention.
Lila was clipped to the front of her white apron, Tanz guessed that was her name. Lila smiled at him and set down the hose so she could wipe off her dirty hands.
“Hello there,” She said as Tanz just stared at her. Lila had a voice just like the younger girl’s except hers was more deep and soothing then light and cheerful.
“I want some flowers.” Tanz said awkwardly as he tried to focus on something else besides the nice ladies face.
“You came to the right place then.” Lila smiled as she waved Tanz to follow her inside. The inside of the shop was filled with every color flower or plant Tanz has ever imagined. They were decorated on shelves and tables scattered around the small room. In one corner there was a case full of bouquets while trees and shrubs populated another.
Lila lead Tanz to the corner with all the display flowers and asked, “What kind of flowers were you looking for?”
Tanz stared at the different color combination of flowers and mumbled, “Just for the vase in the front of the café.”
Her eyes sparkled as Lila smiled and called out “Emily! Your boyfriend is here!”
Tanz chocked on his tongue as he heard a crash and a scream from the back of the shop. Lila smirked and looked down at him, she no longer seemed like the nice and gentle flower lady she was before. Now she looked a cat who swallowed the family canary and polished off a bowl of cream.
“She hasn’t stopped talking about the boy she saw this morning while she was taking out the garbage-” Lila continued to rant as she grabbed a bouquet of purple and yellow daises off the shelf and brought them to the counter at the front of the shop.
Tanz could only stand in horror as she bagged the flowers and handed them to him with an evil grin and a wink as she went to the back of the store where the scream came from not a minute ago.
“Come on Emily! He’s right here!” Tanz could hear Lila try to persuade her sister, because Tanz didn’t want to think of a world where a mother would make that type of smile, to come out of hiding.
“No!” Emily screamed back as Tanz tried to inch his way out the door. If there was one thing Tanz didn’t mess with, it was sibling rivalry. Shiri and Neil were bad enough, Tanz didn’t want to see what a sister cat fight would be like.
“Don’t you go anywhere Romeo! I almost got her.” Lila screamed as Tanz touched the handle to the door.
“Help!” Emily screamed in terror, Tanz could hear the sisters running around in the back.
Taking a deep breath Tanz squared his shoulders and walked towards the sound of the screams and said to himself,
“That voice is worth it. That beautiful face is worth it. Hearing that laugh again is potentially worth being torn apart by a sadistic sister.” He paused, “At least I hope so.” Tanz whimpered and opened the door to the back room to save Emily from her sister.
And so began Tanz’s dance with the flower sisters next door…
