Chapter 13 - THE FLOWER SHOP THAT REFUSED TO BE SMALL
Wild June expanded the following year.
Not because Ethan bought it for me.
Because I worked for it.
We opened a second location in Brooklyn.
Then launched a floral design apprenticeship program.
I hired young people who had been told their dreams were impractical.
Ethan helped when I asked.
He reviewed contracts.
Explained financing.
And occasionally carried buckets of flowers in expensive suits.
One afternoon, Mia watched him unload a delivery.
She leaned toward me.
“Your husband is ridiculous.”
I smiled.
“I know.”
Ethan looked up.
“I can hear you.”
Mia grinned.
“Good.”
Our marriage settled into something ordinary.
Beautifully ordinary.
We argued about dishes.
About work schedules.
About whether he really needed to answer emails at midnight.
We made up.
We laughed.
We learned.
One evening, Ethan came home carrying takeout.
I was sitting at the kitchen island reviewing invoices.
He placed the bags down.
“Dinner.”
I looked up.
“You cooked?”
He smiled.
“Absolutely not.”
I laughed.
Then he sat beside me.
“Claire, can I ask you something?”
“Of course.”
He looked nervous.
“Do you ever think about having children?”
I went still.
We had discussed it in our original agreement.
No children unless both people truly wanted them.
I looked at him.
“Do you?”
He nodded.
“Yes.”
I smiled.
“Then let's talk about it.”
We talked for hours.
About parenting.
About our childhoods.
About what we wanted to do differently.
May you like
And for the first time, the future felt like something we were building together.
Not something we'd signed into existence.
