2019-06-09 - Flower Power

Isolde really needed to start finding some way to make money here if she was going to be trying to get on some kind of straight and narrow. Which was proving somewhat difficult. She'd been holing up inside the past few days, feeling awful and tempermental...but today was a good day. So far. Her long red hair was left down and barely brushed through, wild blue eyes curious, though tired looking. She decided to wander today checking out different places and peeking at a newspaper here and there at the classifieds. Except that she didn't even have a photo ID to get any kind of proper job.

These real, worrisome thoughts, instantly vanished from Isolde's mind when she found the flower shop. She liked flowers! They were her favorite origami style to make and flowers in general always smelled good and looked pretty. So Isolde made her way inside to have a peek around. Her attire today was a pair of dark blue jeans with a black t-shirt and a ragged men's flannel over top it all.

Genevieve is looking for a job, and she was directed to Carmen and this shop. She's been inside for about ten minutes, and Isolde would find her kneeling in front of an orchid, cooing quietly to it in accented French."Où sont tes jolis pétales?" Her slender fingers stroking the plant, just below the folded petals. "Ahh, you just need some love." Her voice is slightly accented, a faint touch of something foreign. She's wearing a plain white tee-shirt, and a pair of loose jeans, white sneakers showing under the hem of her pants. Her dark hair is pulled back in a french braid, dangling earrings swinging from her ears. Her head turns when she finally notices Isolde, a slight smile curving her lips. "Bonjour." She tilts her head slightly and gestures toward Isolde. "Are you Carmen?"

Isolde's gaze was drifting over all the flowers in the shop, fingers just barely brushing over a few when the French words caught her attention. Pretty petals? Isolde wandered a little closer, peering at the woman. "My name is Izzy." She offered with a shake of her head. //"

Isolde's gaze was drifting over all the flowers in the shop, fingers just barely brushing over a few when the French words caught her attention. Pretty petals? Isolde wandered a little closer, peering at the woman. "My name is Izzy." She offered with a shake of her head. "Etes vous Francais?" Raising a brow. Though her English was noticably unaccented, or perhaps just difficult to dicern, her French sounded fairly good. "What's your name?"

Genevieve's nose wrinkles briefly as Isolde introduced herself. "It is a pleasure to meet you Izzy. I am Genevievie, and yes, I am French." She keeps a wary eye on the woman, there is something a little strange about her, it's clear she's not sure if she should offer Izzy her hand or not. "Are you familiar with the proprietress of this shop?" She asks quietly, her gaze flitting back to the orchid that she was murmuring to. "I came to see about a job. I.. like plants." After she says it, she realizes how lame it might sound, so there is an almost immediate subject change. "Your French seems fluid, are you from overseas?"

Oh yes. Something about Isolde definitely gives off the feeling that she's not 100% there. One the other side of that, it seems she may ultimately be harmless. "Never been here before." Is what's offered when Genevieve asks her if she's familiar with the owner. A soft little giggle. "Plants are nice...except for the bad ones." A fleeting frown. "But I think these ones are good ones." The frowning sliding back to a smile. "It's nice to meet you. Not me. Mom is. She taught me." Moving a little closer to look at some of the other orchids as she and Genevieve talked.

There's a clatter from somewhere near the back of the store and a few moments later, Carmen emerges from the direction of her greenhouse with a ball of twine in one hand and a saucer balancing a steaming teacup in the other. She's got a roll of brown paper tucked under one arm and a pair of shears clamped firmly between her teeth. She looks a little surprised to see the two women in her shop, though her face lights with a smile (as much as you can smile with shears held between your teeth anyway...) and she hurries in the direction of the counter to set down some of her various accoutrements.

Genevieve nods slowly, folding her hands in front of her. She observes Izzy as she moves toward the flowers, watching her expression carefully. "Ah, your Mère taught you. That was good of her." Suddenly Carmen, and Genevieve turns, her expression getting bright as she approaches the burdened woman. "Oh please, can I help with something?" She would take the shears but she's learned that it's never good to take something from someones mouth. So instead she reaches for the bag to assist. "Are you Carmen?" She has a very hopeful look on her face, turning to glance at Izzy briefly. She really wants to ask about the bad flowers, but at the same time.. doesn't.

Isolde's attention quickly flitted over towards the sound of the clattering. A little on guard perhaps. But then this other woman comes out and she relaxes some. "She was a good thing. Is a good thing. Is." Right? Hopefully. She was pretty sure her parents were still alive. Maybe something to look into. Isolde tugged a little at her hair, turning to watch Carmen and Genevieve - staying by the orchids for now. A little wiggle of fingers given to Carmen in a wave. "You must have been a juggler in a past life." Spoken sincerely. Because she was handling carrying all that stuff so well! Obviously that was the only logical answer.

"Thank you!" Carmen beams, once Genevieve has helped her with her things and Carmen has had time to remove the scissors from her mouth. She's dressed a little more casually this evening, in a loose cotton shirt that's specked with dirt from the greenhouse here and there and a pair of simple black leggings. Once her things are set down, Carmen takes a sip from the still steaming teacup she's brought with her and lifts a hand to tuck a stray strand of hair away behind her left ear. Nodding to Genevieve when she asks after her, Carmen responds "I am!" with a nod, before asking "Was there something you needed?". A look is also given to Isolde, and the wave is returned.

"I was referred here by a few people in town. I'm looking for a job." Genevieve glances back at Izzy again, and then she squares her shoulders, taking a deep breath. "I was thinking of opening my own nursery, but then I heard about your business and I was wondering.." She clears her throat, laughing softly. ".. are you looking for some help?" She dusts off her hand, shoves her hands in the pockets of her jeans, shifting from foot to foot. "I actually went to college for agriculture, and I've been tending plants since I was six years old. I won't kill your shop." She realizes then that she's running at the mouth and smirks, gazing down at her feet. "Sorry." She glances at Isolde and quietly murmurs, "Are you okay?"

"Your flowers are pretty." Isolde offers to Carmen, starting to walk towards another group of flowers. Rummaging in the pocket of her ragged flannel, she produced a few bills and quietly counted what she had left. Letting Carmen and Genevieve speak. The money gets stuffed back into her pocket, back to inspecting the flowers. "Hm?" Blinking a bit and focusing back on Genevieve at the question. "Yes. No. Sometimes? Usually." She nodded, pausing a moment as if trying to think through something. "I am okay today. Sleepy. But I wanted to walk." Looking to Carmen then. "Do you have any blue flowers?"

Listening to Genevieve and her introduction, Carmen settles her hands on her hips a moment and looks the wannabe florist up and down, as though sizing her up. That smile reappears before long, warming her features up as she asks "Can you tie a bouquet?" she asks then, gesturing to the various tools scattered abut the counter, and the cut stems in buckets that fill most of the shop. "I could use the help honestly, so? Make something pretty as a tryout!" Carmen suggests, rounding the counter and laying an encouraging hand on Genevieve's shoulder, before setting her off to work. This accomplished, Carmen turns her attention to Isolde, who she observes more closely for a few seconds. "A blue flower?" Carmen responds, tapping thoughtfully on her lower lip, before crossing over to one side of the shop and producing an Iris flower. "How about this?" Carmen asks, extending the bloom in Isolde's direction and giving the stem a little twirl between her fingers.

Genevieve's face lights up at the question, and her gaze moves from the tools to the buckets before she nods. "I can tie a bouquet." She brushes her hair behind her ears and moves to the buckets, laying out paper, listening to Carmen and Isolde discuss blue flowers as she gets to work. The hand on her shoulder seems to have bolstered her confidence, and there is a smile on her face as she starts to gather her flora. Deep in thought for a few moments she starts to arrange the bouquet, speaking as she does. "It's summer, so I'll start with some campanula, grass, fern and some nice colorful delphinium. The purple and the orange come together and these ferns set them off without overpowering them." She adds another yellow flower, just a few. "Some pom for fuzzy factor... and we'll tie it off with dried grasses to give it a rustic look." She wraps it gently with the paper, and turns to show it off to Carmen. "Thoughts?" She doesn't include blue in the bouquet but she shows it to Isolde as well. "You too."

Isolde's eyes lit up some when she saw the Iris flower. "Pretty!" She nodded emphatically. Coming closer to Carmen and the flower. "How much is it? Well...Five of them." She asked, head tilting slightly. Though her attention slid back over to Genevieve as she put the bouquet together and offering a bright smile. "Pretty! Bright. Like summer time and picnics."

Carmen pauses, chewing briefly on her lower lip as she looks Isolde over. Stepping back to the bucket where she produced the first Iris from, she carefully gathers four more, glancing over her shoulder at Isolde and asking "Would you like me to tie them up with a ribbon or anything?" with a lifting of an eyebrow, accompanied by a gentle smile that wars her entire face. Carmen heads back to the counter as she waits for the answer, watching Genevieve work with a critical eye. The aspiring florist pulls the bouquet together relatively quickly, and when it's done, Carmen sets the four Irises down, taking up the bouquet and turning it over in her hands as she inspects it from several different angles. "Very nice!" Carmen concedes after several long moments of deliberation, looking back to Genevieve and presenting her with her work. "We can start you on a trial period and see how you like it?" Carmen offers, before adding "You will have to help with all the boring chores as well mind, not just the flowers!" with a barely suppressed chuckle to herself.

"The boring chores are probably my favorite." Genevieve responds quietly, her gaze on the greenhouse for a few beats before she sets the bouquet down on the table. "I had my own greenhouse back home, and I'm happy to plant, water, weed and do just about anything that involves dirt. I also like to clean." She lets her gaze settle on Isolde as she makes her way to the counter, the pretty flowers set out for her getting an appraising look. "My mother had these planted in our yard. They're so..different, these and tiger lilies are some of my most favorite flowers. They're quietly expressive." She steps aside then, letting Carmen and Isolde finish their transaction. She looks at the various tools, touches more petals and hums to herself.

"Hmm...tie, yes! No ribbon needed. Maybe just the twine?" Pointing over to the ball of twine that had been on the counter and that Genevieve probably used to tie her bouquet off with. She carefully picked up the Iris flowers to inspect them closer - the lightest of touches on one of the petals. "Why did you leave home?" Isolde asked Genevieve curiously, setting the flowers back down carefully so Carmen could do what she wished with them and then started to fish the bills out of her pocket again.

Nodding to Isolde, Carmen works relatively quickly to tie the small bunch of stems with twine, cutting it to length with the shears she brought along with her. A look is given is Isolde and to the few crumpled bills she seems to have with her, and when Carmen hands the neatly tied bunch of Irises back, she announces quietly "You were lucky, these are on special today, so it will just be three dollars" while moving across to the register to ring Isolde up. In between doing that, Carmen rummages around under the counter and eventually finds a neatly folded cotton apron in Spruce Green (what else!) which she sets down on the counter. Looking to Genevieve, Carmen nods as she explains "That's your uniform, does tomorrow at ten sound good?" Carmen asks Genevieve, the florist seemingly fairly easygoing in terms of her hiring and employment policies!

"I.. was here, ten years ago. I wanted to stay then but, I couldn't make it. So I'm here to try again." Genevieve is evading Isolde's gaze, so perhaps she's being vague on purpose. She takes the apron, hugging to her front, nodding twice. "Tomorrow at ten sounds lovely. Now, I have a job, I just need a place to stay." She watches Carmen take care of Isolde's order, her eyes on the cash register as she operates it, and once she's done being focused and observant, she simply smiles at the pair. "I'm glad to have met both of you, fortune was smiling upon me today, yes?" She glances toward the door, clears her throat and smirks. "I should go see if fortune will favor me in the finding an apartment or somesuch, shouldn't I?"

"Really? That is lucky!" Taking Carmen at her word. Isolde counts off the three dollars and folds the remaining money carefuly back in half to slide into her flannel. She seems pretty proud of herself that she's able to pay for the flowers. Even if it's only three dollars. "Thank you Carmen." A bright smile offered to her and then examining the flowers again, taking a careful sniff. "These will be good. House needs more color." She nodded, listening to Genevieve's answer. "You're a good thing. So I think you will." Isolde spoke confidently. "There's a Bed and Breakfast! Maybe they can help." Looking between the women. "It was nice to meet you. I should go home. Put these in the vase."

Nodding to Isolde, Carmen looks back to Genevieve as she agrees "I was just about to recommend the Lonely Goose, at least until you find something more permanent." with a nod of her head. "But let me know if you do struggle and I can ask around for you. I've been here long enough I know a few people around who might have a room" Carmen smiles warmly to Genevieve as her newest employee starts off toward the door. To Isolde, Carmen offers her the receipt, showing the price, three dollars, paid in full by cash. "Find them a nice cool spot and change the water every other day. They will last longest like that" Carmen offers helpfully.

"Add some crushed aspirin to the water too, it will keep them fresh for a day or two longer." Genevieve ducks her head, pausing at the door. "I have a room in the next town over, but I may relocate closer to the bed and breakfast. If I have trouble, I'll ask you to keep an ear out for me, Carmen." She waves to both women as she makes her way through the door. She pokes back in, a bright smile on her lips. "You two have a wonderful rest of your day." She waves again and ducks out.