“I’ll be sure to arrange something pretty for you”, Elliot promised. “To which date would you like to pick it up?” 

“Oh, no that’s not necessary. You don’t have to arrange something specific for me”, Victor declared. “Just give me one of the ones prepared already. I’d like to drive there right away, and then I’d like to leave this place as soon as possible”, he admitted. “I always feel a bit suffocated in graveyards.” 

Wasn’t it strange? At first, he said he wanted something nice for her, but now he just wanted to get it over with? Did Elliot's question make him uncomfortable? Had he pried too much? He felt horrible at the thought he might have added to Victor’s burden, unconsciously. “Alright, I’ll get you one right away.” He smiled comforting at the young man, turned around and took a look at the different arrangements. As people sadly died regularly, he always kept a few flowers prepared which could be combined to a spray of flowers. 

Victor might have said he just wanted something simple, but Elliot still felt the urge to do something for him. Even if it was just selecting a few flowers, which might fit his taste more than the standard. With a few trained hand grips, he combined some yellow sweet maries together with light lilac sea lavenders and lisianthus flowers. A bouquet befitting the grief of a man who preferred to express himself in colors. 

“There you go.” He handed the flowers to him, hoping to have met Victor’s tastes. 

“Thank you, Elliot. How much do I owe you?”, Victor asked?

“Oh, no, please. You don’t have to pay for them. Just consider them a gift from an old acquaintance”, Elliot insisted. He’d have felt terrible for charging him after he had already caused problems for him. 

“You don’t need to do that”, Victor replied. “But I appreciate the thought, thank you, Elliot.”

“Maybe I don’t have to, but I insist. It was nice to see you again, Victor.” Elliot watch him turn around and expected him to leave. It may have well been the last time they’d ever seen each other again. A part of him demanded him to stop the man, to ask him to have at least a few drinks together to talk about old times. Not that there would have been much to talk about in their case. Yet, despite the urge, he couldn’t bring himself to open up his mouth. 

It was Victor who stopped before passing over the threshold. He turned around, searching for Elliot’s gaze.

“Actually, would you mind me inviting you to a few drinks tonight? It would be nice to have a known face to talk to, after today”, he asked. 

Elliot couldn’t believe his ears. Victor wanted him to grab some drinks together? It might just be he had no once else in town who was available this evening, but he would have to be an idiot to turn down a request he wanted to bring forth himself a moment ago. “No, of course not. I’d be happy to tag along, if you’ll have me.” He smiled warmly at Victor, who answered with an even brighter one himself.

“I’m glad to hear that. When do you get off work today?”, he wanted to know.

“Well, I close the shop around 6 pm, so how about 7 pm? I just live in the flat over the shop, so you can just pick me up in front of the building, if you like.” No, wait. This sounded as if he was expecting to be invited to a date. “Or rather, just tell me where to meet up. This will probably easier for the two of us.” 

“Do you know the sunshine bar in midtown? It has nice cocktails, a neat private sitting area and some decent food to go along with the drinks. I’ll send you the address. Could I get your number?” Victor pulled out his smartphone right away. 

“I haven’t been there yet, but I’m sure I’ll find it”, Elliot replied. They exchanged their contacts before Victor left the flower shop. For a short while, Elliot just stood there, gazing on the screen of his phone as he tried to process what had happened. How did he end up with Victor’s phone number? What did it mean he ended up with it? 

Was it just a coincidence? An opportunity for him to keep himself from thinking too much about his mother’s death, with someone to distract him? Elliot couldn’t tell. Victor had always been popular with countless friends to reach out to when needed. It was hard to imagine he’d actually be lacking someone to accompany him on a drink. 

So, maybe it was just him trying to thank him for the gifted flowers? Yeah, that seemed like the most likely reason, but he shouldn’t complain about it. His heartbeat spiraled out of control just by thinking he’d be having an evening with him. Not that he expected anything from it. It was simply a great feeling to be so close to someone you treasured after all the time that had passed.