Evelyn walked close to the plant and looked down at it. It was one she loved for vibrant flower arrangements, the coral sunset peony which had changing colors as it blossomed. It started out looking a light pink color, and then faded into a more orange or white tipped color with a yellow center. It was a pretty flower, but she had arrangements scheduled for its flowers.

“I’m not sure we can enter this one since we already have arrangements scheduled for it,” she said, twisting to grab the orders paper on the counter behind her. She needed to check how many blossoms it would have left by the end of the first day.

“Are there other categories? Maybe a flower arrangement category?” John asked her. He clearly wanted to show off this plant's beautiful large flowers.

She thought back to the flower festivals she’d attended as a maid in the past. Many of the events she’d gone to were things specifically for the nobles like the jousting tournament Lady Elizabeth attended to cheer for Lord Daniel Ramett.

They had walked by the flower judging. She remembered the beautiful potted flowers which seemed to be arranged by the type of flower. There were lots of tulips since it was a staple flower of the region. Maybe there were arrangements? She really couldn’t remember. 

“If there is an arrangement contest, we could enter our sunset arrangement. I think it’s one of the prettiest ones we make,” John said as he moved next to her, just barely brushing her left shoulder. 

She looked at him, and realized he was trying to read the orders form she was holding and not reading. She lifted it so he could read it as well. 

Looking at total current blossoms and orders, she did have enough to make one more sunset arrangement for the competition, if there was one for arrangements. 

“I can’t remember if there was an arrangement contest. I have an idea though. I will hold off on selling the last sunset arrangement, and you will talk to people around the town to find out. Deadline is lunch tomorrow. Otherwise we’ll just have to pick one of the plants with the least flowers cut off by lunch of day one to enter, and I don’t think we have many,” Evelyn didn’t think she would have too many more pre-order sales before the flower festival at this point, so it shouldn’t hurt her to hold off on selling the last of that arrangement style. 

Mostly tomorrow would be people picking up orders. During the festival she would probably have lots of sales from the out of town folks, though probably more single flower orders to sit in pockets, buttonholes, or to braid into hair. 

“That works, the guys at the bar will probably know,” he paused, his eyes resting on the stairs to her apartment while he thought about who would know. “If not, the people who work at the rest house should know. They know everything.”

Evelyn started to move forward to grab the pot, and then stopped and looked at the front window. It was still gray and dreary out, and it wouldn’t make much of a difference for this flower to sit in the shop or in the greenhouse. 

Speaking of the Greenhouse, she should check on the rain barrels. “We can put the peony back in the greenhouse at the end of the day, or take it back earlier if the rain starts to clear up,” Evelyn let John in on her decision as she carefully stepped backwards to extricate herself from the tight spot between John, the counter, and the peony in front of her. “I’m going to go check the rain barrels and see if I need to move the water ramp.”

She slipped past him on his left side and made her way out to the greenhouse, her thoughts lingering on how her left shoulder felt a little colder now.

Grabbing her still wet oilskin, she went out the greenhouse door into the rain. While the rain wasn’t quite the waterfall of earlier, it was still a gentle and steady drip like a faucet not quite turned off. 

The first rain barrel was in fact overflowing, so she moved the water ramp over to the second barrel. 

With the lighter rain she should also check on the chickens. If she left them too long they were likely to cannibalize their eggs. 

She grabbed the egg basket from next to the door and made her way to the chicken coup. Most of the chickens were out and about eating bugs coming up in the wet soil. Two were in the coup. Another five eggs making it ten so far. 

She hurried back, and as she came in the door she saw John. One hand on his cane, the other checking the soil of the plants. He looked up at her entrance and smiled.