Iliana almost always stayed after to sweep and clean the flower shop, and Madame Suri always paid her a little extra for it. She really needed to think of some other tasks she could do to earn enough to buy herself those new boots, but she couldn’t really concentrate on that at the moment. Iliana was not looking forward to being bombarded with questions about Dray. Hoping that the others girls would not want to wait around for her, she dragged it out as long as she possibly could. But when everything was as clean as she could get it, it was time to go home.

When Iliana got on her coat, grabbed her flower basket, and walked out the front door, Celsey was still waiting out in front of the shop. The young woman was leaning against a lit street lamp, arms folded, obviously more than a little put out at having to wait so long. They always walked home together, since they lived on the same street and all, and they had been friends ever since the red-headed girl had moved to Abelton to live with her aunt and uncle. Iliana was a little surprised to see that she had opted to wait longer than usual. But Celsey could be just as nosy as the other flower shop girls. Iliana should have known she would wait however long it took.

Iliana started walking down the sidewalk, fast, and Celsey almost had to trot alongside her in order to keep up. Her friend didn’t start asking questions right away, but Iliana knew it was only a matter of time. They didn’t even reach the end of the block before Celsey couldn’t take it anymore.

“Who is he?” she burst out, not taking her eyes off of Iliana’s face as they walked.

“Who?” Celsey gave Iliana a dirty look. Celsey’s dirty looks could curdle milk, Iliana was sure of it. It definitely curdled her insides whenever she was at the receiving end.

“You know right well who! He drops you off, then comes back and gives you a flower?!? Is he your boyfriend?”

“No!” Iliana said, a little too loudly. She was blushing again, and she didn’t like the direction this conversation was already going.

“Then who is he?”

“I don’t know exactly.” Iliana knew she was stalling, but it was partly the truth. Celsey sighed. She knew Iliana was stalling, too.

“What’s his name, then.”

“Dray.”

“When’d you meet him?”

“This morning.”

“This morning?” Celsey said in disbelief.

“Yes.” Celsey waited patiently for more, or at least with as much patience she could muster with this exciting development in Iliana’s life.

“Well?”

“I was walking back from the meadow and he almost ran me over and he offered me a ride,” Iliana said quickly.

“What about what happened at the shop?” Iliana blushed again, remembering the stares from the other girls, but mostly thinking of his fingertips brushing her hair aside to gently place the flower behind her ear. Iliana’s hand drifted up to stroke the soft petals.

“I don’t know…”

“I thought you didn’t like flirts.”

“You think he was flirting with me?”

“Yeah,” Celsey said, with a look that told Iliana exactly how dumb she was being. “Obviously.” They walked for a little while in silence.

“I’ve never been so embarrassed,” Iliana finally admitted.

“Why? It’s about time someone has taken notice of you,” Celsey said. Iliana looked at her in surprise.

“What do you mean?” Iliana asked.

“Come on, you’re beautiful! You know, your brother has been married for a while now, and he’s only a year older than you.”

Oh, great, Iliana thought. Now she’s talking about marriage. “Well, I don’t plan on getting married anytime soon.”

“Just…” Celsey paused. She seemed to be trying to find the best way to say what she thought. “Just don’t run this guy off, okay?” Maybe not the best way to say it, but the most direct, certainly. Iliana gave her a look. “I can tell he likes you! Seriously, I mean, why would he go through all that trouble just to give you a flower? He bought a whole bouquet! Why would he spend all that money? Unless he’s filthy rich…” Celsey trailed off. Somehow, all of this didn’t make Iliana feel any better.

Why did he go through all that just to give me a flower? I guess he did try to get a kiss too, but he seemed to be joking about that… for the most part. Iliana felt her spirits fall just a tiny bit. What if this is just a big joke for him? But then she remembered his kind smile, and his inviting eyes… No, I don’t think he’s that kind of person.

Celsey and Iliana were now on the street that they both lived on. They stopped at Celsey’s house, where she lived with her aunt, uncle and their two children.

“See you tomorrow,” Iliana said as Celsey walked up the steps and opened the front door, the sounds of laughing children floating through the air.

“Remember what I said,” Celsey warned as she closed the door behind her. “Give him a chance!” Iliana nodded, then continued on to her house.

It was dark and quiet inside of the house she shared with her mother. Iliana glanced quickly at the grandfather clock in the hallway as she closed and locked the front door, only now realizing how late it was.

I guess I stayed a lot longer at the flower shop than I thought. Mother must have gone to bed already.

Iliana slipped of her worn boots and left them by the door, then she walked down the hallway and past the staircase leading up to the bedrooms. Coming into the kitchen, she put her flower basket on the counter. A lamp had been left burning on the table beside a plate of cold chicken and corn. A few coals still glowed softly in the bottom of the fireplace, and she warmed her toes by them while she ate. Then she carried the lamp upstairs, changed into her nightgown, put the Blue Jewel on her night stand, and went to bed.

That night Iliana had a horrible dream.

Shadows lurked everywhere. Nothing was visible past two feet in front of her. Dark, evil creatures surrounded her, and Iliana tried to run, but she could not find her way in the darkness. Then she was lying on the cold stone floor, shivering, crying.

Gone…. Gone forever…

She became aware of an evil presence baring down on her, and when she looked up a horrible twisted face filled her vision.

Iliana woke up in a cold sweat, heart pounding, gasping for breath. She realized that she had screamed before waking up, and she hoped she hadn’t disturbed her mother as she laid back down and drifted back into a fitful sleep.

A few hours later, Iliana woke up again, a little more peacefully this time. It was barely light outside, just the glow of morning before the sun appeared, and she couldn’t go back to sleep no matter how hard she tried. So she decided to get up and make breakfast for her and her mother. Bacon, eggs, and buttered toast. Just as Iliana was setting out the plates and forks, her mother descended the stairs.

Iliana’s mother, Rose, was a sweet little lady. She wore her gray hair in a bun, like Iliana did, and her great joys in life were her children and her sewing and knitting projects. Rose was getting up there in age, and had stopped working years earlier due to various ailments of her old age. But she was quite happy to stay home all day and make scarves, gloves, hats, socks, and other articles of clothing as a hobby. 

Rose most looked forward to receiving the next letter from Peter, Iliana’s older brother. He had moved away to a bigger city, where he had planned to find a good paying job so he could send money to his sister and elderly mother. Instead he had found a woman that he married and had a child with already, both of whom Rose and Iliana had never met. 

Peter had been promising since last Christmas to come visit soon, but it was already the middle of September. Iliana thought that Peter’s wife didn’t like them, but Rose didn’t think so. ‘How can you not like someone you’ve never met,’ she always said when Iliana brought it up. So Rose waits eagerly for the letter that tells her when they will finally be coming for a visit.

Rose came into the kitchen and took a big whiff of the food. “Smells delicious, dear.”

“Thank you, Mother. Help yourself.”

“I didn’t expect to see you this morning,” Rose said as she gingerly took her seat, then spooned a portion of eggs onto her plate. “Especially since you got home so late last night.” Iliana was in the middle of a bite of toast, but she chewed and swallowed quickly in order to give an answer.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said, even though she knew that wasn’t what her mother was asking. But Rose didn’t pry. That was one thing that Iliana loved about her mother. She never forced anything out of her daughter, and Iliana was allowed to have a couple of secrets, even though she didn’t really have any. 

Iliana did wonder if she should tell her mother about Dray. She watched her mother take her first few bites of food, and decided that her mother could be trusted with this information. “I met someone yesterday,” she began. Rose nodded and waited for her to continue. “While I was picking flowers.” Iliana took a deep breath, then let it all out. “He gave me a ride to the shop, then he came back and gave me a flower, and Celsey says he likes me, but I’m not sure…” Rose was looking up at her now, a surprised look on her face.

“Do you like him?” she asked.

“I guess so… I mean, he’s nice and all…” Iliana didn’t really know what else to say about him. “But I just met him yesterday…” Her mother was smiling at her now.

“You don’t need to be so flustered,” she said, patting the top of her hand. “What is this young man’s name?”

“Dray.” Just saying his name out loud made her blush again, but only a little.

“He seems like a nice man. You should give him a chance.” Iliana chuckled, taking another bite of her toast.

“You sound just like Cel-,” Iliana started to say, then stopped. “Celsey!” Iliana jumped up and ran into the hallway, confirming the time on the grandfather clock. “I’m going to be late!” She flew up the stairs and burst into her room, grabbing her coat off of the chair in the corner. As she was yanking her coat on, she spotted the flower Dray had given her yesterday lying on her nightstand. When she picked it up it was dry and brittle, which was unsurprising to her. Blue Jewels didn’t last very long without water, and she had left it out overnight. She placed it back on the nightstand and hurried downstairs and back into the kitchen.

“Slow down, you’re going to give yourself a stomach ache,” Rose chided as Iliana shoveled the rest of her food into her mouth.

“I know,” Iliana replied, setting the plate on the counter. Then she grabbed her basket, gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, and ran to the front door to put her boots on.

“Have a good day,” her mother called as she opened the front door.

“You too,” Iliana said. “See you tonight!” She hurried down the sidewalk to the trolley station where Celsey was waiting, eager to get to work.