Chapitre 19: La Madame de La Fleur

"Do you want to buy flowers?" Kylie approached Bella with a happy face. "I have lots of beautiful flowers for any occasion!"

Carried away by Kylie's cheerfulness, Bella smiled. "Oh, Kylie! Hi! I was just passing by on my way to the coffee shop. These flowers were really nice, so I stopped to admire them."

"Oh, honey. You don't have to go far for coffee. I can make better coffee with my new coffee machine. I'll make you a nice cup of coffee. Would you like to?"

There was sincerity in Kylie's voice and body language, which made Bella feel bad about refusing. "Yes, sure," she said. Kylie looked pleased.

Bella followed Kylie to the room at the back of the shop. The building was not as small as she thought. The back was a large open space that served as a sort of sitting room with a small kitchen in one corner. "Your shop is very impressive," Bella commented. "And you also have a separate house, right?" The money Kylie had spent to start a new life in this city must have been a lot, Bella thought.

Kylie laughed crisply. "Thank you," she said. "I had help from a friend who understands business design and marketing. She gave me useful suggestions for the shop's layout and management. My house is a few blocks from here. It's not a grand house, but I like it."

"You work alone?" asked Bella. When she entered the shop earlier, she didn't see anyone else.

"I have one assistant. But she's sick today, so I'm handling the shop alone. These days it's a bit difficult to find trustworthy people to help with this kind of small business. Some people work for profit, while others want to be the boss."

Bella, who knew nothing about business, just nodded, but she was impressed by Kylie's words. It seemed like she was serious about her business.

"I'll make the coffee!" Kylie exclaimed as she walked towards the clean kitchen. "Have a seat, Bella. I won't be long."

Bella sat on the yellow sofa, waiting for the florist to make her coffee.

****

The coffee was good, Bella admitted. Kylie sat at the other end of the sofa, holding her coffee cup with her legs gracefully crossed. She really does look like a Hollywood movie star, Bella thought with some envy. Kylie's beauty was classic, especially if her makeup wasn't as thick as when Bella met her outside her flower shop. Kylie looked more like a real, classy Frenchwoman, in keeping with the shop's name.

"Well," Kylie cleared her throat, placing her coffee cup on the counter and looking at Bella with a smile. "I know you're staying at Reef's."

Bella didn't mean to sugarcoat it, especially towards Kylie. The beautiful creature who had been Reef's date. "Yes, I did. But it's not what you think."

Kylie raised her perfectly shaped eyebrows. "Do you know what I think?"

"I sleep in the guest room, which used to be my mom's library." Bella ignored Kylie's question.

"I'm not accusing you of sleeping with Reef." Kylie smiled amusedly. "Although I know you are Reef's ex-lover, but I also know what he went through after you left him."

"Oh?" Bella was surprised. She didn't think Kylie knew about it. "Reef told you?"

"We're friends," Kylie replied. "Good friends actually. Why do you think he lets me walk into his office all the time? He probably won't admit it in front of you. But you could say I've been taking care of him since we first met."

"I don't know what you mean. Take care of Reef?" Bella asked confused. "Reef did say that you guys dated, and then after not dating anymore, you became friends. But he didn't say you took care of him. Did Reef ever get sick?"

"Sick?" Kylie shook her head with an amused smile. "Not physical pain, honey. He's hurt, because of his past with you. His life has been a bit of a mess since then. He doesn't take care of herself. He eats only because he's hungry, drinks only because he's thirsty. He drank alcohol to forget the many things that were piling up in his brain. The only thing he did wholeheartedly was pursue a career and drown in work. When I first met him, he had just been appointed CEO. I saw him as a person who was both pathetic and boring. Back then, I was somewhat in love with him. Then, I realized he never loved any of the women he dated after you."

Bella was stunned to hear Kylie's story. She didn't think the angry and vengeful Reef had ever been that messed up.

"And I took care of him. I reminded him not to waste his life being angry and wailing. I filled his fridge with groceries, persuaded him to hire a maid to clean the house once a week, sometimes I cooked and stored it in the freezer for him to heat up."

"And you managed to change him?" asked Bella softly. She was shocked that Reef's relationship with Kylie had gone that far. At first, she thought their relationship was just sexually satisfying, and that was no surprise. As it turned out, her assessment of Kylie was wrong. From the first time he saw Kylie, he had underestimated her because of her makeup and flirtatious attitude, which seemed to be intentional for some reason.

Kylie shook her head. "Not entirely. His life might be a bit more organized now, but the hurt is still there. You must feel it too, right?" Kylie asked. "So, how long will you be staying in Saco?" Kylie changed the topic. It seemed like she was getting uncomfortable talking about Reef.

"Just one week," said Bella.

"You're a writer, aren't you? Writing a novel? Are you looking for inspiration in your childhood town?"

"Sort of." Bella hurriedly nodded. She didn't want Kylie to know the ridiculous terms Reef had agreed to in order to buy Red House.

"Well, I hope you manage to find a source of inspiration for your story. Maybe you'll include a flower shop owner as a side character in your novel?"

Bella shrugged. "Well, maybe."

Kylie grinned amusedly. "I'm kidding, really," she said. "If I were a character in a novel, I wouldn't like my own character."

Bella's eyebrows shot up with a questioning look in her eyes. "Oh, forget what I said earlier!" Kylie chuckled. "I promised myself not to complain."

"Reef said you've been married and divorced." Bella asked doubtfully. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. But, why did you leave LA and move here? It's not that I don't love my hometown, but Saco is a gloomy city compared to the glitter of LA."

"Because I wanted to be alone," Kylie replied. "After all the hassle of my life over the years. My husband was a drunk who didn't even realize he was that bad. He'd beat me to a pulp, then when he sobered up, he'd apologize to me and promise not to do it again. I forgave him and then it all happened again." She shook out her blonde curls that fell across her forehead. Her smile looked sad. "It was like a vicious circle and I could barely get out of it."

"But you made it out."

"Yes, thank God. I hired a divorce lawyer and managed to break free from that drunk. My lawyer also managed to get my ex-husband to pay a sizable divorce settlement, since he was quite wealthy. With that money, plus my savings, I bought this house and shop."

"You're a brave woman, Kylie."

"I was a foolish woman for many years. But you were right. In the end, I'm proud that I took the brave step to get out of my toxic household."

Bella was reminded of her own marriage. That she also wanted to get out of a marriage that didn't make her happy. Of course, Carter is much different from Kylie's cowardly ex-husband. Carter is a gentle man, although more concerned with work. At least Carter never hit or said harsh words to her. For that Bella is grateful. However, it wasn't enough to stay in their marriage.

"Well, do you like the coffee?" Kylie asked. Her blue eyes looked at her warmly, as if with the conversation just now they had become friends. "You can stop by anytime if you're in the neighborhood."

Bella nodded. "Yes, thank you, Kylie."

****

Little Mike was very happy when Bella came to bring him his birthday present. He was even happier that Uncle Reef hadn't forgotten his birthday either.

"Does he ever forget?" asked Bella.

Brenda, who was cutting the birthday cake for her youngest daughter, snorted. "Last year, Reef came with a birthday present a week after the correct date. Fortunately, Mike liked his present right away. Reef bought him a console game."

"Gosh, what a sneaky way he bribed Mike not to get angry."

Brenda laughed. "And, where is he now? I thought you two were coming together."

"He still has the last meeting at his office. He'll catch up later."

"Poor guy," Brenda said. "He works like a draft horse. It's as if the whole world's business is on his shoulders. Who is he, Atlas the Titan?"

Bella picked up a star-shaped piece of candy on top of Mike's birthday cake, and took a bite. It melted in her mouth. "You know what, I was talking to Kylie at her shop."

Brenda turned her head, surprised. "Really? You went there?"

"I passed by her shop on my way to the coffee shop after buying a present for Mike."

"I like her shop. The setting is beautiful. I feel like I'm in a greenhouse," Brenda commented.

"I agree. So, we ended up having coffee at the shop. And talked a bit."

"Talk about what?" Brenda gave him a probing look.

"About Reef."

"Don't be jealous, Bel. They're no longer dating. Even when you met at Mariel's wedding, they were just friends. Kylie likes to act like a bitch in front of people. I don't know what that means. Reef says she's not really a bitch."

Bella remembered Kylie's appearance at the flower shop, understated in a tight shirt and jeans. Her makeup was light and her blonde hair was simply tied back in a ponytail.

"I think she really likes Reef."

"Oh my, Bella! And you're really jealous!"

"Just because she's beautiful like Marilyn Monroe, I don't feel the need to be jealous!" snapped Bella with a warm face. "Besides, Reef and I don't have any relationship right now."

"Oh, Bella. For your information, Reef even rejected a real Hollywood actress when they were attending a conference on environmental change in Sacramento. The actress followed Reef here only to be flatly rejected. Imagine that! Reef only likes you, Bella!"

Bella was dumbfounded. Then, Mike's voice was heard exclaiming cheerfully. "Uncle Reef!" The person they were talking about appeared with a big smile on his handsome face.

"I saw you guys arguing. What's wrong?" he asked.

****