WMC - It's What I Haven't Done...
“Come on, you can help!”
Dragged along by her arm, Jill Bernhardt didn’t see that she had much choice.
“Uh, Linds?” she asked after being ushered into her companion’s Jeep.
“What?” barked the preoccupied inspector.
“Where are we - I mean, what am I helping with?” inquired the blonde carefully. “Is it a case?”
Her words fell on deaf ears, however, for her friend was now intently scanning the street for - something.
She tried again, “Lindsay?” she said, trying to gain some insight into their mission.
Continuing to ignore her friend, Lindsay wrenched the steering wheel over and stomped on the brake. The abrupt stop flung Jill forward roughly against her seatbelt, extracting a startled, “Oof!” from the surprised attorney. After catching her breath, she yelped “What is the matter with you, Boxer?”
“Come on,” responded the brunette, striding off down the street without a glance at her companion, causing the shorter woman to nearly run to keep up.
“For cryin’ out loud, Lindsay, these are Jimmy Choos! If I break a heel -. “She never finished her threat as her lanky friend had already ducked into a florist’s shop? Pausing to catch her breath again, she pondered Lindsay’s sudden interest in flowers.
Upon entering the store, the puzzled blonde found herself confronted by the sight of an equally puzzled inspector wandering the aisles, a bemused florist following in her wake.
“Ma’am, if I can be of any assistance...” offered the proprietess, a slender brunette with sparkling eyes and a trace of a British accent.
Lindsay looked at her guiltily and mumbled “I need a hmrmmm.”
“Pardon?” asked both Jill and the saleswoman.
“Uh, I need something special. A pre-screw up flower,” she repeated.
“What did you do?” inquired Jill suspiciously.
Lindsay stuffed her hands in her pockets and stared at her feet before answering, “Um. Well, it’s not actually something I’ve done. Yet.” She looked over at Jill sheepishly.
“You - what?” Boxer logic defeated even the keen mind of the city’s best DDA.
“Well, I kind of um, know that I’m going to screw up. It’s nothing specific, but I know it will happen. So...” she trailed off at the look she received from her friend.
“They’re for when you DO screw up? You’re trying to get forgiveness in advance?” asked Jill incredulously.
During this exchange, the saleswoman had been half-listening and half wandering about trying to make a selection based on the information that was slowly being provided to her. “Not roses...”she murmured as she walked, “not bird of paradise, hmm... Not lilies...”
“No lilies!” blurted out the blonde. “She’s already got that part - I mean, these are for Cindy aren’t they?”
Lindsay looked at her scornfully “Who else would they be for? And what’s wrong with lilies?”
“Lily means ‘I dare you to love me,’” said the saleswoman with a sideways look at Jill.
“And that’s so wrong, why? I mean, yeah, we’re already past that part - I coulda used that a couple of months ago, but so what?” Lindsay looked blankly from one grinning face to another.
“How about orchids?”offered Jill, trying to deflect her away from the lilies.
“You know, the lilies might just be the thing! You know, ‘can you love me even if I screw up’ and all?” pondered the brunette.
“You goof, she’s already in love with you! You don’t need a flower to get there.” Jill shook her head and looked to the saleswoman for help. “Anything but lilies, ok? And,” looking at her friend, “I can’t wait to hear your explanation for whatever you get, because you KNOW she’s gonna ask. You’d better come up with something more than ‘Just for when I screw up.’”
Not two hours later, Lindsay was pacing about, staring at the arrangement she’d placed on the living room table. “Something good, Martha,” she said to her dog, finally slumping to a halt in the armchair that she knew Cindy secretly hated. “Jill said I needed to come up with something good. How do I explain that I don’t want - that I CAN’T lose her for being the idiot I know I will be at some point?”
Martha whined and nuzzled her knee before giving a sharp welcoming bark to her seemingly magically appearing other mistress. Eager for a treat, she padded quickly over to the inquisitive-looking redhead at the door. She was quickly gratified with an ear scratch and a Milkbone.
“Ok, what was that and this -“Cindy pointed to the floral arrangement, “all about?”
Lindsay immediately leaped to her feet and stammered, “Uh, because it’s Tuesday!”
Cindy gave her a scathing look. “Let me get this straight, you were pacing about the room talking to the dog and presumably giving me flowers all because it’s Tuesday?”
Her girlfriend shrank under the intense scrutiny of the smaller redhead. “How, how much did you hear?”
“I didn’t actually hear much - something about being an idiot?” grinned the reporter. “Did you seriously think that ‘Because it’s Tuesday’ would get you out of explaining why you bought me flowers? You, who I don’t even think has even spelled florist, ever?”
“Hey, I can spell florist, I needed one for the wedding and...” Lindsay trailed off as she caught just the faintest drop in the younger woman’s demeanour. “See? This,” she pointed towards herself and then to Cindy, “is why I bought you flowers.”
Cindy wrinkled her nose in confusion. “What?”
Lindsay took Cindy’s hands and brought them to her lips. “Look, I knew. I mean, I know that I’m going to screw up. It’s what I do - I’m not the greatest at being in a relationship. I’m always going to say something that makes you doubt us. Doubt me. So, I bought you flowers. I meant to give them to you before I did anything too idiotic, but - what?” the brunette stopped in the middle of her monologue and peered down at a suddenly giggling redhead.
Cindy began to laugh. “You. You bought me flowers for forgiveness on the premise that you were going to do something?”
“Well, I. Yeah.” Lindsay ducked her head and carefully began studying the floor.
“And you thought that flowers would fix anything you might do in the future.” Cindy couldn’t help the incredulousness that had crept into her tone.
“Mmmhmmm...” came the mumbled reply.
“You’re gonna need more than flowers to placate me if you do something idiotic!” the redhead proclaimed.
The despondent brunette finally looked at her in askance.
“Think foot massage, bubble baths and chocolate for a start...” Cindy giggled before reclaiming her hands and skipping out of reach.