Nellie

She remembered the first time she had met him.

It had been early morning, and the large man had been in the shoppe looking for flowers for his employer.

“Pardon me Miss,” the big man had said. “Do you have any Cornish heath?”

Nellie had to take a moment to consider the question, because she had not been the one to pick up the day’s large order of flowers for the thriving floral boutique where she was employed.

“You know some folks call it Wandering Heath“ she had told the big man.

“That’s what my Mum used to call it” Fitz had told the girl. “But Mr. Penrose knows it as Cornish Heath; and he loves the smell of them flowers”

She continued; “I think it matters where you’re from. I hear that it grows over in Ireland, and Spain even, not just in the Olde Country.”

”Let me look in the back to see if we have any for your employer.“ She had told the man.

“That would be fine Miss,” Fitz had told the lovely young woman.

She turned to the rear of the store and walked away to search for the aromatic pink or sometime lilac floral plant.

Fitz watched her as she walked away. She was a truly lovely girl. He knew her name was Nellie and that she was the niece of the Mrs. who ran the thriving floral boutique call “Flowry”. Nellie was on the taller side for a woman; but she was still near 25 centimeters shorter than his imposing height of 2 meters.

Fitz himself was fair skinned with hair the color of pitch and a calm serious face. The girl was pleasing to look upon and even more fair than he; with pale blonde hair. He could see her poking about in the rear of the shoppe and heard her let out a small satisfied sound when she apparently found what she had been searching for.

Nellie had gone to the back of the shoppe to search for the Cornish Heath. It was a flower that they commonly carried because it reminded most of the neighborhood of the olde country. This meant that it was a good seller and since her aunt, who ran the shoppe was a shrewd businesswoman, she usually made sure to pick up as much as she could when it was available in the dockside flower mart.

She considered the large man as she searched for the small flower. Though this was the first time Nellie had actually met him; she had seen the big man several times, as he would occasionally come into the shoppe to pick up the “weekly.” This was a form of tribute paid to the enterprise that was run by the big man’s employer. Penrose was the boss’s name and she had heard some unsavory things about the man and his past.

It was no secret that the West Side of the city; which included most of the docks, were under the sway of the Penrose enterprise.

And though he was an imposing figure; she found something about him to be almost gentle. Oh he was definitely a ruffian. She felt that he could be brutal; she had heard stories about the man most people referred to as Fitz. She even saw him occasionally at mass.

He was still to be preferred over the other man from the enterprise who would occasionally come around to pick up the “weekly”. That one’s name was Gerald; and he was somewhat of a lout. The other one: Gerald, was definitely a bruiser, and a large man. Not quite as large as Fitz; but still an imposing figure.

That one liked to talk a lot; and sometimes was impatient and she didn’t care for the way he would leer at her when he stopped by for the “weekly”; but he had not done anything specifically untoward to her.

All in all, she would rather deal with Fitz; because the few times she had seen him interact with her aunt; who owned the shoppe, he had been polite and respectful. A gentleman in comparison to his co-worker Gerald.

Nellie had worked for her aunt at Flowry for a little more than a year. In fact; she also lived above the shoppe, as the boutique was really the entire building. The shoppe occupied the ground floor and the 2 floors above were mostly living space with 4 large rooms, a parlor, with a lovely fireplace, spacious kitchen and bath, and the remaining area given over to storage for the shoppe.

She had been with her aunt; living and working for a little more than a year. Fourteen months prior she had received a wire from the Army regretfully informing her that her father was not coming home.

He had been lost in the trench warfare that took three quarter of a million men by the end of the Great War. Her mother had passed years before of influenza; and she had pleaded for her father not to go. He told her that it was his duty and she cursed him privately for a fool. But she was proud of him and there was a picture of him; tall and strong, in his uniform on the mantle of her bedchamber.

Her aunt had taken her in and given her not just a place to live; but also a place to work and be useful. She knew from her aunt that her cousin Teague was going to join them: living, and probably working at the shoppe soon.

After the war, he had travelled around the globe for more than a year, but now he was bound for home.

All these thoughts went through Nellie’s mind as she answered the knock so early in the morning on a cold winter’s day.

It was dark still and the shoppe wasn’t to open for hours. The only reason Nellie was up and down in the shoppe now, was because it was her day to go to the dockside flower mart and pick up the large order of flowers for the day.

She peaked through the glass pane that composed half of the front door and saw the large figure looming there. The shape on the other side of the front door was uncommonly large. She knew who it was; so was unconcerned about some strange man knocking on the shoppe door so early in the morn.

She unlocked and opened the door, and said “Good Morning Bran”

Nellie noticed the slightest shift upwards of his full lips. This happened every time she called him that.

She knew his full name was Branok Fitzsimmons; but almost everyone referred to him as Fitz. Nellie knew that his employer, Mr. Penrose called him Branok. She had noticed that the head of the enterprise tended to call nearly everyone by their given name.

Penrose even addressed her cousin as Jowan, his first name; even though nearly everyone else including his own mother, called him Teague, which was his surname.

But shortly after first meeting Fitz; it had occurred to her that he seemed like a Bran, so that was what she called the big man.

“And a very good morning to you Miss Nellie,” the large man said. “I know it’s early,” he continued, “but it’s Mr. Penrose’s birthday today, and I fancied getting him some extra Cornish Heath” Nellie nodded her head at this because she knew from experience that the head of the enterprise did enjoy that particular flower. She believed that it reminded him of the olde country where he had spent his youth.

She knew that he spent some time in the mines back there and maybe that’s partly why he so loved that pink and lilac flower; because it so contrasted the dank earthiness of the mine.

“Well Bran,” she said, “you know we don’t open for business for several hours yet”. Fitz looked over her head into the shoppe. This was done without effort and quite easily done because though Nellie was tall for a woman, she was still close to 25 centimeters shorter than the big enterprise man.

“I was hoping you might still have some from yesterday Miss Nellie,” he said to her.

“Sorry to disappoint Bran” she said, “but you know how popular the Wandering Heath is”. She could see he looked a little disheartened at her announcement. So she told him, “if you’d like Bran, you can come with me to the dockside flower mart.” His head, with hair the color of pitch lifted at this. “I was just about to go there for the daily pick up anyway,” she told him.

“That would be lovely Miss Nellie,” Fitz told the pretty girl.

“Well get on in here and we’ll take the truck out back to the mart,” Nellie told the enterprise man.

Fitz gingerly stepped inside the shoppe and waited while Nellie locked the front door.

They walked to the back of the shoppe and out the rear door to the alley where the shoppe truck was parked. Nellie had picked up the keys along the way and she tossed them to the big man when they got outside. “You can drive,” she told him. “This old beast is a bit cumbersome to my liking,” Nellie continued, “and the streets get a bit narrow down by the dock.”

Nellie couldn’t help but smile a bit when the big man walked around the truck to open the door for her.

They drove for several minutes; their breath fogging the inside of the windscreen while they did.

“I’m sure they’ll have the Cornish Heath for your employer,” Nellie told him. “It’s well within season”. Fitz nodded and paid attention to the road; because just as Nellie has said, the roads did get narrow, the closer to the docks one got.

“You know Bran,” she said, “I have noticed that you seem to be in the shoppe more and more of late.” Nellie looked over to see the big mans’ expression. “you come in for the weekly, more often than not; on days that I’m working.” Fitz seemed to be extra focused on the road and she saw that focus as maybe more than just that.

Nellie continued,” and you come in at least once a week for the Heath that Mr. Penrose likes so much.” Fitz nodded slowly as he drove.

“That also seems to happen on days when I’m working,” Nellie told him. She watched the big man. Fitz continued to remain focused on driving.

"Are you keeping tabs on me Bran?" Nellie asked. In a soft sing song voice she asked "Do you fancy me?"

she watched the big man: she could see him clearly blush, even though it was still dark in the streets.

Fitz sputtered, :"Who, you, what, me, how do that?"

Nellie giggled, "calm down big fella".

luckily for Fitz; they arrived just then to the flower mart and spent the next 45 minutes arranging and picking up the large flower order for Flowry. 

After the flowers were loaded on the truck and ready to go, the unlikely pair got into the cab. Fitz had his hand on the key but then he stopped and looked over at the lovely girl.

"Miss Nellie," he said. "I have to pick up some baked goods for Mr. Penrose: it being his birthday and all." Nellie looked at the big man.

"I was wondering if you would like to get some breakfast with me." Fitz looked expectant, hopeful. Nellie thought for a moment and smiled slightly. "But the shoppe opens in less than two hours Bran". She saw Fitz's face almost deflate with despair.

Nellie spoke up. "Well maybe a quick bite would be okay". She saw Fitz's face light up.

The pretty girl leaned toward the big man; and in a sing song voice she said, "is this a Date Bran?" Fitz looked a bit disconcerted, and looked left and right.

Nellie spoke again; in that same soft sing song voice, "are you courting me?"

Fitz blurted out "Who, you, what, me, how do that?"

"Calm down big fella" Nellie said to Fitz.

the big man visibly relaxed; and smiled.

"i have to say," Fitz said, "i'm surprised you said yes".

Nellie admitted; "i'm surprised it took you this long to ask"