Yvonne & Harrison

After we finished touring the entire Whalen mansion from top to bottom, inside and out, room after room, and one valuable item after another, Stephanie and I agreed that it was best for us to start heading out. Before we actually got ready to leave, I decided to head down to the basement to keep the reclusive Harrison Whalen company. He’d been pretty distant since that awkward moment in the kitchen during brunch time; I wondered what his deal was.

“Hey.” I sat next to him on the couch. He was just sitting there, staring at nothing in particular, his phone between us on the couch. I held onto it so that I didn’t accidentally sit on top of it.

“You can give that back to me, you know.” He gave me a small smile.

“Right.” I chuckled, returning his phone to him.

After another moment of awkward silence, I cleared my throat and said, “So… Have you had the chance to follow the shop on Instagram?”

“I have, actually. See?” He unlocked his phone, went on to Instagram and showed me. “I’m following you already.”

“That’s a relief.” I smiled.

“Why?” He raised his eyebrows.

“Well, from your, uh…” I didn’t want to say tantrum, so I said the next best thing instead. “I got the impression that you weren’t interested in following the shop. You guys apparently have a No Cell Phone policy at the dinner table, and that’s totally fine. I respect that.”

“Well, we do, yeah, but it’s not that serious to the point where other people aren’t allowed to contact us, unless it’s a serious emergency. That wasn’t what I meant, if that’s what you’re curious about.” His expression softened, and for the first time, I knew in my heart that he felt more comfortable around me. I guess I was able to bring him out of his shell, even for a little while.

“Yeah… No, I knew that.” I nodded. “I understand. Thanks for following us on Instagram. Feel free to check out the shop at your own convenience.”

“Will do.” He gave a thumbs-up, and I chuckled, finding it amusing for some reason.

There was another moment of silence as he and I sat on the couch, staring at each other, glancing around the room at nothing in particular. It felt nice to just sit back on the couch after a nice meal. When he and I locked eyes, we’d quickly glance away, as if making eye contact with each other was awkward. Even he couldn’t resist smiling. That was the second time I’d ever seen a genuine smile coming from him.

“So, what’s on your mind right now?” I asked.

“Ladies first.” He grinned.

I chuckled. “Ah, so we’re playing that game, huh?” I sighed. “Oh, well, I suppose I’ll just go first, then. Hmm, let’s see… What’s on my mind this fine Saturday afternoon? What’s on my mind right now is how I really enjoyed this brunch with your family.”

“Really?” He gave me a look of intrigue.

“Yes, really, Harrison.” He chuckled at the way I emphasized his name. “Before Stephanie and I came over, we had a nice small breakfast at my place. We didn’t want to risk overeating or we’d lose our appetite when we came here, and fortunately, everything exceeded our expectations. Your cooks were perfect and did a spectacular job. You guys have amazing staff employed in your house; you should appreciate them more often.”

“Oh, trust me, we do appreciate them.” He gave me a wink. “We know that Hansel and Nathaniel’s culinary skills never disappoint us. They always know what they’re doing. They’re Belinda’s older brothers, you know. The three of them are Gerta’s children. They’re originally from Germany, and if memory serves, Gerta has been a U.S. citizen for the past 30-something years after leaving Germany following her husband’s death. So, yeah, she is a widow, but my family… We took an instant liking to her and the kids. Long story for another time, but hopefully, you get the idea of why we appreciate them so much.”

It was interesting to learn that Gerta was widowed, and Belinda, Hansel, and Nathaniel were siblings. I got the sense that they had a close relationship with each other, and they were forced to maintain their bond after coming here to the United States. “That’s so sweet,” I said with a small smile. “Stories like that really teach you the importance of family togetherness. There’s nothing like it.”

“I know.” He gave me an understanding smile. “I know you can relate after you lost your mom. I overheard everything from the living room, so I got a sense as to how you carved your own path after her death. Is that right?”

“That’s right.” I nodded, trying my best not to get too emotional over my mother’s death. “Sorry.” I took a small breath to contain myself.

“No, it’s okay,” he reassured me.

“Thanks.” I smiled.

Another moment of silence came before Harrison spoke. “Hey, listen, Yvonne. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, and I apologize if it sounds a little mean, but…”

I had a look of concern on my face. “What is it?”

“I… I really don’t think you should do this for our family. The floral arrangements, I mean. I think you should back out of it while you still have the chance. I… I honestly don’t see you as the type of person who could handle such a demanding task for your business. Please…” He gave me a guilty smile. “Don’t be mad. Okay?”

I gave him a confused glance; what was he talking about? “Don’t be mad?” I repeated. “Are you serious?”

“No…” He cleared his throat, trying to correct himself. “It’s just… Oh, boy, how do I put this?” He took a small breath before he continued. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just… Jayna said that she stopped by your shop yesterday during your shop’s closing hours. Right?”

“Yeah. We were just about to lock up the shop when she literally just waltzed in from out of nowhere, demanding that we tend to her needs.”

“Yeah, so you’ve already gotten a sense as to how she can be, as my sister. A little too demanding… Kind of like a Karen in a way.”

I already knew who Jayna Whalen was before we agreed to cater to her. “Yeah, but Stef and I were able to handle that moment with grace, Harrison. We needed to be professional. My mother would’ve done the same thing, if she were in my shoes. I was just following her example. I’m the reason that the shop has been successful since her death. I’ve never wanted to feel like I’ve let her down in any way.”

“No, of course, I get it. I know you’ve always made the shop a success, and you’ll never disappoint your mom. It’s just… I’m sure you’ve heard stories about my family. We’re too demanding and over-the-top sometimes. We’re kind of like, let’s put it this way… An entitled, Connecticut version of the Kennedys. Yes, that’s what we’ve been compared to in the past. We consider ourselves royalty, and I’m sure you must’ve heard a lot of horror stories about us. But I’m not personally like that, and as someone from the inside warning you as someone from the outside… You don’t need to do this for us. Jayna and my parents will give you hell for these next few months. They’ve already criticized your favorite show; what’s to say they won’t criticize anything else about you and your friend along the way?”

I understood everything he was trying to say, but I just wished he had a little more faith in me. The one thing that got to me was when he referred to me as “someone from the outside”, as in, I didn’t fit in their world, and neither did Stephanie. We didn’t come from money and affluence like they did. “What do you mean, ‘someone from the outside’?” I gave him a skeptical glance.

He sighed. “Look, I’m not trying to be an asshole or anything…”

I scoffed. “An asshole, huh? No, but you are. You are being an asshole right now, Harrison.” I shook my head as I got up from the couch. “Unbelievable.”

He got up, too. “Yvonne…” He gently touched my shoulder, as if he was trying to comfort me.

“No, don’t.” I resisted his touch. “You’ve been nothing but exceptionally rude and reserved since my friend and I got here to join your family for a nice meal. I almost defended you to your mom, saying that I sometimes act a little shy around other strangers. But you were just a plain asshole, storming off to the living room while we were still in the dining room, barely engaging in conversation with us.”

“I know,” he said with a sigh as he sat back down, “and I’d like to apologize for that. I’ll apologize time and again for that, but I just hope you’ll forgive me each time. I never wanted to give you a shitty first impression of me. It’s just… I don’t like the way my parents organize these functions. That’s just who they are. In the beginning, they try to act all nice and sweet and accommodating, pretending they want to get to know you. But part of their agenda is using all that personal information against you in the worst possible way. They’ll take advantage of the fact that your mom died when you were 19, and they’ll look down on the fact that you’re able to run the shop by yourself, thinking that you get ‘free help’ from the government or something. It’s the fact that you don’t come from money that overwhelms them the most.

“After today, don’t expect any more pleasantries from them. They’ll treat you and Stephanie as ‘flower girls’ and nothing more, a typical case of classism. Jayna will demand that you do X, Y, and Z for the wedding floral arrangements. She’s been known to change her mind a million times, so no matter what you do, you can never fully please her enough. And contrary to what you think when we first showed you the ballroom, Jayna will probably want something extravagant, so her desired number of guests will keep changing along the way. I’m sure our doorkeeper, Ernest, must’ve told you that she wanted a small ceremony, but I know that’s totally contradictory to what she really wants. She’ll probably want something more over-the-top than she’s letting on. She’s never truly satisfied with one particular thing, so not to be that guy again, but I’m just warning you in advance.”

All I heard from him was that I couldn’t do my job by handling the likes of his high-maintenance family. “You are being that guy, though.” I sat back down on the couch, a little farther away from him to keep some distance between us. There was some physical, as well as emotional, distance between us. He did not trust me to do my job, and that hurt the most.

“Yvonne… Now that’s not fair.”

“No, what’s not fair is how you think I can’t do my job as a florist. I’ve dealt with many high-maintenance people over the years, so I’m positive that your family won’t be an exception. If anything, you’re the one who sounds like an asshole, for someone who is willing to criticize his own family. You literally just admitted that all you guys care about is wealth and money and people who come from it, as opposed to people like myself and Stephanie. So, Jayna’s lucky enough to find love with a rich guy and marry him. What about you, Harrison? Ever had any luck with rich girls before?”

He shook his head in disbelief. “Wow. Way to put me on the spot like that. I don’t have to tell you about my history with past girlfriends.”

“Who I assume were rich, right?”

He rolled his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean? That I only go after rich girls just to appease my family?”

“Well, ain’t that the truth?” I said cynically. “You’re the type of guy that’s gotten everything handed down to him on a silver platter, being born with a silver spoon in your mouth, and never having to work hard to get anything you want. You have these amazing housekeepers who do a lot of things for you that normal people like myself can do for myself: going to the grocery store, doing my own shopping, cooking my own food… But no, you’re Harrison Whalen Jr., the Golden Boy of the family with a fancy law degree and a friend with equal success marrying into your family by proposing to your twin sister. Trust me. I know your type very well. I’ve dealt with guys like you in my past as customers coming to my shop and acting like the whole world owes them something. You’re very privileged, and guys like you make it no secret that you come from a line of privilege and money, so there goes your theory about the differences between the haves like you and the have-nots like myself.”

Harrison scoffed. “Born with a silver spoon in my mouth? I have things handed down to me on a silver platter? I’m privileged? Wow, you must have something against silver, then. You know ‘my type’? Enlighten me, Yvonne. What exactly is my type? You think every rich guy is a stereotypical snob?”

“I know that every rich guy is a snob, not to mention, a trust fund child, which I bet without a doubt, you and Jayna were. You guys live in this fancy schmancy mansion as if it’s everything, but one day, you’ll realize that all this will come to an end. You also have your fancy schmancy country club where you host events that show you care about others in town, but really, it’s all just a show because you guys don’t give a damn about anyone else but yourselves.”

“You don’t even know me that well,” he snapped. “Now who’s the judgmental one?”

“Well, you don’t know me that well, either, if you’re willing to express your doubts about my ability to do my job that I’ve been doing well for the past seven years since my mother’s death. My aunt and grandmother warned me to watch out for you because you’re such a quiet one, but turns out, they forgot to include one thing: you are nothing but a real jerk. And a very rude one at that. We wish you and your family the best of luck. Stephanie and I need to get going now.”

I stormed off, going back upstairs without looking back at him or saying another word.