Mae Flower

“OK, so my parents, who I admit should have known better, decided to christen me May. I can hardly help that, can I? I did the only thing I could do, which was to change the ‘y’ to an ‘e’. Yes, I know it’s still pronounced ‘May’! What’s wrong with Mae Flower? Oh, well, if you don’t want to take me on, that’s your loss, not mine!”

Mae switched off her phone and gave a little scream of exasperation.

“Mum and Dad, how could you!” she yelled, to no-one in particular, her anguish reverberating around the walls of her little flat.

She’d really wanted this job, too. It was telephone sales, and though she would have preferred a job where she could work outdoors, or meet people face to face, it would at least have tided her over.

There was a definite shortage of good jobs at the moment. Her friend, Tanya, had been out of work for three months now, and was having to think about going back home to her parents. Mae couldn’t do this even if she had wanted to, her parents having left England for Kenya some years ago. She hadn’t wanted to go with them. There had been her fiancé to consider at the time, but, since then, unfortunately, they had out-grown each other and had decided to separate. Now, there was no-one. She was completely alone apart from a few friends.

So, she didn’t need a strange name on top of everything else. It was causing trouble at work, for one thing. Some bosses didn’t think she was being serious, or didn’t think that she’d be taken seriously by their customers. And yet she’d never considered changing her name altogether. She felt that this would somehow be an insult her parents, and would denigrate herself as a human being. After all, one should be able to be called by one’s own name, or what was the world coming to? She was just so fed up of hearing remarks like ‘April showers, May flowers!’ or ‘Where are the Pilgrim Fathers then?’ And why they had to have a ship called the ‘Mayflower’ was beyond her! People could be very insensitive, and always thought that their joke was an original! Oh, well, she thought, I’ll just water my plants, then I’ll get off to the Job Centre. No use letting the grass grow under my feet.

It took her a few minutes to get round her collection of house plants; her little flat was full of them, and they always gave her pleasure.

Mae had been disappointed not to get the garden flat that she had originally been after, and when the landlord had suggested the attic instead she had almost wished she’d turned it down. She needed more space, to fill with the assorted greenery she loved.

At least my name matches my passion! thought Mae, and, remembering games of ‘Happy Families’ played as a child (I’m like Miss Bun, the baker’s daughter!) she smiled and began to prepare a quick lunch before setting out.

She lived near the centre of town, and as she jostled her way through the busy city streets, she thought how nice it would be in the countryside at the moment. There was a touch of spring in the air and as Mae walked along, she had a little smile on her face. She couldn’t help day-dreaming about green empty spaces, scattered with clusters of spring flowers, and a big blue sky stretching high overhead.

The collision came with a feeling of total shock. One minute Mae was sailing along in her green and gold world, the next she was sprawled in a very undignified fashion on the concrete pavement, her limbs interspersed with some-one else’s. For a minute they didn’t seem as though they would ever untangle themselves, but at last the other person stood up, apologising profusely as he did so.

Much of Mae’s breath had been knocked out during the impact, but even if it hadn’t, this man would have had the same effect.

He looked down on Mae from a respectable height, sunlight glinting on floppy dark red hair, and green eyes laughing into hers. And she could sense rather than see that his body matched his steel-like arms as he hauled her quickly to her feet.

“Hi, there, sorry about that.”(Wow! He was American! She’d always loved that accent). “I guess I just wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“Oh, that’s OK,” said Mae, breathlessly. “Neither was I, actually. In fact I was doing some serious day-dreaming, I’m afraid”.

The American laughed and it was a nice sound. It made his white teeth gleam, and his grass-green eyes crinkle at the corners.

“Say, let me treat you to coffee. Wake you up a bit!” he added as Mae hesitated.

She smiled. “Alright.”

“Great! There’s a café just here.” He steered her into a nearby doorway and found them a table for two.

After a waitress had taken their order, Mae said, “Well, shall we introduce ourselves? I’m Mae - Mae Flower,” she added, a touch defiantly. “Please don’t make any facetious remarks, because I’ve heard them all.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

For a few seconds he stopped smiling, but Mae thought it made him look even more attractive.

“My name’s Joel. Joel Brendowski.”

“American, I see.”

“Sure you’re not being facetious, Mae? No, I guess you’re just very perceptive then. Day-dreaming obviously suits you.” His eyes were twinkling again.

“Well, with me, what you see is what you get.” said Mae, with a grin.

“And I like what I see.” said Joel, looking at a glossy brunette with clear skin, who stared back with bright, no-nonsense eyes. And a becoming blush on her cheeks.

“What do you do for a living Mae?” asked Joel, after a pause.

“Nothing at the moment I’m afraid. In fact, I was just on my way to the Job Centre when I bumped into you.” Mae was beginning to think how lucky she was to have been in the right place at the right time. “How about you?”

“Well, strangely enough, I’ve been left a business by a cousin I haven’t even thought about for years.”

“Don’t tell me.” quipped Mae. “You’re the new owner of Harrods!”

Joel laughed.

“Hardly that. No, it’s a slightly smaller shop just around the corner from here, near the hospital. As a matter of fact,” he added thoughtfully, “we might be in a position to do each other a big favour.”

“How do you mean?” asked Mae curiously.

For answer, Joel just stared at her, seeming to look deeper and deeper into her eyes, as if searching for something there. Then, suddenly coming to a decision, the American jumped up and began to rummage through his pockets for coins to pay their bill.

“Now what?” asked Mae.

“Come on, drink that coffee. I’m going to show you my inheritance.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were standing outside a small corner shop, its shutters pulled down hiding the contents within.

“Is this it? Your shop? She asked. What does it sell?”

Joel just grinned and pointed above their heads to the shop name sign.

‘FLEURS’, it read.

“Oh, how wonderful!” said Mae. “It’s a florists!”

Joel unlocked the front door and took her inside, talking with brisk, American enthusiasm as he did so. “Look, it’s a great little shop, and of course it should have a good turnover, being near the hospital and all. There’s a large apartment over the top which could go with the job, if things work out. I won’t need it because I’ve also been left a small house as well, and I’ll have that to stay in when I’m over here again, which should be in a few months.”

Mae stood still and looked at him. “What are you saying, Joel?”

“I’m saying, how would you like to run the shop for me? Don’t think you have to answer straight away,” he added quickly, as he saw Mae’s reaction. “You take a coupla days to figure it through. It’s just that, well, I want to move over here eventually, but I don’t really want to run a flower shop. My line of work is historical research. I’ve always loved England, so it will be ideal. But, I’ve got to wind everything up in the States, work my notice over there and vacate my apartment, which will all take time. Meanwhile, I need this place up and running to bring me an income.” Joel turned to face Mae.

“When I met you today and learned your name, plus the fact you were looking for a job, well, it seemed too much like fate to resist. I thought we could maybe give each other a fair trial, see how we get along. Perhaps there could even be a long term prospect for you, if you want it.”

Mae was, for once, speechless.

“Well, come on, say something.” prompted Joel. “What are you thinking?”

“I was just thinking how much I loved my name.” said a delighted Mae. “Thank-you, Mum and Dad!”

Then she stared deep into Joel’s green eyes. What a wonderful country America was! “And thank-you, Uncle Sam!” she murmured.