The Flower Arch

Finally.

Though the sun’s brilliant golden rays shone down on the city below, an occasionally bitter wind continued to rustle through the leaves. It was easy to find a patch of sunny warmth, but the disturbance of the frigid wind made jackets a necessity. Cora didn’t mind, though. From beneath the light beige of her thin spring jacket, the knee-length skirt of a sundress patterned with pink roses flared out. Her pink ballerina flats walked her daintily across the muddy grass, each step light and delicate, filled with purpose. Her arms were outstretched to the sides, unconsciously seeking balance as she took these slow and deliberate steps, a wide smile on her lips.

Behind her, Cora’s mother and grandmother walked with less care and purpose. The elderly matron of the family, Florence, wore a practical set of brown leather shoes and she worried not about the impact of the mud. April wore sneakers; even though Cora had grown up, married, and flown the nest, the lazy practicality of a busy mother suited April, and she found herself lounging around the house in yoga pants and t-shirts more frequently than she liked to admit.

“Do you think they’ll have that silly photo op they had last year?” Cora asked, looking over her shoulder at the others.

“Remind me again which one that was?” asked Florence, furrowing her brow as she gazed ahead at her carefree granddaughter. She remembered being young. She remembered having long, flowing golden curls that fluttered about in the breeze, just as Cora’s were doing right now. Cora was more like Florence than April had ever been, and it made the old woman miss the days of her youth.

“One of those thingies, you know, with the cut-out holes we put our faces in? Last year they had a bunny, a chick, and, uh… I think it was a lamb, perhaps…?”

April laughed. “It was a lamb,” she confirmed.

“Yeah! It was perfect for us because it had three spots, so we weren’t missing anyone and no one got left out!” Cora chimed, smiling widely.

“I just hope they have pie,” mused Florence.

Up ahead, the sound of music could be heard. It was a light, whimsical melody, carried by the chilly wind. As soon as the sound filled her ears, Cora all but jumped for joy, her brown eyes lighting up.

“We’re almost there!” she called over her shoulder to her mother and grandmother.

“Do you think she’ll ever stop being so excited?” Florence asked, glancing towards her own daughter. “We do this together every year. You’d think she’d be used to it by now.”

“She’ll get over it once she’s got kids of her own,” said April. “There’s nothing quite like lugging a stroller and a screaming toddler through the mud to bring you down to earth.”

“Ha! You weren’t much better, you know,” teased Florence, reaching over and poking April’s arm.

“Guys! Hurry up, we’re almost there!” hollered Cora.

“When did she get so far ahead?” grumbled Florence, squinting to make out her granddaughter’s shape.

Sure enough, just as Cora said, the local spring festival was visible up ahead. Banners in pale shades of pink, green, and yellow adorned the lamp posts in the park, and though streamers had been strung up in the trees, many seemed to have torn or flown away in the harsh wind. In a few spots, loose streamers dangled straight downwards, thrashing about each time the wind came by in its attempts to carry them away. Cartoonish signs had been posted around the park, and each little booth or area was clearly marked with what appeared to be a hand-painted sign in the same pastel shades that made up the rest of the decorations.

“I swear, this city gets cheaper and cheaper every year,” grumbled Florence. “It’s like they didn’t even try!”

“Oh, come on, ma, it’ll be fine,” said April. “It’s not about how much they spend on it, it’s about having fun together.”

“Sure, sure,” scoffed Florence, continuing forward with her daughter as they made their way towards the festival. Cora was far enough up ahead that she’d finally stopped to wait for them, since going any farther would defeat the purpose of visiting the spring festival with her mother and grandmother. The pair finally caught up to her, and Cora did a little twirl once they were all together again.

“Look at that pretty flower arch! We should-“

“Ooh, pie!”

Cora blinked her brown eyes in surprise when her grandmother cut her off, turning so she could follow her grandmother’s hungry gaze.

“Grandma, that’s the pie-eating contest,” giggled Cora.

“Do you think it costs much to enter?” asked Florence.

“Ma?!” asked April, looking over at her in surprise. “Since when do you enter eating contests?”

“Aren’t you the one always telling me it’s never too late to pick up a new hobby?” teased Florence. “Those pies look great. I’d love to show these whippersnappers a thing or two about eating pie.”

As if on cue, a young man standing near the long table of pies gently rapped his finger against a microphone. The tapping sound filled the immediate area, and Cora flinched a bit at the feedback that followed it. “Ahem,” started the man. “Last call for the pie-eating contest! Next contest will be at 2pm, last call for the noon hour pie-eating contest! Only five tickets to sign up!”

“Ooh, let’s go get our tickets so grandma can sign up, honey!” April said, grabbing Cora by the hand. “Ma, go wait for us by the contest area. We’ll be quick!”

Cora nodded her agreement, and then she took off with her mother. They had some time to spare so her grandma didn’t have to wait another two hours to have some pie, after all. The pretty flower arch would still be there in twenty minutes when the contest had ended, after all.

Neither April nor Cora had expected Florence to win the pie-eating contest, so neither of them found themselves surprised to see that she did not. What did surprise them, however, was hearing the judge announce her as the third-place winner. Both women couldn’t help but to clap and cheer as Florence went to take her ribbon, delicately dabbing at the corners of her mouth with a napkin as she rejoined her family a short distance from the table.

“Ma, I’ve never seen you eat like that!” said April.

“What can I say? Old age has been kind to me,” laughed Florence.

“That was great, grandma!” said Cora, clapping her hands together. “Why don’t we go check out that really pretty flower-“

“Oh, ma, look over there, isn’t that Mr. Barker? I didn’t know he was back in town,” said April suddenly.

Both Florence and Cora looked in the direction that April was looking, and a grin spread widely across Florence’s face. “It is! I didn’t know he was back, either. Come on, girls, let’s go and say hello.”

“What about the flower arch…?” asked Cora, looking longingly in the direction of the decorative archway that had caught her attention.

“It’s not going anywhere, honey, come on. Let’s go say hello to Mr. Barker,” said April.

“Well, all right, but let’s go over to the flower arch after that,” said Cora.

Neither April nor Florence responded. Both seemed in a hurry to go and greet Mr. Barker. Cora didn’t really know Mr. Barker that well, but followed along after them anyhow. He and her grandmother had been next-door neighbours for many decades. He had watched April grow up, and then he’d moved out of town when Cora was twelve, citing a need to stay with his son and daughter-in-law due to rising health and safety concerns with regards to living alone. She felt a bit awkward standing there while her mother and grandmother chatted away with the older gentleman, greeting him politely when he addressed her but saying nothing more.

After at least ten or fifteen minutes of conversation, Mr. Barker politely excused himself. Once again, the three women were alone together. Cora opened her mouth to speak, wanting to suggest that they head over to the flower arch, but her mother once again cut in.

“Look, they’re opening up the petting zoo,” said April, pointing. “Look at the bunnies!”

“Oh, how cute!” agreed Florence.

“It looks like they’re still getting set up. We could go check out the flower arch first and then the bunnies, maybe?” Cora suggested.

“They should be ready any moment, I think. Let’s go and be first in line!” said April.

“No, we should go to the flower arch,” said Cora, a little more insistently now.

“Cora, honey, the flower arch isn’t going anywhere. We can take a picture after-“

“No!” Cora stamped her foot on the muddy ground, frustration bubbling up and spilling from her like a pot boiling over on the stovetop. “I’ve been trying to get us to go over to the flower arch since we got here! It’s not about taking a picture, I know it’s not going anywhere, but I saw it and I thought it was so pretty and I thought it would be really nice for the three of us to all be standing under this pretty flower arch when I tell you both that I’m pregnant like I’ve been waiting literally weeks to do, but every time I say anything about the flower arch you keep getting distracted or interrupting me when all I wanna do right now is go to the flower arch!”

A silence fell over the three women. Cora’s dark eyes went wide as she realized just how much she had blurted out. With a little whine, she brought her hands up to cover her face.

“Cora…?”

“That was supposed to be a nice surprise,” moaned Cora disappointedly.

She felt her mother’s hands gently come down on her shoulder. Lowering her hands, Cora looked up to see her mother’s bright blue eyes absolutely shining as she looked at her.

“Cora, you and Robbie are having a baby?” asked April. Her lips were curved upwards into a thrilled smile, and tears already seemed to be welling up in her eyes.

“I’m going to be a great-grandma?” asked Florence.

“Yes,” Cora said, nodding. Tears were filling her own eyes, too. “I’m sorry. I was so excited to tell you, and I wanted everything to be perfect.”

“But honey,” said April, “everything is perfect. The three of us are all together, we’re enjoying the spring festival… any moment today would have been the perfect moment.”

“Your mother’s right, honey,” Florence said, stepping forward and placing a wrinkled hand delicately upon her granddaughter’s back. “You don’t need some fancy flower arch to give us good news. As long as we’re all together, the moment is right.”

Cora sniffled a bit, a couple of tears freeing themselves of her eyes and trickling down her cheek. Despite her tears, there was a smile on her face, and she opened her arms to hug her mother and grandmother.

“I love you guys,” she said.

“We love you too, honey,” April said, nestling herself comfortably in the group hug and smiling with delight.

“Very much,” Florence agreed, nodding. “And we love your baby, too, dear. Even if I am too young to be a great-grandmother.”

All three women laughed, and after a moment, the group hug came to an end. Each took a small step back so they could look into one another’s eyes once again, allowing them a moment to regroup.

“So, do you want to go take a picture at the flower arch to remember this moment?” April asked.

“Nah,” said Cora, shaking her head. “The moment’s passed.”

“We should go get ice cream,” said Florence, grinning proudly.

“It’s like six degrees out, ma,” said April.

“So?” asked Florence, shrugging. “We just got some amazing news. I’d say that calls for celebration.”

Cora nodded. “I’m with grandma. Ice cream sounds pretty good right about now.”

“Sure, says the pregnant one,” laughed April. “What about the festival? There’s still a bunch of stuff we haven’t had the chance to do.”

Cora smiled, shrugging a bit, and then a devious smirk came to her lips at the opportunity to hit her mother back with her own words. “It’s here all month, ma,” she said. “The festival will still be here after ice cream.”