Dream On(34)

By the time the elevator deposits me in the lobby, my smile is so big my cheeks ache. But then I catch sight of the person standing in front of the reception desk, and I freeze. It’s not Devin.

Perry is in the lobby, and he’s holding a small vase of purple irises.

He looks a lot better than he did in the Uber on Friday, I’ll give him that. His hair is neatly combed, and his expression is clear and no longer glassy-eyed. This Perry, the one standing before me, is the Perry from the first day we met: worn jeans, shy smile, and pollen-streaked T-shirt. He waves when he sees me.

On the corner of David’s desk is an enormous bouquet of long-stemmed red roses. I swallow hard. Are those for me?

“Perry, hi,” I say when I reach David’s desk. “What are you doing here?”

“Dropping off a delivery.” He nods at the massive bouquet of roses. “Apparently, one of your coworkers is celebrating her thirtieth wedding anniversary today.”

My stomach constricts. Oh, so they’re not for me then. David peeks up at us from behind his black-rimmed glasses, not even trying to hide that he’s listening intently to our conversation. Stepping away from his desk, I lead Perry toward the opposite side of the lobby. I like David, but I also don’t want to become the subject of office gossip.

“What about the shop? Who’s covering for you?” I ask Perry.

“The store doesn’t open until noon, and our regular delivery driver, Chuck, doesn’t start until three. Devin mentioned you work at Smith & Boone, so when the order for roses came in this morning, I figured I’d make the delivery myself. Plus one more.”

I nod at the vase of irises he’s holding. “Are those for me?”

“Yes indeed.”

Our fingers brush when I take the vase from him. The curled petals of the deep violet irises are punctuated by narrow stalks of lavender and airy greenery. “These are beautiful,” I say, taking a deep breath in of their glorious scent. “And so thoughtful of Devin. I’ll be sure to thank him straight away.”

Perry’s cheeks flush. “Actually, they’re from me.”

My jaw goes slack and my eyes widen. They’re from… Perry?

“To say sorry for getting drunk and ruining your date with Devin the other night,” he quickly adds. “Honestly, I’ve been unfair to you since the beginning, and I’m sorry. This is my way of making amends.”

Holy shit. That’s really nice. I mean, it would have been nicer if Devin had sent the flowers, but I appreciate that Perry’s willing to own up to his mistakes and apologize. And he chose purple for my bouquet—again, just like he did the day we met at Blooms & Baubles. Because purple brings out the green in my eyes. My neck warms at the memory of our first exchange.

“Apology accepted. Although it wasn’t technically a date, so no harm, no foul.”

“I was wrong about you, Cass. And for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re seeing my brother.”

“Thanks, Perry. That means a lot. And for what it’s worth, I think I might have been wrong about you too. You’re a good egg.”

We stare at each other for a long moment.

Perry clears his throat and looks away. “Well, I should probably go. I need to open the shop soon.”

“Thanks again for the flowers.”

“No problem. See you later.” With a cheery salute, he walks toward the door.

Across the lobby, the elevator opens, and a man wearing a delivery uniform shuffles out, carrying an impossibly tall stack of boxes that teeter with every step. Before I can ask if he needs help though, Perry hurries over to the front door to hold it open. When the top box threatens to fall, Perry grabs it for the delivery guy, and the two of them walk over to the idling van parked outside. David, who’s been leaning across his desk watching the whole thing, beckons me over.

“Who was that?” he asks.

I smile reflexively. “A friend of mine. I’m kind of dating his brother.”

“Well, if the brother is half as cute as that one, then ding-ding. Winner, winner, chicken dinner.”

Laughter bursts out of me. “Thanks, David.”

I take my irises back to my cubicle and arrange them on my desk. The earthy, sweet scent of irises mix with lavender, and I inhale deeply, closing my eyes. What a surprising turn of events. I never would have expected Perry to show up to my office and apologize in person, let alone bring me flowers. If this is the kind of family Devin has, that speaks well of him.

And now that Perry’s on my side, I have one less hurdle to discovering whether this thing I have with Devin is real. If he’s even half as thoughtful and self-aware as Perry, then he’ll be well on his way to living up to my memory of him. Only time will tell.



* * *



My cell phone vibrates on my desk, and I pick it up when Devin’s name flashes on the screen. I still can’t believe it’s been three weeks since we started dating. If you would have told postcoma Cass that her memories of Devin were actually a harbinger of events yet to come, she would have asked her neurologist to double her meds.

Not that what I’ve experienced over the past three weeks with Devin is exactly how I remember. Like, for our second date, he took me to see a show at Playhouse Square—something I could have sworn we’d never done before. And I was shocked to learn he doesn’t own a bicycle, even though I distinctly remember us riding through the park.