Page 38 - It Ends with Us

“Okay,” I say. “Wha t if, ins tea d of sho wcasing the sweet side of

flowers , we sho wcased the villai nous side? Ins tea d of pink accent s, we
use darker colors, like a dee p purple or ev en black. And ins tea d of
just spring and life, we also cel eb rate wint er and dea th. ”
Allysa’s ey es are wide. “But . . . wha t if someo ne want s pink flowers ,
tho ugh?”
“Wel l, we’l l still give them what they want , of course. But we’l l also

give them wha t they don’t know they want .”
She scratches her cheek . “So you’re thi nk ing blac k flowers ?” She
looks conc erned , and I don’t blame her. She’s onl y seei ng the darkes t
side of my vision. I take a sea t at the table again and try to get her on
board.
“Someo ne onc e told me tha t there is no such thi ng as bad peo ple.
We’re all just peo ple who somet imes do bad thi ng s. Tha t stuck with

me, bec ause it’s so true. We’v e all got a little bit of good and ev il in us.
I want to make tha t our them e. Ins tea d of paint ing the walls a putrid
sweet color, we paint them dark purple with black accent s. And
ins tea d of onl y putting out the usual pastel displays of flowers in
boring crystal vases tha t make peo ple thi nk of life, we go ed gy. Brave
and bold. We put out displays of darker flowers wrapped in thi ng s like

lea ther or silver cha ins . And rather tha n put them in crystal vases ,
we’l l stick them in black ony x or . . . I don’t kno w . . . purple vel vet
vases lined with silver studs. The idea s are end les s.” I stand up again.
“There are floral sho ps on ev er y corner for peo ple who love flowers .
But wha t floral sho p caters to all the peo ple who hat e flowers ?”
Allysa sha kes her hea d. “None of them ,” she whi spers .
“Exactly. None of them. ”

We stare at ea ch other for a moment , and then I can’t take it
ano ther sec ond . I’m bursting with ex citem ent and I just start laughi ng
like a giddy chi ld. Allysa starts laughi ng , too, and she jumps up and
hu gs me. “Lily, it’s so twisted , it’s brilliant !”
“I kno w!” I’m full of renew ed energ y. “I need a des k so I can sit
down and make a busines s plan! But my future offic e is full of old

veg et able crates !”
She walks toward the back of the store. “Wel l, let ’s get them out of
there and go buy you a des k!”