The Angels of Malvern Flowers

Dear Flower-shop Ladies,

 

I am sorry that I do not know your names,

But I wanted to say thank you.

So many people are afraid of teenagers,

And most people hate us.

So when I walked into your store, I didn’t expect anything different.

I told you what I was looking for,

And you showed me what you had.

You also showed me the forty dollar price tags,

And I kinda died inside.

You asked me why I was buying flowers anyway,

And I told you it was for my parents’ anniversary.

You smiled, and asked me what my price range was.

You stopped smiling when I told you it was ten dollars.

Then you kinda looked at each other.

The only thing that fit my budget was a flower so sad, even Charlie Brown would feel no love.

After a few occupied glances,

You insisted you had just what I needed.

You grabbed a poinsettia,

Wrapped it up all pretty,

And tied a red bow.

You sprayed shimmer spray to make it sparkle,

And I had to acknowledge that while it was lovely,

There was way no way I could afford it.

But then you handed it to me,

And told me the cost came to exactly ten dollars and eighty cents.

I knew this was a lie,

And you knew that I knew this was a lie,

But we smiled at each other and pretended to believe it anyway.

You don’t even know me,

And I had never known you,

But can I just say,

That meeting you was a Christmas miracle.

I felt my heart move,

As I tried to articulate just how beautiful and lovely it looked.

I told you that it was simply fantastic,

And that Mom would love it.

Which was of course true,

Matter of fact, she almost cried when I gave it to her.

Now our house smells like chocolate chip cookies and poinsettias.

Put simply, it smells like Christmas.

So thank you, Flower-shop Ladies.

Thank you for Christmas,

And thank you for your unbelievable mercy

Towards a girl who would have been sent away anywhere else.

Thank you for the lovely flower.

Thank you for your incredible kindness.

Thank you for your Christmas miracle.

 

Merry Christmas,

That High School Girl from Friday