Page 78 of Thick

“What do you mean?”

“Did you grow them here? In the back?”

“Oh.” She chuckled. “Heavens no. We purchase them, and have them delivered, fresh.”

“How do they get them here?”

“On an airplane, and then in a van. An air-conditioned van.”

“Where do they come from?”

“Well, the roses come from Columbia and Ecuador. Tulips come from Holland. We get several varieties from Canada, including the--”

“Doesn’t sound like Costa Mesa is a stretch.”

She gave my bike a glare. “Driving that?”

“Riding. And, no. I asked what other options we had. I was wondering about having them delivered.”

“Oh,” she said with a long laugh. “We can deliver them just fine.”

“Any of them?”

“Absolutely.”

“Hell, there for a minute, I was scared. You’ve got to excuse me, I’m a flower virgin.”

“You’ve never purchased flowers?”

“No ma’am.”

“Not for prom, or Mother’s Day?”

I shook my head.

“Valentine’s Day?”

“No, ma’am. A complete virgin.”

“That’s sad. Well, hopefully this will change your mind about the future.”

I laughed. “So far, it’s been pretty exhausting to tell you the truth.”

“You’re rather witty.”

“You’re not bad yourself.”

Her pale skin blushed. “Thank you.”

I looked over the various flowers in the display case. “Are these for sale? The display arrangements?”

“They are, but we can make you a fresh one. Cindy isn’t busy right now, and she can cut them fresh.”

“They came from Ecuador and Holland, right?”

She nodded. “And various other places.”

“They’re not fresh.”