Broken Flower Pots - Short Story
Underneath the protection of an umbrella Vince patiently waited. He watched students come out of gate one by one, each hurried to find some sort of relief from the rain. It was a particularly odd day. The sun broke in and out among the clouds as a steady storm fell upon the city of Manila. At times, Vince could see a flickering rainbow as the sun shyly peaked behind the clouds. He hoped it was a sign of good things to come, but at the end of day, the truth was that the storm already arrived. How fitting he thought to himself.
Learning floral arrangement has on the things to do for many years now. Though they only been together for only a few months, Vince thought of all those years that Ari kept declaring that this would be the year that she’ll enroll at the University of the Philippines. He watched Ari carefully space and position various flowers for her assignment. Ari’s attention to detail was incredible. Though her meticulousness had been an asset during her time in school, in matters of creativity it had been more of a restraint. As a leaf suddenly fell off from a stem, Ari’s focused glare gave break to a slight frown. She was frustrated, but she continued working. She sprayed the leaves in order to prevent them from drying. The light in the room began to dim. It was a little pasted 5:30. Vince looked outside the window to see the sun setting, stood up from the couch, and turned on the lights.
“If you’re going to work on your project tonight, you should turn on the lights.” Vince said. There was no response. Ari was definitely in her zone. There was time when they were just friends that he found that quality to be incredibly annoying. Now, all he would do was smile at the fact. He just wanted to support and provide any little happiness.
“I have to work go to work soon. Babe, I’m going to take a quick shower.”
For only a moment, Ari took her eyes off her new addiction and said, “I just washed the towels. They’re in the plastic container behind the shoe rack.”
Vince laughed. “Got it.”
He thought to himself that he’d probably never get use to Ari’s way of organizing things. He did though accept that it worked. She never lost a single thing in her room, not even a pen or a single peso. Ari would exactly know where everything was placed.
Vince emptied his pockets: his cellphone, wallet, keys, and iPod, and placed them at the counter. He quickly unclothed himself before entering the bathroom, a habit he learned from living alone all those many years.
Diligence and determination have always been the key to Ari’s success. She hated to fail. To say she was competitive was an understatement, but since Vince entered her life, she became calmer and more at peace with things she could not control. When she finally scattered a few lavender leaves among the stems, she took a step back and smiled. Normally she would have individually placed each and every leaf in its proper position, but now, she’s able to allow things to simply fall into place.
Across from the room, Ari heard the vibration of keys and Vince’s phone. She picked up the phone and yelled, “Vin, you got a text.”
Muffled by the sound of the shower Vince responded, “I’ll get it when I get out. Thanks, Babe.”
Without even thinking she had already opened the text. It was out of habit. The first thing Ari saw was her name, Kat Reyes. She would have normally would have just said who it was from and close the phone, but it was Vince’s ex-girlfriend. Curiosity got the best of her.
“If the girl you were dating asked you to stop being friends with me, what would you do?”
“What would you do, Vince?” she thought. Though she never had the intention of ever asking Vince, her imagination reacted with a hundred different scenarios where Vince left her for various different reasons. If there was one thing she couldn’t control, it was a man’s heart. She grew more and more insecure as her thoughts began to get the best of her. Ari took out clothes for Vince, and began preparing flowers for tomorrow’s arrangement. She worked and kept herself busy. She did anything to keep her mind from wandering too far from the truth. When she placed the lilies into the refrigerator, Vince came out of the shower just wearing a towel.
Still slightly wet, he wore his boxer and a white Hanes V-neck, a sight that Ari was very fond of. As he searched for a pair of jeans, Ari said in an indifferent tone, “It’s beside the coffee table. You should really start placing your clothes on the table near the hamper.”
“I know. I know. I’ll work on it. By the way where’s my phone?”
“It’s on the counter.” As Vince grabbed his phone, he received another text. It was from work.
“I got to go. I’m almost late. Ralph’s looking for me. He needs me to manage the bar.” He said as he hurried out of the condo. He kissed Ari on her forehead before he escaped through the front door.
Even the soft kiss of her lover did not ease her troubled mind. The hours till Vince return to comfort her in his arms seemed excruciating. She cleaned her condo. The accumulation of steams, leaves, and dirt was beginning to pile up. Though tolerable, it was one of the few ways she’d be able to keep her mind off of the problem at hand.
Ari fell asleep shortly afterwards. The mixture of physical fatigue and emotional stress took its toll. What started as closing her eyes became a slumber only to be awaked by the sound of rattling rings, the creaking of the door, the stumbling footsteps of her clumsy boyfriend.
“I was hoping that I wouldn’t wake you.”
“It’s okay. I have to check on the flowers anyways.”
Vince approached Ari to give her his habitual kiss on the forehead, but she shied away.
“Not now, Babe. I really have to work.” She took out the flowerpot containing all the work she had done for that day avoiding any eye contact with Vince. Ari placed the pot at the counter next to the sink and searched for the spray bottle. For the first time ever, Ari didn’t recall exactly where the spray bottle was located.
“Babe.”
“Not now, I’m looking for the spray bottle.
Vince was boggled at the idea of his girlfriend misplacing anything. As the Ari searched through the cabinets, Vince noticed that the spray bottle was just in the sink.
Fearing that her precious flowers would dry. Ari went back to the sink to wet her hands to sprinkle them manually. Like in slow motion as Vince hugged her from behind to surprise her with the spray bottle, his arm nudged Ari’s floral arrangement. He watched the flowerpot fall, unable to react in any matter to save any face.
In just one moment of carelessness, the day was ruined. Ari removed Vince’s arms around her, and quickly cleaned up the mess.
“I’m sorry. Ari. I’m sorry.” Vince could not express the level of guilt and fear he had. All he could do was apologize.
“Three hours of work. Three hours of work.” Ari’s stern voice increased in volume each time she repeated herself.
“Three hours of work!” She belted.
“I’m sorry. I’ll help you work on it tonight. We’ll get it done”
“Where am I suppose to get flowers at this hour. It’s 11 o’clock!”
“We’ll use the flowers in the fridge and since I don’t have work tomorrow, I can pick up another set in the morning before you go to school.”
“You just don’t get it.”
With a puzzled face Vince just remained quiet. He didn’t want to continue the fight. He was already in the wrong and there wasn’t much he could do about it. He could only wait.
Ari slowly calmed down as she swept the dirt and the broken pieces into the bin.
“You know how I am. I have a temper. I’m insecure. And I never seem to have the right answer. It probably wasn’t like this with Kat. She seemed so put together, beautiful, and much more secure then me.”
“Why are you bringing Kat into this? If I wanted to be with Kat, I’d be with her. I’m here, aren’t I! I want to be with you.”
What Ari did not know was that Kat was nothing like that. If Ari thought Kat was secure, the truth was far from that perception. Vince admired Ari’s honesty more than anything. At least she was aware of her faults. Kat was a stubborn and prideful woman, a woman that was not be his life partner.
“You don’t get it, Vince. You just don’t get it. What if I said that I didn’t want you to be friends with her any more?”
“I can’t believe this. All of this is about that text.”
“I don’t know, Vince. Do you want still want to be friends with Kat?”
“Of course, you know she’ll always be an important person in my life, but…” Words that Ari did not want to hear. A sharp pain she had not felt in a long time struck her chest. A heavy feeling took over his lungs. It became increasingly difficult to breathe. She just realized that Vince still had feelings for Kat, and she wasn’t sure if she was ready to deal with such a fact. She grew scared.
Before Vince could finish his statement, Ari interrupted, “Just go home, Vince.”
Knowing that Ari was serious, he did not fight nor gave any resistance. The travel home was very quiet and long. To say that Vince had a sleepless night was an understatement. He grew worried. Years of experience told Vince this was not a little fight. He had to tread carefully. Like on cue, a storm came in the early morning. Though it felt ominous, it also allowed him to finally sleep. The sound of the rain drops on his roof eased his trouble mind.
When he woke up, it was nearly 2. Ari had already gone to school and he still did not know what to do. He texted Ari numerous times without avail. After several unanswered phone calls, Vince decided he had to solve this personally.
It rained unrelentingly during his commute to UP, but he remained focus. As his jeep approached the circle, he prepared himself for the long wait he might have to endure.
Vince constantly scanned the gate for just a glimpse Ari’s silhouette. After nearly 30 minutes, Ari was still nowhere to be insight. The sun peaked in and out of the clouds, and the feeling of the sunrays began to warm Vince’s arm. He hoped it was a sign of good things to come, but he could not forget that the storm had already come. All there was left to do was to pick up the pieces and rebuild.
After an hour of waiting, a familiar song played as a pretentious jeep passed, “I’m not broke, just a broken hearted man. I’m not moving.”
Vince smiled. So this was what The Script meant when they sang The Man that Can’t be Moved. “I’m not moving. Not till I see her.” He thought to himself
A small vase with containing purple and blue flowers in hand, Ari finally appeared before Vince. Without even knowing Vince was there, she already felt his presence. They made eye contact before she walked out of the gate, and then she heard it.
“I’ll always choose the future!” yelled Vince.
Ari looked puzzled. She wanted to ignore him, but once again curiosity got the best of her. When they were finally face to face, she asked, “What do you mean?”
“If I have to make a choice. I’ll always choose the future, and Ari you’re my future. If you don’t want me to be friends with Kat, I won’t. I love you that much.”
Ari stopped herself from crying. “I just needed to hear it. I don’t know why I needed to hear that, but I just did.”
It took time to register, but Ari finally realized it, “You said you loved me.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Vince smiled.
