The rest of the day passes slowly. Every minute feels like ten. Considering what he has to look forward to after school, that should be a good thing. Now that he has plans tonight though it feels like torture. By the time the bell rings Ryaan’s practically shaking. Hurrying home, he regrets he can’t dawdle on the way. His dad won’t be home for a few hours after all and it’d be a great chance to hit the streets. The problem is his youngest sister Lana’s an open book. If he’s not home quick his dad will find out. Then he’d be in even more trouble.

Dinner’s fine; Nadia cooked tonight so they don’t have to stomach their dad’s cooking. It’s just hamburger helper but she adds extra cheese which is awesome. His dad’s still angry and he’s struggling to make conversation with his daughters while ignoring Ryaan.

Once he’s done eating Ryaan heads to his room. He’s only grounded to the house but he figures this is as good a way as any to avoid his dad’s wrath.

Almost as if on cue the doorbell rings at six o’clock. His dad’s the one who answers the door. “Nadia, your friend is here. Get in here.”

Sneaking onto the stairs above the kitchen, Ryaan gets close enough that he can listen in on everything that happens.

Nadia’s voice is spiking and she sounds like she can’t stand still. “It’s awesome to see you. I don’t even know the last time we hung out. I miss you.”

Mina says, “I miss you too. High school work takes a lot longer and I get so little free time but we need to hang out more. That’s actually why I stopped by. My mom wants some flowers for the house so I need to go over to the flower shop on Cicero. I was wondering if you want to come. It’ll only take an hour or two to get there and back.”

“That sounds fun. It’ll give us a chance to catch up. Let me check with my dad.” There’s a slight pause and Nadia raises her voice. “Dad, can I go with Mina to the flower shop on Cicero? We’ll only be an hour or two.”

Their dad hesitates. “It’s getting late. It’ll be dark soon. Why don’t you just stay here and catch up?”

Mina jumps in before Nadia can answer. “I wish I could Mr. Asfour but my mom really wants those flowers so I need to get them. Why doesn’t Ryaan come with us though? That way we’ll be safe if it gets dark before we get back.”

Their dad doesn’t hesitate this time. “He’s grounded. He can’t go anywhere.”

They all get quiet for a minute before Nadia speaks up, barely above a whisper. “Dad, can I have a word with you real quick? In private.”

She marches into the kitchen and Ryaan tries to keep quiet as they get close. He’s sitting just above them and doesn’t want to be caught listening in. Their dad follows Nadia into the kitchen. “I know you want to go but it’s too late and your brother is grounded. I’m sorry but I’m putting my foot down.”

Nadia isn’t having it. “The only reason I don’t see her anymore is that she’s uncomfortable hanging out here because you make her uncomfortable. Her mom was mom’s friend and now she thinks you don’t like her. No wonder she doesn’t want to spend time with me. Just let us go. I miss my friend and want to see her. We’ll be as fast as we can be and I promise we’ll make sure Ryaan doesn’t have fun.”

Ryaan can’t believe Nadia pulled the mom card. He’d have never dared bring her up to their dad for anything. Let alone to try and get his way. After what seems like a very long silence though their dad shouts, “Ryaan, get down here. Now.”

Ryaan tries to make as much noise as he can to suggest he was in his room before making his way down to the kitchen where his sister and their dad are still standing. “What’s up dad?”

“You are taking your sister and her friend to the flower shop. You are not to have fun and you are to get back here as quickly as possible. Do you understand?”

He grins from ear to ear. “Ya, that’s not a problem dad. I can walk them over.”

“Good.” He gives Nadia a pained look before heading past Ryaan and going upstairs.

Nadia says, “You’re welcome,” before heading to the living room to give Mina the good news.

Lana’s sitting in front of the television, mostly dead to the world around her. When she hears shoes being slipped on she seems to wake up. “Can I come with you too? I love flowers.”

Before either of her siblings can respond Mina walks up to her and grins. “I’d love to have you come Lana but I don’t think your dad would allow it this late. He barely wanted to let Nadia go. I promise I’ll come over and we can all hang out soon though. Does that sound good?”

Lana clearly doesn’t like it. “Fine, whatever,” she says before returning to her television show. The two older girls rush out the front door and Ryaan follows. It’s a nice evening out and the sun’s still in the sky, though it’s definitely on it’s way to bed. It’s not warm but it’s also not cold for this time of year. None of them grabbed a coat and none of them are shivering. It’s hard to believe that night will become an issue before they get back but it could if they take too long.

The girls run out in front while Ryaan follows quietly. They excitedly talk about school, sports and everything else going on in their lives. Mina turns back to Ryaan. “You’re being quiet Ryaan, how are you doing?”

Before he can answer Nadia says, “Other than staying out until after midnight and making dad mad you mean? You know we all have to deal with him now, right?”

Groaning, Ryaan hurries to keep up with them. “I’m sorry I was out late, okay? I lost track of time. I probably should have just stayed over but I wanted to sleep in my own bed.”

Nadia shakes her head. “Not good enough, now dad’s going to be stomping around the house for at least the next week. I’m going to have to do all the cooking too.”

Ryaan puts a finger up. “That’s probably a good thing. You know you don’t want to eat anything he makes.”

“Maybe not but cooking’s hard. I don’t want to do it every day. Why don’t you make dinner one of these nights?”

“Sure, I can do that, as long as I get home in time and it’s something simple. You’re better at it than me but I can make some macaroni and cheese or something.”

“Whatever you want, as long as I don’t have to do it.”

Soon they arrive at the flower shop on Cicero. Warehouse was a good description of this place. The storefront is wide but doesn’t look deep. The building itself goes way back though. There’s an alleyway on one side of the building where Ryaan sees a side entrance. The sign’s bright and vibrant and the front window shows off beautiful flower arrangements.

As they enter, Ryaan’s hit by the fresh smell. A bell on the door rings for a moment. There are beautiful flowers everywhere, though not so many you’d need a warehouse that size to store them. What’s going on back there? They’re initially alone in the shop but seemingly hearing the bell, an older woman with pale skin and long black hair enters from the back room. She’s probably in her late fifties or early sixties with skin that’s starting to wrinkle. Her hair hasn’t started to change color yet, or at the least she dyes it. She’s wearing an expensive looking blue and purple striped dress that matches a flower display near the counter.

The woman smiles wide as she enters the room. “Welcome to Lovely Lovely Flowers. I’m Mrs. Grant. What can I help you find today?” As she finishes she recognizes Mina. “Oh hello Mina, does your mother need some new flowers?”

Mina nods. “Ya, she wants a few different ones. I have a list so I’ll get them together.” Turning to Nadia she asks, “Want to help me? I need four different kinds.”

Nadia agrees and the girls start their search for everything on Mina’s list. Ryaan wonders if she actually got a list from her mom or if she made this up.

Something about the owner’s voice sounds familiar but Ryaan can’t place where he knows it from. He’s almost certain he recognizes it though which worries him. With the girls off searching the other side of the shop, Ryaan’s left alone with Mrs. Grant. “This is a lovely shop Mrs. Grant. Do you run it all on your own?”

She smiles and leans on the counter. “Thank you very much young man. I do for the most part. I have some help that works the warehouse in back but I’m the only one up here.”

“That makes sense. That seems like a really big warehouse back there. Does that hold all of the flowers or do you have other warehouses? Actually, this one seems pretty big for the size of the shop.”

She nods. “It is very large, to tell you the truth we don’t need it all. Half of it’s empty. It’s what came with the building though and when I opened up here I loved the location and the building just seemed perfect. I wish I could still say the same.”

He frowns. “What’s wrong with the location and building now? How long have you been here?”

She pauses to think. “Almost thirty years. Me and my late husband opened this place together. He was the real flower expert, though I’ve picked up a few things over the years. The building’s still fine but the city seems to be falling apart. Not just this neighborhood, everywhere. My husband was killed walking home from here one night ten years ago and things have only gotten worse. Someone needs to take this city back.”

Ryaan suddenly knows exactly where he recognizes that voice from. She’s the woman who addressed the warehouse the other night after they finished loading their truck. The leader of the whole group is standing right in front of him. That more or less tells him this is the right place. His mind wants to freeze up but he fights through it. He needs to say something so she doesn’t get suspicious. “I’m sorry about your husband. That’s very sad.”

She looks away and starts messing with something behind the counter. “Yes, well it was a long time ago. Things are changing in the city. The vigilantes might just be able to wash this off the street and if they don’t, there’s other people who will. I just try to sell my flowers and hang on until that happens.”

Ryaan nods. He needs an excuse to come back here tonight. He finds a nice flower arrangement that’s not too expensive and turns to Nadia. “Do you think Lana would like this? I feel bad that she couldn’t come. Maybe I’ll bring her some flowers to make up for it.”

“She’d probably love them,” Nadia says with a shrug. “She loves presents.”

Ryaan turns back to Mrs. Grant. “I’ll take these.” As she starts to ring them up he says, “By the way, some guys at my school mentioned I might ask a guy named Eddie who works here about a job or something. I don’t really know the details but I could definitely use a job.”

The woman’s eyes narrow and she seems to be processing how to answer. “Yes, Eddie is one of my warehouse hands. He sometimes hires people to load the trucks. That must be what your classmates were talking about. We have all the help we need at the moment. I don’t think we’ll be needing your help anytime soon. Thank you for the interest though. That will be $13.61.”

Shot down, Ryaan reaches into his wallet and hands her his debit card. She goes to run it but before she can Ryaan realizes what a terrible idea it is to give the leader of a gang something with his name on it. “Actually, I have cash.” She just smiles as he takes his card back and hands her cash instead. As he puts the wallet away, he makes a point to slide it into his backpack instead of back into his pocket. Hopefully that will plant the seed which will get him back here tonight.

Mina gets the rest of her flowers together and carries them to the counter. Ryaan wonders how she’ll carry them but Mrs. Grant reaches under the counter and pulls out some sort of carrier which they all fit into nicely. After Mina pays and she says her goodbyes to the owner they’re on their way.

Ryaan spends the entire walk home desperate to go over what he learned with Mina. If they start whispering in front of Nadia though she’s likely to get the wrong idea. Instead they walk along making small talk and carrying their flowers. They made good time getting home. It’s only about seven thirty and it’s still fairly light out, though the sun’s starting to set.

Reaching home, he hangs back a bit, letting Nadia get ahead. Mina seems to notice what he’s doing and she hangs back as well. This gives him just enough space to say, “I’m about to try something. If it works, hang back for a minute or two so I can talk to you, okay?” Mina nods and they follow Nadia inside.

Lana’s still sitting there watching TV. She doesn’t look to have moved. Their dad has made his way back downstairs. He’s sitting in a chair not far from Lana, caught up in a book. He glances at his watch when they make their way inside but doesn’t say anything.

Making his way to Lana, Ryaan gives her a light nudge on the shoulder. “I brought you something kid.”

Upon seeing the flowers Lana’s eyes go wide and she snatches them away. They’re blue, her favorite color. She sets them down just long enough to wrap her arms around Ryaan’s neck and give him a big hug. “I love them big brother. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m going to go put them in my room next to my bed.”

Ryaan laughs. “Alright, but they need sun so put them on the side by your window. Make sure to water them at least a little every day too. If you do that they’ll last longer. Think you can handle it?”

Lana confirms she can before running off to put her flowers where she wants them. Nadia turns to Mina and asks, “Can you stay and hang out for awhile? I know Lana would love it.”

Mina frowns. “I really wish I could but my mom’s going to want her flowers soon and it’s starting to get late. I should get going. How about I stop by tomorrow? We can spend most of the day hanging out and catch up. My homework will still be there Sunday.”

Nadia continues the hugging trend, wrapping Mina in a big one. “Sounds awesome. Be careful walking home, okay?”

Ryaan pats at his pockets as if he’s looking for something before saying, “Hey dad, I think I need to go back to the flower shop.”

“You’re grounded. You aren’t going anywhere else.” He’s still looking at his book. Ryaan’s surprised he wasn’t mad about buying the flowers for Lana. It’s awfully close to fun.

“I think I have to dad. I don’t have my wallet. I must have left it there when I bought the flowers for Lana. If I hurry though I should be able to get back before they close. I promise I’ll go straight there and come straight back.”

Their dad frowns as if looking for an excuse to say no. “I’d drive you but I’ve had a few drinks and probably shouldn’t. Fine, go straight there and come straight back. Actually, Mina doesn’t live far out of the way, does she?”

Ryaan turns to Mina. “I don’t think so, are you still over on Watercrest Street?” He knows the answer but can’t let on that he’s been seeing a lot of Mina the last week or two.

She confirms she still lives there and Ryaan’s dad says, “Fine, then walk her home so she gets there safely. Once you’re done with that go to the flower shop and get your wallet. You are to come straight home after that. Do you understand me?”

“Yes sir, thank you.” Turning to Mina, Ryaan says, “We should get going if I’m going to make it back there before the place closes. You ready?”

Mina nods and the pair finish their goodbyes and head out. Ryaan runs to the garage where he stashed an extra backpack earlier. He trades it for the one he carried on the first trip. Inside he’s got all his gear ready.

Once they’re safely away from the house Mina asks, “Why are you going back? What did you pick up talking to the owner?”

He glances over his shoulder to make sure his dad’s not watching. “I know her. She was at the warehouse last night. She’s the leader of their whole group. I knew her voice right away and she said something so similar to what she said last night that I’m certain it’s her. That warehouse has to have more going on than just storing flowers. I’m going to check it out.”

Mina’s eyes go wide. “So wait, did you leave your wallet there as an excuse to go back?”

“No, I have my wallet. It’s in my backpack. I just needed an excuse to get back out. He was never going to let me go otherwise. Are your parents home?”

“Probably not. They went out to dinner at a friend’s house. They usually stay after to talk so they shouldn’t be back for a few hours.”

“Great. Can I change at your place? I have to be quick. If I take too long my dad’s going to lose it again.”

She looks at the ground, trying not to let him see her blush. “That’s fine. Where are you going to change back when you come home though? Can you wear your regular clothes under your costume?”

Frowning, he realizes he doesn’t have an answer. “No, it's too tight. I might be able to get most of my clothes back on over it though. I hope so because I don’t know what else to do.”

Mina’s parents aren’t home when they reach her house. “Hurry up and get changed and out of here. If my parents come home and find a guy getting changed they’ll murder me.”

Ryaan gets into his costume and puts on his mask. Looking at himself in the bathroom mirror, he can’t wait for Mina to finish up his new costume. It can’t be worse than this. Exiting the bathroom he says his goodbyes and gets ready to go. As he walks out Mina says, “Don’t you dare forget to text me when this is over. Call me if you need help.” Promising not to let her down again, he hurries out the door.