ME: Hi, friends! Sick of me yet?

ME: Don’t answer that!

ME: I promise the madness is almost over. But I could really use your help on Saturday. It should be the final push!

HARLEY: I’m in!

HARLEY: So is Nick

JACK: I’ll be there, obviously.

GEMMA: If this is ACTUALLY THE LAST ONE then of course I’ll be there

ME: Yay! You guys can meet Lucy, Bridge and Blooms’ first official employee!

GEMMA: What are we, MySpace?

ME: Sorry, Bridge and Blooms’ first paid employee!

ME: And I promise to treat you all to dinner and drinks when we’re done!

NICK: I think you mean dinner and drinks until the end of time.

ME: SILENT partner.

Seventeen

I wrap my hand around a stray weed and yank it out of the dirt, using so much force I actually fall back on my heels. Righting myself, I toss the discarded stem into my trash pile and move on to the next one. Unfortunately, I apparently take too good care of the brownstone’s backyard garden, because hardly any weeds remain, and I need to take my anger out on something.

Maybe not anger. Frustration. Exhaustion. Anxiety. I’m bone-weary and full of self-doubt.

The store is mostly ready and everything is coming together, but the past couple of weeks have been the hardest of my life. I spent more time than I’d like to admit sitting on the floor in the center of the shop, head in my hands, tears pouring down my face.

I thought the recent success of Bridge and Blooms had prepared me for running my own business, but trying to open a storefront has been about a million times harder than I thought it’d be. I’m so, so tired. And I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know why I ever thought I could do it.

I yank off my gardening gloves and shove my hands into the cold soil. The dirt clumps around my fingers, and the smell of earth fills my nose, grounding me. I close my eyes and force myself to take three long breaths.

Pushing up off the ground, I shake my hands clean and collapse into a patio chair. The dirt stuck under my nails is a welcome departure from the manicured perfection I felt I needed to maintain at my old job, but as the store gets closer to its official opening, I can’t help but wonder if I made a mistake leaving behind a stable industry for the huge risk that is Bridge and Blooms.

It’s chilly outside, but the weeding has warmed me. I know I have a to-do list as long as my arm, but I can’t make myself stand and go inside, the comfort of being outside in the garden like a cozy blanket wrapping around me.

A mug appears in front of my face.