“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Ros said.

Jess smiled. “It’s the only one like it in the country. It was built right around the turn of the twentieth century. The woman who built it was obsessed with ferns because they’re one of the only plants that don’t flower. Sorry,” said Jess. “Am I boring you?”

“Not at all,” said Ros.

I racked my brain for facts about ferns but came up short.

“What do you mean, ferns don’t flower?” I asked.

“Most plants reproduce by creating blooms that then attract bees or other pollinators. But ferns don’t produce flowers, or seeds. They reproduce by spreading spores, which are usually on the underside of their leaves.”

It seemed incompatible that the girl we saw deck someone last night would know so much about the sex lives of ferns. Who was this plant sorceress? And how had she so obviously enchanted Ros?

“Weird question,” said Ros. “You’re not hiring, are you?”

“Not officially,” said Jess. “But we tend to bring on another person as the theater festival really kicks into high gear. Have you ever made bouquets before?”

“No,” Ros said, sounding already disappointed to have not gotten the job.

“It’s not a huge deal,” Jess said. “I’m a pretty good teacher, actually. I can put in a good word for you. And I can give you an application.”

“I can fill it out right now,” Ros said.

“You don’t have to,” I said. This was all happening far too quickly for my liking. “You could take your time.…”

“Celia, you don’t mind waiting, do you?”

“Oh—I guess not,” I said.

While Ros filled out the application on the desk by the checkout and Jess started putting together a bouquet from the flowers kept in the freezer, I wandered around the store, pretending not to be distressed about the potential change that was afoot. So Ros wanted a job here. Big deal. They needed a job; that had been part of the contract. And so what if Jess Orlando also worked here? So what if she knew about ferns? So what if she could reach into the freezer behind the desk and make a bouquet that moved someone to tears (I was speculating wildly at this point)? In the first place, the Hidden Fern didn’t seem to be hiring officially, whatever that meant; in the second place, Ros had no history working with plants, unless you counted using moss and stones to build little fairy villages in someone’s backyard. There was no guarantee they’d get this job.