In the few months that Johnny had been away from Wellingtons, things had changed drastically. Not only was Kona gone, but it seemed that Misty had eradicated all traces of her. She was very different than her predessessor, and her presence changed the whole atmosphere in the shop. It had decidedly gone from fun to serious and Johnny didn't like it.
Misty Langdon was born and raised in a little town called Alden, Kansas. At first glance, she reminded Johnny of the Maryann character from Gilligan's Island. She was tall and naturally pretty in a country girl sort of way, with freckles, pig tails and the slightest of Midwestern accents. She often wore plaid shirts with cut off short shorts and she seemed to charm the pants off every guy that came into the shop. She was very agreeable to everything Stewart said, and she seemed a little too sweet to Johnny, and he didn't trust her.
Misty had been living in East Flatbush, Brooklyn with her aspiring rock star boyfriend and several of his band mates. She'd be staying in the apartment upstairs during most of the summer, which would turn out to have its ups and downs for Misty. Prior to coming to Wellington's, she'd worked for several upscale and not so upscale florists in New York City.
During his workday at Wellington's on Mother's Day weekend, Johnny had had little contact with Misty. He'd been surprised at her appearance in the shop and besides that he was on the road for most of the day. That all changed in June when Johnny was called in to work a wedding.
Johnny had to be at the flower shop bright and early, for a wedding was taking place out in East Hampton. When he arrived at 7AM, Wellingtons was already abuzz with activity. Misty had shipped in a bunch of her flower shop friends from the city and they were all running haphazard trying to get things done.
"Well, good morning Johnny." Misty flashed her country girl smile.
"Hey Misty. What's going on?"
She introduced Johnny to some of her friends. There was Lita, a British, organic florist from the city; Sheralyn, Misty's "flower school" buddy, and Jaden, one of the "dudes" that lived in Misty's Brooklyn apartment. Sheralyn's boyfriend, Fillipe was downstairs helping Stewart find some vases they needed. Jackie was there to round out the group.
For the next two and a half hours, everyone worked hard to get ready for the wedding. It was a big one, with more than 600 guests. The ceremony was at 4PM and guests would be arriving around 3:30 or so. Through all of the chaos at loading the van and making sure they'd had everything they needed, Johnny noticed that Stewart wasn't his usual self. Everyone seemed to be deferring to Misty for direction, including Stewart. Something was not right!
to be continued...
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