The Hummingbird

Delilah rushed outside carrying an open box of different coloured flower crowns, making her way to an empty stall with a sign that read; ‘Flower Crowns - $10’. She proceeded to sit the box on the table and stretch her aching body, watching her shadow contort on the concrete as she did so.

Vivian stumbled outside after her, eyes squinting at the sudden increase in brightness as she emerged. “If I close my eyes, all I see is row after row of cookies,” she moaned in complaint.

“I’m so having a nap after this,” Delilah replied, stifling a yawn as she begun to set up her display. She didn’t want to admit that her idea for the market day had been pushing it but it had. Everyone had worked hard to bring this day together so quickly, she’d have to make sure to thank everyone properly afterwards as well.

“Don’t forget that Miss Jones is leaving soon as well, so we need to sort out a time to get her room ready for the next guest,” Vivian pulled a hand down the side of her face. So much to do, it was starting to stress her out. “I need to get back in there to ice the cupcakes, but the birdhouses are waiting for you to grab them from the table when you’re ready.”

“Which table Vi?” Delilah asked, lifting her head up to look around and see if she could spot them herself. “I’m glad Christian was able to deliver them, but I was up all night painting them. Is the dandelion one dry yet do you think? That was the one I did last, although the pastel ones have more layers on them,” she rambled, her exhaustion showing.

“Big dining room table,” Vivian called over her shoulder, greeting Blake as he squeezed past her in the corridor. “And they’ll be fine Lilah!”

Finishing her display Delilah took a step back and inspected her layout, making sure it looked appealing to potential buyers. Satisfied with her work she picked the now empty box up and went to go fetch the birdhouses only to bump into Blake. “Sorry,” she muttered tiredly.

“What’s your problem?” Blake asked with concern as he reached out to steady her on her feet. “Did you pull an all-nighter?! I knew this was an insane thing to do in like two days. You’re crazy sometimes, woman,” he shook his head fondly.

“Being told I can’t do something makes me want to do it even more, I’m a very spiteful individual.” Delilah almost seemed to doze off during her sentence but blinked herself awake. “How can I help you?” She asked, realizing Blake didn’t have a stall so he must have had another reason for being here.

“Thought you’d want some help or something,” Blake shrugged and put his hands in his pockets, trying to downplay it as his cheeks flushed.

Not noticing his flushed cheeks Delilah nodded over to her stall, “I just finished setting up the flower crowns I made and I’m about to grab the birdhouses,” Delilah informed, unsure what Blake could do for her.

“You made those?” Blake asked, interested all of a sudden as he looked at them. “They look just like the ones this girl used to make, back when I was a kid.”

“That’s nice,” Delilah replied carelessly. “I used to make them all the time when I was a kid as well.” She stated offhandedly.

“Wait,” Blake seemed to stutter almost, staring at Delilah with a new unseen kind of intensity he’d never shown before. “Were you called ‘Dee’ as a kid?”

“Uh huh,” Delilah clicked her tongue as she strummed her fingers against the empty box, “Delilah was hard to pronounce as a little kid so everyone called me Dee or Lala… I preferred Dee, didn’t really like the Teletubbies,” Delilah trialed off, realizing she was rambling again.

Blake laughed, placing a hand over his eyes as he tried to calm himself down. “You were the girl. The one who got paint all over my dad’s bike and said it was going to be an original masterpiece when you got older. That was you!”

Delilah’s eyes widened and her cheeks reddened at the sound of Blake’s laugh, it sounded real, genuine and warm. She couldn’t recall him ever laughing like that. “I’ll have you know that it could be worth a fortune to the right person,” she defended, surprised by the sudden surface of what she recalled to be a small memory.

“I think my brother still has that bike stashed away somewhere,” Blake remarked, a smile still on his lips. “I liked to pretend to ride it, like my dad did. I can’t believe I didn’t realize that was you,” he shook his head in disbelief.

Delilah shook her head in disbelief, “your family really kept it? I could barely draw a stickman, let alone paint a bike,” she stifled a laugh, “I’d love to see it sometime if you ever manage to find it again, to see how far I’ve come from then that is,” Delilah quickly explained.

“It might take a while, but sure,” Blake agreed easily. “You should wear one of your crowns,” he picked one up from the ordered display, putting it on her head with a surprising gentleness, “to show how good they look.” Brushing a lock of hair away that was in the way, he slowly got closer to Delilah.

Delilah watched Blake get closer to her and her heartbeat quickened when she realized they were about to kiss. She closed her eyes in anticipation, wondering why Blake was suddenly so interested in her.

“Lilah, Grace is here, can you show her where her stall is going to be?” Vivian called from the corridor, unaware that she was interrupting what was sure to be a moment.

Delilah’s eyes snapped open as Vivian called out to her and Delilah fumbled, dropping the box and stepping away from Blake. With a burning red face she avoided eye contact and turned, fleeing from his presence.

Blake swore under his breath, feeling like he’d never get another chance like that. Picking up the box, he trudged inside after her.