“Claire,” I said, “is there something I should know?”
She didn’t look up. “No, what do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
She sighed and finally met my eyes. “Jamie’s just a kid.
He probably misunderstood something he saw or made it up.”
“Claire,” I said, not raising my voice but feeling the tension rise in my chest, “he’s not a kid who makes things up. And he gave specifics.”
Claire’s mouth pressed into a line. “I don’t know what to tell you, Nathan.
There’s nothing going on.”
“Then why do you look like you’ve been caught?” I asked. “I’m not hiding anything.”
But her tone was defensive. Her hands were fidgeting.
Everything about her screamed discomfort. “You sent Jamie to his room while some man stood on our porch with flowers. That’s not nothing.”
“Please, Nathan, can we not do this right now?” she said, suddenly weary.
I nodded but stood up and walked to the living room. I needed air. Or clarity.
Or both. I tried convincing myself that Claire wouldn’t lie. Wouldn’t cheat.
But doubt has a way of seeping into the cracks, no matter how strong your foundation. By the time Thanksgiving Day arrived, the tension had dulled but not disappeared. We moved around the kitchen like two polite strangers, carefully avoiding landmines.
Jamie watched cartoons while Claire basted the turkey. I was setting the table when the doorbell rang. Before I could even react, Jamie jumped up with excitement.
“It’s him!” he shouted. “The man with the flowers!”
Claire’s face drained of color. I looked at her, then at the door.
Jamie was already halfway there. “Wait!” Claire called, but it was too late—I was already moving toward the entrance, intercepting Jamie just as he reached for the doorknob. I opened the door to find a man in his late 40s standing there, bouquet in hand.
He wore a uniform shirt embroidered with the name of a local flower shop. “Uh, hi,” he said nervously. “I know she asked for no deliveries today, but this was a special, last-minute order.”
He looked between me and Claire—who had now come up behind me—and seemed unsure of what to do.
I turned to her. “Want to explain?”
Claire sighed and rubbed her temples. “Come in,” she told the man.
He stepped inside, placed the bouquet gently on the entryway table, and shrugged. “I don’t know who ordered it. I just deliver the stuff.”
Claire handed him a tip and walked him out with a strained smile.
When she came back inside, I was waiting. “Okay,” I said, “no more dancing around this. Who’s sending you flowers?”
Claire let out a slow breath, walked to the couch, and sat down heavily.
“I didn’t mean for it to be a secret,” she began, looking up at me with watery eyes. “It started a few months ago. I’ve been making floral arrangements.
Selling them.”
I blinked. “Wait… you’ve been selling flower arrangements? Like, as a side job?”
She nodded.
“We’ve been tight on money, and I didn’t want to stress you out more. So I started making small bouquets and working with that local shop on consignment. Sometimes they pick them up.
Sometimes I drop them off. And occasionally, they mess up and deliver something on the wrong day.”
I sat down slowly. “Claire, why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I knew you’d tell me to stop.
That we’d ‘figure it out together.’ And I didn’t want you to carry the burden alone. I wanted to help.”
Jamie peeked into the room, holding his favorite dinosaur plush. “Mommy, are you sad?”
Claire smiled and pulled him into her lap.
“No, sweetheart. Mommy’s just talking to Daddy about some grown-up stuff.”
He looked from her to me. “Is it about the flower man?”
I crouched next to him.
“The man just works for Mommy. He helps her deliver flowers she makes for other people.”
Jamie’s eyes lit up. “Mommy made the pink ones?”
Claire nodded.
“Yup. Pink’s still my favorite.”
Jamie clapped. “Cool!
Can I make some with you sometime?”
The tension that had clouded the room all week began to lift. “Actually,” I said, walking over to the bouquet, “there’s something you might want to read.”
I handed Claire the small card tucked into the flowers. She opened it and read aloud:
“To Claire, the best wife and mother—thank you for everything you do.
Love, Nathan and Jamie.”
Her eyes widened. “Wait… you sent these?”
I smiled sheepishly. “Once I started asking around the local shops, I figured out what you were doing.
The owner told me you’ve been calling in orders under your name for deliveries. I thought if I sent one myself, maybe it’d get you to open up.”
Claire burst out laughing through tears. “That’s the weirdest, sweetest way to catch me in a lie I wasn’t really telling.”
“There’s more,” I said.
“I got the promotion.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? Nathan, that’s incredible!”
I took her hands.
“You don’t need to hustle for extra cash anymore. But if doing this brings you joy, keep going. Just… next time, let me be a part of it.”
She threw her arms around me.
“Deal.”
Jamie tugged her sleeve again. “Mommy, can we make a bouquet for Grandma too?”
We all laughed. The kind of laugh that fills up the room and pushes every shadow out.
And just like that, Thanksgiving had arrived—not with turkey and stuffing, but with trust, truth, and a bouquet of pink roses. And honestly, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
