Beauty is in the Eye of the Bow-holder
2018 31 Days of Ficmas, day 14 - bows
@doctorroseprompts
31 Days of Ficmas masterlist
Summary: A random customer on a cold day makes a big purchase for his daughter - and they both gain so much more than the sought-after hairbows.
Rated T for language and some innuendo
AO3
---
The tinkling of the bell in concert with a gust of frigid air made Rose look up from her spot behind the counter. A man hurried in, and oh, heâs fit had scarcely crossed her mind when she saw he was accompanied by a small girl; any remaining hope died as she squealed, âDaddy, daddy, look!â
Figures. How come I only meet cute blokes when theyâre almost always married with kids? Nature of the beast, I suppose, but still.
She dragged him by the hand towards the back wall of the shop, where the assorted hair accessories were displayed. âLook how pretty!â she enthused, going straight to the set of hair bows. About seven, with dark hair and eyes, she was the target demographic for those bows; Rose must have sold at least a dozen that week alone to similarly aged girls.
âVery nice,â the father agreed mildly, adjusting his own bowtie. âA dealâs a deal. Which one do you want?â
Seeing that they werenât just there to look, Rose came out from behind the counter. âWelcome to Bows Galore & More! Iâm Rose. How can I help you?â
âHello,â the man responded perfunctorily, then did a double take. âHello.â
âHello,â Rose smiled back, letting her tongue catch between her teeth; she didnât go for married men, but certainly wasnât above a bit of flirting â it usually resulted in an extra sale, and was always fun. When he didnât say anything else she raised her eyebrows; a glance down at the girl showed her preoccupied with the selection. âCan I help you?â
He came back to life, adjusting his bow tie and coughing. âYes! Hi. Hello. How are you? Ow.â He looked down at his daughter. âDid you just kick me?â
Wise beyond her years, the girl shook her head. âIâm Susan, this is Daddy. John. He gets weird when he talks to pretty girls. Can you focus, please?â
Rose and the man- John- both turned red.
âYes, my love, of course,â he recovered first. âErm, tomorrowâs picture day, and weâve got to have one of these for it. Sheâs been talking about them since term started.â
âTheyâre so pretty, and all the popular girls have one. I had to get top marks on my maths test to have one, and I did!â
Rose crouched down to be more at eye level with Susan and the bows. âCongratulations! I always struggled with Maths, so sounds like you well earned it.â
Susan nodded fiercely. âI worked soooo hard. Now I get to have my bow, so I can be beautiful!â
âHey, hey, you are beautiful, just the way you are,â her father chided, squatting as well. âCan you say that for me?â
âIâm beautiful just the way I am,â she repeated dutifully. âBut see how much beautifuller I am with one of these!â And she jammed on a headband full of bejeweled bows; it ended up at a funny angle, but it didnât seem to bother her as she inspected herself in the mirror. âSo more beautifuller.â
Both adults straightened up, him groaning before giving her a wry smile. âItâs a work in progress.â
Rose just laughed, shaking her head. âBlimey, wish I had her confidence- now, let alone at her age!â
âWhy? Youâre gorgeous.â
They stared at each other, Rose almost taken aback at how matter-of-factly heâd said it.
âIâm sorry, that was completely inappropriate. True, but still⌠Susan, have you decided yet?â He rubbed at the back of his neck, cheeks pink, and it was a damn shame he was almost certainly married; Rose wanted to see how far the flush went.
Get yourself together. Kneeling on the floor for better balance, she bit back a laugh; Susan had continued her sampling, but rather than take one off and try a new one, sheâd continued to stick the bows in her hair, nearly covering her head. âWell, they all look great, but maybe you should try to match your outfit? What color shirt are you wearing for picture day?â
âPink!â was the unsurprising reply; besides being what Rose sold the most of, nearly all of the bows Susan wore were some shade of it. âItâs my favorite.â
âMine too! What shade is your shirt?â
Susan gave her a blank look.
Badly disguising his laughter as a cough, the man- John- pointed to a blush shade. âLike that?â
âNo, Daddy,â she shook her head, bows wobbling precariously.
âOh, okay. More like that?â Rather than move more into the pinks he went the other way, pointing to a peach color.
Susan heaved a sigh that seemed too big for her little body, making a face at Rose. âHe thinks heâs funny.â
âOi! Am too funny.â
âFunny looking.â
Rose couldnât help but giggle, both at the deadpan delivery and his offended expression.
âSeven going on seventeen,â he muttered. âGod help me. Now, quit mouthing off if you want your prize and pick something out; weâre late for Mummy.â
Why are the good ones always happily married?
âI have to look pretty for Mummy,â Susan said firmly, trying on a few different ones. âBut sheâs not gonna even know.â A fuchsia-colored headband seemed to be the winner as she tried it on a third time, meeting Roseâs eye in the mirror. âMummyâs an angel. She died âcause I was born.â
âWhen,â her father spoke sharply, kneeling and turning her to face him. âMummy died when you were born, not because you were born. And now sheâs your guardian angel. Okay?â
She nodded.
âSay it, please.â
âMummy died when I was born. Donât see how thatâs different, though.â She looked up at Rose. âWhatâs this one called?â
âFuchsia.â
The little girl beamed. âThat was Mummyâs favorite, right?â
Looking like he wanted to continue the when/because conversation, he nonetheless let it go. âIt was. You look very pretty. Is this the one?â
âItâs the color,â she corrected. âNow I gotta pick the- whatâs it called?â
âStyle?â
âThatâs it!â
-
Twenty minutes later Rose finally checked them out; one of each style, all fuchsia. The girl was a proper chatterbox, and Rose now knew everything about her, from favorite food (fish sticks and custard), subjects in school (maths and science) to friends in school, though she got the sense the last list was embellished.
Pulling out his wallet as he watched his daughter explore the rhinestone tiaras, he cleared his throat. âUh, sorry. Weâre still working on whatâs appropriate to tell complete strangers.â
âSheâs precious,â Rose said sincerely. âI loved chatting with her. And, erm, sorry for your loss.â
âThanks. Itâs not easy, but⌠sheâs worth it. And itâs been years, now.â
Rose shook her head. âDoesnât really matter. I was a baby when my dad died â not a day goes by I donât think about him.â She grimaced. âSorry, that was probably the opposite of helpful.â
âEh,â he shrugged. âItâs hard to miss someone you never knew. Just have other peoplesâ memories to lean on.â
They watched together as Susan held a pair of earrings up to her ear, and he gave a full body shudder. âGod, sheâs going to be a teenager any second, and I am not ready.â
Laughing, Rose said, âShe might already be; but sheâll be fine, and youâll get through it, reasonably in one piece.â
He smiled, and her treacherous heart thumped. Just âcause heâs a widow doesnât mean heâs available. âRight, munchkin, time to go,â he announced, gathering the gift bag with their purchases. âThank you for your help, Rose.â
âThanks, Rose!â
Thump thump thump. âThanks for coming in. If youâre ever passing by, stop in and let me know how picture day goes!â
She waved goodbye as they left, Susan contorting herself around to wave until they were out of sight.
âCute kid.â Rose sighed. âHot dad.â
-
Chewing his pizza, John watched his daughter. She was picking at her food more than eating it, and he wondered yet again whether their ritual of Tuesday pizza graveside was healthy for her. River would know. âYou know, munchkin, you can always talk to me. About anything youâre thinking, or feeling. Any questions. Iâm always here for you.â
Her lower lip caught between her teeth, Susan lowed her slice back to the plate, toying with her napkin. âI do have a question.â
âShoot.â
She looked up. âDâyou think if you and Rose got married I could get free hairbows?â
The fuck? âWha- the girl from the bow store?â
âUh huh.â Her dark ponytail bobbed. âShe was pretty, and she liked you. You liked her too. Youâd have pretty babies.â
John pinched himself, certain heâd fallen down a rabbit hole. âYou think the pretty girl from the store and I should get married and have babies? So that you can get free hairbows?â His voice got progressively higher pitched, and by the time he was done, she was giggling.
Jaw hanging, he didnât know where to start, spluttering for a long moment (to further laugher), before managing, âWhat makes you think either of us would like that?â
âSheâs pretty, and nice, and she kept looking at your bum and smiling. I bet sheâd kiss you if you asked nicely.â
Forget seventeen, Iâve got a matchmaking grandmother over here! He looked at the headstone next to him. âWhat do you think? Do you hear what your daughter is saying?"
âYou always say Mummy would want us to be happy,â Susan pointed out logically. âThat we should remember her and honor her, but we have to keep moving with our lives. Donât you want to be happy, Daddy?â
That was a path he wanted no part of, so he circled back. âOkay, letâs say she did like me. What makes you think I like her?â
A smile so like Riverâs it made his breath catch stole over Susanâs face; like heâd stumbled into her trap and she held the upper hand. ââCause if you didnât, youâdâa just said not happening and changed the subject. Thaâs what you usually do. You liiiike her. You wanna kisss her,â she taunted. âCan I be the flower girl?â
With no good retort, and blown away at the conversation, all he could manage was, âEat your pizza, Susan.â
Her little smirk said she wasnât fooled, but she took an oversized bit all the same.
-
It would be a lie to say sheâd forgotten the little family, but it took her a week to stop looking up with hope every time the bell chimed, only to be disappointed it wasnât them.
Oh, come on, Rose groaned, when the bell tinkled. Five more minutes and I can go home to a bottle of wine.
âOne second,â she called, straightening up her paperwork before stepping back out onto the shop floor. âHow can I- Susan! Hi!â
The pair were standing in front of the register, Susan in a dress, while John tugged at his bowtie.
âSee?â the little girl said smugly to her father, making him sigh and shake his head.
âProves nothing.â
âDonât be a coward.â
Rose snorted, though their conversation went past her. âDonât you both look nice and dressed up. Going out? How did picture day go?â
Susan looked up at him with an expectant expression, and it was amusing to watch the contortions his face went through.
âIf you donât like this idea, blame Susan,â he started off. âWe- ow, stop kicking me!â Susan won the exchange of glares, so he cleared his throat and started again. âI was wondering if you might be interested in hearing about it over dinner. With us. Both of us. Weâre kind of- well not kind of, we are- a package deal.â
Two anxious faces looked at Rose, and she took a moment to compose her thoughts, though a smile was threatening to overtake her face. âIs this a date?â
He said no while Susan said yes, and the withering look coming from the seven-year-old couldâve made a grown man cry.
Rose raised an eyebrow, enjoying the show. I would definitely like to spend more time with this family. âWhich is it?â
âIt can be a date, if thatâs what you want,â John said, swallowing nervously. âOr a friendship thing.â
âWhat do you want?â she asked gently, watching his face.
âDate!â chirped Susan, earning her an exasperated look from her father.
âDonât you wanna go see if thereâs new bows or something?â
She shook her head. âUh uh. It took me weeeeeks to get you in here! Hurry uuuuup! Mooo! Moooooooo!â
âMoo?â
John rolled his eyes fondly at that. âCoward â cow â moo. Coward was the word of the day, and itâs unfortunately her new favorite. Especially after a trip to Scotland over the summer.â
Rose smiled, tongue catching between her teeth, watching his Adamâs apple bob again. âI like steak.â
âHowâs Italian? Daddy promised me stuffed shells,â Susan asked, oblivious, but Johnâs eyes went dark as he caught her meaning.
âYeah?â
âSusan? Does Daddy make breakfast?â
âUh huh! His waffles are the best.â
Rose and John exchanged a steamy look, and she licked her lips, eyes lingering over him. âGive me ten minutes to close up. Italian sounds great.â
âYay!â
-
Eighteen months later, Susan was allowed to pick out two bows to go with her flower girl dress.













