Tanner steered his red cart through the floral corner at Trader Joe’s. Irises hung limply out of one of the black buckets, likely at the end of their tether—long past the moment of attractive blooms.

“Not those,” Tanner thought, turning his attention toward the roses. The buckets with roses appeared less picked over than the irises, but there was an off-putting uniformity to the rose bouquets, too clustered, too pretty, too…too sweet, actually. The mixed bouquets offered more variety, but at $12.99 a bunch they seemed awfully overpriced, considering the ratio of Baby’s-breath to actual blooms.

Tanner’s phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket. A $50 tip from Franklin in Gary, Indiana. A text with the tip read “can’t wait to see you tonight. Wear something pretty.” Tanner rolled his eyes and shook his head, but he couldn’t help smiling to himself. Then he spotted the pair of birds of paradise in the bucket in the corner.

No doubt raised in a greenhouse in Mexico, the elaborate flowers looked none the worse for wear. Tanner lifted them gently from the watery bucket and inspected the long stems. Still in good shape, no evidence as to why they’d been left alone, but maybe he was just lucky. And at $6.99 for the pair? What’s not to like? Tanner grabbed a plastic bouquet sleeve and placed them crosswise in the basket of his cart.

Franklin usually insisted on watching Tanner eating chocolates during their webcam sessions, so he made a quick perusal of the candy aisle, reminding himself that the high sugar content of most of the chocolates—the peppermints, the caramels, and the cherry cordials—gave him considerable gas. Flatulence was another of Franklin’s kinks, though, so Tanner bought the big variety pack, knowing full well he’d be paid for the discomfort of farting on camera, in the candlelit ambiance of his spare bedroom, wearing only pink stockings and the birds of paradise pasted to his nipples with spirit gum.

by Jeff Donaldson-Forbes

Written from the workshop writing suggestion:
Write about a situation where beauty is worth paying for.