Every morning, Senka opened her flower shop as Damir, a lawyer, passed on his way to the office. At first, he stopped to buy one flower for the reception desk. Later, he stayed for ten minutes. He knew her husband worked seasonally, rarely sent money and came home with promises that lasted less time than his suitcase in the hallway.
When Senka mentioned divorce, Damir offered a legal consultation. She brought documents and a list of expenses she had covered alone for years. He clearly explained possible steps and did not promise an outcome. That was why she trusted him. At last, someone was writing down her sentences instead of interrupting with advice to be patient.
Over the following weeks, his morning visits grew longer. He began wearing a new coat and leaving business cards for restaurants they should visit, he said, when everything was over. Senka understood the suggestions as kindness. In his mind, he was already turning them into the beginning of a life together.
One Friday, she brought news that her husband had returned. He wanted to talk and had shown her a contract for permanent work. Damir reacted before she finished explaining. He said she was naive to believe him again, that all their effort would be wasted and that she deserved a man who was present. He spoke the final sentence while looking directly at her.
Senka put down her bag. She asked whether he was speaking as her lawyer or as a man hoping for her decision. First, Damir said he kept those things separate. Then he admitted he cared for her. She was not pleased in the way he expected. She felt that here, too, she was being asked to declare someone else's desire her own solution.
She asked him to prepare her documents for another lawyer. She paid for the work done and thanked him for his initial help. She neither forgave her husband immediately nor let him return to the apartment. She arranged conversations, separate finances and a period in which to see whether anything had changed beyond another promise.
In the end, she filed for divorce. The decision came quietly, after a morning when she realized she no longer wanted to test someone else's seriousness. She did not tell Damir personally. When he passed the flower shop and asked how she was, she said she was well and had many orders that day.
For the window, she prepared an arrangement without roses, using branches and small white flowers. A customer asked whether it represented a new beginning. Senka said it represented what she had found beautiful that morning. She enjoyed having one thing that did not have to announce the man who would come next.