“What?” she asks.
“You.” I press my lips to hers and pull the blanket over us. The last thing we need is for the young, impressionable eyes of Betty Paige to see what I’m about to do her mother.
6
Josie
From the moment I turned on the lights for Whimsicality, people have come in, buying up all the holiday flowers I have. It seems Liam told “someone” we were heading out of town for the holidays, and that “someone” spread the news. Next thing I know, people are under the impression I’m closing for the rest of the year and are scrambling to get their flowers and centerpieces ordered and picked up before I lock up. I don’t know how many times I had to say the shop would still be open before people started believing me. I’m not complaining, but I can’t recall a time when I’ve been slammed from the moment I arrived at work.
I finally get a chance to sit down. Trudy brings me a sandwich and a bottle of water. She sets it on the counter, which causes me to jump up and knock the plate.
“Sorry,” she says, unaware she hasn’t done anything wrong.
“No, it’s fine. There’s a piece of paper here I want to save.” I hold up the order form and look at Mason’s faded penmanship. It’s been so long since I’ve thought about him. There was a time when all I ever did was think about Mason, the impact he had on my life and Noah’s, and how Mason’s death changed everything. I hate thinking of how Mason isn’t with us but can’t imagine my life being any different than it is now.
Carefully, I set the piece of paper between two books and leave myself a note to get a frame for it when I return from vacation. I want to save it. I want to remember the young, vivacious man he was when he came in to order Katelyn flowers.
“Something important?” Trudy asks. I forgot she was standing here.
“Sort of, it’s more of a memento. Do you remember my daughter-in-law, Peyton?”
“Yes, she’s such a lovely young woman.”
I nod. “She is. When she was five, her father died in a car accident. I had known him most of my
life. He and my husband were best friends, and of course, his wife Katelyn is my best friend,” I pause and glance toward the books where I put the paper. “He used to come in and order flowers for Katelyn all the time. They didn’t have much money, but he wanted her to have a new bouquet to start her week.”
“Memories are a funny thing,” Trudy says. “Sometimes, they make us feel warm and gushy, and other times they send us down a path we sometimes don’t want to go down.”
“And sometimes memory lane isn’t the best place to be. Mason’s death changed us all.”
“How so?”
The story of Liam and I is something I haven’t told Trudy. I never saw any reason to. It’s been so long and it’s not really a big deal anymore that he’s back. I sigh and smile. “Liam and I had a rough patch for about ten years. He came home when Mason died, and we found our way back to each other.”
Trudy places her hand on my arm and gives me a little squeeze. “Sounds like the perfect love story.”
Her statement makes me chuckle. “Oh, it’s a love story,” I say. “Not sure if it’s perfect, but we love each other and have since we were teens.”
“I’ve seen the way Liam looks at you. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”
Trudy leaves me to my thoughts, and to be honest, I’m not sure I want to be alone with them. Thankfully, the bell that hangs above the door dings, letting me know someone is here. I take a quick bite of my sandwich and wash it down with some water. Once I’m presentable, I step out from behind the curtains.
“Hi, can I . . . Aubrey, hi.” My words stumble. By the look on her face, she knows I’m aware of what’s going on with her and Nick. “Hi,” I say again.
“I guess you know.”
I nod. “Just from what Liam said.”
Aubrey scoffs. “I can’t believe of all the people he could have told, Nick told Liam.”
You’re telling me. “Sometimes, people just need someone to talk to.”
Aubrey walks around and touches a few of the plants. “You know, I honestly thought he’d run right to you.”
“I don’t see why he would.”
“Because you’re the one that got away.”