“You know when I contacted Frank in prison, he told me that you were a genius. The absolute best he’s ever seen, but after this I’m thinking of taking legal ac—”
“Great. See you in court,” I said and cut the call.
I turned away from my computer screen and gazed out of my window. Soon, I wouldn’t have this magnificent view any more. But I didn’t care. I had done the right thing. And that brought a warm glow of satisfaction in my guts. In time this storm would blow over and I would start again. I knew from experience the truth in that wonderful line:
This too will pass.
I could lose all my money today and it wouldn’t bother me one bit. Because I knew how to get it all back again.
But a few minutes after nine the next morning I got a different call, and I realized the storm was going to last longer than I expected. They were more tenacious than I had given them credit for.
“Willow,” I said, with a frown. She never called at this time.
She hadn’t yet said a word, but I didn’t miss the harshness of her breathing. It seemed like she was trying to put herself together before she spoke to me.
My hand tightened around the phone. “Willow, are you alright?”
She took a deep breath. “I know you’re having a hard time right now with the market and everything, but I didn’t know who else to call. And I definitely can’t call my parents.”
I rose to my feet. “What’s going on?”
“The shop, Caleb,” she said and I could hear the pain in her voice. “It’s been broken into. Someone came in last night and destroyed the entire place.”
My heart slammed against my chest. “Are you at the shop now?” I asked as I grabbed my keys.
“Right in front of the store.”
“Go to your van, and lock the door. Don’t get out till I get there. I’m on my way.”
“Caleb I—”
“Willow! Please listen to me. Go to your vehicle now and keep your head low. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
She finally caught the urgency in my tone. “Alright,” she said, and ended the call.
I’d never driven so fast in my life, and in no time, I was at her shop. Even from outside I could see that the entire place was in shambles.
Parking at the opposite side of the street, I got out of my car and instantly spotted her van just a bit further down. She had done as I had said. I hurried towards her, my eyes darting around to catch any unusual movements or people. The moment I knocked on her window, she jumped and I saw the terror in her eyes. She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she hadn’t even seen me approach. Relief washed over her face, and she rushed to get out of the car. She immediately jumped into my arms and I held her tightly to my body.
“I’m sorry,” I said to her. “I’m so sorry.”
She thought I was consoling her for the incident at the store, but she didn’t know I was apologizing because it was my fault. If not for me this wouldn’t have happened to her little florist shop. I could tell that she was trying her very best to hold her tears back, but when she couldn’t any longer, I felt the slight tremble of her body as she broke into quiet sobs against my chest. I stroked her back gently and spoke to her calmly.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. We’ll build it all back. Everything will be back to exactly what it was. That much I promise you.”
A few minutes later she pulled away and wiped her eyes. Then she forced an incredibly sad smile to her lips, and my heart twisted at the pain that she couldn’t hide in those eyes.
“Can you tell me what happened as far as you know?” I asked, holding on to her hand.
She sniffed. “I thought it was a burglary, but why would anyone even try to rob such a small flower shop? I looked around and just as I had suspected there is nothing missing. The till is smashed, but all the money is still on the floor. I don’t think it was a burglary at all. I think that the person or people that did this wanted to send a message. But what I can’t understand is why they would do this. What sort of message does someone want to send to me, or my parents, that would make them resort to destroying our little shop?”
I had a very good idea of what the message was, and who had sent it, but I couldn’t tell her. “Look, I’ll help you to rebuild your shop and we’ll install surveillance cameras so this never happens again.”