Elly In Bloom

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-ONE

  Elly arrived at the hospital thirty minutes later, disheveled and beaming with happiness. She rushed to the front desk where an exhausted nurse looked her up and down.

  “You here delivering flowers? They go to the delivery entrance in the North Wing.”

  Elly ripped off her apron. “No, no, sorry. I’m here to see my best friend, she’s in labor and delivery I would assume.”

  The nurse rolled her eyes. “Is she IN delivery?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay then. What is her name?”

  “Kim and Sean Creeden.”

  The nurse sat down slowly at the desk and began typing. Elly tapped her foot impatiently. “Look, I know that you must get this all the time, but…can you hurry? I was delivering a wedding so I’m already late, and I don’t want to miss it.”

  The nurse looked up at her with big, placid brown eyes. “Everyone is in a hurry, miss, so you can wait just a few more seconds.” Elly clenched her hands and did a little dance of impatience. “She’s in room 414, just down this hall to your right.”

  By the time the nurse finished her sentence, Elly was already running down the hall. She wheeled in front of room 414 and took a second to calm her heavy breathing. I shouldn’t run, she reminded herself. I’m not really a runner. She took a deep breath and knocked softly.

  Sean opened the door slowly. “Elly” he whispered, “Come on in, wait until you see him.”

  “Him?!” Elly was practically shouting. Sean shushed her.

  “Oh, sorry” she whispered.

  “Follow me.”

  He led her past a pink hanging curtain into a small but pretty delivery room. The walls were a pale beige, lined with wood paneling. Dim uplighting gave the room a soft, warm glow. In a large bed framed with metal rails, Kim lay sleeping, her chest rising and falling quickly, interspersed with soft murmurs. Elly put her hand over her heart and stared at her friend. She quickly sat down in the chair beside the bed. She looked over at Sean, who was looking at his sweet wife with such pride and tenderness that it forced a sob into Elly’s throat.

  “Should I wake her?” she whispered.

  He nodded. “She couldn’t wait to see you. I have to call my parents so I’m going to step outside. Could you get her some water?”

  Elly nodded, overjoyed to have something to do. She walked over to the tiny cart next to the window and poured some water into a plastic cup, then walked over and kissed Kim on the forehead.

  Kim stirred, opening her eyes slowly. “Elly?”

  “Hi, sweetie. Congratulations. Drink some water, okay?”

  Kim nodded and pushed herself up, her arms shaking with exhaustion. Elly wrapped her arms around her waist and helped her sit up. “Don’t try that with me, okay? We’d be here for hours.”

  Kim gave her a weak smile.

  “Is the baby okay?” Elly asked nervously.

  Kim nodded. “The doctors said that he looked perfect, even though he was three weeks early. He’s a fighter, like his dad.” She let her head sink back against the pillow. “Elly, you wouldn’t believe it...he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t put it into words, but I’ve never felt so much love, not ever. He’s the center of my world and he’s only been here five minutes.”

  Elly grinned, running her fingers through Kim’s ratty ponytail. “You look like a trainwreck.”

  “You do too.”

  Elly smiled. “Well, I DID just finish delivering a huge wedding.”

  “Yeah, well, I had a baby.”

  Elly winked at Kim. “You win.” They chuckled together.

  Elly tilted her head. “Was it scary? Are you okay?”

  “It happened so fast. One minute I was in the shop – it’s a disaster by the way, have fun with that – and then next thing I knew I felt liquid running down my leg. My water had broken. Then these gigantic contractions started, and I couldn’t even move. I was so lucky that Keith had run by his shop to grab some appetizers….he called the cab and wanted to come with me. I didn’t let him go.” She looked over at Elly, her eyes glazed over. “He likes you, you know.”

  Elly pressed her lips together. “Mmm hmm.”

  Kim smiled weakly. “I made it to the hospital. I think I might have yelled at the cab driver a little.” She winced. “Oh gosh, I think I called him something very insulting.”

  “You’re allowed, just this once, to call people names.”

  “Oh no. Did I call you a name when we talked earlier?”

  Elly shook her head, pushing a lock of Kim’s damp hair out of her eyes.

  “Sean was waiting for me, my knight in shining armor, right outside the hospital. From there, I don’t remember much. He came fast. It was horrible pain, but it was quick, thank God…I think I yelled at Sean, too.”

  “Also allowed.”

  “And then he was here. He just arrived into this world, screaming his little head off, announcing that he was very angry to be mistaken for a girl this entire time.”

  Elly laughed. “Are you shocked about that?”

  Kim smiled. “I always thought that it would be so awful if we were wrong, but it was always…him. It was just us who were wrong.” She bit her lip. “I hope he likes his bright pink room, and all the pink baby clothes that Auntie Elly bought.” Elly groaned. “And the princess-themed crib bedding.”

  “Yikes,” whispered Elly.

  “I think Sean was secretly hoping all this time it would be a boy. I bet he’s out high-fiving his doctor buddies right now,” Kim mused.

  “Oh, absolutely.”

  The door squeaked open slowly, letting bright light fill the room as Sean walked in, carrying a tiny bundle. “Are you ready to meet him?” he whispered.

  Elly nodded, suddenly nervous as the prospect of dropping a newborn. “I’m really klutzy, maybe I shouldn’t…”

  Kim put her hand on Elly’s. “You’ll be fine. I’m right here.”

  Sean delicately put the baby into Elly’s waiting arms, moving ever so carefully. Elly sat so still she was barely breathing.

  “Elly, this is Hadley.”

  Elly pulled back the blue blanket and stared at him. He was perfect, in every way. Tiny long lashes brushed his pale pink cheeks. He had Kim’s blond hair, light wisps of cream that covered his somewhat peaked head. Elly looked at his tiny fingers, running her hand over the unbelievably small nails, the miniature thumb, the wrist no wider than an inch. Love washed over her, twisting through her brain and dulling out all other background noise. There was only Hadley, his little sleeping face holding her heart captive. She knew immediately that she would be at the mercy of this little person, that anything he wanted she would hand over with glee. Oh boy, she thought, I’m in it for the long run with this kid. Tears ran down her cheeks, and Elly cautiously raised a hand so that they wouldn’t drip onto Hadley’s angelic face.

  Kim laughed. “You are such a weeper.”

  Elly giggled and stifled a choke, “It’s true. He’s just incredible, I don’t know what else to say…except for good job. He’s a miracle, a gift… I mean, look at him!”

  Kim laughed.

  “Hey, how was the wedding? I’m dying to hear how it went.”

  Hadley gave a small yawn and Elly dissolved into happiness.

  “It was fine.”

  “It was FINE? Elly, I need more details than that. I just pushed a baby out, and I demand a play by play.”

  Elly’s eyes never left Hadley’s face. “Aaron was there.”

  Kim pushed herself up so quickly that Elly jumped. “As in you saw him?”

  Elly nodded.

  “Did you talk to him?”

  She gave another nod.

  “Well…what happened?”

  Elly gazed down at the sleeping baby and shrugged. “It’s not important.”

  Kim’s mouth fell open and Elly continued. “Today is Hadley’s day, and your day. Maybe someday I’ll tell you about it, but Aaron will never
be important again.”

  Kim put her hands over her mouth. “Oh, Elly.”

  Hadley let out a low cry. Elly turned to Kim. “Go see your mama.”

  Kim reached out her arms, took her child gingerly and ran her finger over his baby pout. “Shh, shh baby, you’re mine.”

  Elly looked at Kim. “Already a natural. You’re going to be an incredible mother.”

  “You’ll be around to make sure, right?”

  “Always.” Elly stood and gave Kim’s shoulder a squeeze, and kissed Hadley lightly on his satin cheek. “I’m going to go and give you guys some family time.”

  Kim nodded distractedly, unable to tear her eyes from her newborn son.

  “I’ll call you later.” Elly ushered Sean to her chair. “Congrats, Daddy!”

  Sean gave Elly a quick hug. “Thanks for coming.”

  Outside the hospital, the air was crisp, and Elly’s breath lingered in front of her face. Her steps were light and buoyant, and she danced across the parking lot. The black night sky didn’t hold enough depth to contain her joy. Her happiness, however, rapidly gave way to exhaustion as she drove back to the shop.

  Flicking on the neon lights, Elly let out an exaggerated groan. The shop was an absolute wreck. Stems and greenery covered the floor, inches thick in most places. The air reeked of decaying stems and wet moss, and Elly noticed a dead ranunculus hanging from the swirling ceiling fan. Geez, what happened here? She carefully stepped over overturned buckets, loose floral wire and chunks of green foam as she made her way to the back. Pushing a flower cart out of her path, she fought her way to the cooler door. The last thing she felt like doing was making an arrangement, but she knew she had to capture this intoxicating freedom. The cooler was full of sporadic leftovers from the wedding: smaller pink peonies, yellow tea roses, some exotic greenery, one cattalaya orchid, three fringe tulips. Elly gathered them quickly and laid them down on the design table, which was covered in greens. Reaching into her vase shelf, she pushed the other vases aside, feeling for a special vase in the very back. Elly’s fingers curled around it, and she pulled it out, sending a flurry of dust bunnies into the air.

  It was a small antique vase with a gold leaf top and a narrow neck. Its porcelain molding was covered in the blue outline of clouds that hovered delicately above magenta water lilies. It had been her mother’s favorite vase. Normally, she didn’t have it out because the mere sight of it was enough to send her into weepy hysterics. Tonight, she felt different.

  The lackadaisical arrangement fell beautifully into the open container, the tulips draping over the sides with dramatic flair. Elly waded her way to the front of the room and placed it on her desk – the only neat space in the studio at the moment. She smiled. It was simply wondrous. She made the decision right then that the vase would never leave her desk, that it was here to stay. She yawned, every fiber of her body aching and screaming for rest.

  As she headed for the stairs, she noticed the back room light was still on. For the love, she thought and stomped over to the door, jerking it open. Her first instinct was to scream. Her second was to laugh. Snarky Teenager was pressed up against the shelves, her toned arms wrapped around a brown male head that was nuzzling her neck as his hands grabbed her waist passionately, her dress hiking up her thigh. She looked up at Elly with horror, and then gave a casual “I couldn’t help myself” shrug, followed by naughty smile. The mane of brown hair whipped around, and Elly recognized the handsome Russian student from this afternoon.

  “Good evening, Ma’am” he said stoically, backing away from Snarky Teenager, who looked at him with playful eyes. Elly noticed she was holding a belt in her hand, which she was twirling around like a whip. She didn’t want to know.

  Elly let out a sigh, feeling the weight of the day sink around her. “Try not to make this place even messier, okay? And be good.” She switched off the light and shut the door, muffled laughter and shrieks of delight following behind her.

  At the top of the stairs, Elly noticed a familiar note on her door. With an exasperated eye roll, she ripped it off and opened it.

  Elly, I’m so sorry about today. Please come over when you are done, Love, Isaac

  She crumpled the note before letting it flutter facedown to the floor. Elly opened the door to her apartment and was covered in doggie kisses as Cadbury leapt joyfully into her arms. Burying her face in his soft fur, she headed into the bedroom. She kicked off her shoes and crawled into bed, her clothing still on, her shirt collar pressing uncomfortably against her neck. In the seconds before she was asleep, a faint smile flitted across her face. She felt the door in her heart open, and the dark smoke that had filled it was sucked out and replaced by cool, clean air. She could finally breathe. A deep peace swept over her, one she hadn’t know since those hot mornings in Georgia, with her mother humming hymns over her shoulder. Her last thought that followed her into the inky blackness was a small mix of sadness and relief that her and Aaron’s love story was finally over. Elly closed her eyes, and was wrapped in the gentle arms of unconsciousness.

  CHAPTER

  THIRTY-TWO

  Elly woke up to a horrible smell. She brought her hands to her face, confused, smelling the earth and dirt that ran through the cracks in her skin. Where was she? What time was it? With a groan, she pushed herself up into a sitting position. She was in her room, in her bed, fully dressed. Elly rubbed her eyes tiredly and grabbed her alarm clock. 11:00 am. Eleven?! Elly leapt out of bed, instantly feeling her legs go weak underneath her.

  “Whoa,” she mumbled. “Slow down, cowgirl.” She sniffed her shirt. Ugh, most definitely the smell was her. She slowly unbuttoned her blouse and slipped off her work pants, letting them stay around her ankles as she limped to the shower.

  She let out a low sigh of delight as the hot water cascaded over her sore shoulders and back. In the middle of working conditioner into her completely mangled hair, she inhaled sharply as the day before came rushing back to her. Keith. Lucia. Aaron. Elly stood shocked. Had that all really happened? Was she truly free of him? She rinsed her face in the cold water. I slapped someone. I slapped him! She danced around happily, stomping her feet in the tiny puddles on her tile floor. She sang into the water.

  “Slap, slap, slap….”

  Thirty minutes later, her mood had sobered as she prepared to head downstairs to a mess of enormous proportions. How long would it take to clean up? Five hours, maybe? She wrapped her hair up into a loose pony-tail (more like a loose nub) and headed down wearing comfy jeans and a dark blue v-necked t-shirt. Cadbury trailed along at her heels, whining happily to have some attention.

  Elly stopped and scratched his head. “I know I haven’t been around very much lately. I’m sorry. We’ll go on a long walk today, I promise.” Cadbury seemed merely annoyed at such pithy penance. Elly gave a sigh and pushed open the studio door. “This is gonna be bad.”

  It wasn’t.

  It was…clean. There was no hint of the disaster that Elly remembered from the night before. The carpet was showing again! There were no flowers hanging from the ceiling like there had been some mad greenhouse rave! The place wasn’t exactly sparkling, but it wasn’t messy, either. Someone had been here. Elly raised her eyebrows, scouring her surroundings for any sign of life. Then she spied a post-it on the cooler door. She lifted it nervously.

  This doesn’t make up for anything, but I had to try. Love, Isaac

  Ugh…Isaac. Is there anyone left who doesn’t have a key to the store? Elly sat heavily at the table and put her head in her hands. This was something she had hoped not to deal with today. Isaac was truly an innocent; a sweet, self-centered man-child who wasn’t always in control of himself. Idiotic and sometimes devious; yes. Manipulative; no. Ridiculous; yes. Evil; definitely not. He was however, a fantastic kisser. That mouth…..Elly pressed her fingers against her lips, closing her eyes ever so slightly.

  Before she descended too far into fantasy, there was a bang at the shop door. She jumped to her feet, trying to ar
range her v-neck into the least ample breast revealing shape possible. Did I have a consult today? No, she would have never scheduled one for the day after this wedding. She moved back the dainty curtain, squinting into the light. Sunny Kepke waved demurely back at her, holding a plant.

  Elly turned around quickly, her heart hammering wildly and she pressed her back against the door. Oh no. Did she know? Was she here to yell? To scream at the woman who wrecked her daughter’s trip down the aisle? Had Aaron even made it there? Was she going to sue her? Not pay her? Elly put her hand on her chest and tried to breathe deeply. Maybe she didn’t know. Maybe she was here to say thank you and pay you and be done with it. People didn’t bring plants when they were angry – right? Dear God, she mouthed silently, please let that be it.

  She turned and opened the door, smiling uneasily.

  “Hi, Sunny! Congratulations! What brings you here the day after the wedding? Aren’t you exhausted? I know I am.” Elly gave a lame, nervous attempt at a laugh.

  Sunny smiled at her, lips pressed together. “Sit down, Eleanor. I need to talk to you.”

  Elly felt her stomach drop, and she rested her hand on the table to steady herself. She took a deep breath and sat slowly, closing her eyes. Here we go, she thought, I deserve this. At least if she decides to hit me, it will be with old lady force. How hard could that be? Elly winced.