Chapter 15
“Myra.” Her sister’s soft voice broke through the darkness of slumber.
Myra rolled to her back, blinking her eyes. She felt like she’d been asleep for days. Her mouth was dry, her eyes feeling like weights were tied to her eyelids.
“Rhonda?” She croaked. “What time is it? How long have I been asleep?”
“It’s Christmas morning, baby sister. You slept through the night.”
Myra groaned when Rhonda helped her sit up, handing her a glass of water. “Drink this, you’ll feel better.”
Myra took the glass, gratefully swallowing the cool liquid.
“Today is going to be the best Christmas ever.” Rhonda whispered, affectionately brushing Myra’s hair off her forehead. Rhonda sounded thoroughly convinced. Myra hoped she was right, because so far, she’d had nothing but disappointments this season.
“Why are you waking me up so early?” She groaned.
“It’s not that early, just not very bright outside. Come on, get up and get a shower, wash your hair, shave your legs. Today’s a big day.”
Myra’s eyes still weren’t fully open, but she knew Rhonda was barely containing her excitement. She could feel the energy drifting off her older sister in waves.
“Okay. Give me about forty minutes.”
“Perfect.” Rhonda bounced off the bed, rubbing her hands together in excitement as she exited Myra’s room.
* * *
Forty-five minutes later, Myra walked into the kitchen, her breath catching, eyes going wide at the scene before her.
One long side of the mahogany dining table was lined with ten slim vases, each containing a single rose of its own unique color, with a small note hanging from its stem. Across from the vases, various pastries and fruits filled sparkling crystal platers. Myra turned abruptly when a deep voice she didn’t recognize spoke from behind her.
“Good morning, Myra.”
Two women and a man, none of whom she recognized, stood at the entry to the kitchen. The two women grinned at her with twinkling eyes, while the man smiled at her with a soft, kind expression that gentled his handsome features.
“My name is Garret.” He announced, putting his hand to his chest. “These lovely ladies are my assistants. Nina,” Garret gestured to the woman on his left who gave a small wave. “And Simone.” He gestured to the woman on his right, who smiled broadly at Myra.
“I don’t mean to be rude,” Myra spoke hesitantly. “But why are you here? What is all this?”
Garrett chuckled softly, his eyes never leaving hers. “My dear, today is a very special day, all for you. Think of us as your fairy godparents.” He walked to one of the chairs at the table, gesturing for her to sit. “I have instructions that I will follow to the letter. Please just follow our lead and enjoy everything this is bringing you. Starting with breakfast.”
Garret reached into the breast pocket of his charcoal grey blazer and pulled out a slim envelope. With a smile, he handed it to her.
“This is the first thing you are to read today. We’ll give you forty-five minutes, then be back to collect you for stage two.”
He turned and strode out of the kitchen, Nina and Simone silently following, like this was a well-practiced ceremony.
Myra stared after the trio, feeling perplexed and insanely curious. Careful not to cut herself, but moving as quickly as she could, she tore open the envelope Garret had handed her. The paper felt expensive, heavy, exquisitely textured. The words were painted on the page in the most beautiful calligraphy Myra had ever seen, but it was what those words said that brought a tear to her eye.
“My dearest Myra,
For a decade I’ve watched you, seen you grow, been privileged to learn about you and know you in ways few people do. You constantly surprise and amaze me just by being you.
Today, it’s my turn to surprise you. I know waking up the way you did this morning, having strangers sit you down and tell you to eat, now reading this note, your head is spinning. Please relax and know that you are with a group handpicked by me to make today as special and unforgettable as you are. You’ll be given a series of instructions. Follow each one and it will lead to the next.
Today is your day, beautiful. I’ll see you soon.
All my Love,
Liam
The roses on the table before you are symbolic. Read each note at your leisure during breakfast, but start with the light pink one.”
* * *
Myra swiped the tear rolling down her cheek, reached for the light pink rose in its slender vase, and carefully pulled the note from it. The writing was penned in the same style as the letter. No way, she thought. No way Liam wrote like that and she was just now finding out.
“If you are reading this note before the others, you’ve followed my instructions perfectly so far. Let’s keep going.
Ten roses represent the ten years I’ve known you. This light pink rose represents your gentleness.
When we met, that first night at your parents’ house. When you held me while I wept over the loss of my own parents, it was your gentleness that soothed my aching heart. Your gentleness is like an oasis in this cruel world.
I love your gentleness, Myra. The white rose is next.”
Myra took a shaky breath and a sip of hot chocolate before reaching for the frosted glass vase of the white rose.
“The white rose symbolizes innocence.
You were so young when I met you, Myra. I attributed the innocent nature you embody to age. But you’ve proven me wrong. I don’t often admit to being wrong, but your innocence has nothing to do with age. You see the world through a lens most can only hope for. You see good and beauty where others cannot. You bring goodness and beauty to everyone around you without even trying.
I love your innocence, Myra. Go to the yellow rose.”
Two roses in, and the tears were streaming down her face. Someone knew this would happen, because there was a small box of tissues at the corner of the table. She grabbed a couple and wiped her nose, then pulled the yellow rose, perched in a rainbow swirled vase towards her, untying the note.
“Yellow for friendship.
Myra, I don’t think you even realize how much of a friend you’ve been to me through the years. I don’t get along with many people. If you haven’t noticed (being sarcastic here), I don’t have many friends, and the time you spend with me, not caring who I am or what I have in my bank account, means more than you know. I’m going to work hard to show you just how much you, how much your friendship, means to me. For now though, know that I love your friendship, Myra. Read peach’s next.”
Food forgotten, Myra gently grabbed the slender glass containing the soft peach rose.
“Myra, you are the most beautiful woman I know. I know you take care of yourself and work hard to look your best. I also know you don’t flaunt what most women would. Maybe you’re insecure in your beauty. If that’s the case, you can bet I’ll be showing you how beautiful you are at every turn. Maybe you don’t want to deal with the idiots who hit on you because they just can’t cope with beauty like yours, or maybe you learned from your mother, who is a classy woman herself. Whatever the case, the way you present yourself, always with modesty and so much class, is refreshing. This peach rose speaks of modesty.
I love your modesty, Myra. I also know the orange one is catching your eye.”
Myra smiled without pausing, reached for the orange rose set in a vase shaped like a question mark, and pulled the note from it. On she went, reading each note in their suggested order, falling more in love with the man who’d obviously loved her longer than she could have imagined, until she came to the final two roses. The second to the last was the most beautiful blue rose she’d ever seen, set in a vase of rose-gold with tiny diamond encrusted hearts circling its base. With trembling hands, she gently pulled the note from the rose’s stem and flicked it open.
“Blue is the color representing something that is unattainable. For so many years Myra, I thought that you were that unattainable thing. I had your friendship, and if that was all I could have had, I would have cherished it forever, but I wanted so much more. I hoped, I had inclinations, but I didn’t know for certain that you wanted more too. Myra, you have proven to me that impossible and unattainable are only words we use as an excuse not to try. Thank you for giving me a chance. Thank you for not shooting me down when I did try. I will show you every chance I get, that I treasure you as a priceless and unattainable gift that I’ve been blessed with.
You are more valuable than any precious stone could ever be.”
Myra sniffed again, swiping at the tears rolling along her cheeks. She always felt like the screw-up of the family, had never dreamed that someone like Liam would think of her as valuable. Then she thought about her parents who loved her so much, and thought that maybe they didn’t actually see her the way she saw herself. Could it be that they really were proud of her? As she contemplated the state of her own self-doubt, Myra hung her head. Maybe all the things she’d beaten herself up for not attaining, were only significant in her eyes. Was it possible that her value had nothing to do with her accomplishments, but who she was? It was a thought she’d never had. One she wanted to revisit.
Myra stared at the last rose from across the table. She wanted desperately to see what its note contained, but she didn’t want this to end. The clearing of a throat caused her to flinch in her seat, and Garret’s quiet voice informed her that she had five more minutes before they needed to move on. Reluctantly, she reached for the last vase. Blown glass, encompassing the rainbow of colors for each previous flower, housed a soft, yellow rose with dark red tips. Myra wondered how Liam put all this together in such a short time as she pulled the last note free and opened it.
“Myra, my love. My life. My heart. Yellow is the color of friendship, red, that of love and passion. My desire is for the friendship that we’ve carried all these years, to blend into the love of a lifetime. My heart cannot contain what I feel for you, so it seeps into every fiber of my being. When I tell you, sweet Myra, that I love you with all that I am, I mean that I love you with every cell and fiber of my being. I always will. I look forward with joy to a life of friendship, a life of love, surpassed by no other. You are my everything, and I cannot wait to be yours. With all that I am, and all that I have, I pledge my love to you and you alone.”
Myra’s head was in a fog, a happy fog, but a fog nonetheless. How was it that she never knew Liam had this side to him? And how was it that they’d wasted so much time, when what they felt for each other was so strong? She didn’t want to wait another moment. Myra wanted to find her man and have him. Now. Pushing her seat back, she rose abruptly, turned swiftly, and smacked straight into Nina.
“I’m sorry!” Myra exclaimed in astonishment. “Were you waiting for me?”
“It’s time for stage two.” Nina told her with a half-smile. “Follow me.” The woman turned, leading Myra out the front door, to a large, black SUV with privacy tinting on the windows. “Don’t worry about anyone seeing you,” Nina encouraged. “How you look right now doesn’t matter. When we get to our destination, you’ll be well cared for.”