Chapter Fifteen
Grace
“I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages,” Emilia said.
I embraced my friend as the two of us stood in our favorite cafe.
“Because we haven’t,” I said with a smile. “It’s good to see you.”
“You too, Grace. Come on. Let’s get some food.”
“The usual?” I asked.
“Is there anything better?”
The two of us ordered our sandwiches and soups along with our favorite local dessert-- cinnamon swirl holes. A cross between a cinnamon bun and a doughnut hole that made me salivate every time I walked by the place. We grabbed our teas and waited for our food, but I could tell something was on Emilia’s mind.
“Everything okay at the shop?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. Been busy though,” she said.
“Have you hired someone else on to help?”
“I was actually hoping to ask you about that.”
“Order up!”
I reached for our food while Emilia grabbed our desserts.
“What do you mean?” I asked. “What’s there to talk about?”
“I just wanted to see if maybe I could get you to come back and work with me part-time.”
“You know I can’t do that. I’m still working with Hayden.”
“Does he need you twenty-four-seven like he did? Because it’s almost wedding season and I really could use someone who’s already familiar with the floral arrangements we specialize in.”
“You mean because I made them for you?” I asked with a grin.
“Partially. I’ve felt your absence since you took this in-home nursing job. And don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you. It’s obvious you’re enjoying what you do. But if your patient has gotten to a point where he doesn’t need you all the time, I was hoping to pay you for some of that time so you could come work and help me out with the orders. They’re already starting to pile up.”
“Well, Hayden’s recovery is going well. He’s still in the hospital, but he took his first unassisted step a few days ago.”
“That’s good! That’s really good. Quicker than you thought, right?” she asked.
“Much quicker. But he’s a stubborn, bull-headed man. So it shouldn’t shock me.”
“Will you still be full-time with him once he’s discharged?”
“He’ll still need me for a lot of the time during the day. He’s more independent with his own personal things since his arms and ribs have healed-- like bathing and getting dressed-- but there are still a lot of other things that have to be taken care of during the day. Like keeping up with his medication, drawing blood. I’ll probably have to take over cooking again until he can get his strength back up in his hip.”
“God bless him,” she said with a grin.
“My cooking’s not that bad,” I said.
“I love you, but every time you cook for me I pray to anyone that’ll listen.”
The two of us giggled before we dug into our food. It was flattering, in a way, that Emilia wanted me back. But I wasn’t sure if Hayden could operate safely without me there. Even for just three or four hours out of the day, there were so many things that could go wrong. He could trip putting on pants or stand for too long and wear down the internal stitches he had put in. He could fall and injure the implant and we’d be right back in the hospital with another issue on our hands.
Then, there was broaching the issue with him and his family. Talking to them about no longer being a full-time, around-the-clock nurse. If I was going to be using Hayden as a reference, the last thing I wanted to do was back out of the job I committed myself to in favor of another gig. That would look terrible, and it would quickly tank the only reference I currently had in the community.
I just wasn’t sure if I could take that risk.
“Already mulling it over, huh?” Emilia asked.
“Just thinking about some obstacles,” I said.
“Want to talk about them?” she asked.
“I mean, there’s the obvious. Leaving Hayden for even three hours a day poses so much risk that he could easily wind up back in the hospital. Then there’s the issue of backing out on a job before it’s finished. If I want to take on the in-home nursing world, Hayden and his family are the only references I have right now. If I willingly back out-”
“It doesn’t look good on a reference. Got it,” she said. “But there’s something else.”
“What?”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“I can see it in your eyes, Grace. Even if you haven’t admitted it to yourself yet, there’s something else holding you back.”
“Maybe you’ve been sniffing too much fresh dirt in the back of that shop,” I said with a grin.
But she was right. I didn’t want to admit it or say it out loud because of the questions that would follow-- nor was I sure how she would react-- but I wanted to be with Hayden full-time. I didn’t want to leave his side. I’d been with him constantly for the past three months, and I was slowly beginning to forget what life had been like without him. I enjoyed his presence. His countenance. His stubborn ways were frustrating as hell, but he was strong. An independent man who could do anything he put his mind to. I was beginning to see that during his recuperation and it was fascinating.
It made him beautiful, and I wasn’t ready to leave yet.
“How’s your food?” Emilia asked.
“Hmm?”
“Your food, Grace. How is it?”
“Oh, it’s good,” I said.
“Uh huh. You wanna tell me what sucked you into la-la-land over there?”
“Still mulling your proposition over. Weighing the pros and cons. That kind of thing.”
“Ever the planner,” she said with a smile. “Let’s change the subject then. I don’t want to waste our lunch together stuck on something that doesn’t have an answer yet.”
“Okay. You said you’re getting backed up with orders already?”
“Oh yes. It’s been a mess. Tristian’s circle is huge, so anyone he talks to, books. On the one hand, I’m glad people are getting their orders in early. It helps me to figure out how much I need and gives me more time to track everything down, but it’s a lot. I easily have half as many orders preseason as I do throughout the entire season and the season hasn’t even started yet!”
“I think I followed that.”
“And do you know what’s big this year apparently?”
“What?” I asked.
“Azaleas.”
“Oh no.”
“Oh yes. The bane of my existence. I’d rather grow and cultivate any other flower but those devilish things. And apparently, Pinterest has dictated that it’s all the rage for bouquets and boutonnieres this year.”
“Of course it did,” I said.
“So I’m already planting those suckers and having to cultivate them and find them in other areas. And let me tell you, I’m not the only florist who isn’t happy about that.”
“I don’t doubt it for a second.”
“Why can’t it be daisies? Or tulips? Those are easy to grow. Easy to cultivate. Hard to kill. But azaleas? They’re the perfect combination of ‘delicate as hell’ and ‘disgusting if you do it wrong’.”
I giggled as I took another bite of my sandwich.
“I really could use you,” Emilia said.
“I know. And if I can swing it, you know I will. But my primary concern is Hayden, and he has to be at the forefront of my mind until he can operate on his own with minimal risk. And we just aren’t there yet.”
“I know. I know. I get it. But part of me wishes I would’ve put up more of a fight to keep you.”
“I love you too, Emilia. But there is good news in all this.”
“What?” she asked.
“At least you aren’t having to hang those azaleas from wicker arches the bride walks under.”
“I’d willingly go under if that was the case,” she said flatly.
I threw my head back and laughed.
“How about this? If you need help making calls to other florists in the area, give me their numbers. I get a few minutes here and there when I’m with Hayden, so I can make those calls for you.”
“That would help me out a lot actually. Tristian keeps offering up his new secretary, but she’s swamped with him.”
“Not a problem,” I said. “But you have to do something for me.”
“Oh I’ll pay you for your time.”
“But not in money. I want you to tell me all of the public meltdowns the bridal parties have. I want all the juicy gossip.”
“You’ve got it,” Emilia said. “And thank you again. The phone calls alone are sucking precious time away from trying to get every single color azalea known to mankind grown in that back room.”
“I’ll help in any way I can,” I said.
I finished my lunch with her, then hugged her goodbye. Our lunches were few and far between, but I needed them. Every once in a while we could talk on the phone at night, but even those were growing less frequent. I watched her get into her car and drive away, then I turned to mine and sighed.
It was back to the hospital for me. And if we were lucky, Hayden would be sent home before the week was out.
Which meant I’d have an answer for Emilia sooner rather than later.