Chapter 16
sixteen
All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.
—Native American proverb
CLAIRE
Claire had nodded off in the hospital waiting room. She felt someone tap her on the arm and woke with a jolt.
Chris was crouched down in front of her, tears streaming down his face. “Claire, she’s gone.”
She sat up, completely confused. “The baby?” She blinked a few times. “Or the bride?”
“What baby?”
“The bride had a baby.” She rubbed her eyes. Was she dreaming?
“That’s why you’re at the hospital?”
“Yes. I’m waiting to drive her parents back to Sunrise. I forgot to give the bride’s father the keys to his Volkswagen bus.” She tipped her head. “Why are you here?”
“Rose. I’ve been with her all day. She was resting most of the day. I knew you were expecting me, but I just didn’t feel right about leaving. And then around six, she got herself out of bed and asked me to drive her to the greenhouse. She wanted to see it. So I did. And she loved it. Just loved it. Everything. The whole setting looked magical in the moonlight. I asked her if she wanted to go inside to see the flowers up close, but she said her time was short and she needed me to drive her to the hospital. She passed away about an hour ago.”
Shocked, Claire didn’t know what to say, what to think. Rose was gone. Gone? How could this be? The shock wore off as suddenly as it came, and tears sheened her vision, blurring her view of him. She was just about to crumble, but in that split second before the first sob escaped, she realized that Chris needed her to be strong, not to fall apart. Later. She could fall apart later, at the flower shop, with Jaime and Tessa.
She slipped down on the floor to perch on her knees, facing him, and took both of his hands in hers. “Rose prepared us for this, Chris. We’re going to be okay. We’ll get through this.” She reached her arms around him, hugging him tight and strong, just like Rose used to. “We’re better together.”
He buried his face in her curly mess of hair. “We’ve always been better together,” he said, choking up.
She smiled through her tears. “I know.” And she did know. Because loving and being loved were two of God’s greatest gifts in the entire world. Yes, ma’am, they were.