37. Addie
Chapter thirty-seven
Addie
After deciding it was just too painful to stay in Abuelo’s old house, I booked a room for Luna and me at a nearby hotel.
However, I’m going back today to sign some paperwork for Steven.
When I pull up, it looks like nothing has changed from the outside. But as I walk in, I see an odd, unexpected sight. The entryway, hallway, and staircase are completely full of red tulips, my favorite.
“What the hell?” I stumble over a bouquet as I continue deeper into the estate.
“Now, I used to scold you for using that kind of language when you were a little girl.” Penny’s face suddenly appears from behind the wall.
My heart swells at the sight of such an old friend. “Penny! What in the world are you doing here?”
She gives me a big hug before introducing herself to Luna, who is at my side.
“And what’s all this?” I ask, referring to the new interior garden.
Instead of answering me directly, she picks a vase up and hands it to me. Among the beautiful flowers is a clear stake with a note attached.
“Go on, read it,” she encourages.
“Okay.” I take the small, white envelope in my hands, and I pull out the handwritten card inside.
Each petal represents an “I’m sorry.”
Please forgive me, Addie.
~Hayden
I want to roll my eyes, but the pride on Penny’s face stops me.
“Isn’t it just so romantic?” Her hands clasp underneath her chin, and her body starts to sway a little. “Oh, and they’re all different. See?” She goes over to another bundle, takes out the card, and then hands it to me.
I don’t want to know what my life looks like without you and Luna in it.
Please forgive me, Addie.
~Hayden
As much as I appreciate this latest gesture, it doesn’t change the fact that he screamed in my face. I was just trying to help his sorry, drunk ass, and he treated me like an intruder in his house. I will not subject myself to that again, and I don’t want my daughter around someone who acts like that. It’s not okay.
“And they’re not going to stop,” Penny whispers.
To emphasize her words, the doorbell rings, and there’s a courier with yet another bushel.
“Addie Flores?” The man in the khaki hat asks.
“Yes, that’s me.” As much as I wish it wasn’t in this very moment . . .
“Great. Please sign here.” I accept the wrapped parcel from him and scribble my initials on his electric pad. “Thanks. Have a wonderful d—well,” he chuckles, tips his head a little, and scratches his head saying, “I suppose I should save that. I’ll be back again in an hour or so.”
Bloody hell.
Usually, Luna would have been enthralled by all the pretty flowers. But today, after I told her about us moving last night, she remains completely aloof.
“Can you take this for me, baby?”
“Yeah,” she responds without much emotion. Then, after taking them from me and setting them down, she hangs her head and carefully walks up the stairs.
“She isn’t always like that,” I explain to Penny.
She just nods. “Don’t worry. Mine could be temperamental little buggers too from time to time. Just wait until she becomes a teenager.”
I shudder at the thought. But then I explain, “Well, I actually just broke the news to her that we’re moving back to Phoenix.”
“You are? But I thought you were going to live here.” She gestures to my abuelo’s grand home.
“We were. Except the plan changed.”
“Is that why that strange man is in your grandfather’s office?”
Right. I completely forgot about the purpose of my visit—to meet up with Steven and sign everything over to my mother once and for all. “Do you mind?”
“No, no. Go right in.”
I don’t want to delay the inevitable any longer than I have to.
When she leaves to attend to something else, I saunter down the hallway and knock on the door.
“Come on in.” He’s already behind Abuelo’s desk when I walk inside. “How are you today, Addie?”
I sigh. “I’m alright.”
He pulls his glasses down and asks, “And Luna? How’s she handling the big news?”
“Well, if her stomping up the stairs was any indication . . .”
“That was her?”
I giggle. “Yep. It sure was.”
“My, she has a heavy tread for such a little thing.”
I pull out the chair across from him and sit down. “Let’s just say she knows how to make a statement.”
“Something she may have gotten from her great-grandfather, no doubt.”
My face twists in confusion at his remark. “What’s that now?”
Without another word, he takes an envelope out of his front pocket and hands it over to me.
I scramble to open it, and I find yet another note addressed to me.
My dearest Addie,
If you’re reading this, that means you’ve turned my initial offer down. That’s perfectly fine, and please know that I am not disappointed in the slightest. On the contrary, I want you to do whatever you think is best for you and Luna.
But that being said, I want you to know that I’ve prepared an alternative option for you in case this very scenario played itself out. If you want, you can keep the house, the subsidiary company, and a chunk of my fortune. However, to honor your late father, I will also have a third of my money transferred to your mother, and she will run Flores Holdings. As for the rest, you can decide which charity it goes to.
“I don’t understand,” I say after lifting my head and making eye contact with Steven again.
“It’s like he said: he always had a second option for you.”
“But—”
“Go on, there’s more.”
I turn the page over and keep reading.
Mi peque?a ratón,
No matter what you decide to do with your life, please know that I have always been incredibly proud of you. Even when I didn’t show it. You’re a wonderful granddaughter, mother, and person. I love you more than words could ever say.
From your dearest,
Abuelo
By the end of all that, I’m just about in hysterics. For one thing, I haven’t heard him utter the words “ peque?a ratón ” or “little mouse” in what feels like forever. And just reading it out makes me feel at home in a weird way. Also, knowing how proud he was of me makes my heart sing.
“Well? What do you think you’re going to do?” Steven asks. “I know you already decided to move back to Phoenix. But I personally, for as much as my opinion is worth to you . . .”
After blotting at my face, I reach over and grab his liver-spotted hands. “It means a great deal, Steven.” Over the last few weeks, I’ve come to really respect the goofy, unconventional man.
“I think there’s a lot of great work for you to do at the subsidiary. With your great architectural mind, you can really make a difference.”
Now I’m tearing up again. “Thank you for saying that. I really appreciate it.”
He sits back in his chair and folds his arms across his belly. “And I mean it wholeheartedly.”
“Thank you again. But is it okay if I take a few days to think about all of this? My head is kind of spinning at the moment.”
“Sure.” He slides the letter back over and folds it up. “You can just call me whenever you’ve made your decision.”
“Will do. Thanks.”
After that, I see him out, I make sure he doesn’t trip on the many floral arrangements lying about—just what I need is another lawsuit to deal with.
But just before I shut the door after him, I hear the sound of my daughter’s giggle and faint music coming from the backyard.
“Penny?” I call out, assuming she has something to do with both noises.
“Yes, dear?” She comes out of a random room with a pad of paper in her hand and a pen behind her ear.
“Do you hear that?”
“What’s that, love?”
Pointing outside, I say, “The music.”
She walks a little closer to me, and it’s just then that I see the hearing aids in her ears. She then reaches up to tweak them, and then she sticks her head outside. “I do. What is that?”
I shrug. “I have no idea. I was hoping you would know something about it.”
“Nothing at all, darling.”
As I listen some more, I believe it’s a string quartet of some kind.
“Is there a new art school around here I didn’t know about?” Penny asks.
“I don’t—I don’t think so.” In order to investigate further, I finally closed the door and headed out onto the back terrace.
But what I see when I get out there causes my jaw to drop and my heart to fall down to my toes.
What in the world?