21
Emma rolled over in bed dragging the comforter with her. She reached for her phone on the nightstand: 11:15 AM. How had she slept so late? She sat and combed through her brain fog. The screen showed that it was Wednesday. That was right. Fired on Monday and then rescued on Tuesday by Sam. Today, she didn’t have to rush to work. For her own sanity and heart safety, she wouldn’t think about light switches or redecorating or Wade Donoven.
Her forehead ached. Caffeine was overdue. She threw on a green and gold hoodie and traipsed into the living room.
Sam typed on her laptop at the kitchen table. The key clicks reminded Emma of…no, she focused on a flower arrangement of daisies and small purple flowers blocking Sam’s keypad from view. No wonder the aroma of coffee beans held a hint of florist. She banished her sleep haze and checked her mental calendar. Sam’s birthday wasn’t in February, and Valentine’s Day was almost two weeks away. She’d ignore that holiday this year.
“Look who finally surfaced.” Sam sipped from a mug. “Can I get you some breakfast? We have cereal, cereal, and more cereal.”
“You know me so well.” Emma swept her arm over the table with a dramatic flair. “My kingdom for a bowl of flakes and raisins.” She shuffled toward the refrigerator to grab some milk and a cup of coffee. “Who sent the flowers?” An idea popped into her brain. “Wait. Did you get the teaching position here?” Cole would definitely celebrate that news.
“They’re not mine.” Sam pushed her chair away from the table and exuded too much perkiness.
Emma set the milk and a mug on the table and headed to the pantry for cereal. “Was Gretta gone when the delivery came?”
Sam shook her head. “They’re not for Gretta. Ernie strikes me as more of a blouse or slippers kind of guy.”
“Then who are they for?” Emma reached for her raisin cereal. Her life was void of husbands, boyfriends, and romance.
Sam tsked . A sound that should be banished before noon.
“You, silly. The flowers are for you.”
“Me?” Emma’s heart swelled. Sam was such a good friend and so sweet to encourage her with flowers. “Aw, thank you.” She hugged her friend being careful not to poke her in the face with the corner of the cereal box. “I feel better just being in your home.”
“I wish I could take credit for being a thoughtful friend, but they’re not from me.” Sam made a face. “Now I have regrets. Open the card. I’ve been dying to snoop for the past hour.”
“And you didn’t? Not even a peek or a hold up to the light? You’re amazing.” Emma grabbed the card. Something round and hard was in the small envelope. Her heartbeat stuttered.
“It’s sealed and I didn’t have a steamer handy.” Sam perched at her computer but eyed the mysterious envelope. “I figured you wouldn’t sleep too much longer.”
Returning to her bedroom sounded like a great idea. If this was an apology from Wade or dare she believe, a card signed with regret, or love, she’d be more confused than ever.
She opened the glued flap and slipped the card from the envelope.
Donna Clay sends her thanks.
The customer must have called the office again, and Wade talked to her. Was he missing his office mate?
We do, too.
Donoven and Sons Electric
Wade hadn’t bothered to attach his name to the thank-you gift. Was this a final good-bye with a hint of good riddance? Her heart bungee jumped off a bridge. A few CPR compressions would be needed to get it back into a normal rhythm.
“Okay, stop stalling.” Sam tilted her head and had a bug-eyed look of impatience. “Are they from Wade?”
If only, then she’d be feeling all light and swirly like cotton candy. Instead, she felt like a crumpled and discarded sticky note.
“They’re a thank you from Donoven and Sons.”
“Really? Not a heart and ‘thinking of you’ from Wade. Boy, did I read him wrong. I expected more.” Sam shook her head and then wrinkled her nose. “What’s in your hand?”
Emma displayed the fifty-cent piece. Double sorry . Was Wade double sorry that he fired her? Or double sorry that he had been forced to hire her? She was double sorry that she let her emotions get the best of her. Every inch of her face tingled with what mimicked a bad sunburn.
“It’s an inside joke from the office.” The joke was on her believing Wade saw her as more than a temporary office girl. “The sentiment was nice, but the flowers make my cactus look scruffy.”
“Herbie will survive. He has since the fifth grade.” Sam popped out of her chair. “I’m going to get more coffee. We need to figure out what we’re doing today.”
Today? Emma needed to figure out what she was doing with her life. She pocketed the fifty-cent piece in her yoga pants. Out of sight, eventually out of mind. Eventually.
Should she text a thank you for the flowers? Nah. She only had Wade’s personal number, and the thought of calling the office made her stomach sink. She had thanked Linda before she left, and that would be enough. Did one even have to thank for a thank you? Especially after they were terminated.
She sat at the table and stared at her cereal. Why had she ever daydreamed about staying in Tennessee? Her roots were in Milwaukee along with her parents, her aging parents who started a family when they were pushing forty, and who owned a successful business. What if her dad had another heart attack or her mom grew ill? Tennessee was too far away from Milwaukee and best left as a temporary destination.
As cereal crunched in her mouth, she beheld the daisies and purple mystery flowers. The arrangement reminded her that she was a professional placeholder to Wade. She needed to put her time and effort into clearing her name so she wouldn’t spook future employers. She also needed to help her attorney get the stolen money refunded to Ron’s victims.
“You know.” She glanced at Sam who was closing her laptop. “We should sell this arrangement at the rummage sale. Fifty percent off.”
~*~
The blood pressure cuff around Wade’s arm constricted until it loosened in a whoosh of air.
“Your blood pressure is slightly elevated.” The nurse removed a stethoscope from her ears. “I’ll retake it before you leave. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Thank you.” He tried to get comfortable in the plastic doctor’s office chair. Anyone’s blood pressure would escalate if they had to fire a gem like Emma and handle the fallout. Fight or flight syndrome kicked in every time the office phone rang. He dreaded hearing a customer ask for Emma.
“All your other vitals are perfect.” The nurse pushed her mobile cart toward the door. “The doctor should be in shortly.”
He nodded and forced a smile. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Even though the sign on the wall said to silence cell phones, he slipped his phone from his jeans. Cole’s name filled the screen. Great. His brother better not need any help with the project in Sperry’s Crossing because they were slammed in Nashville. And he definitely didn’t need any relationship advice from his younger brother. Cole’s track record had been shaky before he met Sam.
“Hey, I’m in the doctor’s office.”
“Is Mom with you?”
Wade squeezed the phone controlling the tension in his fingers. “She’s in the waiting room. I’m a grown man. I don’t need her holding my hand.”
“Just to drive you.” Cole’s amusement bristled.
Why did God have to make little brothers so annoying?
“Not after today, Coley.” His brother hated that name, but Wade’s patience was threadbare with all the upheaval at work. And at the moment, he really didn’t care what Cole liked or disliked. With Emma, that was another story.
“I’m praying you get a release to drive. We need you to pull your weight again, bro. Good thing you gained a few pounds laying around.”
Before Emma arrived, he would have cursed his brother, but she had helped him understand that Cole wasn’t responsible for his accident, and that Cole was just being Cole. No animosity, no passive aggression, but not that funny.
“The pounds will come off when I’m on service calls and away from the mini fridge.” Wade stifled a grin. He didn’t feel like smiling, but being so close to a driving release, his goal for the past months, was dopamine to his brain. “So, you called to see when I would be able to drive around the city and go on a diet.”
“I was hoping for some good news, and I also heard that you sent Emma flowers.”
The Emma to Sam to Cole message train was on track. His brother sounded as if he enjoyed being included in the gossip.
Wade shifted in the plastic chair hoping to hear his file being removed from the holder outside of the small room. Wouldn’t you know with Wade’s luck, the doctor was running late.
“The company sent Emma flowers for a thank you.” Plain and simple.
“Not you?” Cole sounded as if he was on a fishing expedition.
“Not me.” He had asked the florist to enclose a half-dollar. That request came with an explanation that he didn’t need a dollar cut in half. He kicked out his legs and tried to avoid gazing at the skeleton poster on the sterile-colored wall. This place could use one of Emma’s candles. Not again. He rubbed his forehead hoping to erase Emma’s name from his memory.
“Why not you? I thought you were starting to like Emma.”
Lord, give me patience.
“Who wouldn’t like Emma? She’s nice. But I’ve only known her a little over a week.” Nine days in-person and two months as the nebulous friend of Sam’s. “She’s sorting out all the problems from that Runyard guy and may not stay in Tennessee. I’ve got a business to run here and can’t be driving to Wisconsin for a date.” His voice was too loud for the library-quiet corridor outside.
“I guess I read it wrong.” At least Cole was conciliatory. “I didn’t mean to get you upset.”
“I’m not.” For sure his blood pressure had soared past the previous 129/85. He needed to be careful. His driving release was his golden ticket. “With my workload, I don’t have time for a long-distance relationship.” That was sound advice for any business owner.
“Well text me what the doctor says. I’ve been praying for you for a long time, bro.”
Wade’s frustration deflated. He leaned forward in the chair and rested his forehead against his palm. Cole meant well and he had taken up the slack in the business after the accident. Wade didn’t want to mess up their newly forged brotherly bond.
“I will, but I’m sure Mom will update the family group text right away.” Though, the cute girl who pushed him to the finish line wouldn’t be on it. And he hadn’t received a text from Emma after the flowers arrived. His love life rivaled the dreariness of the medical room. He’d let the Cole to Sam to Emma text train work to relay any good news.
Papers rustled outside the exam room door.
“Got to go.” Wade ended the call and returned his phone to his pocket. He took a few deep breaths trying to lower his blood pressure.
His orthopedist, dressed in a crisp white coat and winged tipped shoes, swept into the room. “Wade, good to see you.” He held out his hand for a shake. When they were done, he used the other hand to test Wade’s claw. Surprise enlivened the doctor’s face as Wade squeezed tight enough for an arm wrestle. “That’s good. Your grip is excellent. Any pain in the left arm.” Doctor McCormick assessed Wade’s limb.
“No, not now.” Thanks to Emma’s pressure points and massage techniques.
“Good. That’s what I like to hear.” Doctor McCormick scanned the desk area. “No cane today either.” He glanced at the chart in his hands. “Why don’t I watch you walk down the hall before we discuss a release.”
Two Step. Line dance. Quarterback chase. Wade would do them all if he could get cleared to drive. He strolled down the hallway with confidence dodging a discarded wheelchair. He didn’t need one of those anymore.
“Looks good, Wade. Why don’t you come back into the room. I’m impressed with the progress you have made.”
Thank You, Jesus! The praise filled his mind.
You were there every step of the way. And I appreciate You giving me amazing parents, a forgiving brother, and bringing Emma into my life when I needed encouragement and a boost of confidence. Thank You, Lord. In Your name. Amen.
Wade sat down in the stiff chair and cleared his throat. Some of his thankfulness had settled in his windpipe.
The doctor typed on a computer. “You’ve made a full recovery, Wade. I have to say that the improvement from last time is remarkable. You even seem in a better state of mind.” Dr. McCormick smiled as if his own health had been restored. “I’ll be issuing a release to drive. I’m sure you’re ready to get back on the road and back to a full schedule at work.”
“Amen to that. Thank you.” Although he wouldn’t be getting out of the office until next week thanks to Emma being gone and the temp agency not sending anyone until Friday.
The doctor typed a few more notes and then shook Wade’s hand again before mentioning to call if there were any problems. The nurse was being sent back in for another blood pressure check.
Wade relaxed in the chair feeling as if he was floating in a tube down a lazy river. His journey to drive again had ended. He was free to meet customers and solve problems and live the life he enjoyed pre-auto accident. This ending is what he had prayed for since being stuck in a hospital bed. Unfortunately, balloons and confetti didn’t drop from the ceiling. His big fireworks extravaganza had ended with a dud.
He pulled out his phone. No text from Emma. In the back of his brain, he wondered if the doctor had a note system like People Peeps.
GOT THE ALL CLEAR , he texted Cole.
Tilting his head, Wade glanced at the mottled grid of ceiling tiles overhead. “Lord, can I get an all clear for my brain, so I don’t keep thinking about Emma?”