Chapter Thirteen #2
It wasn’t something he fully understood when he was younger.
Back then, he’d been focused on getting by, on carving out a life for himself that wasn’t tied to anyone or anything.
But now, as he thought about the people he had met in Shelter Springs and the way they seemed to lean on each other without hesitation, he felt the faintest pang of longing.
He was still thinking about the power of connectedness as he drove through the thriving downtown area. He found a parking spot not far from Evergreen & Ivy and pulled the cardboard boxes from the back seat of his truck.
When he walked into the store, he found Holly checking out a customer. He set the boxes in the back and lingered until she had finished.
When the store was empty again she turned her attention to him. “Thank you so much. Did you run into any problems?”
“None at all. The addresses were all easy to find and someone was home at each location to receive the delivery. Everyone was very nice and they were all thrilled to receive beautiful flowers. Except the mortuary, anyway. They were pretty matter-of-fact about it.”
“That tracks,” she said with a smile. “How is everyone feeling? I’m especially worried about Birdie Lovell. She would have been your final delivery of the day, if you followed the chart I gave you.”
“She was. Birdie was pretty unforgettable.”
“That is an understatement. I adore her. Her granddaughter Amanda is one of my closest friends and her grandson Griffin is married to my friend Natalie whom you met here in the store earlier.”
“She loved the flowers. It was very thoughtful of you to pick particularly fragrant blossoms for her bouquet. She said she’s feeling much better, though she didn’t have much of a voice.”
“She must be hating that. Birdie loves to talk.”
“I did receive that impression, yes. As do her friends Arlene and Florence.”
“Oh, they’re wonderful, too. I want to be just like them when I’m that age. Feisty and funny and unapologetic.”
He could imagine it perfectly and felt a weird little pang that he wouldn’t be around to know her when she was the age of the older ladies.
“I actually live in Birdie’s house,” Holly told him.
He blinked at the unexpected information. “Do you?”
“She lived in Rose Cottage for years, then Amanda lived there with her for awhile and stayed after Birdie moved to the Shelter Inn. I bought the house from Amanda after she married this summer and moved to her husband’s house with Rafe and his son.
Rafe’s grandfather Paulo is Birdie’s beau, the one who sent her the flowers. ”
Again, he thought about that community he had never really known, entangled lives and interconnected worlds.
Before he could answer her, the door burst open and a pint-sized dynamo burst through, her cheeks flushed from the cold and her almond-shaped eyes bright and happy.
“Hi, Mommy!” Lydia said, dropping her backpack inside the door of the shop and racing to her mother with her arms out.
“Hello, my darling,” Holly said, kneeling down to embrace her child. “How was your day?”
“Good. I played with Jane at recess. She pushed me on the swings. We had music and sang ‘Jingle Bells.’ I love ‘Jingle Bells.’”
“I know you do.”
“And for lunch, I had grill cheese.”
“That sounds like an amazing day,” she answered, as Audrey followed Lydia inside, scooping up her backpack on the way.
His niece looked surprised to see him leaning against the counter.
“Oh, hi, Uncle Ry. What are you doing here?”
For some ridiculous reason, he felt a flush of embarrassment.
He certainly couldn’t tell his niece that he couldn’t seem to stay away from Holly Moore or that he didn’t have anywhere else he would rather be right now than here in this warm, charming flower shop that smelled like pine and cinnamon and home.
“Your uncle saved the day for me. I was in a bind, on my own here, and was about to close the store to make a few deliveries when Ryan stopped by. He offered to take care of the deliveries so I didn’t have to close the store and could stay here and wait on customers.”
“You delivered flowers to people?” For some reason, Audrey seemed to find that both astounding and hilarious.
“I was happy to pitch in.”
“I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t,” Holly said. “We’ve been so busy today with the market in town, I’ve barely had time to catch my breath. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.”
She turned to Audrey. “And you are helping so much by being here with Lydia today.”
“You know I love hanging out with the Lydi-bug.”
She hugged the little girl to her and Ryan felt a burst of pride for his niece, who was learning so much compassion for others. She was a great caregiver to Lydia and should perhaps think about pursuing a career in special education.
She was only thirteen, he reminded himself. She had plenty of time to explore different interests and figure out what she wanted to do with her life.
He had never imagined he would pursue a career in the military as his father had done. He never wanted to be like the colonel in any way. After earning his pilot’s license, he had considered becoming a commercial pilot, but the navy and all the opportunities it offered had appealed to him more.
He could not imagine his life unfurling any differently than it had up to now but he expected he was going to have to make some tough decisions soon about his future, especially if his knee continued to give him problems.
“Can we go to the market tonight, Uncle Ry?” Audrey asked him. “I have to finish my Christmas shopping and my friend Megan is performing with her choir at seven.”
“The market? Really?” He could imagine few things he wanted to do less.
“It’s really fun, I promise. Everyone in town goes. Last year Mom and I went three or four times. We haven’t been once this year and it ends next week.”
He glanced at Holly, who gave him a sympathetic look. “It really is fun,” she said. “Definitely a highlight of the holiday season around here.”
He had vowed to give his niece on unforgettable Christmas, even if that involved subjecting himself to a crowded convention hall filled with holiday shoppers snapping up things they didn’t need.
“I suppose we can do that. What time is the concert? Can we go after dinner?”
“You can always go for dinner,” Holly suggested. “They have an entire food stall area featuring local restaurants.”
She was not being helpful. He gave her a mock frown, which she returned with her usual sunny smile.
“I suppose we could do that. What about you and Lydia?” he asked, driven by an impish whim. “Do you want to grab dinner with us over at the market?”
She looked momentarily startled by the suggestion then appeared to reconsider.
“We could do that. I owe you, after all your help today. The least I could do is buy you something to eat at the food court.”
That hadn’t been his intention when he made the suggestion but they could wrangle over details later. “Why don’t I come back here around closing time? That way we can walk over to the market from here.”
“Probably easier than trying to find a closer parking space,” she agreed. “It should work, especially if Lydia takes a nap back in the break room.”
“She usually does,” Audrey said. “We do some yoga, put on quiet music and both close our eyes. She usually falls asleep and I do my homework.”
Holly’s affectionate smile at Audrey left a funny ache in his throat that he did his best to ignore.
“I’ll come by a little before you close at six, unless you need me to make more deliveries this afternoon.”
“You have done more than enough. I don’t have any more deliveries today.”
“Okay. I’ll get out of your hair, then. I’ll see you all in a few hours.”
And in the meantime, he would do his best to remind himself of all the reasons he didn’t belong here in this small town.