3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
S he did not want to be there.
The next day, Lily made her way along a long hallway painted seafoam green with white trim. There were framed prints of the beach evenly spaced along the wall. In this particular hallway, it was easy to pretend she wasn’t in a hospital.
The last time she’d been in a hospital had been… The breath momentarily caught in her throat. Painful memories flooded her mind. It had been when her father died. Even though it hadn’t occurred in this particular hospital, she still wasn’t comfortable.
And yet Aster had messaged her and asked her to stop by. Lily couldn’t say no. Aster said it was important, but she hadn’t given any details. Lily was left hoping Aster and the baby were okay. Perhaps they needed her to babysit or something simple like that.
The overhead lights lit up the bit of sparkle in the gray floors.
Her footsteps echoed in the hallway. She forced a smile at passersby.
When she reached the bank of elevators, she got lucky and there was one already available.
She stepped inside and smiled at a hospital worker who stood at the back with a food cart next to him.
Her chest tightened as the door closed. She’d never liked small, closed in spaces. She gave herself a mental shake as she pressed the button for the third floor. Aster was being monitored in the maternity ward.
As the elevator stopped on the second floor, she stepped aside so the worker could roll out his cart. In no time, the door swished shut and began moving upward once more.
Buzz-buzz.
Lily reached for her phone. She was surprised to see it was her sister Jenna. She didn’t call her that often during the work day. Lily wondered what she wanted.
Pressing her phone to her ear, she stepped off the elevator. “Hello.”
“Lily, I’m so glad I caught you.”
Lily glanced up at the overhead signs to find out which direction she needed to go. “I can’t talk long. I’m at the hospital to see Aster.”
“How’s she doing?”
“Well, she’s still in the hospital, so I guess not well, but I don’t know any details. What do you need?”
“It’s the market. Everyone is fighting with everyone else.”
“What do you want me to do?”
Jenna sighed. “I don’t know. I wish I did. I thought maybe you’d have an idea or something.”
And this was one of the reasons Lily had gotten out of the family business as soon as she could. Her siblings and parents had a lot of opposing opinions. When they tried to work together, their differences could be boisterous.
Lily did her best to stay out of the family business. Her sister knew she was Switzerland when it came to market business. Therefore, she had to think that her sister was at her wit’s end.
Aster’s room number came into sight. Lily paused in the brightly lit hallway. “Jenna, I have to go. Can we talk later?”
“Uh, sure. Tell Aster I hope she feels better.”
“I will.”
After a quick goodbye, Lily dropped her phone into her bag.
She put a smile on her face and then lightly rapped her knuckles on the door.
She didn’t want to disturb Aster if she was resting.
Part of her wished that were the case, because she was so ready to exit the hospital with its funny smells and too-bright lights.
The other part of her wanted to see her friend and verify with her own eyes that she was all right.
“Come in,” Aster called out.
Lily stepped into the room. The blinds had been adjusted to block most of the sunshine. But there was enough light to see Aster propped up in bed. And by the looks of things, she was still carrying the baby. What a relief.
Aster had color in her face, which was a huge improvement since the last time Lily had seen her. Her hair was pulled up into a ponytail. There were wires from her to machines next to her. Were they there just to monitor her? Or was her condition still serious?
Lily attempted to smile a little brighter, even though being in the hospital had her on edge. “How are you doing?”
“I’d be better if I was at home, but the doctor won’t let me leave. At least not yet.”
“They’re just watching out for you and the baby.”
“I know.” She sighed. “And every day I keep the baby inside is another day he gets to grow. I’d just be more comfortable at home.
I’m hoping tomorrow they’ll release me. I’ve been pestering the doctor every time I see her.
” Aster got a sheepish look. “I’m sorry if I scared you.
I never meant to collapse in front of half the town. ”
Lily waved off her friend’s worry. “You have nothing to be sorry about. As a representative for half of the town, I can honestly say that people just want you and the baby to be all right.”
As though realizing Lily was standing so far away, she gestured to the chair next to the bed. “Come. Sit down.”
Lily did as she was asked. “I’m so sorry you’re going through this.”
Aster placed a protective hand over her protruding abdomen. “We’re doing everything we possibly can so this little one is okay. That’s why I’m going to be on bedrest until the due date.” Aster frowned at the prospect of staying put that long. “And that’s why I need your help.”
Lily pressed a hand to her chest. “My help? Uh, sure. Whatever you need.”
“I was hoping you would say that.” Aster sent her a smile. “Since I’m on bedrest, it means I’m going to need some help with the arts festival.”
Really? This request caught her totally off-guard. “Don’t you have an assistant or something for that?”
“I wish. But budgetary restraints mean I’m still a one-woman show.”
Lily realized this ask couldn’t be easy for her friend. Aster was there to help anyone who needed it, now it was time to help her.
Unwilling to let her friend down, even though she had no idea what she was getting herself into, Lily asked, “What can I do?”
Aster leaned back against the white pillows. “I know it’s a big ask. And I know you have your own business to run. But with this being an arts festival, I thought you’d be the perfect person to help with it. But if it’s too much, just say the word.”
She would never walk away from a friend in need. “I don’t know how good I’m going to be at this, but I’ll do my best.”
“And that’s all I could ask of you. Thank you so much.” Just then there were footsteps approaching her room. “And don’t worry, I got you some help.”
That came as welcome news. Maybe this other person would have experience running festivals.
“Who?”
Aster smiled. “There he is now.”
Lily turned her head to see Sam standing next to Mayor Banks. Even though the mayor was only a few years older than her, in some ways he seemed much older. Something had changed since they were kids that made him so much more serious.
Today, he was wearing a light-blue collared shirt with navy-blue slacks. And he was wearing yet another bow tie. This time the tie was white with blue polka dots. Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What is up with him and bow ties?
“Mayor Banks has already graciously agreed to help with the festival.” Aster smiled like that was something wonderful to be celebrated. “I don’t know how I’m going to thank you both.”
The mayor stepped forward. “The only thanks needed is for you to take care of yourself and that baby.”
Lily wasn’t so sure working with the mayor was a good idea. Then again, maybe this pairing would work in her favor. After all, the mayor had lots of experience running various events.
Plus, he had his own staff. Now that she thought about it. She could see Tony taking over and letting his staff handle things. In the end, there wouldn’t be much for her to mess up, erm…for her to do.
With all of that in mind, Lily felt confident in saying, “We’ve got this. Don’t worry.”
“With this being the first year for the arts festival, it’s not as organized as I would like.” Aster frowned. “Most everything you’ll need is on my laptop.” Her gaze went to her husband. “Do you know where it is?”
Sam’s eyes widened with surprise. “I didn’t see it.”
Something told Lily he didn’t even know he was supposed to be on the lookout for it.
Twin frown lines formed between Aster’s eyebrows. “But I always have it with me. I must have had it when I collapsed.” Her gaze moved to Tony and Lily.” Did either of you see it?”
They shook their heads. Lily tried to remember if she’d seen anything in Aster’s hands when she was on stage, but she couldn’t recall. It’s just not something that would have stood out in her mind.
Aster threw back the covers, as though she were getting out of bed. Sam was the first in action.
In a heartbeat, he was next to his wife. “What are you doing?”
“I have to go find the laptop. It has everything on it. Well, not quite everything.” She sent her husband a pleading look. “I need to find it.”
Sam shook his head. “The only thing you need to do is get back in bed. You heard the doctor. You and our little one need rest.”
She sighed as she settled back against the pillows. “It must be on my desk at the office.”
Lily stepped forward. “Don’t worry. We’ll grab it.”
Tony stepped up next to Lily. “I’ll make sure she can get into your office. Everything will be fine.”
Aster’s gaze moved between the two of them. “Thank you.” Her gaze came to rest on Lily. “And while you’re there, I have a spiral bound notebook in my office. It has a lot of handwritten notes, things that didn’t make it into my laptop yet. So, you’ll want it too.”
Lily nodded. “I’ll grab it.”
The frown returned to Aster’s face. “You’ll need my keys to get into my office. I don’t know where they are either.”
“Don’t worry,” Tony said. “I’ll have the building manager let us in.”
Just then a nurse walked into the room. She stopped in her tracks, as though she weren’t expecting so many visitors in the room.
Then she frowned. “I’m afraid visiting time is over for now.
I need to take Mom’s vitals, and she needs some rest.” There was a no-nonsense tone to her voice. “You can stop back tomorrow.”
Lily turned back to Aster. “Don’t worry. We’ve got this. Just focus on yourself and that baby.”
When Lily stepped away, Tony approached Aster. “I’m really sorry. I should have insisted that you slow down—”
“This isn’t your fault.” Aster reached out to give him a comforting pat on the arm.
“I’ll, uh... Don’t worry. We’ve got this.” He stepped back from the bed.
“I know I have the two best people working on this,” Aster said. “Thank you both. I really appreciate this.”
“We both do,” Sam said.
The nurse didn’t waste any time moving to the bedside. As she started to talk to the parents-to-be, Lily stepped out into the hallway. Tony fell in step next to her.
“I guess we need to stop by Aster’s office to get the laptop and notebook,” Lily said as they reached the elevators.
Tony pushed the down arrow. “Agreed. We don’t have to put this off.”
She imagined when they found the information, Tony would want his staff to take over. After all, they were experienced handling events. She doubted he would need her help.