14. Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fourteen
T he sun shined and the birds sang.
She couldn’t help but think it was such a beautiful day.
The next day business had been non-stop at the Lily Pad. It had been so busy Lily wasn’t able to get away to swing by the hospital to visit Aster. In fact, Lily had missed lunch altogether, which was no big deal because she didn’t have an appetite.
“And what are you smiling about?” Tanya arched a brow as curiosity sparkled in her green eyes.
“I’m not smiling.”
“Sure seemed like it to me.” Tanya tucked some loose strands of brown hair behind her ear as she returned to organizing a shelf of paints.
Truthfully, Lily didn’t even know she was smiling until Tanya had mentioned it. Lily gave her some glib answer. She wasn’t about to admit she kept replaying moments from her dinner with Tony.
He was different than she recalled from when they were kids. He was more reserved—more serious. And that bow tie, where had it come from?
She’d noticed him frown a couple of times at her lack of organization. Everything in her life was that way—except for the Lily Pad. She took great care to keep the shop organized so customers could find exactly what they wanted.
Tony hadn’t said anything, but she could tell her lack of organization bothered him. But surely it wasn’t that big of a deal. She supposed she’d find out this evening when they had dinner again.
“Is everything okay?” Tanya sent her a curious look.
“Yes. Why?”
“Because you stacked and re-stacked those shirts about five times now.”
Lily looked down at where her hands were resting on some plain T-shirts she kept on hand for people who liked to do tie-dye, iron-ons, or any other artistic endeavor. With a sigh, she gave them one last going over.
Lily turned to her friend, who was a few years younger than she was. “I wonder how Aster is doing. I planned to stop by the hospital this morning, but we were so busy I never got the chance.”
Tanya nodded. “We aren’t usually that busy. But it was a good busy because not only did they look, but they bought stuff.”
“I know.” Lily smiled. “If only we had business like that every day.”
“You never know. With all of the new events, there are more and more tourists coming to the island every year. Aster Bell has done wonders for Bluestar.”
“She definitely has, but it was our mayor’s vision. Together, they are revitalizing this place.” Tony has definitely been good for the island. And she was finding that he was good for her too.
“By the way, did you see this week’s paper?” Tanya had a grin on her face.
Oh no. She didn’t like the look on Tanya’s face. Something told her she wasn’t going to like what was in their island paper.
“What’s in it?”
“You made the front page.” Tanya’s grin broadened.
Lily groaned. “What now?”
“It’s not bad. In fact, you might say it’s good press. They even mentioned the shop.” Tanya handed her a copy of the Bluestar Bulletin .
Lily unfolded the small paper that was filled with local news.
Right on the front page above the fold was an image of herself and the mayor.
Tony was on a stretcher just outside of the ambulance.
Her hand was in his as he stared into her eyes.
But there was something more to his expression.
She told herself it was worry because at that point he was injured.
The headline read: Mayor rescued!
The shop was quiet for the moment, so it gave her a chance to read the full story.
Thankfully, there was no mention of her claustrophobia or any specifics about what took place inside the elevator car.
Something told her the reporter hadn’t been able to get any comment from Tony.
She was grateful. It was a moment in time that she wasn’t anxious to share with anyone else.
She was a little surprised they hadn’t contacted her for a comment, but she was relieved. She didn’t want to relive that experience for the press.
“See,” Tanya said, “you were worried about nothing.” When Lily didn’t respond, Tanya said, “Right?”
“Uh...yes. Right. All is good.” Lily sent her friend a reassuring smile.
“Just think about how much business we’re going to have for the arts festival.
” Tanya’s voice drew Lily from her memories of being trapped in the elevator.
“I was thinking I should contact the local artists we have on display and have them bring in some more of their work, you know, so we don’t run out during the festival. ”
Lily nodded. “Sounds like a good idea.”
Buzz-buzz.
She withdrew her phone from her back pocket. Tony’s name was on the screen. She pressed the phone to her ear. “How did you know I was thinking of you?”
“You were?” His happy tone made her smile.
“I mean I was looking at your photo in the paper.”
“You mean our photo.”
“Yes, of course. But I was a mess. My hair was going in every direction and my makeup was smeared, but you looked like you had it all together.”
He laughed. It sounded good. He should do it more often. “Oh, yeah. I looked amazing with blood on half of my face and on my shirt. And then I had that box splint on my arm. It was definitely my finest hour.”
“Okay. Point taken. Neither of us looked our best. Did they interview you for the piece?”
“They tried. I told them I wasn’t up for it.”
“Oh. Okay. No one reached out to me.”
“That’s because I told them not to. I hope that was all right. I didn’t think you’d want to relive it.”
“Oh. Uh. Yeah. Thank you. So, what did you need?”
“I’ve had my staff pulling all of the paperwork to do with the arts festival, and it’s a lot more than either of us were expecting. It’s going to take a lot of time to go through it all. I was checking in to see how things went with Aster. Did she know where the missing laptop is?”
“About that, I, uh...got tied up at the shop. It was really busy this morning. I was going to swing by the hospital this afternoon.”
“Not a problem. In the meantime, I’ll get this paperwork organized and bring it with me this evening. Are we still on for dinner?”
The smile returned to her lips. “Are you still cooking?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
“So, what are we having?”
“You’re going to have to wait and see.”
“That’s just mean.” She pretended to pout.
He let out a hearty laugh. “That’s me. The big meany who is going to feed you this evening. Now get back to work. We have a lot to do and you can’t be late.”
“I won’t. See you later.” After they ended the call, she found herself continuing to smile.
She told herself not to get used to dining with Tony. This was only going to last until they sorted out the festival. Then they’d go back to their separate lives.
The smile slipped from her lips. She didn’t want him to fade from her daily life. She was really enjoying having him around.
It was a few minutes before closing time when Lily locked up the shop. She drove her cart to the hospital. She was just about to pull into the parking lot when she heard the wail of a siren.
The sound sent a chill down her spine. It reminded her of her father’s heart attack. She’d been leaning over him, doing CPR like the nine-one-one operator had instructed her, when she’d heard the wail of the siren. It was a moment that was forever imprinted upon her mind.
In the end, it didn’t matter how much she did or the paramedics did, they couldn’t resuscitate him. One moment, her father was laughing and talking with them, and in the next moment he was gone. The familiar ache in her heart throbbed. She missed him every single day.
She pulled her cart off to the side to allow the ambulance to pass. At that moment, her phone went off.
Lily let the phone ring a few times, enough time for the ambulance to turn off the siren as they pulled up to the doors of the emergency room. Lily saw it was Birdie.
She pressed the phone to her ear. “Hello.”
“It’s Birdie. I’m over at the Bell farm. They just rushed Aster back to the hospital.”
“Back to the hospital? I didn’t even know she’d been discharged.”
“Yeah. Apparently she pestered the doctor into discharging her last evening. When I arrived this afternoon with the food, the ambulance was already here.”
“Are her and the baby going to be okay?” As the words passed her lips, Sam drove his cart past her. He had it going as fast as it could go.
He didn’t seem to notice her, and that was okay. He definitely had more important things on his mind. Poor guy.
She talked a little more to Birdie, making sure the woman was calm enough to drive herself home. “Please, call me when you hear anything about Aster.”
“I will, dear.”
After she disconnected the call, she turned her cart around. Thoughts of Aster and the baby weighed on her mind as she headed for home. She hoped they would be all right.
When she was back at her place, she moved to the spare bedroom at the back of the house, which she’d converted into an art studio. It had an over-sized sliding glass door that let in the morning sun. In the afternoon, she had the most stunning views of the ocean.
This room was her favorite in the house. She’d almost made it her bedroom, but she’d decided it would be a waste. She was only in her bedroom to sleep. This view deserved to be appreciated—something she could do while painting.
She needed to figure out what she was going to enter into the art competition. She’d never been this indecisive about her work before. She usually painted by inspiration, but right now, nothing special was jumping out at her.
She grabbed her sketch pad and moved to the chair in the corner of the room.
She opened it and studied the first image, which was a cityscape.
She could imagine it coming to life on her canvas.
It would be an evening scene so the lights would be on in the buildings.
And it would be a rainy evening so that the stop lights and neon signs would reflect upon the puddles in the roadway.