Chapter 35
My mom and I stayed in hospital for the next few days, which meant we were there for Christmas. I thought it would be depressing to be in the hospital over the holiday, but Noah and my dad did everything they could to make it special.
Noah somehow convinced the hospital staff to let us have a tree in our room. Though, of course, Noah didn’t take half measures, and when I woke on Christmas morning, there was an enormous tree in the corner of our room that was so tall the tip was bent where it hit the ceiling.
He also covered the ceiling with fairy lights and hung tinsel throughout the room.
The place looked like a rival to Santa’s workshop with all the Christmas decorations.
I told Noah he was going overboard, but he insisted it was worth it.
And, I had to admit, it did make it a little easier to spend the holidays in a hospital bed when your room wasn’t quite so sterile.
Matthew was always in our room, and I loved to see the way he doted on my mom, like he’d been waiting for his chance to do so for years.
He was constantly sitting next to her bed, holding her hand as they discussed their engagement or simply gazed at each other.
I didn’t think I’d ever seen my mom so happy.
It was the best Christmas present I could have asked for.
My father also organized an incredible Christmas lunch for us, but neither my mom nor I had the biggest of appetites, and Noah ended up eating most of it.
It was the most surreal Christmas I’d ever experienced, sitting around a hospital room, eating our turkey on our laps.
But all my previous Christmases had been a little lonely in comparison with it being just my mom and me.
For the first time, I realized what it felt like to spend Christmas with your family.
The morning after Christmas, I was feeling much better, and my doctor said I could be discharged from the hospital. My mom was still on the mend though, so she needed to stay a little longer.
It was hard to leave her behind. And harder still to leave the hospital and know I wouldn’t be going home.
That I would never sleep in my own bed again.
Matthew had rented a place in Rapid Bay, so I was going to be staying with him.
The house wasn’t far from the café, and I wasn’t all that surprised when we pulled up outside one of the ridiculous mansions that lined the foreshore.
I’d always admired these homes growing up.
They were only a few streets away from the café, and yet they felt like they belonged in a different world.
I’d always wondered how two places so close to each other could be so different, and I never dreamed I’d cross the invisible line that ran through our town and enter one of these homes as though I belonged there.
It was so strange to wake up to an uninterrupted view of the ocean each morning rather than the overpowering smell of bacon and coffee wafting from the café downstairs.
To look out over the beach I’d grown up playing on from the balcony of my bedroom rather than pulling on my apron to start my shift serving customers and cleaning tables.
Rapid Bay was still my home, but staying in this luxurious mansion made me feel a little like a stranger here.
Still, the thing I was struggling with most was being apart from my mom.
She was recovering well though, and Matthew and I spent every minute we had over the next few days visiting with her.
Norma was there as much as she could be too, and the nurses often had to remove us all from my mom’s bedside each night.
Mom had asked several times about the state of the café after the fire, but I’d avoided her questions every time.
I wanted her to concentrate on getting better, and I knew the news would shatter her.
The café had been totally destroyed by the fire, and despite what Matthew had said, our apartment wasn’t much better.
The firemen had managed to salvage a few things from the wreckage, but most of our possessions were gone.
I had thought Noah might return to New York now he knew I was safe, but he remained in Rapid Bay.
He didn’t even see me that much because I spent so much time at the hospital, but he was always at Matthew’s when I came home at night.
And he got up at the same time as me every morning and insisted on making me breakfast. He even brought me lunch in the hospital.
I got the feeling he wasn’t sure what to do with himself, so he’d decided to make sure I was eating enough.
It was New Year’s Eve when Mom was finally released from hospital, and I went with Matthew to pick her up so we could bring her back to his place.
My mom’s mouth dropped open when we pulled up at the house. “This must be costing you a fortune to rent, Matt,” she said as he helped her from his car. Her voice was still slightly husky, and she gripped his arm tightly, still needing assistance to walk.
“Uh, about that…” His expression turned meek. “I might have bought it.”
“You what?” my mom and I gasped.
“I signed the papers yesterday,” he replied. “It was a good investment, and I’ll sleep a lot easier knowing you have a comfortable place to stay while you recuperate. The place is yours, Candice.”
My mom’s eyes widened as she glanced at the house again. “What do you mean it’s mine?”
He let out a soft laugh. “Think of it as an early wedding gift.”
My mom lightly slapped him on the arm. “You bought me a house? This house?”
“If it makes you feel better, I did practice some self-restraint and decided not to purchase the hospital you were in while you were sick.”
“You wanted to buy the…” She paused and shook her head.
“No, Matthew, that doesn’t make me feel better.
” Mom let out an exasperated sigh, but as she looked into my father’s eyes, a little of the fight seemed to leave her.
“I guess I’m going to have to get used to your impulsive purchases, aren’t I? ”
Matthew shared a warm smile with my mom. “Probably.”
She sighed again and glanced up at the house once more. “It is very beautiful,” she said.
“It is.” Matthew looked a little relieved, and I wondered if he’d been gearing up for a harder battle to convince my mom to accept his lavish gift. “And it’s even better from the inside. Warm too.”
“Yes, let’s get out of the cold,” my mom agreed before she leaned into Matthew and kissed his cheek. “Thank you,” she said. “For everything.”
When we got inside, Noah was waiting for us with a massive bunch of flowers. He’d already given my mom a bouquet in the hospital, but apparently, he thought she needed some to brighten her room at home too.
“Aw, they’re so beautiful.” My mom eased herself forward so she could hug Noah.
“You probably don’t want to hug me,” he warned. “I’ve just been out running.”.
“Nonsense,” my mom replied, unfazed as she pulled him close. “This was very sweet of you, Noah.”
“It’s nothing.” He scuffed a foot across the floor. “I’m glad to see you home again, Ms. Grace.”
“Please don’t make me tell you again; call me Candice.”
“Right, sorry.” Noah flushed. “Anyway, I better jump in the shower. Do you guys need any help getting settled?”
“No, we’re good, thank you,” Matthew said.
Noah gave me a smile before he headed upstairs. I’d been coming and going from the house so much these last few days it felt like we’d barely talked. He’d been nothing but supportive, and I wondered if now that my mom was home he might consider leaving.
My mind snagged on the thought. We were due back at school in two days, so, of course, Noah would leave tomorrow.
But I’d told Matthew I intended to stay behind to help my mom, which meant I’d be saying goodbye to Noah in the morning.
I didn’t know when I’d see him again, and the idea left me feeling cold.
My heart might have been a confused, jumbled mess, but that didn’t make my feelings for Noah any less intense. The thought of not seeing him every day felt like a gaping void opening in my chest.
I didn’t know how to be without him, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to be in a relationship with him either.
Just a week ago, I’d thought Wes was the only guy for me, and I’d clearly been wrong.
I didn’t trust my own heart right now, and there was no way I was going to figure it out before Noah left tomorrow.
I silently mulled over my feelings as Matthew gave my mom a brief tour of the house. I’d expected her to want to rest after getting home from the hospital, but she refused to take it easy.
“I’ve been bedridden all week,” she said after insisting on sitting with me in the living room at the end of the tour.
Noah was still in the shower, while Matthew had a few phone calls to make in the other room.
It was just my mom and me, and she let out a happy sigh as she sat on the couch and looked out at the view.
She seemed remarkably at peace considering all that she’d been through, and I wished I could share just an ounce of her calmness. Ever since the fire, it felt like I hadn’t stopped, and I could feel the weight of too much emotional baggage pressing me down.
“How do you feel?” I asked her.
“I feel good,” she said. “Weak but good, all things considered.”
I didn’t want to say anything that might upset her when she seemed so happy, but now she was out of the hospital, I knew it was only a matter of time before she started asking about her café.
I couldn’t keep putting the conversation off, and this might be the only chance I’d get to tell her without anyone else around.
Matthew and Noah were constantly hovering these days, and I was sure Mom would prefer a little privacy to come to terms with the news.
“About the café…” I started to speak, but Mom shook her head.
“I know it’s gone,” she said. “I know our apartment was destroyed too.”
“What? How?”