Back on Blossom Street (Blossom Street #4)(88)
For the first time since she’d left Dempsey Imports, she felt a real sense of hope. The thing about hope, she discovered, was that it was like a powerful painkilling drug. Despite her fears, her mood remained optimistic. Even the weather cooperated, and the days were bright with sunshine.
Fridays were usually busy at Susannah’s Garden and this particular Friday was no exception. All morning, Colette was occupied with walk-ins, who were quickly becoming twenty to thirty percent of their business.
One of the local high schools was having their Junior/Senior prom that evening. Susannah and Chrissie spent the afternoon assembling boutonnieres and corsages as fast as they could in their crowded workspace.
Colette admired the way Susannah constantly came up with inventive ideas to make her little shop known in the area. If that meant offering a large floral arrangement as a raff le gift to one of the service organizations, then she did so willingly. She visited hospitals, wedding planners and funeral homes and outlined her services. Business continued to flow into the shop at an increasing rate. Some days the two of them could barely keep up; more and more often, Chrissie was coming by after her classes to help out.
Colette appreciated her assistance and calm, cheerful demeanor, but what impressed her most was Chrissie’s devotion to her grandma Leary, who lived in eastern Washington. Every two or three days Chrissie made a point of phoning her grandmother. Colette knew Susannah was close to her mother, too, and called her often. Fortunately, she had a good friend who kept in touch with Mrs. Leary and reported back.
The phone rang and Susannah answered it. She glanced at Colette, and thinking it might be a private conversation, Colette walked outside to check on the flowers in their buckets. She rearranged them, adding irises to the lilies to create an appealing array of colors.
After several minutes she returned to find that Susannah was still on the phone. She removed it from her ear, held her hand over the receiver and said, “Actually, this is for you.”
“Me?” Colette’s first thought was that it must be Christian, although she recognized that this was more hope than expectation. She couldn’t understand why Susannah would be talking for so long with someone who’d asked to speak to her. She hurried over and Susannah passed her the phone.
“This is Colette Blake,” she said in her most professional voice.
She heard a sob and then in crisp tones, “Colette, it’s Elizabeth Sasser.”
Alarm filled her instantly. “Elizabeth, is everything all right?”
“No, my dear, I’m afraid…it isn’t.” Her words faltered, and Colette could tell that Christian’s aunt was struggling to keep her composure.
“Is it…Christian?”
“I’m afraid I have bad news.” The old woman paused, then exhaled sharply. “When it’s convenient, would you mind stopping by the house?”
“Of course.” Colette’s pulse hammered violently. Bad news? Something had happened to Christian; that was the only thing it could be. All her fears came together at once and for a moment she felt as if she might throw up.
“Thank you,” Elizabeth whispered. Almost in afterthought, she added, “Come as soon as you can.”
The line was disconnected before Colette could question her further.
Slowly she replaced the receiver. Susannah came to stand next to her and slipped an arm around Colette’s shoulders.
“Did she tell you what happened?” Colette asked her, needing to know, no matter how bad the news.
“No. She couldn’t. She was so upset, the housekeeper had to talk to me. But she was pretty distraught, too, and I had trouble understanding her.”
“Doris,” Colette said. “Her name is Doris.”
Susannah nodded. “Doris explained that Elizabeth received a phone call about half an hour ago and that she’d nearly collapsed.”
“He’s dead.” It was the same feeling Colette had experienced when she’d followed the aid car to the hospital after Derek’s fall.
“Colette, there’s no need to believe the worst.” Susannah gave her a reassuring squeeze. “Do you want Chrissie or me to drive you?”
She shook her head. “No, I’ll be fine.” She was surprisingly calm, but then she had been after Derek’s accident, too. The initial rush of panic had subsided and in its place had come this numb sensation, this chilling certainty. “I don’t mean to leave you in the lurch,” she told her employer.
“Go, don’t worry. Chrissie will be here in an hour and in the meantime I have everything under control.”
Not feeling any need to rush, Colette washed her hands, collected her purse, then walked to the alley where she kept her car. The numbness started to fade, and she felt a tightness instead, gripping her chest. If she’d been older, she might have feared that this pain signaled the beginning of a heart attack. But she knew it wasn’t that. This was what loss felt like.
The identical sensation had accompanied the E.R. physician’s words when he’d led Colette into a private office and told her there was nothing left to do but wait for death. Derek would never recover from his coma, he’d said. Nothing could change that outcome.
Even in the heavy Friday-afternoon traffic, Colette didn’t lose her composure. Because Christian would still be dead, whether she got to Elizabeth’s house in ten minutes or in forty.