Bouquet: Sequel to 'In Full Bloom': The Trilogy of the Rose (Volume 3) (14 page)

“I
cannot leave,” Grandma Jo called.

“Why?” Mark asked, frowning.

“Someone instructed me to bake,” she answered, eyeing him.  “I have four loaves of bread in the process of rising and cookie dough ready for the oven.”

“Toss them,” Mark directed.  “We need to get back to the valley.”

“I will not,” Grandma Jo said righteously.

“I will stay with her,” Gus offered.

Mark glanced between the two and noticed Grandma Jo blush at Gus’ offer.  “How do you get back to the valley?”

“Will you need me?” David asked.

Mark looked around at Sami.  “Doesn’t appear like it right now.  Cannot begin therapy with her in this condition,” he answered.

“Then, I could stay and bring her back,” David remarked.

Mark looked at Linda.  “I am going with Sami,” she stated.

“The dogs?” Mark asked.

“Leave them with us.  You will need to be with Sami,” Grandma Jo suggested.

Mark walked over to the dogs and squatted before them.  “I hate placing this burden on you,” he called, petting Ollie.

“They will be fine with us,” David assured him.

“If I take the truck, will you be able to handle driving the car with chains?” he asked.

David walked over to the bay window and looked at the car.  “It might be better to wait a couple of days for the snow to melt and the roads to clear,” he said, turning to Grandma Jo.  “You have a problem staying a couple of days?”

“No, unless Mark needs me,” she answered, turning to Mark.

Mark stood and moved over to Sami’s still body on the couch.  “At this time, I don’t foresee needing your help,” he stated, looking down at Sami.  “Are you sure about staying without a reliable way to get out?”

“I am near,” Gus reminded him. “I do have a tractor.  I could clear the path to the road.”

Mark knew he could not say more.  “Okay,” he said.  “David, get your stuff and the chains for the car out of the truck.  Gus, you go get the tractor.  Grandma Jo and Linda, gather Sami’s things.  I will get my stuff and her keys.”

Mark followed the women down the hall and entered his room.  Seeing the cassette on the nightstand, he moaned. 
Things have sure changed in the past few hours,
he thought.  His plans for the week were now shot-to-hell.  He needed to call Stacy and inform her of the latest. Picking up his overnight bag, he spent a few moments gathering his things and placing them in the bag.  With the bag zipped up, he picked up the cassette and Sami’s keys off the nightstand.  Grabbing the bag off the bed, he called, “Do you want me to strip the sheets?”

“No, I’ll do it,” Grandma Jo’s voice answered. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Right,” Mark answered, turning to the door and entering the hall.  Hearing the two women talking in Sami’s bedroom, he stepped into the room. 

“Rosemarie?” Linda asked as she picked up the picture of Sami and her twin off the top of the items in the opened, cedar chest by the bed.

“You know about Rosemarie?” Mark asked.

“Yes,” Linda answered softly.  “Sami spoke of her twin.”

“Did Sami’s mother ever talk about her?” Mark asked.

“Never to me,” Linda replied.  “I never brought it up.  Sami told me to not speak of Rosemarie.  All those years, I have wanted to explore the contents of this chest. I didn’t know what was inside.  Now, I see why it was locked.”

“Do you know she has four more chests in her home in the valley?” Mark asked.

“Not until David asked me to help him gather her journals out of the one in her office,” Linda answered.

“You did bring the journals?” Mark asked.

“Yes.  They are in a box in the bed of the truck,” she answered, turning to him.  “I need to know, Dr. Stevens.”

“What?”

“Will she recover?” she asked, wide-eyed. “Will she take AJ from me?”

Whoa
, Mark thought, keeping his facial expression in check.  He had not seen this coming.  Seeing tears building in Linda’s eyes, he offered his standard reply to family members, “Only time will tell.”

As the tears started flowing, Linda choked, “It was wrong of me to ask you.”

Mark walked into the room and deposited his bag on the bed.  Stepping round the stilled form of Grandma Jo, he opened his arms to Linda, and she automatically entered his embrace. Speaking softly, Mark offered, “I know this is hard on you.  You are conflicted. Your concern for Sami is deeply emotional. You are disappointed by my answer, but I have to be realistic.  I sense what you wanted to hear and believe me you are not being selfish for wanting it.  My focus is on Sami. . . on mending her broken spirit.  Whatever the future holds will need to be dealt with in time.  Fearing and worrying about the unknown will cause more harm than good. Turn your focus to the present.  Have faith in yourself to be able to cope with the future.”

“I am not that strong,” Linda whispered through her tears.

“Yes, you are,” Mark assured her.  Releasing his hold and looking into her face, he added, “I sense a power in you — a strength of character, of purpose.  To tell you the truth, it baffled me that you have self doubt.”

Looking up at Mark’s serious face, Linda felt stronger.  “I usually am more in control,” she affirmed, reaching for a tissue on the headboard of the bed. Blotting the tears off her face, she added, “It is AJ who ties me up; he is so special to me.  My husband and kids have even accused me of playing favoritism.”

“Is he the youngest?” Mark asked.

“Yes.”

“How many other children?”

“Two boys,” Linda provided.  “Jacob is nine, and Teddy is seven.”

“They know about AJ?”

“Yes, even AJ knows,” she replied.

“It is the ‘she is our Mom’ syndrome,” Mark stated.  “It is very common.  Nothing to worry about.”

“I’m not.  I treat them all the same,” she defended.

Mark shook his head; he knew better. Subconsciously, she treated them differently.  She would view AJ through more rose-colored glasses then her own. Her admission of him being special was a warning sign. Treating Linda was not his focus; he had to think of Sami. Rotating, he looked at Grandma Jo.  “Her things?”

“Right there,” she replied, pointing to the tote next to his bag.

“Thanks,” he stated, picking up the two items. “Ready, Linda?”

“Yes,” she replied as he walked out of the room.

Returning to the living room, Mark handed the bags to David.  “Please stow these in the truck and lower the back bench,” he directed.

“Got it,” David said, leaving the cabin.

“One phone call to make,” Mark said, seeing Linda move to the couch.  

Moving to the roll-top desk, Mark pulled out his wallet and withdrew the piece of paper with the Clark’s number.  Dialing the number, he hoped to talk to Stacy directly.  On the fourth ring, the machine answered. Sighing, he waited for the beep and briefly left a message telling them that he and Sami were returning to the valley and he would call them later that evening.

Hanging up the receiver, he moved over to the couch.  Getting Sami settled into the truck would not be easy.  In her current unaware state, securing her on the narrow, back bench of the truck would be problematic. She was small enough to position on the bench, but the potential for her to roll off was high.  The shoulder-strap seat belt wouldn’t work on her reclining position.  Mark scanned the room for anything that would cushion her securely.

“What is the problem?” Grandma Jo asked, seeing Mark’s search.

“Securing her on the bench,” Mark stated.

“Put her in the passenger seat,” she suggested.

“I can ride in the back,” Linda offered.

“Need pillows to cushion her,” Mark indicated.

“I’ll get them off the beds,” Linda offered, racing off to the back of the cabin.

“Thanks,” Mark called, deciding how to position Sami in his arms to ensure that she would be minimally jostled during the exchange.  He needed her head positioned on his left shoulder. However, she was situated on the couch such that lifting her would place her head on his right shoulder.  He had to reverse her.

As Linda returned with two large pillows, Mark directed, “Take them to the truck and send David back here.  I need his help.”  Linda hurried out the door, calling for David.  Mark drew back the blanket and the strong scent of urine rushed over him.  “We have a problem,” he said, looking at Grandma Jo.

“What is it?” Grandma Jo asked, coming over to stand by him and catching the odor.  “Oh, my.  What do we do?”

“The urine is trapped in the snow bibs.  It is too long of a drive to take her in this condition.  She will need to be changed,” Mark indicated.

Grandma Jo nodded.  “I will need her things back,” she said.

“It would better if we had a robe to place around her instead of fighting to redress her.  Ask Linda if there is one around here,” he directed.

Grandma Jo moved to the door and stepped out on the porch.  Mark looked down at Sami.  “Can you make this any more complicated for me?” he asked her. Hearing laughter, Mark looked up and saw David before him.  “This is not funny,” he fumed.

“Oh, Dr. Stevens.  Lighten up a bit.  I am sure this is not the first time you have been in this situation,” David chuckled. 

“It is to be expected, I know.  I should just be delighted that it was now instead of during the trip,” Mark replied.

“There should be a robe here somewhere,” Linda stated to Grandma Jo as they reentered the cabin together.  “Give me a minute.”

“If not, we could secure sheets around her,” Grandma Jo offered, following Linda down the hall.

Mark envisioned Sami in the towel she had around her when he first encountered her.  “How about large bath towels,” he called after them.

“Linda said you needed me?” David asked, turning a bit red in the face.

“Not for this,” Mark assured him.  The relief on David’s face was obvious.  “I was going to have you pick her up and hand her to me to reverse her direction so I could get her into the seat, but that was before this discovery.  I think I will be able to do it now,” Mark stated.