Elly In Bloom (42 page)

Elly sighed, filled with relief at the near- finished product. A low hum had fallen over the room as the workers had begun packing up their supplies: Boxes, knives, buckets, foam, ladders, carts and even a small scaffold. Snarky Teenager approached Elly as she walked among the tables, pulling roses open and picking up loose petals.

“What’s left?”

“Hmm…” Elly flipped through her immense contract. “The entrance flowers – you are handling those, correct?”

“Those are the giant urns filled with white anemone and the New Zealand hydrangeas, right?”

“Perfect. Finish that and then get the workers packed up and on their way. I don’t want to worry about them touching everything.”

“That
one
is kinda cute…”

Elly snapped her fingers. “Focus.”

Snarky Teenager rolled her eyes. “We are as good as done. Stop flipping out.”

Elly ignored her and glanced over her checklist. Bathroom flowers, done. Foyer entrance, done. Arrangement placed on desk for the catering manager, done. Table numbers… She bit her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was the table numbers. She looked up to see who she could assign to the task, but everyone was knee-deep in their projects, including Ardelle who was cleaning up a broken vase.

Elly stomped over to the labeled boxes on the other side of the ballroom. She ripped open the first one, giving herself a small paper cut in the process.

“Ow!” she yelped. A small drop of blood dripped into the box, and Elly dove after it. She came up with a large photo: Aaron and Lucia, looking healthy and tan in their bathing suits, smiling at each other on a boat. Elly grabbed the next photo. Aaron and Lucia, sitting in front of a fireplace, wearing big wooly sweaters. Her arm around his neck, his hand on her knee. White heat gripped Elly’s chest and she crumpled the photo in her hand. His face.
Please….
She hadn’t seen his face since that day, years ago. He had barely aged. His long hair had been buzzed short and he was sporting a goatee, but his beauty was still the same. The hazel eyes, the playful smile, that roguish look that had captured her immediately…it was him, her love, her life.

This wasn’t worth it.
The thought rattled Elly, but she knew it to be true. All the money in the world wasn’t worth looking at this picture, having to help in the celebration of their love.
Not worth it.
She dug in the box, pulling out the revolting prints and tucking them reluctantly into the photo holders. Small postcards of Aaron’s painting, Evening Ghosts, were put on the opposite side.

Elly felt a presence behind her. Ardelle was looking down with sympathy. “I’ll put those on ze table for you.”

Elly was grateful. “Thank you.” She pushed them toward Ardelle, who picked one up thoughtfully.

“She might be pretty, but she’ll never have what you do.”

“What? Size sixteen pants? A Sheepdog to sleep with every night? An addiction to chocolate and wine?”

“No.” Ardelle smiled, wise lines stretching across her face. “She is ze mistress, you know? The mistress who temporarily replaced ze wife, and she will forever have to worry about lovers just like her.” Ardelle’s face was etched with sadness. “Trust me.”

Elly looked at the picture of Lucia and Aaron, decked out in hiking gear and posing proudly on a mountainside. “I don’t think so. They look quite happy.”

“They always do.” Ardelle plucked the pictures up from the table. “I’ll finish zis.”

Elly looked at her gratefully. “Thank you,” she mouthed softly. Ardelle Buche may have belonged in a mental hospital, but at this moment Elly was very thankful for her.

Soon, they were all engaged in a frantic clean-up. Elly crawled around the floor on her hands and knees, picking up tiny flower petals that had gone astray. The hired laborers packed and carried all the supplies down through the service elevator. Chairs were brushed off, crystals were secured, and Ardelle walked slowly by each table, adjusting and cradling flowers in her skilled embrace.

Finally, half an hour before the ceremony was to begin, they were finished. Snarky Teenager snapped photos of each corner of the room and of each centerpiece.

“This is going to increase our business like crazy,” she whispered to Elly. “We should post these on the website.”

Elly pushed the camera down and shook her head. “I never want to see these pictures, do you understand?”

Snarky Teenager frowned. “Okay, but…”

“No buts. Take a couple of more pictures and then get the workers on their way. Drive the van back to the shop. Take any leftover flowers in and put them into the cooler. Don’t worry about clean-up. We’ll do all that tomorrow.” Elly pushed her fingers into her throbbing forehead. “I can’t even THINK about the clean-up.”

Snarky Teenager gave her a sympathetic look. “You look awful.”

Elly didn’t doubt it. Even under her apron, her beautiful ruffled black shirt was covered with soil and moss. Her hair, once so pretty, was frizzed out in every direction and pulled back into a loose bun. The knees of her khaki pants were brown from crawling on the floor, and dirt was caked under her fingernails and on her face. She had sweated off any hint of make-up while setting up the ceremony, and all in all, she had never been so exhausted.

“Get moving. All I have left to do is decorate the cake, and then I can go out to the van and head to the hospital.”

Snarky Teenager flung her supply bag over her shoulder. “This looks good Elly. We should be proud. I’ll see you back at the shop.”

Elly nodded. Snarky Teenager walked away from Elly, the workers trailing behind her like ants. A sudden silence fell over the ballroom as the immense door slammed behind them, interrupted only by a single waiter, humming softly as he polished the silver. Elly picked up the only remaining bucket and limped over to the cake table in the corner of the room. The cake was a six-tiered masterpiece. It was an ivory confection, with a white lace and fleur de lis fondant overlay. The surface had been lightly dusted with sugar crystals, giving the cake a hint of shimmer, and it stood proudly in front of a large window swaged with long sheer curtains. Elly rolled her eyes. She was too exhausted for all this drama. The décor for the cake was simple: a long cascade of cattalya orchids – the same ones adorning the napkins – down the cake and around the base.

Elly made quick work of it, tucking flowers into the corners of the tiers, making sure not to touch the delicate icing while securing the blooms so that they wouldn’t fall. She stepped back and admired her work. Perfect. She looked up at the topper, a white hand-made porcelain statue of two entwined lovers, their arms twisting around each other to form a heart. Elly gagged. Without thinking, she reached up on her tip toes and snapped the bride’s head off, tucking it securely it into her apron pocket. She gathered up her tools, throwing each one haphazardly into the bucket.

She turned to leave, taking a long last look at the ballroom. His steps made no sound as he approached behind her. She felt his presence before she even saw his face.

“Hello, Elly.”

Elly turned around slowly. Aaron.

CHAPTER

THIRTY

Elly’s hands gripped the chair in front of her.
Please God, no…
Her legs felt weak; she was going to faint. A black tunnel opened up in front of her and she was quickly whirling out of control. She pressed down against the chair, summoning all her strength to stay upright.

“Elly, Elles – are you okay?”

Elly pressed out her hand towards him, the other one still gripping, white knuckled. “Stay back. Stay away from me Aaron!”
Oh God, oh God, please help me
…

“Elly, are you afraid of me? Let me look at you.”

“Stay AWAY from me. Please, I mean it, don’t come any closer.”

“Elly,” he said sweetly, pleadingly, “Stop. Look at me.”

She shook her head and closed her eyes. “Go away Aaron.” Her voice quivered on the last note. “Leave me alone.”

Suddenly, he was upon her, his arm sliding over hers and releasing her fingers, lacing them through his.

“You look like you are about to pass out. Come sit down, sweetheart.”

His scent washed over her, a sweet wave of Georgia air and sharp, crisp notes of paint. She inhaled deeply, breathing in every inch of him. Elly let Aaron lead her over to a chair. She sat heavily, aware as she did that she was crushing one of Ardelle’s arrangements in the process. Aaron’s arms held firm around her.

“There, there you go. Are you okay now?”

Elly nodded, trying to keep her unraveling grasp on staying conscious. She kept her eyes closed. His fingers trailed up her neck softly, pulling her chin upwards.

“Elles. Look at me.”

Elly opened her eyes reluctantly.
He was the sun
. His hazel eyes gazed at her seductively, tiny specks of gold dancing inside them. His soft baby cheeks with just a hint of pink looked out of place on his long, chiseled jaw. He had thin rose lips that opened slightly, framing his perfect white teeth. His lean body curled over the chair, Elly’s face in his rough artist’s hands. His tuxedo fit him like a glove, emphasizing his wide shoulders and long build. He was, after all this time, the most beautiful thing Elly had ever seen.

“Elly,” he murmured, staring into her face, “I forgot just how beautiful you were.”

Elly felt herself drifting happily away into his strong arms. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

“I missed you too,” he said, sounding heart-broken. “I think about you everyday, hell – every hour.”

“Really?” Elly whispered.

“Really. I lay awake at night and try to remember every inch of you.” Elly reached out her hand. “I can’t believe you’re here now, here with me.” Aaron took her hand softly and held it against his face. He breathed deeply. “I prayed that I would see you here today. I asked Sunny for inane wedding details, just to find you. I had to see you. I thought if I saw you then I would know.”

Elly’s lips curled into a soft smile. “Know what?”

Aaron brought his face close to hers – their lips were almost touching. “That I was wrong. I was wrong to leave. We are supposed to be together, Elles. I never knew how lucky I was until you had gone. I tried to find you, you know that?” Elly closed her eyes. These words, these were the words she had dreamed of hearing for so long. He loved her, he missed her…he had looked for her.

His hand trailed across her brow, his mouth whispering words into her own. “Come away with me. Be mine again. I have always loved you, and I made the biggest mistake of my life the day you left me. I should have crawled on my knees until you came back to me. Elly, you were my life.” His eyes simmered with pain. “I’ll do anything to be with you again. Elly. I choose
you
.”

With that, Elly pulled his lips violently to hers. The kiss was deep and passionate – waves of resentment and anger, love and want rolled over them and they clutched at each other with rough desperation. Aaron wrapped his hands into her hair and pulled her face against his. His breathing was labored and Elly gasped with joy. Aaron pulled her body roughly to his.

“I can’t believe you’re real,” he whispered, in between frantic kisses. “You’re here, with me, it’s incredible. I want to know everything about you. Where have you been?”

Elly buried her face in his warm neck, releasing all the passion that she had withheld from Isaac. “I’ve been making a life for myself. Wait until you see it.”

Their fingers intertwined, caressing and wandering.

“You and me, we belong with each other,” he breathed. Elly nodded, amazed at his presence. He was what she had wanted, for so long.

Two years, two years of never saying his name, of countless glasses of wine of the patio, followed by tears and drunk-dialing Kim; two long years, and this, this was all she needed. The flowers around them faded, the room shrinking gradually until all she could see was him; his lips, his arms, his eyes. There was no wedding, there was no Isaac. There was just Aaron. There had
always
been just Aaron.

His lips moved up from her cheek to her ear. “Look around. Look at how incredible you are. I can’t believe you did all this.”

Elly nodded, her messy hair falling over her face. “It was a lot of work.” She pulled his mouth back to hers, smiling. “I’m glad you noticed.”