Forgetting Yesterday (9 page)

*******

The afternoon passed quickly, the time with Claire felt just as natural as it always had. Spending time with my best friend was just what I needed to start feeling like my old self. It was also a great distraction.

Alex
was right there, on the edge of my mind all day. I worked hard at pushing the thoughts of him away. He was a complication I didn’t need right then. Even though Jason was clearly history, maybe I wasn’t ready to move on yet. I had acted impulsively with Alex. It had been too soon and I needed to put some distance between us and what I’d let happen.

That’s what
I constantly told myself. If I thought about him too long, my mind headed the other direction. I found myself wondering if I’d just made the biggest mistake of my life by sneaking away. A guy that cooked dinner on a first date and picked a girl wildflowers might just be a once in a lifetime gift.

I was nervous that we’d run into
Alex while we were out shopping. Claire assured me that the little boutiques downtown were the last place he would be.

She was right
, of course.

As for the boutiques,
we did more looking than buying. Especially me, now that I was on a severely limited budget. It was fun, all the same. When I finally did get a job, I had several outfits stored in the back of my mind that I would be going back for.

That
night, we’d just finished dinner and I was in my new room rearranging a few final things when there was a knock on the door. I swung it open. Claire was standing there, the kitchen phone in her hand, a smug smile on her face.

“It’s for you,” she said.

I frowned. “I didn’t hear it ring.”

Claire
pushed a button and handed it to me. “Actually it’s a voicemail,” she clarified as she thrust the phone to my ear.

“Hi
, Zoey, it’s Alex.” His rich voice floated through the line, sending a little tingle down my spine. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m calling your home phone but since you don’t have a cell phone,” he paused, as if he were shrugging in the silence, “I hope you don’t mind that I looked this number up. Anyhow, I’m sorry I didn’t hear you leave this other morning. I know I sleep like a rock. But, uh,” he cleared his throat, “I’d love to hear from you.”

He rattled off his cell phone number and hung up.

Claire was bouncing up and down. “He’d love to hear from you!” she squealed. “He went to the trouble of looking up my number.
Our
number,” she corrected.

I
shook my head. “I can’t call him.”

“Why not?”
Claire demanded.

“It’s too…I don’t know,”
I admitted. “What if he’s only calling because he thinks I’m just ready to jump back into bed with him? You know, that’s just one of the many problems with sleeping with someone on the first date! How do you know that they aren’t only calling you back because they think you’re easy?”

Claire
shook her head. “Zoey, he didn’t say ‘thanks for the good time’ or anything like that. He said ‘I’d love to hear from you’. That right there says something.”

“You don’t know that. I mean, really, how well do you know the guy?”

Claire shrugged. “Not well at all. I just know he’s from around here. He’s a few years older than Sean so Sean doesn’t really know him, either. But Zoey, come on, you can’t deny he’s a nice guy.”

“
No, I know,” I said as I fidgeted with the phone in my hands.

Claire
gave me a knowing look. “I get it. I really do. You need some time. You don’t need me pressuring you. Just, do us both a favor?” I nodded, waiting to hear what she had to say. “Don’t write him off completely. Not yet.”

“I won’t,”
I promised.

“Help me!”
Claire wailed into the phone.

“Um, what? Are you okay?”
I asked with a frown. It was Monday morning and Claire hadn’t left that long ago. I was puttering around the kitchen, sipping my coffee as I emptied the dishwasher. “What’s going on?”

“Harry Petrie died.”
She sounded frazzled, frantic, but not particularly sad about it. I wasn’t sure how to respond so I went with offering some sympathy because it seemed the safest option.

“Oh,” I said, “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Claire snorted a laugh at me. “Yeah, you and half the town.” When I paused, my confusion clear, Claire went on. “He was the town’s beloved mayor for…oh, hell. I have no idea how long. Let’s just say a very, very long time. Everyone and their mother has called this morning wanting to purchase a bouquet to send. I’m swamped. I’m beyond swamped. I’m drowning!” she wailed. “I’m drowning in orders!  Dottie, the lady that works for me is here, but I have her putting together all the notes for the potted plants.”

“So you need some help?” I asked hopefully.

“Yes! You don’t mind? I wouldn’t ask but…”

I wasn’t sure what she was working on but I could tell by the muffled sound of her voice that she must be trying to balance the phone against her shoulder. Mostly likely, she was trying to put an arrangement together, unable to spare any time for her urgent phone call.

If I knew anything about Claire, it was that she was a pro at multi-tasking. If she was admitting to being swamped, she must
really
be swamped.

“Do I mind that you interrupted my day of doing absolutely nothing?” I asked with a small laugh. “No. Not at all. I’m glad you called.
I’m on my way.”

We hung up and I hurried into the bathroom, glad I’d already showered. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, glanced at my outfit—a pair of khaki shorts and a plain
peach t-shirt—and decided it would suffice.

The day before, Claire had driven me by her shop but we hadn’t gone inside. She’d told me that if she went in, she’d probably just get carried away working on projects and not come back out.

We’d passed it with a promise that she’d show it to me later.

But at least I knew where I was headed.

Less than twenty minutes later, I was pushing open the door of The Petal Pusher. The heady scent of flowers greeted me as a set of bells jingled overhead. I glanced around. The shop was gorgeous. Huge, lush plants were scattered about. Coolers lined the wall, displaying fresh flowers. An assortment of shiny balloons lined the wall behind the counter.

Claire was helping a customer as they perused their options.
She glanced up and gave me a grateful wave as I meandered around the shop for a moment, looking things over.

“Can I help you?” an elderly lady asked as she hustled out of the back room. Her silver hair was in a bun. Her light blue dress looked crisp and her white, orthopedic shoes were spotless. Her eyes twinkled, as if she were enjoying
being kept so busy.

I held out my hand to her, assuming correctly that this was Dottie. “I’m Zoey. I’m here to help.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” she whispered as she eyed up the customer Claire was assisting. “We can use it. Follow me.”

I did as i
nstructed. She led me to a backroom with a set of work tables. Flowers, ivy and baby’s breath and a myriad of vases were scattered across one. Completed arrangements were lining a shelf on a back wall. The other table was littered with pens, cards, ribbons and scissors.

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be,” I admitted. “I’ve never done anything like this before.” I was eyeing up the flowers, knowing instinctively that I didn’t have the talent to assemble a beautiful arrangement.

“That’s okay,” she said as she gave my shoulder a pat.

She proceeded to give me instructions on how I could help without actually having to assemble any bouquets. I began filling out cards that went with orders that had
already been placed. The plants were neatly labeled, letting me know what was what, and I was able to match plants to the cards. I checked each order off the list as I went.

Dottie busied herself with arranging the complicated bouquets.

I was allowed to adorn a few of them with ribbons—that much I could handle. Or at least I could once Dottie gave me a quick lesson on the proper way to tie a bow.

Claire was in constant motion, helping customers as they trickled in, answering the phone and checking the inventory.

Hours flew by feeling like no time had passed at all.

As the day neared its end, we loaded up Claire’s minivan and she drove the flowers to the funeral home.

Dottie and I stayed behind to clean up.

The number of calls and
customers had dwindled by then. Dottie kept an eye on the front of the shop until Claire returned. Finally, my friend came trudging back through the front door. She turned off the lights in the front of the shop and locked the door with a flip of the deadbolt. After sending Dottie home, she came back to check on me.

“You are a lifesaver!” she said dramatically.

I laughed. “Hardly, but this was fun. Anytime you need help, let me know.”

She groaned. “I could always use help. I just can’t afford it.”

“Ah,” I said, understanding. “Is that why your desk is such a mess?”

She cringed. “You went into my office?”

I nodded. “Dottie asked me to get some extra ribbon.” I knew why she was cringing. Her desk was a disaster. Receipts, bills, handwritten notes were scattered everywhere.

“I hadn’t planned on showing you my office. I know it’s a
catastrophe. You’re such a neat freak and I’m well…me. But I’m always so busy up front, I’m not very good at keeping up with things behind the scenes,” she admitted. “If you think my desk is a mess,” she said with a nervous laugh, “you should see my books.”

I tilted my head to the side, suddenly feeling concerned. “You’re bills are getting paid, right?”

She made a face and shrugged. “I hope so?”

I was sure she was teasing but even so, I was afraid there was a bit of truth to her words.

“I could help,” I offered.

“To be honest, the thought did cross my mind,” Claire said. “But the thing is, I can’t pay you like you would deserve to be paid.”

“That wasn’t what I meant. I wasn’t expecting you to pay me. I just thought it would give me something to do. It would make me feel useful, putting my degree to work. And it would help you get caught up.”

I
let a slow smile spread across my face. This arrangement wouldn’t have to be about money. Not for now. For now, I’d like to return my friend’s kindness. Claire had just taken me in when I had nowhere else to go.

She reached for a notepad and scribbled a number down.

“It’s not that I can’t pay you anything. It’s just that I can’t pay you well. I’ve been meaning to hire someone, maybe a high school student. But I haven’t had the time to run an ad yet. I have weddings booked for every single weekend this summer, and there are a few weekends that I have more than one wedding booked. I have a few anniversaries, a baby shower that’s going to be a little over the top. Then there are the unexpected events…like funerals. I know I need to find help with the day to day stuff.”

She stopped for a breath. “I could pay you this.
” She slid the paper my way. She made an apologetic face at me. Then she looked a little less hesitant. “Also, I could offer you free room and board.”

“Free room and board?” I asked with a laugh. “That sounds so old-fashioned.
But I like it.” The number she had scribbled down wasn’t very impressive, she was right about that. But if I was living rent free, it would be more than sufficient. If nothing else, working here would be a nice touch to add to my paltry resume.

It would be a win-win for both of us.

“Do you like it enough to accept the offer?” Her tone was incredulous.

I nodded. “Absolutely!”

She let out a little squeal of excitement and I decided that despite the paltry paycheck, helping Claire out would be so worth it.

*******

“Hi, Dad.”

“
Zoey?” His voice was heavy with confusion.

“Well, yeah. Unless you have another daughter I should
know about?”

He let out a short laugh, though
I was sure he wasn’t all that amused. “No. No, I don’t. It’s just been a while since I’ve heard from you. And I didn’t recognize this number.”

I
was grateful that while he sounded sad, he didn’t sound the least bit accusatory. I’d been living with Claire for nearly a month now. I knew I should’ve called him weeks ago.

“That’s part of why I’m calling you. I wanted to let you know I got a new number
.” I paused. “Also, I wanted to let you know I moved to Grafton.”

“Grafton?”
I could almost see his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “What are you doing there? Oh. Wait a minute. Isn’t that where Claire is living these days?”

“Yeah. She is. In fact…I’m living with her.”

I was met with silence.

“Just since graduation. I should’ve called sooner. But…”
I struggled for an explanation that didn’t sound as harsh as the truth. The truth being that I was a horrible daughter. “I’ve been busy. You know, with moving. And I had to get a new phone.” It was a terrible excuse. I could’ve used Claire’s phone.

His tone was noticeably cautious when he said, “And
Jason?”

I winced. Over the past few weeks, I’d been so busy, I’d hardly thought of him at all. I shouldn’t have been surprised that my dad asked about him.

“I’m not with Jason anymore.” The words shot out of my mouth. There was no reason to dance around the issue. And they felt awfully good to say. I was met by a few moments of silence as Dad digested that bit of news.

“That makes some sense,”
he finally said.

I
got the impression he was talking more to himself than he was to me.

“Excuse me?”
I asked.

“
Jason. It makes sense now. I called you the other day…or maybe it was longer ago than that. It’s so hard to keep track of time these days. Seems the older you get, the faster time goes. Anyhow, I miss you, you know. I wanted to see if you’d made any plans for the summer. And well, to be honest, I was hoping to talk you into coming home for a visit.”

A small smile played on
my lips. I hadn’t lived in Cleary for years. Yet he was right. It was still ‘home’. That thought only lasted an instant, then my mind snapped back to the other words he’d spoken.

“What makes sense?”

“Jason answered your phone when I called. He sounded…off. When I asked for you, he said you weren’t there. He was real vague. He wouldn’t tell me where you’d gone or when you’d be back.” He hesitated and the tone of his voice when he continued twisted my heart into knots. “I asked him to have you call me. When I didn’t hear from you…Well, I just thought maybe you didn’t want to hear from me.”

I
shook my head, disgusted with myself. My behavior over the past year had made it far too easy for him to come to that conclusion. “No, Dad. That’s not it. Things have been kind of crazy.”

“Are you okay?” he instantly demanded.

“I am,” I assured him.
Now
. “So, um, what all did Jason say?”

“Not much. He just said that you’d gone out and that he wasn’t sure when you’d be back. But you’re saying you left him?” He sounded slightly skeptical. “Because he didn’t give me that impression at all. Why didn’t he just tell me you were with
Claire? And why does he have your phone?”

“Things with
Jason and I haven’t been good for a while. I needed a change. I forgot my phone. I didn’t tell him I was moving to Grafton.”

I was met with a
prolonged silence. I knew he was listening to everything I didn’t say.

When he spoke again, his voice was cautious.
“He doesn’t know you’re there?”

“No, I don’t think so. I’m not sure why he’d be answering my phone.”
I realized then that might not be entirely true. He was likely hoping to get information from whoever was calling. I decided to elaborate. “I thought a clean break would be best.”

He sighed and I had the feeling he wanted to say more but didn’t dare. A few years ago, he wouldn’t have hesitated in telling me exactly what he thought. It twisted my heart up painfully to realize that he no longer felt comfortable doing something that had always come naturally to him.

Instead, he simply said, “I hope that a part of that change is seeing more of your old man.”

“It will be,”
I assured him. “Claire and I have been talking about making a visit to Cleary soon.”

I
could almost hear the smile in his voice. “I’d like that Zoey.”