I Remember (Remembrance Series) (12 page)

The last call was reserved for Gregory. I knew I shouldn’t call in the middle of the day, but I wanted to get the conversation over with. Plus, I really needed to hear his voice.

The phone only rang once. “Jordan, what’s wrong?”

I tried to hold back my tears, but everything hit me all at once. I started crying and tried to speak, but nothing coherent came out.

He guessed instantly. “Oh, Jordan, I am so sorry. When?”

“He passed early this morning. All the details have been set for his viewing Sunday and services on Monday.” My voice was breaking with every word.

“We will get through this, together.”

Those words…they were my salvation. “Thanks, Gregory. How did I ever get so lucky to find a good friend like you?”

“I feel exactly the same way. But, I’m the lucky one!

“This is probably too soon to ask, but will you be moving back, soon? I worry about your new workload and commute to work.”

“My mother and I need each other right now to help with our healing. I will probably move back here for a while.” At that moment, I let out a huge yawn. I was exhausted.

“You need your rest. How about I give you a call later today, if that is ok?”

“Sure Gregory, talk with you later.”

“Bye, Jordan.”

“Bye.”

Every time I closed my eyes, I had visions of my father gasping for air. When I finally succumbed to sleep, my dreams magnified my father’s death, along with that sinister laugh that seemed to celebrate what I had lost. I kept waking from my nightmares, bolting upright in bed and wanting to scream.
Where were Gregory’s protective arms and comforting voice in my dreams?

I quickly gave up trying to sleep, left mom a note and went for a walk to clear my head.

It was hard to believe today was the last day of March. This month was one of the saddest of my life.

The walk definitely did the trick.

When I walked in the door, I smelled the most beautiful fragrance and spotted a huge bouquet of flowers.

“Where did the flowers come from?”

“Your Uncle Henry sent them. Aren’t they lovely?” Mom was almost ready to cry.

I quickly went over and gave her a hug. “They’re beautiful!”

The arrangement was breathtaking, comprised of a dozen long stemmed red roses interspersed with stargazer lilies. It took up almost the entire top of the chest in the living room.

As I went to smell them, the phone rang. I was quick to answer it, trying to keep Mom from having to deal with too much, today.

“Mom, it’s Aunt Melinda. Are you up to talking right now?”

“Thanks, Honey. I’ll take it.”

Mom went into the family room, while I took a seat on the sofa in the living room to watch the world pass by outside. I took comfort in knowing that Dad had often sat in this very spot, doing the same thing. I knew he was gone, but it felt like his presence was still here, watching over us, somehow.

There were several flower deliveries and phone calls before the daylight started slowly fading and the oak trees out front started creating lengthy shadows across the lawn. That’s when a van pulled slowly into our driveway.

The driver quickly exited and went around to the back. Before long, he was at the front door with a huge bouquet of flowers that he could barely see around.

I opened the door. “I have a delivery for Jordan and Mrs. Carlisle,” he said in a familiar voice, extending the stunning arrangement of spring flowers.

I sat the arrangement down on the coffee table for a second and turned to the driver, his face now exposed. “You’re the courier who delivered the cell phone and flowers from Gregory, aren’t you?”

“Yes ma’am. I am very sorry to hear of your loss. You have my condolences.” He smiled, empathetically.

I was furious that Gregory had found my address, not wanting it revealed, yet. “How did he get my address and you better be honest with me?” My tone was a bit discourteous, but I felt my privacy had been violated.

“Ms. Carlisle, please don’t be upset with him. He doesn’t know your address. He called around to all the florists in town and asked if there were any arrangements being delivered to you, today. When he found the right florist, he asked if they could make him an arrangement and have me deliver it for him.

“Before I even left the office, he made me sign a statement that I wouldn’t reveal your address to him and would keep it confidential to anyone who asked about it.”

“May I ask your name?”

“I’m Jerry.”

Jerry was extremely soft spoken. He had a kind face and was wearing a blue, polo shirt with Teleco Wireless written, in small white print.

“Thank you, Jerry. Please call me, Jordan. Can I ask you a question?”

“Certainly Ms. Jordan,” he replied, warmly.

“Why is Gregory doing this? I haven’t even met him, in person, and he has already done way too much for me. I just do not understand it.”

“That is the kind of man Mr. Gregory is. He is the nicest, most caring and sincere person I have ever met.”

“How long have you known him?”

“I have been working at Teleco for about a year, now. I owe him a great debt for all he has done for my family. That is why I am going the extra mile and doing these deliveries for him.”

“What did he do for you?”

“About a year ago, I was sitting on a park bench, underneath an old oak tree, by the water, on a Saturday morning, trying to figure out what I was going to do with my life. I had just been laid off and my daughter needed a surgery. My wife and I had no idea how we were going to pay for anything.

“I was sitting on a bench, pondering and shedding a few tears in the process, when Mr. Gregory walked up and asked if I was ok.

“He seemed nice, but too young to be concerned with my problems. But then he sat down by me. We sat there for a couple of hours, just talking.

“When I got up to leave, he handed me one of his business cards and wrote a name on the back. He told me to call on Monday and mention his name. He was certain they could find work for me.

“I chanced calling the number out of curiosity and the guy said that he was expecting me. I went down and applied for a position in their courier department. Within days, I had a new job and medical insurance. My daughter was able to have her surgery and they gave me a couple days off to be with her.” He finished with a smile on his face.

I stood there awestruck at his story. “Thank you for sharing that Jerry. How is your daughter is doing?”

“She is doing well. She was losing her hearing; but thanks to the procedure, she can now hear, again.”

“Wow. Gregory truly is amazing.”

“Yes ma’am. He is often voted employee of the quarter because he goes that extra mile to help everyone at work and in life. Oh, I almost forgot, I have something else in the truck for you.”

He came back with a very large insulated bag and set it on the coffee table.

“Ms. Jordan, could you sign this, so I can show proof of the deliveries? I need to head back to Orlando and to my family.”

“I’m sorry, Jerry. I didn’t mean to keep you. What’s in the bag?”

“Mr. Gregory was concerned you might be too tired to fix anything to eat, so he had me drop by a food service and pick up a few meals for both of you to enjoy.

Once he was done, he turned toward the front door to leave. “Please hold on while I get you a tip for doing all this,” I said, reaching for my purse.

“No need. Mr. Gregory already took care of it—with a very generous tip. Ms. Jordan?” he said before closing the door, “Please don’t be mad at him. This is just the kind of man he is.”

“Have a safe drive home, Jerry, and thank you for the delivery and the insight.” I waved goodbye as he pulled away from the driveway.

Mom came around the corner. “What was that all about?

“We received a couple more deliveries, another floral arrangement and some food.” I moved Gregory’s arrangement to the center of the dining table. It seemed like every known spring flower, including a few roses, were in the arrangement and it made the house smell heavenly.

As I spread them out a little, I noticed a card was attached and I opened it.

“That’s so generous. Who sent these?”

“Gregory.” I handed her the card to read.

“Did you tell him where we lived?”

“I never told him. Apparently, he did some calling around and found a floral shop that was delivering to our address and requested his courier make the delivery. The courier assured me that Gregory has no knowledge of our whereabouts; he even had him sign a statement that the address wouldn’t be revealed to him.

“I feel a bit overwhelmed by all that he has done and I asked the courier why he would do this for us. He told me a wonderful story of how Gregory helped him and his family and basically stated that this is just the way he is, very generous toward everyone.” I shrugged my shoulders.

“Fascinating. He sounds so much like your father, but be careful.”

“I will, Mom.”

We headed to the kitchen and started removing the lids from the food containers and were overwhelmed by how much food he sent.

Mom and I looked at each other in amazement. There was enough for several meals and everything looked and smelled delicious.

We grabbed plates and took small samples of everything, wondering which would taste best and also sit well on our empty stomachs.

Between bites, Mom told me that Aunt Melinda and Uncle Tom would be arriving earlier than expected. They would drive up from Clearwater tomorrow to be with us and help with whatever was needed.

I looked forward to having them here as a distraction for both of us.

When I got up to put our plates in the dishwasher, I noticed an envelope had been left in the bag with my name on it. I took it back to the dining room and sat down to open it.

The note read:

“Are you going to call him later?”

“Probably…Why?”

“Please tell him he didn’t need to do all this, but it is appreciated and ask how we can ever repay his kindness.”

“What did the note say?”

“He’s concerned for both of us. His family had to deal with the loss of his grandmother recently and he thought food and flowers might help. He reassured me that he has no clue where we live and will respect our privacy. And he wants me to give him a call.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, Jordan.”

“I don’t know if this is the right time to discuss this or not, but I want to move back here, for a while; not permanently, just until both of our hearts heal, if that’s okay?”

Relief swept across her face. “I was hoping you would but I didn’t want to ask, knowing how the commute is already wearing you out. I would welcome the company as we both learn to adjust.” She wrapped her arms around me in a warm embrace.

“I called Alley and left a message on the answering machine about Dad. Knowing her, she’s probably at a loss for words and won’t call until tomorrow.

“I would like to handle the issue of me moving out, in person. The lease will run out in a few months and I want to make good on my promise to pay half the rent, at least.

“I can put most of my stuff in storage for now and just keep what I need, here. Would you mind if I brought my computer and paid for an internet connection to be put in my room so I can keep in touch with my friends and do some work from home, if necessary?”