Wildflower (10 page)

Tommy smiled as Hazel settled back onto the
sofa and put her feet up. “So what is Mr. Stubborn going to do for
furniture?”

“Move back in with his mother, I guess,” he
replied as he went to the kitchen to make her a cup of tea.

“Tommy, you paid for the hotel room last
night and then the truck today. That must have taken most of what
you had, are you going to be Ok?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll drop a couple of courses
and see if I can get more hours at work. It shouldn’t be much of a
problem; they’ve been asking me to anyway.”

“Tommy, I could take care of the expenses,
that way you could....”

“Absolutely not, Hazel Fillmore,” Tommy
declared adamantly as he passed her the tea. “Hell, even the
thought gives me shivers. Your dad would be up here in a heartbeat,
pulling off my arms and legs. No ma’am, until we are officially
married I will not let you support me. I can stay in school and up
my work hours a bit. By next semester I’ll be back on my feet and
there will be no problems. Graduation will be put back a year, no
big deal.”

“Tommy.”

“No Hazel,” he repeated firmly as he brought
a cup for himself and sat on the sofa with her. “Dammit woman, my
manhood is at stake here. Leave it be.”

“Alright Tommy, I’ll let it go for now.”

“So what’s left to do?”

“Well, I’ve called and arranged for the
telephone and power as well as the cable. That just leaves the
change of address forms for the post office.”

“I’ll pick you up after work tomorrow and we
can go do that together,” he mused thoughtfully.

“Honey, if you sold the old car it would make
it a lot easier for you,” suggested Hazel as she finished her tea
and set the cup aside.

“I know,” he replied with a deep sigh, “but
that’s last resort stuff and I’m not quite there yet.” Tears began
to fill his eyes again, but he brushed them angrily away. “Dammit,
it’s just not fair.”

“I know sweetie, I know,” soothed Hazel as
she slid easily across the couch to take him into her arms for a
moment. “You relax here for a while and I’ll make you something to
eat.”

“I’ll cook Hazel, you do enough of that at
work,” he sighed as he regained his composure. He gave her a peck
on the cheek then rose to his feet.

“Alright,” she agreed, realizing that he was
just trying to keep busy so he wouldn’t have the time to dwell on
his troubles.

Hazel settled back on the couch as Tommy
disappeared into the kitchen. Between them, they had actually
managed to furnish the place quite well. They had his couch and
chair as well as coffee table, end tables and that big TV that he
refused to part with. She’d added her book cases, stereo, and
paintings for the walls done by local artists. (She’d traded for
meals at the café.) Hazel had furnished the kitchenware, and they
had traded her TV for a table and chairs at the second hand store.
Tommy also had a bed, dresser, and mirror. Hazel set up her futon
as a bed and she had her own dresser. Tommy had a computer and desk
which he put in the corner for them both to use.

It almost felt like a real home, and Hazel
began to wonder just how bad it would be if she married Tommy.
Sure, the sex thing would be nowhere, but she would be well loved
and cared for, and Tommy would be gentle with her, that she knew.
She was mulling that over in her mind when, quite unbidden, the
image of that dazzling blonde flashed into her thoughts, and Hazel
knew she couldn’t do it. As badly as she and Tommy might want it,
she knew she couldn’t do it.

Hazel might spend the rest of her life in a
fruitless search for that one wildflower that would complete her
world, but she had sworn to be absolutely true to herself and so
she had to keep searching. A small tear started to form at the
corner of her eye, but she quickly brushed it away and turned on
the TV. Tommy didn’t need to see that from her right now.

Three months passed and they had settled into
a gentle routine. In truth they were much like an old married
couple. In that time, Hazel worked hard at bringing the café more
up scale. Lollie had been so thrilled with what Hazel had done with
the café he had upped her percentage. With the extra money Hazel
had added some bedroom furniture and bought herself a new digital
camera. She bought herself some really nice clothes as well.

Tommy had found that he enjoyed working more
and studying less. He was able to apply himself more to each course
and his marks were showing it. The extra money was going to pay
down his previous student loans and that too made his load a bit
lighter to carry. Hazel was bringing hers down as well and they
agreed that this system was working quite nicely for them both.
Neither spoke of the lack of dating, but it truly was on both their
minds.

Autumn was in the air one evening when Hazel
left work full of excitement. “So what are we celebrating tonight?”
asked Tommy when he saw the huge smile on her face as she climbed
into the car.

“Take a look at this,” gloated Hazel as she
showed him her paycheque.

“Wow, that’s some cheque.”

“We had a great month,” exulted Hazel, fairly
squirming in her seat with delight, “and Lollie has been paying me
a percentage. With the extra from this one I finally have enough
saved.”

“Enough saved for what?” asked Tommy as he
pulled out of the parking lot and headed for home.

“Actually, I have a serious choice to make
Tommy my lad. I really want to get your opinion on this one.”

“So what are the options?” he asked, leaning
into a turn.

“Well, I can pay off the last of my student
loans with this, or I can publish my book about the wildflowers.
What do you think I should do?”

“That’s an easy one,” he grinned as he pulled
into the bank parking lot and turned to face her. “Publish the
book.”

“May I please have your reasoning Professor
Reid?” Hazel asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Elementary my dear Miss Fillmore, you have
the book printed then we sell enough of them to get your money back
so you can pay off the loans. This way you get to have your cake
and eat it too.”

“Do you really think I’ll be able to sell
enough of the books to pay off my loan?” asked Hazel, not daring to
believe it herself.

“Yes I do sweetie,” he replied softly. “I
promise I’ll help you sell them. We will go to all the book stores;
we’ll set up a booth at the trade shows, flea markets etc. We’ll
make it happen, you’ll see.”

“God Tommy, that would be like a dream come
true.”

“So do it already. Go deposit your cheque
then I’ll take you to dinner.”

“Really? Dinner? Where?”

“Wendy’s, now get a move on,” laughed Tommy,
“I’m half starved and twice as mean.”

“Yes sir, I heard that,” grinned Hazel as she
leaped from the car and ran into the bank. Smiling as she made her
deposit, she realized that a dream was about to happen for her.
Hazel thanked the teller then returned to the car and her dinner
date.

As she reached the curb she stopped to let
another car pass before crossing to her own. The dazzling blonde
flashed Hazel a hundred watt smile as she drove past and
disappeared into traffic.

“Hazel come on,” called Tommy as Hazel just
stood dumb struck on the curb, “what the heck are you waiting
for?”

Shaking it off, Hazel danced across the
street to the car and got in. “Did you see her Tommy?” she asked as
she fastened her seat belt.

“See who?” he asked with a smirk. “You mean
that movie star blonde who smiled at you and made you lose all your
senses? Didn’t see a thing.”

“Jerk,” laughed Hazel as she punched him
affectionately on the arm. “That’s the second time I’ve seen
her.”

“Oh yeah? Where have you seen her
before?”

“Remember I told you about the way the girls
at the hairdresser’s found out I am lesbian?”

“Sure, I remember; it was another blonde that
gave you away that time wasn’t it?”

“Same woman,” murmured Hazel softly with a
faraway look in her eye.

“Are you sure? You only got a glimpse of her
each time.”

“As they said in the movie, there can be only
one,” replied Hazel thoughtfully. “Tommy, it’s weird the way the
sight of her makes me forget my own name. What do you think is
going on?”

“Beats me Hazel my love, you’ve never really
been attracted to blondes before,” he mused as he turned into the
restaurant parking lot. “Maybe one day you’ll get to meet her and
find out.”

“I certainly hope so Tommy,” she sighed as
she opened the car door and stepped out. “I certainly do hope
so.”

“Well, if you are destined to meet, then just
relax and wait for it to happen,” he grinned as he opened the
restaurant door for her. “You grab a table and I’ll bring the
feast.”

“Ok, veggie only please,” replied Hazel as
she headed to claim a table.

“Yes ma’am, one giant veggie wrap coming
right up.” He grinned as he took his place in line.

Hazel smiled warmly as she watched him flirt
gently with the young fellow at the counter. “No my dear Tommy
Reid,” she thought, “I love you dearly, but you are poor husband
material.” She was still smiling sweetly at him as he arrived with
the food.

Hubby

Abby watched as her new neighbors and friends
walked away. She lit the scented candle in the living room then
turned back to her own kitchen. Smiling, she unpacked her cooler
and loaded the few groceries she’d brought with her into the
freshly cleaned refrigerator. She then pulled the table away from
the wall a bit and set up her sleeping bag and air mattress.
“Alright the bed’s made and so now to work.” She headed up the
stairs tying her hair back in a pony tail.

True to Wanda’s word, the bathroom was
spotless and gleaming. There was even a fresh roll of paper on the
holder. “Nice touch,” grinned Abby as she deposited the new package
beside the throne. Smiling to herself, Abby strolled to the largest
of the bedrooms.

Whoever had done the renovations here had
done a magnificent job. The room was spacious with a big bay window
looking out over the water. The large closet was still full of the
old woman’s clothes and some of her deceased husband’s; much of her
jewelry and personal items were still in the bureau drawers as
well. “What am I going to do with all this?” mused Abby, a small
tear forming at the corner of her eye. “A woman’s whole life
reduced to this, and not a single soul left to care one way or the
other.”

It seemed to Abby that the old house sighed
in agreement. “Bride Murphy, since there are no others, will you
allow me to honor your past and passing?” Abby asked aloud of the
ghost of Bride Murphy. “I promise I will care for your home and
hold your presence here sacred.” A smile sprang to her face as she
heard the sudden song of a robin just outside the window. “So be
it,” she sighed and began to poke through the room again.

Finding an empty suitcase, Abby began to
carefully pack all Bride’s clothes. Once she had everything packed
and moved down to the spare room, she stripped the bed and carried
all the linen to the top of the stairs and threw it down. Returning
to the bedroom, Abby checked the mattress and frowned at the damp
smell of it. “This will have to go. Ok, we do what we can today
then we make a list.”

Abby dragged all the furniture out of the
room and spread it between the hallway and the other rooms. One
small dresser made its way into the bathroom to hide behind the
door. She tipped the mattress and foundation on their sides, took
the bed frame apart then returned to the kitchen for a cup of tea
and some paper, pen, and tape. “If I have a house and storage sheds
full of furniture, I need to make a list of what I have available,”
she mused softly as she made a sandwich to go with her tea.

After finishing her light meal Abby made a
quick inspection of the contents of the sheds, listing much of what
was there, then went back to the house and did the same. Returning
to the bedroom with her list, she tried to get an idea of just
which pieces she wanted to have in there. By the time she had made
her decision darkness was falling so she decided to have another
light meal then call it a day and start over early in the morning.
She ate her small meal at the table then went up for a hot
bath.

Abby turned up the heat a bit as she returned
to her bed in the kitchen. The old house was exceptionally quiet
and Abby could hear the lapping of the waves on the shore nearby. A
little nervous her first night, Abby left a soft light on in the
dining room. Her nervousness finally gave way to fatigue and she
slept.

Up and on the go again at first light, Abby
went for a brisk walk along the beach then made herself a big
breakfast. Well fortified, she returned to the bedroom with pen and
paper. She now knew which pieces of furniture she wanted in there
and soon she had decided on the colors as well. All those times she
had helped her grandmother paint and wallpaper as a child were
about to come in handy.

With her list in hand she tidied herself up
and headed back into the city. She was expecting to spend a small
fortune in gas for the first while until she got everything the way
she wanted, but there really was no other way to do it. By noon
Abby had her paint, brushes, rollers, wallpaper, drop sheets, etc.
and was loading a month’s supply of groceries into the back of her
vehicle. Abby suddenly felt that she was being watched. Just for a
moment she paused, but looking all around she could see no one so
she got in the car and headed for home.

All the way back to Jamaica Point Abby had
the nagging feeling that she had missed something important back in
town. “Ah well,” she sighed as she reached her own driveway, “if it
was that important I’m sure I’ll get another chance.”