Inside the envelope were two smaller ones, each with her first name written in the looping handwriting she knew all too well. The first envelope was otherwise plain, but the second had a line in parentheses beneath her name.
Sylvia (for when you’re ready)
She struggled to open the first one, but knowing her mom likely included important details about the inheritance, she forced herself to read the message.
The second was tucked inside the locked drawer of her desk.
Every time her mind drifted to that second letter, she would pause whatever she was doing and stare at the locked drawer. How was she supposed toknowwhen she was ready? What if it was important, no matter whether she was ready or not? What if her mom’s idea ofreadywas different from hers?
A knock on the door pulled her out of her contemplation.
“Come in!”
The door swung open to reveal a walking mountain of lilies in the doorway, and her breath caught in her throat.
“Lilies?”
“Lilly with lilies, yes,” her niece said from behind the extravagant arrangement. “I’m not sure where to put these.”
“Oh, um…just with the rest,” Sylvie said offhandedly. “Wow. I never thought there could be too many flowers in a lobby.”
The mountain of lilies didn’t move or say anything.
“Is that okay?” she asked.
“Well, not really,” Lilly replied. “There isn’t any more room on the table.”
“How?” Sylvie asked, standing and beginning to walk across the room before stopping to put the letter from her mom in her pocket. “That’s an eight-person dining table in there!”
The mass of flowers retreated into the hallway, revealing her niece.
“Well, apparently, one person takes up the same amount of room as about two and a half flower arrangements—we’ve also run out of vases.”
“We cannot possibly have—wait, two and a half per person? How many people have sent us flowers?”
She didn’t hear Lilly’s answer because, as she entered the lobby, she saw Juliette standing next to the entryway table. Itwas covered with so many arrangements that she couldn’t see the surface of the table at all anymore.
“These are not from me,” Juliette said quickly, holding out a large vase filled with white carnations and pink roses. “I just found them outside.”
Looking around the room, Sylvie couldn’t see a single surface that didn’t have flowers on it. She shook her head. “Right. Okay…um, can we—”
A loud scraping sound from her left made her wince. They all turned to look at Fiona, doing her best to drag a table through a doorway that was slightly too small.
“Well, don’t just stare. Either help or don’t!” her sister-in-law snapped.
With a deep breath, Sylvie nodded and stepped toward Fiona, doing her best to ignore the annoyed expression on her face, as if asking,why you?Silently, Sylvie replied,Because everyone else has their hands full, idiot.
They managed to wriggle the table free, leaving small scuffs on the paint. She saw Fiona notice them and flare her nostrils as if daring Sylvie to say something. Honestly, though, she didn’t care. There were so many other things to care about right now.
Well, if she were honest, she didn’t really care about those things, either. She needed to have this conversation with Fiona, and for that, she needed Juliette to go.
“Thanks,” she said to Fiona before turning to Juliette. “Good thinking. Jules, do you…?” Ignoring both Fiona’s brief look of surprise and Juliette’s pointed eye-roll at Fiona, Sylvie glanced at the front door.
“Oh, it’s nothing important,” Juliette said, placing the flowers on the new side table. “Just bringing supplies.”
“Supplies?” Sylvie asked, heading toward the front door with Juliette.
“Freezer-friendly, reheat-able, and vaguely nutritional meals for about three days,” Juliette said. “Already in the freezer. And before you ask—no, I didn’t cook them. You don’t have to worry. I got them from the diner.”
