Tyler read the message immediately but didn’t respond till two minutes before his first class started.
TYLER: Sure, I guess.
Ivy decided to take it as a win. Everything came one step at a time.
As Ivy walked to the flower shop that morning, she practiced telling Elliot about her difficulties with Tyler. In her head, she imagined telling Elliot, “Teenage boys are tricky. I realized it even more when you talked about yourself as a teenager last night at the burger place. I realized that there’s so little I know of what’s going on in my son’s mind. I don’t want him to feel alone. And maybe both of my kids have felt lonely around me over the years. I’ve struggled so much with opening up.”
She felt the words on the tip of her tongue. She was ready to speak them aloud, to share everything in her heart. Maybe she’d even tell Elliot what was really on her mind: that she was falling in love with him. She was ready to spill the beans, to open up the window of her heart.
She felt optimistic, ready, at least until she opened the door of the flower shop and found herself face-to-face with Elliot and a woman he introduced as his sister, the bride.
That was when everything changed in her life yet again.
“This is Georgia.” He beamed.
Elliot’s sister, Georgia, smiled meekly. The door to the flower shop jangled shut, closing the three of them in together. Ivy’s heart pounded with recognition. She couldn’t believe it.
Georgia was gorgeous, which was no surprise given Elliot’s wonderful gene pool. She had long auburn hair that spilled to the middle of her back, and her eyes were electric green. She wore leather boots, high-waisted jeans, and a simple engagement ring. It was clear that she hadn’t told Elliot that Georgia and Ivy had met before. They’d met in this very flower shop, in fact, many years ago, when Georgia had burst in to say she was sorry, that she didn’t know.
Ivy realized she was still smiling the same smile she’d worn on her walk from home. She told herself to keep it plastered on her face. She didn’t want to give herself away.
She didn’t want Georgia to see how upset she felt.
“Pleasure to meet you,” she said stiffly, drawing her hand out to shake Georgia’s.
The minute Georgia slipped her hand into Ivy’s, Ivy’s heart rattled like a dyne.
Georgia knew exactly who she was. But Ivy hadn’t known her name till now.
Ivy was suddenly cast back into all those images she’d tortured herself with: Daniel meeting Georgia at community college, Daniel falling head over heels for her, and Daniel chasing her. At the same time, Ivy struggled to keep the house and the inn and their kids and the flower shop afloat. She hadn’t known, maybe, about Daniel’s family, about his life. But Ivy knew that she’d probably suspected something. Women always had a sense for these things, didn’t they? Maybe they kidded themselves, but the facts were always there. And when Daniel hadn’t been able to show Georgia where he lived, when they hadn’t been able to meet anywhere but hotels or at her place, hadn’t she suspected he was married? That he was wronging someone?
“Georgia’s been gushing about the flower arrangements on your website,” Elliot said, his eyes alight. It was clear he was thrilled to introduce Ivy to his sister. Maybe he half imagined they would all be family one day, that they’d go out on dates with Georgia and her new husband.
Or maybe Ivy was the biggest fool of all.
“You’re a true artist,” Georgia said tentatively. “I was worried you were going to close down the shop. It would have been a tragedy. It’s been here for years. I’ve always loved walking by.”
“Yep. I’ve had it for eighteen years. Couldn’t give up on it yet,” Ivy affirmed. She felt as though her legs were going to give out on her. Slowly, she shifted around the counter and removed a pad of paper from a drawer. She had the bizarre sense that Georgia wanted Ivy to prepare the flowers for her wedding to Daniel, that she wanted to torture her in this way. She clicked her pen and felt Elliot’s eyes on her. She knew she was acting strangely. But how else was she supposed to act?
“I was away for a long time. Over in Washington State.” Georgia laced her fingers together. “But it’s incredible how Bluebell Cove freezes in time. So many people and things are still here. And everything is still just as lovely.”
Ivy sensed that everything Georgia said was meant to be a sort of apology for what had happened before. Her tongue felt laced with poison, so much so that she was worried about what she’d say if she spoke. Georgia started to talk faster, as though she wanted to fill the space. Elliot joined her.
“I already told Ivy how much I like Roger,” he said, speaking of Georgia’s fiancé.
“I finally met a good guy.” Georgia laughed nervously.
“It’s hard out there,” Ivy said. It’s hard because so many of them are married and don’t want to be, she didn’t add.
She wondered what Georgia had thought when she’d learned about Daniel’s fishing accident. She wondered if she knew that Daniel never would have returned to fishing if he hadn’t failed out of community college. She wondered if Georgia knew that he wouldn’t have failed out of community college if Georgia hadn’t broken things off with him.
Ivy felt frantic. Her palms were sweating. Was she really going to blame her dead husband’s affair partner for his death? But she realized she wasn’t making any sense to herself, not any longer. Without asking Georgia about flower arrangements or wedding visions, she closed her pad of paper, cleared her throat, and said, “You know, I think I’m not feeling very well this morning.”
Elliot’s face echoed with surprise. Georgia looked down at the floor, mortified.
“What’s going on?” Elliot asked.
“Maybe it’s a cold. I don’t know. I didn’t feel it till I walked over,” Ivy explained, reaching for her coat and pulling it over her shoulders. “But I really think I’d better get home.”
