Eventually, she dug out the photo album of her and Daniel’s wedding, and she spoke of that day so long ago as though it were one of magic.
“You look like you really love each other,” Tyler said, careful as he turned the pages.
“We did,” she said, surprised at how honest that answer felt.
Tyler was solemn for a moment. “We haven’t been out to his grave in a while, have we?”
Ivy suggested they go before it got too dark.
They drove out to the Bluebell Cove cemetery, where they parked and waded through the snow to Daniel’s grave. It was only ten degrees, and the wind bit at their cheeks and noses. When Ivy saw the state of Daniel’s grave, how dark and aged it was, her heart jumped in her chest. She couldn’t believe how much time had passed.
Tyler bent to brush the snow from the top of the stone and muttered, “Hey, Old Man.”
Ivy laughed nervously. “Hi, honey. We’re missing you a little bit extra today.”
“That’s right.” Tyler squatted down so that his nose was only a few inches from Daniel’s name carved in stone. “I hope you don’t mind that I’ve been talking to you in my head a lot lately. I’ve been a little bit lost, I guess.”
“He doesn’t mind,” Ivy breathed.
Tyler was quiet, tracing his father’s name with the tip of his finger. Birds twittered in the snow-laden trees that lined this area of the cemetery. Ivy knew that Daniel would have liked the way the hills rolled on this side of the grounds. He would have liked the giant trees and that view of the water just beyond. They’d been so young when he’d died, too young to talk about side-by-side gravestone plots. And she hadn’t had the money to buy the plot next to his when he’d passed. It meant that there were other gravestones next to his, other Bluebell Covers that they hardly knew.
Ivy allowed herself a moment of grief at the mystery of life.
And then, she realized someone else was in the cemetery, coming toward them. It was a woman with long auburn hair that flickered out in the wintry winds. In her arms was a bouquet, obviously purchased from the other flower shop in town. When she saw that Ivy and Tyler were at Daniel’s grave, she stopped and adjusted her flowers in her arms. Her eyes told Ivy that she knew it was best not to approach, not when Tyler was there.
A terrible gust of wind forced Tyler to his feet. “Maybe we should go,” he said.
Ivy followed her son’s lead back through the stones, headed for the car. They snaked directly past where Georgia Rhodes stood with her bouquet, waiting for them to go. Ivy couldn’t help but look at Georgia, who was staring at her. Ivy hung back and told her son to go on ahead.
She even threw the keys so he could let himself into the car and turn on the heater. He cast a curious glance at Georgia, but probably assumed she was just another woman at a cemetery. There were so many of those.
When Tyler was out of earshot, Georgia adjusted the flowers in her arms and said, “This is terrible timing. I’m sorry.” She swallowed.
Ivy searched her heart for anger but found nothing. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here,” she said. “Are those for him?”
“They are,” Georgia said. Her eyes welled with tears. “You must think I’m foolish.”
“I don’t,” Ivy said. “But I am curious why you’d bring him flowers so soon before your wedding.”
Georgia tilted her head. “Daniel and I didn’t date for very long. I guess you probably know that. It must have been seven or eight months? But it was after I broke things off that I moved to Washington State. My entire life flipped upside down. I got really depressed. I wondered what kind of woman I was to let myself get involved with a married man. I thought about you, Tyler, and Lily all the time. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever let myself love again.”
Ivy crossed her arms tighter over her chest, wanting to protect herself. But there was no protecting herself from all this.
“Eventually, I met my first husband,” Georgia said. “Maybe Elliot told you what a disaster that was. I don’t know. But when he helped me move back here, I was inundated with memories, both of Daniel and of my first years in Washington. I began to think about what my relationship with Daniel did for me. It forced me to change in ways I hadn’t assumed possible. It forced me to ask myself what I want. And now, I’m with someone I really love.”
Ivy was surprised at how touched she was. But she still didn’t know what to say.
“I know you don’t owe me anything,” Georgia said. “And I know I blindsided you yesterday when you saw me in your flower shop. Elliot doesn’t know a thing, by the way. I haven’t told him, and I don’t know if I ever want to. If things work out between you… I mean, if you want to give it a try with him, I will respect your right to share what you know about me. Elliot’s capable of forgiving me, I think. He’s certainly forgiven me for a whole range of other crimes.” She tried on a laugh that sounded false.
Before she could stop herself, Ivy reached out and touched Georgia’s hand. They stood alone like that, in the blustery cemetery, as the flowers threatened to drop from Georgia’s arms.
“Daniel was a lot of things,” Ivy said finally. “He was not always the nicest man, not to me. But he was the father of my children. He was my husband. His memory deserves to be upheld by all who knew and loved him. Including you.”
Georgia took a staggered breath.
“I hope you’ll still let me do your wedding flowers,” Ivy said. “Elliot’s been a godsend, fixing up my flower shop right when I was thinking I needed to close it. Maybe he knows that, maybe he doesn’t. But he has enough tact not to bring up all my failures.”
Georgia smiled. “I don’t think he’s ever thought of you as a failure. He thinks of himself as one, I know, because of Shelly. Because of MIT. But he sees you only as a beautiful business owner who does what she can to get by. I know because he told me that.” She pressed her lips together before adding, “Don’t let yourself give him up. No matter how frightened you are. No matter how sure you are that you belong alone. Nobody should be alone. I truly believe that.”
