Elly In Bloom (44 page)

She watched one of Lucia’s bridesmaids – holding a resplendent bouquet – walk over and whisper in Lucia’s ear. Lucia nodded and steadied herself, taking a deep breath in before an elated smile erupted on her radiant face. Elly ducked her head, feeling ashamed for seeing such a private moment, one that each bride had, a moment that should be hers alone. Her father walked up to her, swaying slightly, and took her arms in his. Awash in empathy, Elly quietly let herself out of a side door, not wanting Lucia to notice her. Without realizing it, she had forgiven her. Elly ducked under the vine covered arbor, staying perfectly still as Lucia walked past her, on her way to marry the man of her dreams. She smiled sadly as she turned toward the parking lot, her last thought of Aaron evaporating from her mind. The first strains of the wedding march rose up behind her as she looked to her new life ahead.

CHAPTER

THIRTY-ONE

Elly arrived at the hospital thirty minutes later, disheveled and beaming with happiness. She rushed to the front desk where an exhausted nurse looked her up and down.

“You here delivering flowers? They go to the delivery entrance in the North Wing.”

Elly ripped off her apron. “No, no, sorry. I’m here to see my best friend, she’s in labor and delivery I would assume.”

The nurse rolled her eyes. “Is she IN delivery?”

“Yes.”

“Okay then. What is her name?”

“Kim and Sean Creeden.”

The nurse sat down slowly at the desk and began typing. Elly tapped her foot impatiently. “Look, I know that you must get this all the time, but…can you hurry? I was delivering a wedding so I’m already late, and I don’t want to miss it.”

The nurse looked up at her with big, placid brown eyes. “Everyone is in a hurry, miss, so you can wait just a few more seconds.” Elly clenched her hands and did a little dance of impatience. “She’s in room 414, just down this hall to your right.”

By the time the nurse finished her sentence, Elly was already running down the hall. She wheeled in front of room 414 and took a second to calm her heavy breathing.
I shouldn’t run
, she reminded herself.
I’m not really a runner
. She took a deep breath and knocked softly.

Sean opened the door slowly. “Elly” he whispered, “Come on in, wait until you see him.”

“Him?!” Elly was practically shouting. Sean shushed her.

“Oh, sorry” she whispered.

“Follow me.”

He led her past a pink hanging curtain into a small but pretty delivery room. The walls were a pale beige, lined with wood paneling. Dim uplighting gave the room a soft, warm glow. In a large bed framed with metal rails, Kim lay sleeping, her chest rising and falling quickly, interspersed with soft murmurs. Elly put her hand over her heart and stared at her friend. She quickly sat down in the chair beside the bed. She looked over at Sean, who was looking at his sweet wife with such pride and tenderness that it forced a sob into Elly’s throat.

“Should I wake her?” she whispered.

He nodded. “She couldn’t wait to see you. I have to call my parents so I’m going to step outside. Could you get her some water?”

Elly nodded, overjoyed to have something to do. She walked over to the tiny cart next to the window and poured some water into a plastic cup, then walked over and kissed Kim on the forehead.

Kim stirred, opening her eyes slowly. “Elly?”

“Hi, sweetie. Congratulations. Drink some water, okay?”

Kim nodded and pushed herself up, her arms shaking with exhaustion. Elly wrapped her arms around her waist and helped her sit up. “Don’t try that with me, okay? We’d be here for hours.”

Kim gave her a weak smile.

“Is the baby okay?” Elly asked nervously.

Kim nodded. “The doctors said that he looked perfect, even though he was three weeks early. He’s a fighter, like his dad.” She let her head sink back against the pillow. “Elly, you wouldn’t believe it...he’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I can’t put it into words, but I’ve never felt so much love, not ever. He’s the center of my world and he’s only been here five minutes.”

Elly grinned, running her fingers through Kim’s ratty ponytail. “You look like a trainwreck.”

“You do too.”

Elly smiled. “Well, I DID just finish delivering a huge wedding.”

“Yeah, well, I had a baby.”

Elly winked at Kim. “You win.” They chuckled together.

Elly tilted her head. “Was it scary? Are you okay?”

“It happened so fast. One minute I was in the shop – it’s a disaster by the way, have fun with that – and then next thing I knew I felt liquid running down my leg. My water had broken. Then these gigantic contractions started, and I couldn’t even move. I was so lucky that Keith had run by his shop to grab some appetizers….he called the cab and wanted to come with me. I didn’t let him go.” She looked over at Elly, her eyes glazed over. “He likes you, you know.”

Elly pressed her lips together. “Mmm hmm.”

Kim smiled weakly. “I made it to the hospital. I think I might have yelled at the cab driver a little.” She winced. “Oh gosh, I think I called him something very insulting.”

“You’re allowed, just this once, to call people names.”

“Oh no. Did I call you a name when we talked earlier?”

Elly shook her head, pushing a lock of Kim’s damp hair out of her eyes.

“Sean was waiting for me, my knight in shining armor, right outside the hospital. From there, I don’t remember much. He came fast. It was horrible pain, but it was quick, thank God…I think I yelled at Sean, too.”

“Also allowed.”

“And then he was here. He just arrived into this world, screaming his little head off, announcing that he was very angry to be mistaken for a girl this entire time.”

Elly laughed. “Are you shocked about that?”

Kim smiled. “I always thought that it would be so awful if we were wrong, but it was always…him. It was just us who were wrong.” She bit her lip. “I hope he likes his bright pink room, and all the pink baby clothes that Auntie Elly bought.” Elly groaned. “And the princess-themed crib bedding.”

“Yikes,” whispered Elly.

“I think Sean was secretly hoping all this time it would be a boy. I bet he’s out high-fiving his doctor buddies right now,” Kim mused.

“Oh, absolutely.”

The door squeaked open slowly, letting bright light fill the room as Sean walked in, carrying a tiny bundle. “Are you ready to meet him?” he whispered.

Elly nodded, suddenly nervous as the prospect of dropping a newborn. “I’m really klutzy, maybe I shouldn’t…”

Kim put her hand on Elly’s. “You’ll be fine. I’m right here.”

Sean delicately put the baby into Elly’s waiting arms, moving ever so carefully. Elly sat so still she was barely breathing.

“Elly, this is Hadley.”

Elly pulled back the blue blanket and stared at him. He was perfect, in every way. Tiny long lashes brushed his pale pink cheeks. He had Kim’s blond hair, light wisps of cream that covered his somewhat peaked head. Elly looked at his tiny fingers, running her hand over the unbelievably small nails, the miniature thumb, the wrist no wider than an inch. Love washed over her, twisting through her brain and dulling out all other background noise. There was only Hadley, his little sleeping face holding her heart captive. She knew immediately that she would be at the mercy of this little person, that anything he wanted she would hand over with glee.
Oh boy
, she thought,
I’m in it for the long run with this kid
. Tears ran down her cheeks, and Elly cautiously raised a hand so that they wouldn’t drip onto Hadley’s angelic face.

Kim laughed. “You are such a weeper.”

Elly giggled and stifled a choke, “It’s true. He’s just incredible, I don’t know what else to say…except for good job. He’s a miracle, a gift… I mean, look at him!”

Kim laughed.

“Hey, how was the wedding? I’m dying to hear how it went.”

Hadley gave a small yawn and Elly dissolved into happiness.

“It was fine.”

“It was FINE? Elly, I need more details than that. I just pushed a baby out, and I demand a play by play.”

Elly’s eyes never left Hadley’s face. “Aaron was there.”

Kim pushed herself up so quickly that Elly jumped. “As in you saw him?”

Elly nodded.

“Did you talk to him?”

She gave another nod.

“Well…what happened?”

Elly gazed down at the sleeping baby and shrugged. “It’s not important.”

Kim’s mouth fell open and Elly continued. “Today is Hadley’s day, and your day. Maybe someday I’ll tell you about it, but Aaron will never be important again.”

Kim put her hands over her mouth. “Oh, Elly.”

Hadley let out a low cry. Elly turned to Kim. “Go see your mama.”

Kim reached out her arms, took her child gingerly and ran her finger over his baby pout. “Shh, shh baby, you’re mine.”

Elly looked at Kim. “Already a natural. You’re going to be an incredible mother.”

“You’ll be around to make sure, right?”

“Always.” Elly stood and gave Kim’s shoulder a squeeze, and kissed Hadley lightly on his satin cheek. “I’m going to go and give you guys some family time.”

Kim nodded distractedly, unable to tear her eyes from her newborn son.

“I’ll call you later.” Elly ushered Sean to her chair. “Congrats, Daddy!”

Sean gave Elly a quick hug. “Thanks for coming.”

Outside the hospital, the air was crisp, and Elly’s breath lingered in front of her face. Her steps were light and buoyant, and she danced across the parking lot. The black night sky didn’t hold enough depth to contain her joy. Her happiness, however, rapidly gave way to exhaustion as she drove back to the shop.

Flicking on the neon lights, Elly let out an exaggerated groan. The shop was an absolute wreck. Stems and greenery covered the floor, inches thick in most places. The air reeked of decaying stems and wet moss, and Elly noticed a dead ranunculus hanging from the swirling ceiling fan
. Geez, what happened here
? She carefully stepped over overturned buckets, loose floral wire and chunks of green foam as she made her way to the back. Pushing a flower cart out of her path, she fought her way to the cooler door. The last thing she felt like doing was making an arrangement, but she knew she had to capture this intoxicating freedom. The cooler was full of sporadic leftovers from the wedding: smaller pink peonies, yellow tea roses, some exotic greenery, one cattalaya orchid, three fringe tulips. Elly gathered them quickly and laid them down on the design table, which was covered in greens. Reaching into her vase shelf, she pushed the other vases aside, feeling for a special vase in the very back. Elly’s fingers curled around it, and she pulled it out, sending a flurry of dust bunnies into the air.

It was a small antique vase with a gold leaf top and a narrow neck. Its porcelain molding was covered in the blue outline of clouds that hovered delicately above magenta water lilies. It had been her mother’s favorite vase. Normally, she didn’t have it out because the mere sight of it was enough to send her into weepy hysterics. Tonight, she felt different.

The lackadaisical arrangement fell beautifully into the open container, the tulips draping over the sides with dramatic flair. Elly waded her way to the front of the room and placed it on her desk – the only neat space in the studio at the moment. She smiled. It was simply wondrous. She made the decision right then that the vase would never leave her desk, that it was here to stay. She yawned, every fiber of her body aching and screaming for rest.

As she headed for the stairs, she noticed the back room light was still on.
For the love
, she thought and stomped over to the door, jerking it open. Her first instinct was to scream. Her second was to laugh. Snarky Teenager was pressed up against the shelves, her toned arms wrapped around a brown male head that was nuzzling her neck as his hands grabbed her waist passionately, her dress hiking up her thigh. She looked up at Elly with horror, and then gave a casual “I couldn’t help myself” shrug, followed by naughty smile. The mane of brown hair whipped around, and Elly recognized the handsome Russian student from this afternoon.