Page 25 of Clara Knows Best

“You’re welcome,” she said.

Apparently, she did not want to chat about it.

The feeling that he owed her in some way persisted, which was probably why he said, “Need any help there?”

“No,” she said at once. “Thank you, but I need creative control. Oh, you could put the goodie bags together if you want. That’d be really nice.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Giving out goodie bags, too?”

“Yeah. No candy involved, just little toys and things. Dentists do it,” she added defensively.

“All right, fair point. Show me the stuff.”

She produced a shopping bag full of things and as she unpacked it and excitedly explained the thought process behind each purchase, he watched her animated face and envied her the youthful enthusiasm.

He was sidetracked by a sudden memory of witnessing another, long-ago shopping haul; her parents had taken her to New York City for her tenth birthday and she’d come home with pierced ears, a manicure, and a suitcase full of new clothes. Her brothers hadn’t shown any interest beyond expressing that it was a boring and idiotic way to spend a birthday, but Jesse had been astonished that anyone would waste so much money and attention on a mere kid. Of course, at the time he’d been comparing it to his latest birthday gift from his own mother: the box from a brand new iPod—empty.

That’s what you get for nagging me about your birthday.

“So just cut the ribbon to about ten inches and tie a bow around each bag,” Clara finished brightly.

“Got it.”

“A good bow,” she clarified. “I don’t want it to look like Charlie Brown tied it.”

“In that case, I might need a crash course. I’m pretty good with knots, but you probably want the kids to be able to open the bags.”

“Admitting you need help is the first step,” she praised him, and pulled out a chair for herself. “Okay, your basic bow is very simple and will be familiar to you, but there are a few things to look out for.”

He could not quite believe what he was hearing, but Clara was not joking around, so he merely nodded to show her he was attending.

When Yoli arrived a short time later, he and Clara were working in silence on their respective tasks.

“Hey, guys!” Yoli exclaimed, dumping a lot of bags on the counter. She was dressed in pink scrubs and her hair was smoothed back into a tight bun. “Welcome, Dr. Flores! Flowers are looking great! What’s in the goodie bags? Can I have one?”

“Only if you get a shot today,” Clara answered.

“I guess I could use a flu shot,” Yoli said good-naturedly. “How early are we starting?”

“First appointment isn’t until eight forty-five, luckily,” Clara told her. “I wanted to get all of this done yesterday, but I think there’s enough time this morning.”

“Want me to blow up some balloons?” Yoli offered, seeing the unopened packs on the table.

“Yes, thank you! There’s helium in the hall closet.”

Yoli dutifully inflated thirty-six heart-shaped balloons, handing them to Clara one by one so she could add enough length of thin, sparkly gold ribbon to allow the balloons to be retrieved from the high ceiling.

“Feel like I’m in a glittery rainforest,” Jesse said, looking around.

Both women laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“I don’t know, you just said it with such angst,” Clara explained.

A phone rang down the hall, and Yoli hurried away to answer it.

“That was a cancellation,” she said when she returned a minute later. “Looks like we’ll be out of here by four-thirty today.”

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