Page 48 of Love Resurrected
So, for the first time in years, I change my order, flag Rita down, and ask for another order of Eggs Benedict.
And I don’t regret it after.
15
Tenley
Surprisingly, breakfast with Brad was enjoyable. He was charming, a good conversationalist, and only mildly insulting. It’s mid-morning by the time he drops me back at my car in the hospital parking structure, and we make plans to get together the next day to work on the recruitment fair more. I check in with Ethan before leaving the hospital to make sure they don’t need anything. He tells me Sadie is going to be discharged this afternoon and that he’ll call me when they get home.
Finding myself with a free day, I hit the mall and do a little shopping. I grab my phone to get directions because I’m still not familiar with where everything is and see that I missed a text from Neil Nicholson.
NEIL: Good morning, beautiful girl. I can’t stop thinking about you. Can I see you tonight?
NEIL: Maybe you’re still asleep. In which case I hope I don’t wake you.
NEIL: Or maybe you’re avoiding me...
NEIL: You okay?
I check to see when the texts came in. They are all within about five minutes from one another starting at eight this morning. It seems a little odd to me he sent so many, especially if he thought I might still be sleeping since that may have woken me up.
ME: Good thing I wasn’t asleep, or you may have woke me. :-)
NEIL: There you are.
ME: I was at the hospital with my friend, Sadie. Ethan’s wife. She’s okay, I just had my phone turned off. Sorry about that.
NEIL: So, can I see you tonight? Or sooner?
ME: I’m about to run some errands, but I’m free later. How about I text you when I’m back home?
NEIL: How about we set a time so I can lock you in?
ME: Let’s say around 6, but I’ll text you.
NEIL: Sounds good. See you at 6.
I don’t correct him. I’ll just text him later. I like this guy, but I don’t like this string of texts. Or his attitude.
I push him from my mind and head for a local little mall with a good assortment of locally owned shops. I want to pick something up for Sadie that I can drop off to her later. Just a little pick-me-up. She looked so wiped out at the hospital. It’s got to be hard when you are so used to being active, like Sadie is, and you’re forced on bed rest to help your unborn baby. Sadie was teaching dance classes and yoga classes when she got pregnant. She switched to prenatal yoga but had to stop most things in the last couple weeks. I’m amazed she’s on bed rest for being in such good of shape.
The mall isn’t very busy, but it’s still early in the day. I hit up my favorite store first: Bathe. It’s all organic, handmade soaps, bath bombs, loofas, and even some hand-woven towels. The bath bombs have real flower petals in them so when they dissolve, you get floating petals in the water. Baths are my favorite pampering activity. Some girls love a mani-pedi, while some want a massage, but I’m all about the bathtub. It was the first thing I had changed in the house I bought. I completely re-did the master bathroom with a huge glass-enclosed shower and a claw-foot soaking tub.
There are other things I still want to do to the house. A lot, actually. But I’m taking it slow. I can afford to bust it all out at once if I want to, but I’d rather take my time and make sure I’m one hundred percent sure on the changes I want to make.
I roam the bath bomb section first, grabbing an effervescent one for myself, as well as a lavender/chamomile and a couple other of my favorites. Then I grab one of each for Sadie, in addition to a few others she can use to relax, and also one that promises to promote happy/healthy/heart balance. Heck, maybe it will help her blood pressure. I have the girls put together a big basket for Sadie, so I select a loofah, some towels, a few different soap selections, and some lotions for them to put together.
I wait as the salesperson arranges everything artfully in a big wicker basket, covers it in plastic wrap, and ties it together with a huge ribbon. It’s beautiful and I can’t wait to bring it to her.
“That will be two hundred ten dollars and eleven cents,” the salesperson says.
I grab my wallet to pay and realize my go-to credit card is missing. I set my purse down and dig through the entire thing.
Nothing.
I empty all the cards, receipts, and nonsense from my wallet.
Nothing.
