Page 16 of Holiday Love
My bedroom was on the left and had a desk, a queen bed, and a single nightstand. The intriguing thing about that room was the wall of mirrors on one side with a horizontal wooden bar attached to the wall at waist height.
“What’s that?” I asked Helen when she showed me where I would be sleeping for the next couple of months.
She’d flushed prettily, a rare sight. Helen is usually composed.
“I did a lot of ballet as a kid.” She waved her hand at the wall, and her mirror image waved back. “I recently picked it back up, taking classes every Thursday. I’ve been practicing in here, but don’t worry about being in the way. It’s not something I have to do. It’s not like I’m going to be using those skills anytime soon.” She’d laughed, a self-deprecating sound I didn’t like. It sat wrong in my chest, like I should say something, but what? Tell her she’s too good to talk like that?
I barely know her, so I let it go.
“Follow me.” She’d quickly changed the subject. “I have something to show you.”
I dropped my bag onto the floor, the sound way too loud in the neat little space, then I followed her. At the end of the hallway, she flung open a door, letting sunlight blare in. I threw my arm up to protect my eyes. Blinking away sunspots, I stepped out onto a wide balcony, big enough to hold a rectangular outdoor dining table with four matching chairs. A red umbrella cast a pool of shade. Over to the side sat a small barbeque. Smoke stains on its silver hood suggested it got lots of use. The best part wasthe plants and flowers in brightly colored enamel pots tucked into the corners. Red hibiscus bobbed in the breeze beside gently swaying ferns. Blue and pink blooms tangled together, winding through purple cabbage, while tiny daisies pushed up between the leaf-filled branches.
“I like your garden,” I told her.
Helen laughed, the sound light and cheerful. “It’s funny that’s what you noticed. Most people focus on this.” She swept her hands out to the horizon. I froze when I lifted my eyes, following the motion. Before us was the beach and the ocean.
In Venice I lived on the beach, but down at ground level. This elevated view from Helen’s place was something else entirely. White sand stretched for miles, and the sun glittered off the waves, twinkling like fairy dust. Farther down, the world-famous Santa Monica Pier jutted into the ocean, its twisting yellow roller coaster and graceful Ferris wheel rising high above the waterline. I could hear the distant sound of laughter and screams drifting from the amusement park. It looked like something on a postcard with the inscription,Wish you were here,stamped across the bottom in faded letters.
“Wow,” was all I could manage.
Helen laughed again, the sound rich to my ears. “That’s what I said the first time I saw it too. This is what sold me on this condo. As soon as I saw the view, I said I’d buy it, even though the price was a stretch.” She points past my shoulder. “Look! They’re already stringing Christmas lights on the palm trees.”
“Already? It’s not even November yet.” I leaned over the railing to see she was right. A white work truck idled at the curb with a long movable ladder and a basket on the end, large enough to hold a man. The metal arm extended upward as I watched, the bucket swaying as a worker in a neon vest leaned out with a coil of twinkling lights looped around his shoulder. One by one, hestrung the bulbs up the trunk of the palm, fastening them neatly before moving on to the next stretch. Already a few trees were finished, their trunks wrapped in colorful spirals that climbed toward the fronds, glowing against the slowly darkening sky. The whole line of palms would shine soon, turning the boardwalk into a glittering, festive runway.
That was two hours ago. Shortly after she got me settled in, Helen had left for an overnight shift in the ER. I called Jamie and asked him to bring me more of my stuff. When I’d apologized for bailing on living with him, Jamie had said in his easygoing way not to worry. He said he’d keep my room in the house without charging me for it, until I came back in two months. I’d almost stopped him, told him I was never coming back, that I don’t belong there anymore, but I’d hesitated, because what if I don’t belong here either? Where does that leave me?
It's doesn’t matter. The reality is that living here in Helen’s condo is a nice interlude, but one with a big ticking clock.
I can’t stay here forever, and maybe that’s for the best.
Because Helen? She’s the kind of woman who builds things.
Me? I wreck them.
Chapter nine
Teddy
I make a phone call to my sister. When I was in the hospital, we talked every day, along with my mom, sister-in-law, and stepdad. Some days it felt like my phone never stopped buzzing.
“Teddy bear!” Gwen says as soon as she picks up the phone. “How are you feeling today?”
“About the same. My leg itches like crazy under the cast. It’s the most annoying thing.” I scratch at it as I tell her, fingers bouncing off the hard surface, as if it will somehow help.
“Sorry, I can only imagine,” she says sympathetically.
“How’s my nephew?” I ask, smiling at the thought of Carter, with his golden curls and pink cheeks. The kid looks like one of those cherubs you see painted on the ceilings of old churches. That’s how angelic and adorable he is.
“Better!” Gwen’s voice lifts, filled with tenderness the way it does whenever she talks about her son. “I think the ear tubes might actually be helping. He slept a whole four hours straight last night.”
“Wow. Four hours,” I say, sarcastically. “That sounds like a total nightmare. I need at least eight solid hours of beauty rest to end up looking this good.” Even though she can’t see me, I pretend to preen, patting my hair and lifting my chin.
Gwen snorts and says, “Good luck with that once you’re a parent.”
“We both know I’m not the settling-down type. You and Brandon will have to provide all the grandkids for mom. Not me.”
“You just haven’t found the right person yet. Trust me, when you meet them, it will all fall into place. It won’t even feel like work because you’ll do it together.” Gwen’s got that soft, dreamy quality to her voice. One I know so well.
