More than a week had passed since Evie’s death, and to Quinn, it seemed like a lifetime. Days bleeding together, one by one, until she scarcely remembered what day it was anymore. The headstone Ruby chose for Evie was a gray-speckled, etched stone with rough edges. An oval in the center contained Evie’s picture, and below it the words: Though absent you are always near, still loved, still missed, and very dear. The rhyme Ruby selected was sweet, but sappy, nothing like what Evie would have chosen for herself. The simple words didn’t convey the sass and spirit that ruled Evie’s life. Sass like Quinn had once viewed on a tombstone that read: Here lies Eddie Yeast, pardon me for not rising.
Now that was a tombstone with the appropriate dash of snark.
She’d stood at Evie’s graveside for over a half hour and even managed to pay her respects without shedding any tears. She didn’t know whether to consider it progress, or a sign she was going numb, or both.
The vibrant, wildflower bouquet she clutched in her hands had been cut that morning from what remained among the living in Evie’s garden. She knelt, placing the flowers in front of a few stacks of others that still remained from the day of the funeral. She pressed a hand to her chest, rolling her fingers over the chain of the necklace. “Thanks for the letter. I miss you. We all do.”
A few minutes later, Quinn had almost reached her car when she heard the discernable sound of footsteps blazing a trail through a hillside of grass. She turned. The girl in the distance was dressed in a short mini-skirt, a puffy jacket, and UGG boots. She was tall and skinny—the kind of skinny that made her look like her bare legs were made of elongated toothpicks. Her hair was long and straight. More brown than blond. And she was young. Seventeen or eighteen. Young enough for Quinn to assume she was still in high school. The girl carried a plant in her hands: she knelt and placed it in front of Evie’s grave.
“Hey,” Quinn yelled.
The girl flattened a hand over her forehead, canvassed the landscape, her eyes coming to rest on Quinn, who, by that time, was almost standing in front of her.
“Hi,” the girl said.
“Beautiful plant.”
The girl shrugged. “I guess so. Rowdy asked me to bring it.”
Rowdy?
“Shouldn’t you be in school?”
“I’m a senior. I have work release.”
“And you work for Evie?” Quinn asked.
The girl nodded.
“Do you like working there?”
“I love it. It’s like art, you know? Working with plants, landscaping a yard, making it beautiful. Just being outside instead of cooped up behind a desk all day—it’s what I want to do with my life.”
“Gardening?”
She nodded, again.
“I saw you at Evie’s funeral,” Quinn said. “What’s your name?”
“Marissa.”
“Marissa what?”
“Lewis. What’s yours?”
“Quinn.”
“Evie mentioned you a couple times. You two were friends, right?”
“We were,” Quinn said. “How long have you worked for her?”
“About six months. Now that Evie’s gone, I might have to start looking for another job though.”
“Why?”
“I hear some random chick is taking over the place soon.” Marissa scrunched up her nose. “She doesn’t know a thing about landscaping. How’s that going to work?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the random chick is hoping Evie’s employees will teach her what she needs to know instead of bailing out on her before they give her a chance.”
Marissa tilted her head to the side, smacked the gum she was chewing around in her mouth a few times. “Wait a minute, it isn’t ... I mean, you’re not that friend, right?”
Quinn didn’t answer, she just stared, letting her expression do the work for her.
“Wow.” Marissa kicked a few leaves around with her boot. “I feel like a huge ass now. Sorry.”
“I get it,” Quinn said. “I’d be skeptical too. And I shouldn’t have waited so long to stop in. I’ve had a lot going on since I’ve been back, and I didn’t find out until yesterday that Evie planned on me taking over the place.”
“It’s okay. We know.”
“What do you mean you know?”
Marissa patted Quinn on the shoulder. “Small town. Word gets around.”
Quinn wondered what, and how much they knew. “I’d like to make things right. What’s the office phone number?”
Marissa dipped her hand inside her shirt, pulled out a cell phone. She found the office number and showed the screen to Quinn. Quinn dialed. A woman answered, stating her name was Felicity. Quinn said, “I’d like to speak to the office secretary or manager.”
“Speaking.”
“This is Quinn Montgomery.”
Felicity paused then said, “I was wonderin’ when we’d hear from you.”
“I’d like client meetings set up with all of Evie’s current clients. I’d like to talk to them.”
“Allrighty, I can get those scheduled. What day?”
“Let’s say two days from now.”
“I’ll get it done and get back to you with the times. Is that all?”
“No,” Quinn said. “I’d like to call a staff meeting.”
“Oh ... kay. What day and time?”
“Today. Five o’clock. And the meeting is mandatory. I expect everyone to be there.”