30

 

When Lily awoke Monday morning, she was eager to return to her normal routine, and for the first time since the “accident” as her parents called it, pulled a tarot card for the day. The Eight of Cups–turning your back and walking away, she mused. Ian and I are back together and I’m walking away from heartache, so that’s not a hard one to figure out. After a big breakfast with her parents, she and Bella headed for her apartment. She sent Ian a text message when she left her parent’s house.

dropping Bella at the apartment then to work–I love you!

Excited to be going back, she arrived at the Castle a few minutes early. She was happy to see Beth’s car in the parking lot, and she ran to the gypsy tent in her eagerness to see her friend.

“Ian said there was a surprise for me here and you knew what it was,” Lily said. Beth grabbed Lily’s hand and pulled her along to the new section about to open. Ian’s work was finished. The drab concrete block had been magically transformed into stone walls, with elaborate trellises of delicate tea roses, wisteria and English ivy.

About eight feet up, Ian had painted a single window. There, a beautiful blond maiden wearing a crown of white flowers gazed dreamily over the courtyard with her arms folded on the sill, a single long stemmed red rosebud dangling from her fingertips. Lily stood transfixed.

“Amazing likeness, don’t you think?” Beth nodded. “Looks just like you, right down to that goofy expression you get on your face whenever the Prince is around.”

Lily managed to tear her gaze away from the portrait. “Is he here yet?”

Red curls flew as Beth shook her head. “Haven’t seen him,” she said. “Aren’t you going to be late?”

Frowning, Lily glanced at her watch. “Eek–you’re right. Catch you later.” Arriving at the office within minutes, she sailed in, startling Dan, who sat behind his desk staring off into space.

“There she is,” he exclaimed and jumped up to give her a quick hug. “So happy you’re back.” Meg appeared from the back room, and Lily could feel her volatile energy before she even turned around to greet her friend. “Meg’s happy you’re back too, aren’t you, darling?” Dan urged.

“Of course I am.” Meg forced a smile and hugged her.

Lily glanced warily at the pair. “Okay, what did I miss?”

Dan stared at the floor. Meg turned on her heel and stomped out, muttering darkly in Irish under her breath. Lily’s eyebrows shot up at their odd behavior. “I’ll just…go get started, then,” she stammered, bolting for her small office. Right away she spied the manila envelope on her desk, addressed to her in familiar, slanted handwriting. Puzzled, she poured the contents out onto her desk. There were all her credit card bills, unopened, the keys to her apartment and mailbox, and a small note that said only I love you. Ian

Her confusion deepening, she tore open the bills and discovered every one had a zero balance. He didn’t just pay them, he paid them off, she realized. She shot up from her desk, grabbed her cell phone and sent him a text.

call me

Lily dialed his cell number, which went immediately to voice mail. She tried his home phone–again, straight to voice mail. Sitting back into her chair, she closed her eyes, relaxed and allowed her mind’s eye to seek him out. She finally saw him, surrounded in white. Uncertainty took hold as she sent another text.

where are you

She waited, but a nagging feeling told her she was not going to get a response.

* * * *

Ian didn’t look down at the ringing cell phone in his hand, and it took every ounce of strength he possessed not to answer it. He stared unseeing out the window. Normally he enjoyed the view over the ocean, but the dense clouds obscured his vision. All he could see was fluffy whiteness and the occasional patch of blue sky. There were a few others in premier class on the Aer Lingus A330, but he took no notice of them. When the flight attendant asked if he cared for something to drink, his gaze never left the window. “Macallan. Neat.”

* * * *

“What do you mean, gone?” Lily asked,incredulous.

Dan tried to keep his voice low so Meg didn’t overhear. “He came by late last night and dropped off that envelope for you.”

Lily whirled, ran to Meg’s office and braced herself in the doorway. “What is Dan saying? Where is he, Meg?”

For one horrible moment, Lily thought the tiny redhead would burst into tears. “Back home,” Meg said. “His flight left from Orlando early this morning, but he came over first to say goodbye. I was so mad by then I didn’t hear half of what he said. Oh darling, I’m so sorry,” she said, as tears welled and spilled onto Lily’s cheeks.

“When’s he coming back?” Lily’s voice quavered.

Her eyes wet with angry tears, Meg moved around the desk and scooped her into a tight hug. “He didn’t say and I don’t know,” she said when Lily’s sobs finally broke free. “I swear I could cheerfully choke him lifeless right now.”

Dan entered the room, and obviously uncomfortable with the women’s tears, cleared his throat. “You know,” he began hesitantly, “I saw a wonderful television program on the American Indians once–”

Meg’s emerald eyes flashed. “Daniel, seriously. Now isn’t the time…”

He put his hand up to silence her. “Hear me out. The show I saw was about the American Indians and wild horses–you know, how they caught and tamed them.” Lily looked up and started to listen while Meg waited, tapping a sneakered foot in her impatience.

“Well, what they do is pick out a wild horse and make friends with it. Takes a while to build up the trust, but eventually the horse gets closer and closer. When it starts getting really close, the Indian puts up a fence behind it.”

Meg rolled her eyes. “Your point?”

“Hush, woman.” He waved her off and continued with his story. “The horse doesn’t see the fence behind him and the Indian distracts him while the other sides are put up. When the horse realizes he’s caught, he kicks and screams and tries to escape, but he can’t because he’s all fenced in, see?”

“So then what happens?” Meg asked, catching on.

“After the initial panic wears off, the horse comes to realize that maybe getting caught isn’t such a bad thing, and if the Indian is gentle and gives the horse a little room and a lot of love and understanding, he’ll be worth all the effort it took to catch him in the first place.”

Meg let go of Lily and turned to face Dan arms akimbo. “What is it you’re knowing that I don’t?” she demanded.

“I don’t know anything. It’s just a show I saw once,” he shrugged then went back to his purchase orders.