Must Love Flowers(41)

“Okay,” Ellie said, eager now.

Joan opened the door and realized that, in the span of such a short while, she’d opened the door of her heart as well.





Chapter 18





Humming to herself, Joan carted the bags of groceries from her car into the house. When she opened the front door, she gasped. Edison was barking like crazy, and when she saw why, she dropped the bag. The grapefruit spilled out and scattered haphazardly, rolling onto the kitchen floor. Edison stood on his hind legs in his crate, leaning against the wire to look at the stranger who’d invaded the house.

“Steve,” she cried. “You scared the living daylights out of me.”

“Sorry, Mom,” he said, looking guilty. He must have let himself into the house, but she wasn’t sure how.

As if reading her thoughts, he answered the unasked question. “The key hidden in the rock was still there.”

“Of course.” It surprised her that he remembered, seeing that she’d completely forgotten about it.

“I told you I was coming into town for a conference, remember?” Steve said, grinning. “By the way, I like what you’ve done with the yard. It looks great.”

Joan couldn’t take credit for the lawn, but the flower beds were quickly taking shape. She’d planted annuals, and the burst of color they added uplifted her spirits every time she stepped out the door.

“I was able to catch an early flight, after all. The conference doesn’t start”—he paused and glanced at the time—“for another couple hours.”

“That’s great.” Still reeling with the shock of finding him at the house, she had yet to collect her thoughts. “It’s really good to see you.”

“You, too.”

They hugged, and then Steve went after the fallen grapefruit and set them on top of the kitchen counter.

Joan had ventured out to the grocery store run by Amazon for the first time. Maggie had casually mentioned it over dinner the night before. Curious, Joan had wanted to check it out. Since the pandemic, she’d almost always ordered whatever she needed online and had it delivered. With the possibility of exposure to the virus, it didn’t seem necessary or prudent to risk shopping in person when she didn’t need to.

“Is that all?” Steve asked.

“All?”

“Groceries?”

“Oh, sorry, no, there’s a couple other bags in the car.”

“I’ll get ’em.” He bounded out the front door, eager to help.

While Steve was collecting her bags, Joan freed Edison from his crate. She took him into the backyard to do his business, which he did in quick order. She brought him back into the house and rewarded him with a doggie treat.

Steve returned with the two additional bags, setting them on the kitchen counter alongside the grapefruit. Joan promptly unloaded the goods, setting aside the items to go into the refrigerator.

“Did you know,” she said, full of wonder and enthusiasm, “at some stores you don’t even need to go to a checkout stand? What is happening to our world? This is crazy. You put the item in the cart, and the cost is automatically calculated. Unbelievable!”

Edison chased a toy beneath the table.

“Mom, that’s been around for a while now,” Steve told her.

“It was a first for me,” she said, still a little in awe of the entire process. Grocery shopping had been an eye-opening experience.

Her son grinned as if he found her enthusiasm amusing.

“That’s not all. I was in the mall the other day, and I bought myself a new pair of shoes. The salesclerk said I didn’t need to insert the credit card into the machine. All I had to do was tap it.” That was another electronic marvel that had taken Joan by surprise.

Steve helped her load items into the refrigerator. “Mom, you’ve been living under a rock ever since the pandemic hit. These things aren’t new, they’ve been around for ages.” He said it in a teasing tone that took the sting out of his words.

“You’re right,” she admitted. “I can’t help but wonder what other changes have taken place that I know nothing about.”

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

No doubt she would. Now that all the groceries were put in place, Steve sat down at the kitchen table.

“Coffee?” she asked, remembering how much her older son enjoyed his java.

“Sure.” He relaxed on the kitchen chair. Knowing how involved Steve was in his work, she was pleased he’d taken the time to stop by.

Joan brewed him a cup and then one for herself before taking a chair next to her son. She took a moment to study him. Steve was in his late twenties and handsome. He looked good. He’d always taken pride in his appearance. He was dressed in a suit and tie, which told her the conference he’d mentioned was important and likely one that would advance his career. He was the taller of the two boys, standing at six feet, with wide shoulders and a narrow waist. From the little he’d mentioned about his job, she knew he worked long hours.

“I will say the puppy is cute,” he said, reaching down and setting Edison in his lap. The dog looked up at him suspiciously and then started chewing on Steve’s fingers. “I wasn’t pleased when Nick told me what he’d done. Ouch, his teeth are sharp.” Jerking his hand away, he waved it several times.