He was such a good and handsome man. He had the kindest heart, and without a doubt, I was crazy in love with him. Regardless of what happened between the two of us, I only wanted the best for him.
“Hey.” He opened his eyes and smiled at me.
I smiled back. “Hey, yourself.”
He yawned and stretched, then he pushed off the blanket and sat up. “Joy’s sleeping in the guest room.”
“Good,” I said.
Standing, he gestured toward the kitchen. “Well, what do you think?”
I’d been so enthralled with him that I’d forgotten about the project. Glancing at the kitchen, I sucked in a sharp breath. “It’s amazing.”
“Yeah?”
Clasping the Claudia necklace, I nodded. “I can’t believe you finished.”
“I told you I would.”
“I know, but I never expected it to look so amazing.” Striding into the kitchen, I marveled at everything from the new light fixture to the way he’d framed the opening where the wall used to be.
“You really like it?” he asked, coming up beside me.
“I love it.” Throwing my arms around him, I hugged him tight. “Thank you so much. Everything is absolutely perfect.”
“Perfect?” Joy said, coming into the kitchen. “There you go, talking about me again.”
Laughing, I pulled away from Daniel and smiled at Joy. “You are perfect, my dear, but so is my kitchen. I’m so glad I took your advice about the cabinets and hiring your dad.”
She grinned. “I love your guest room. Anytime you need someone to apartment sit, give me a call.”
“I will, but you can spend the night any time. Just be forewarned that the bedroom isn’t normally that clean. I picked up yesterday for Claudia.”
“I thought she wasn’t spending the night,” Joy said.
“I’m hoping she’ll change her mind.”
*
After Joy and Daniel left, I jumped in the shower and got ready for work. Claudia and Leland were due to arrive around noon, so I’d kept my morning appointments, hoping staying busy would make the time pass quicker.
Around ten o’clock, a tall girl with short black hair came into the salon. “Claudia?” I asked, wondering why she’d decided to dye her hair black.
The girl offered an awkward smile. “No, I’m Emma. I have a ten o’clock appointment with Jenny.”
“Of course.” I shook my head, embarrassed by my foolishness. This girl didn’t look anything like my family or the pictures I’d seen of Claudia.
“Jenny is in the back,” I said. “I’ll tell her you’re here.”
As I walked through the salon, I told myself to settle down. Getting all spun up wasn’t going to hasten Claudia’s arrival. She’d get here when she got here.
Still, I couldn’t help but check my phone, wishing she’d reply to my message. Even though I desperately wanted to text her again, I didn’t.
In the break room, I found Jenny sitting at the table, enjoying a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate chip cake. Despite her sweet tooth, Jenny was one of those thin women who ate whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. In fact, I was pretty sure she was responsible for eating most of the treats Vicki brought us.
“Your client, Emma, is here,” I announced.
“Thank you.” Jenny stood and covered the rest of her cake with a piece of plastic wrap. I’d seen her do this on numerous occasions. Instead of scarfing down the remaining three bites like I would do, she’d wrap it and save it for later.
“How are you doing?” Jenny asked.
“Not good. My ten o’clock just rescheduled for next week, so I don’t know what to do with myself. I think I’m driving everyone crazy with my nervous energy.”
“You think?” she teased.
“Sorry. I know I’m a basket case.”
The back door opened, and I jumped. Seeing it was Joy, I laughed and pressed a hand to my heart.
“Did you think I was Claudia?” she asked, a twinkle in her eye.
“Yes.” I buried my face in my hands. “How am I supposed to wait another two hours? I’m such a mess.”
Joy laughed and gave me a hug. “Of course, you’re a mess. This is a big day for you.”
Jenny patted my arm as she headed up front to meet her client. I smiled at Joy. “I’m glad you’re here. I don’t have any more appointments, and I’m feeling a little restless. Do you want to squeeze in a quick driving lesson?”
“No, but I probably should since I’m taking my driving test this afternoon.”
“You are?”
She nodded. “I wasn’t supposed to take it until next week, but they had a cancellation, so my dad said to go for it.”
“That’s great.”
“It will be if I pass. But first, I have to find my wallet.”
“You lost your wallet?”
She nodded. “I usually carry it in my backpack with all my diabetes stuff, but it must’ve fallen out last night.”
“I bet it’s upstairs.”
“I hope so.”
Together, we hiked up to my apartment. Under one of the beds in the guest bedroom, we found her wallet.
As we were leaving the room, Joy stopped at the dresser where, this morning, I’d placed a new frame containing a copy of the photo of Claudia and me.
“Do you think it’s too much?” I asked.
Joy shook her head. “It’s such a great picture. I’m sure she’ll love it.”
“Thanks. I’ve always been so grateful to the nurse who gave it to me.”
“I wish I had a picture like that. There aren’t a lot of pictures of me as a baby.”
“No?”
She shook her head. “No. I suppose all the other pictures I have make up for it.”
“The other pictures?”
“When I was about one, my dad bought a new camera and took enough pictures of me to fill three huge albums.”
“You’ll have to show them to me next time I come over. I bet you were really cute.”
She smiled. “Am I bragging if I said, yes, I was?”
I laughed. “No.”
She set the photo back on the dresser. “So, what are you going to do until Claudia and Leland arrive?”
“I don’t know. What are you going to do until you take your test?”
She shrugged. “Maybe see if you’re interested in watching one of my design shows with me.”
“I’d love to. I have Brie and grapes in the fridge if you want something to eat.”
“Actually, that’d be perfect. I was just about to test my blood sugar and have a snack when I noticed my wallet was missing.”
“Great,” I said, heading into the kitchen.
Ten minutes later, Joy and I were curled up on the couch with our snack, watching HGTV. Together, we laughed at all the outrageous things the designers thought would be simple to complete but ended up becoming a nightmare.
“Are you sure you don’t want to wallpaper your cabinets?” she asked, teasing me.
I laughed, feeling happy beyond measure. The Lord had been so good to me. In addition to letting me meet my daughter, he’d blessed me with Joy and the other girls from Bible study. He’d also given me a hunky boyfriend who was a good man and an amazing father.
A text from Vicki interrupted my silent prayer. “Where are you?” she asked.
“In my apartment watching TV with Joy,” I texted back. “Why?”
“I’m coming up.”
“Is that Claudia?” Joy asked.
I shook my head, hoping the fact that I hadn’t heard from my daughter didn’t mean she wasn’t coming. I’d be heartbroken if she changed her mind. “That was Vicki. She’s on her way up.”
As we waited for Vicki to join us, a loud clap of thunder shook the building. Rain followed, smacking hard against the window.
I glanced outside, nervous about Leland and Claudia driving in the rain. Bad weather made Houston traffic even worse than usual, and the bridge connecting Ros
e Island to the mainland became slippery when it rained.
“I hope the weather’s better when I take my test,” Joy said.
“I do too, but if it’s not, just keep your lights on, go slow, and make sure there’s plenty of distance between you and the next car.”
“You sound like my dad,” she said.
I laughed. “Well, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it?”
Vicki rapped on the door before turning the doorknob and entering the apartment. Behind her stood a young woman who looked vaguely familiar.
Like Vicki, the girl was petite and blonde. She had glasses and wore jeans with a faded gray T-shirt. I knew I’d seen her before, but . . .
“Bianca, hi.” The stranger adjusted the violin case in her hand.
For a moment, my brain stopped working. This girl knew me? Had I cut her hair? Was she the daughter of one of my clients?
“It’s Claudia,” Vicki said, stating something so obvious I should’ve figured it out myself.
“Claudia?” My heart made a loud thwacking sound as it slammed into my chest.
“Yes,” my daughter said, nodding. “It’s me.”
Pulse racing, I leapt to my feet and threw my arms around her.
Chapter 34
Bianca
As I held my daughter in my arms for the first time since that day long ago, I couldn’t remember a time when I’d been more ecstatic. “I can’t believe you’re here,” I said, my voice cracking.
“I can’t believe I’m here either.” Thankfully, Claudia didn’t seem bothered by my exuberant show of affection. She was, however, the first one to pull away.
I reluctantly let her go and brushed back my tears. “I didn’t think you’d ever get here.”
She smiled. “I didn’t think I’d ever get here either. I had to take the bus because Leland got sick and couldn’t drive me. His car has a stick shift, and I’m hopeless when it comes to driving it. Anyway, even though I left pretty early, the bus took forever. You wouldn’t believe how many stops we made.”
“You took the bus? I would’ve driven up to get you.”
“Oh, it’s fine.” She gave a good-natured smile that reminded me of my mother. “It was an adventure, that’s for sure.”
Studying her intently, I found myself amazed by everything about her. She really did have my smile. If my nose was cute like Daniel said, Claudia’s was downright adorable.
Joy introduced herself, and the two exchanged pleasantries. I was happy they had a chance to meet in case I couldn’t convince Claudia to stay for tonight’s dinner with the family.
“Are you hungry?” I asked. “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
Claudia shook her head. “No, thank you. I just had something at the bakery.”
“That’s how I found her,” Vicki said. “She was sitting at one of the tables, eating a blueberry muffin, and I said, ‘Hey, I know you.’”
Claudia gave me an apologetic look. “I was famished, and I didn’t want to arrive on your doorstep starving.”
“I wouldn’t have minded,” I said. “In fact, Joy and I were just having a little snack. If you’d like some—”
“No, I’m fine,” Claudia said.
“Well, I should get back to work,” Vicki said. “It was so nice meeting you, Claudia.”
“You, too.”
Joy’s phone dinged with a text. “That’s Kayla. She’s giving me a ride home since it’s raining.”
“I can give you a ride,” I said.
“That’s okay.” Joy grabbed her backpack and started to leave.
“You don’t have to go, honey.” I suddenly felt nervous and wanted Joy to stay. Maybe her presence would make things easier with Claudia.
“I need to go over a few things before I take my test,” Joy explained, heading toward the door with Vicki. “Plus, Kayla is already here.”
“Okay, I understand. Tell her I said hi. And when I see you tonight at the ranch, you’ll be a licensed driver.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.”
After Vicki and Joy left, I turned to Claudia and heaved a big contented sigh. “Well, welcome to my home. I’m so sorry Leland’s sick, but I’m thrilled you came.”
She gave a bashful smile. I guess she was nervous, too.
I gestured toward my kitchen. “Joy and her father, Daniel, just finished renovating my kitchen last night. Actually, Daniel stayed up all night so he could finish it before you came. What do you think?”
“It’s nice.”
I stepped toward the opening that connected the kitchen to the living room. “There used to be a wall between the two rooms. Daniel took that down, painted the cabinets, and did a whole bunch of other work. Joy helped, too. She wants to study interior design when she goes to college, so she’s always coming up with ideas on how to improve a room. She’s the one who suggested we paint the cabinets. What do you think?”
“They’re very nice.” Claudia glanced around my apartment. “It’s all very lovely, Bianca.” She spoke with a formality I wasn’t used to. Then again, I probably sounded like a country bumpkin realtor, listing off all the positive attributes of my home.
I gestured toward her bag. “Did you change your mind about spending the night?”
“Yes, if that’s okay. There’s a bus going back to Houston in an hour, but I thought maybe I’d spend the night and go back tomorrow.”
“I’d love that.”
She smiled. “Good.”
“I need to call my mom and tell her you’ll be here for dinner. We’re having a fake celebration at the ranch house tonight for Jillian’s birthday. Everyone will be thrilled you’ll be here for that.”
“A fake celebration?”
I nodded and explained about Jillian’s surprise party. “I hope I can convince you to stay for that. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“Maybe.” She offered a tentative smile.
I smiled back. “How about I show you the guest room so you can get settled?”
“Okay.”
I led her down the hall, trying not to appear too excited, but how could I not be? Claudia, my daughter, was here in my home.
“Here it is,” I said, striding into the guest room. “There’s space in the closet if you want to hang up anything, and I have clean towels in the bathroom.”
“Thank you.” She glanced around the room before walking to the dresser and picking up the framed picture.
“That’s us,” I said. “One of the nurses in the hospital took it. Until recently, it’s the only photo I’ve had of you. It’s always meant the world to me.”
Claudia stared down at the picture, not saying anything for a long time. Then, using her cell phone, she snapped a picture of it. “I want to send it to Leland.”
“You can take this framed copy, too. I made it for you yesterday at the grocery store. They have a new photo department that has one of those photo scanning things, and they sell frames, too. Anyway, that’s not important. My point is, the photo and the frame are yours.”
“Thank you, Bianca.”
“You’re welcome.” Happiness washed over me. Thank you, Lord. Thank you.
Suddenly, in a completely non-ominous way, a loud crack of thunder shook the building. Gasping, Claudia pressed a hand to her heart. “Is that normal?” Her eyes were wide, and she seemed terrified. “Don’t you guys have hurricanes down here?”
“Oh, honey. Don’t worry, okay? It’s not a hurricane. I checked the weather earlier, and it’s just a storm. It should pass in a few hours.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding.
I reached around to the back of my neck and unclasped the necklace my dad had given to me. “This is for you. It belonged to my dad’s sister. Here, read it.”
She took the necklace from me and read the inscription aloud before looking at me with confusion.
“Isn’t that amazing?” I said. “You have the same name as my dad’s sister.”
“You have an Au
nt Claudia?”
“Sort of. I never met her because she drowned before my dad was born, but he kept her necklace this whole time. He said I could give it to you.”
Claudia stared down at the pendant. “This used to belong to someone who drowned?”
“Yes.” I suddenly felt stupid for being so excited. Claudia hadn’t even been here ten minutes, and I was already making her uncomfortable by giving her some dead ancestor’s jewelry.
“My dad put a new chain on it, but you don’t have to wear it. And you don’t have to keep it if you don’t want to. I just thought . . .”
What? Had I actually thought she’d be as excited as me by the connection to my father’s departed sister?
“Thank you.” Claudia offered a polite smile as she set the necklace next to the framed picture of us.
*
While we ate lunch and waited out the storm in my cozy apartment, Claudia and I talked about our lives. She also played the violin for me, which made me cry because she was even more beautiful in person.
“Hearing you play makes me wish I hadn’t complained so much about piano lessons,” I said. “It must be wonderful to play an instrument like that.”
“Music is my passion. It’s hard work as well, but I don’t mind because I love it so much.”
“Well, you’re just amazing. Absolutely amazing.”
She smiled. “Thank you. If you want, I could teach you how to play ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.’”
“I’d love that.”
For the next hour, Claudia tried to teach me the song. All I could say was playing the violin was much harder than I imagined. Every few minutes, I had to stop and rest because my fingers hurt from pressing down on the strings.
I’m sure by the end of our lesson Claudia wanted to poke her eyes out with the bow. Fortunately, her parents had taught her well, and she showed me nothing but kindness and patience.
“You’re doing great, Bianca.”
“You think so?”
“I do.”
I almost believed her, then Vicki barged into my apartment to say I was scaring away all the customers in the bakery.
“You can’t hear me from downstairs,” I said.
“No, but I can hear you from my apartment, and it’s giving me a headache.”
Bianca's Joy: Rose Island Book 3 Page 18
