The Blossoming: The Third book in The Green Man Series

by Sharon Brubaker

  Chapter 24

  “In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” Abraham Lincoln

  The doctor grudgingly gave Owen clearance to return to work the next week. Owen had to promise to follow directions, like not lifting anything over five pounds, and taking it easy. Owen was thrilled. He had Anne pick up a bottle of Champagne to greet Sylvia with when she returned home from work on Thursday. After the doctor’s appointment, he had spent the afternoon emailing and talking with the people in his lab.

  Carol had talked Sylvia into a girls’ afternoon on Sunday. Sylvia mentioned her mom was coming down but knew from Anne that they were going on a shopping spree for ‘mother–of-the-bride’ dresses. Carol kept telling her ‘not to worry’ that she would ‘handle’ everything, so Sylvia wondered what they would be doing. Carol had talked recently, about finding local wines for the wedding and suggested they go on a wine tour in southern Pennsylvania. Carol rattled off the names of several wineries in the local vicinity. Sylvia was intrigued, and it would be a fun afternoon.

  Mary and Anne left for their shopping expedition late on Sunday morning. They giggled like two schoolgirls and talked, what seemed to Sylvia, very loudly about the colors they were considering. Carol came to pick up Sylvia a short time later, promising her good food and good wine on their winery tour. Owen gave her a kiss goodbye and said he was going to nap and catch up on rest before he went back to work on Monday. And so they went.

  It was a beautiful summer’s day. Carol kept up a lively conversation about Joe’s house and their plans for renovations, including the picket fence he told Sylvia about a year ago. Carol had plans for a large cottage garden in front of the house.

  “Now, who’s acting like an old, married couple,” teased Sylvia.

  Carol blushed a little, but grinned at Sylvia, “I know, I know. Ain’t life grand?” She shot Sylvia a dazzling smile.

  They drove through the rolling hills of southern Pennsylvania, slowed down a few times by Amish buggies. Sylvia loved the old fieldstone and brick farmhouses along the way.

  “If I didn’t adore Bayside,” she told Carol, “I wouldn’t mind restoring one of these.”

  “They are beautiful,” Carol agreed before telling her, “By the way, we’re starting at one of the wineries furthest away. We’re heading to their tasting room in West Chester. They have an event going at the Vineyard today. A wedding, I think. Wouldn’t that be cool to be married in the vines?” Carol asked rhetorically.

  “Yes,” agreed Sylvia, “but, I think you and Joe would rather be married at a brewery. I wonder if Yuengling, Iron Hill or Dogfish Head are starting events like that.”

  Carol laughed. “That would be a lot of fun!”

  “I haven’t been to West Chester in years,” Sylvia remarked. “I just remember a charming, little town, with brick sidewalks and cute boutiques.”

  “I haven’t a clue,” Carol admitted. “That’s why I’m glad I now have a GPS app that will tell me how to get there.”

  They continued to chat about work gossip, the upcoming wedding, Joe’s house, men and assorted, sundry things. When they finally got to West Chester, Carol told Sylvia to check around for parking. They found a space, about a block away from the winery’s tasting room.

  “Ooh, hold on,” Carol told Sylvia, “I promised Joe I would text him when we got here.”

  “Really?” Sylvia asked, surprised.

  Carol typed on her phone, somewhat frantically, Sylvia thought.

  “Oh, and I forgot to tell you, this place is dog-friendly. They have a ‘yappy hour’ where you can bring your dog and drink wine. You and Owen can come and bring Percy!” Carol told her.

  “Cool,” Sylvia said. “That might be a fun evening.”

  They walked down the street, peering at some of the boutiques along the way. Sylvia’s stomach grumbled and she saw a Mexican restaurant and an Irish bar close by.

  “You said they had some food, right?” Sylvia asked.

  “Oh, yeah,” Carol told her distractedly. “And, if you’re still hungry we can get a late lunch before we head to the next one.”

  “A very late lunch,” Sylvia said drily.

  “Don’t worry,” Carol told her. “Here we are.”

  Carol opened the door on the storefront advertised as a tasting room.

  “After you,” Carol told Sylvia.

  Sylvia walked in, her eyes tried to adjust from the bright sunlight outside to the darkened room. She was blinded at first and only heard some movement and then a chorus of “Surprise!”

  As her eyes are adjusted, she saw her mom, Anne, Marian, Gwen, Claire, Maureen, Kim and some friends from Thurmont and from college. She was stunned.

  “We did it!” Carol crowed. “She had no idea!”

  Everyone gathered around Sylvia to say hello and chat a few minutes before Carol introduced her to the vintner. The Vintner, Margaret, was kind but had a no-nonsense attitude. She asked everyone to sit quietly, told everyone a brief history of the vineyard, and the types of wine they would be tasting. They enjoyed tasting different whites and reds and ended with dessert wines. Afterward, a caterer brought cheeses, fruit, crackers and assorted small sandwiches to each table. A lovely tower of scrumptious cupcakes decorated the gift table. Cell phone cameras snapped candid photos. The tasting room personnel kept the wine flowing. Sylvia still could not believe that Gwen and Carol had pulled off the surprise so well.

  Gwen called Sylvia over to a chair near a table stacked with gifts. She had a tablet and pen to log the gifts and givers as Sylvia opened gifts. Carol took the bows to create the bow bouquet Sylvia would use at the wedding rehearsal.

  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and Amber, Carol’s mom, had made wine cork keychains and wine charms to add to a gift bag with a heart shaped wine stopper for each of the guests. Amber blushed when Carol announced her mom had made the favors. Everyone applauded politely. The winery generously offered discount coupons and a calendar of events.

  Claire sidled up to Sylvia and whispered, “We thought the wine tasting would be more fun than those bridal shower games.”

  Sylvia laughed at this and nodded in agreement. Her mother and Anne were giddy with delight over the surprise. They had definitely bonded during the stress and aftermath of the shooting.

  Anne approached her, “Congratulations, Syl,” she told her future daughter-in-law, “I’m going to head home – back to Millersville.”

  “Oh! Anne!” Sylvia exclaimed and turned to give her a hug, “Thank you for everything! You have been amazing! And, thank you for your wonderful gift.”

  Anne and Phil had given Sylvia and Owen a stay at The Old Brick Inn, in St. Michael’s, Maryland. She had explained that they might like a ‘real’ bed while they were boating on their honeymoon. Anne gave her a hug and told Sylvia she would see her soon. Her mother left shortly after that, being fairly close to her home in suburban Philadelphia. The other guests were leaving in small groups, congratulating Sylvia again and saying goodbye. Marian stayed as Gwen and Claire had stayed with her as part of the surprise. Maureen stayed a bit longer too. Sylvia thought she looked happier than she had in weeks. She squeezed Sylvia’s hand.

  “Good things,” Maureen stated. “Happy things. This is good.”

  “We need to catch up,” Sylvia told her.

  Maureen nodded. “Soon,” she said. “Soon.”

  “Please thank Skip for taking such good care of the True Love,” Sylvia told her. “Owen was a basket case about his baby.”

  Maureen smiled at this. “Typical,” she said, laughing. “I will pass on the message.”

  “Are things returning to normal at the marina?” Sylvia asked.

  Maureen shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said. “I can’t explain my trepidation. It’s still bothering me that they can’t find George’s killer. From what I understand, it’s pretty normal to take several months.”

  “How’s business?” Sylvia asked her.

&nb
sp; “Okay,” Maureen said gravely, “It dropped drastically after the murder and has returned to a low normal.” She shrugged. “People are spooked. I don’t blame them. I feel the same way.”

  Carol interrupted them, “Hey, Bride-to-be, we need to begin packing up. Sorry,” she said as she turned to Maureen.

  “Did you drive up on your own?” Sylvia asked Maureen.

  “No, I came with Kim. Here she comes,” Maureen nodded in Kim’s direction.

  Kim came over and gave Sylvia a hug, congratulating her.

  “I just love the pottery you gave us,” Sylvia told her. “Thank you. It fits the theme of the wedding.”

  Kim had given Sylvia lovely serving pieces with leaf patterns on them.

  Kim smiled, “I’m so glad. They seemed to fit you in some way,” she pondered as she answered Sylvia.

  Maureen and Kim left for Bayside. Kim said she would be around for a couple of days to take advantage of the beautiful weather. She promised to come over for a glass of wine at sunset tomorrow. Claire, Gwen, and Marian helped Carol gather the gifts and take care of things with the tasting room. Sylvia thanked the tasting room’s hostess, Margaret, and told her she and Owen would be back sometime for the ‘yappy hour’ with Percy.

  Claire ran over to Sylvia and whispered excitedly in her ear, “Marian is the coolest, ever!” she told her. “Wow! Her house! Jon! Wow!”

  Sylvia laughed delightedly at Claire’s enthusiasm. “I know,” Sylvia said. “She and Jon are pretty amazing.”

  “You’re not kidding!” Claire expostulated as she gave Sylvia a quick kiss on the cheek, “Got to run, my bus is leaving.”

  Gwen, Marian, and Claire headed towards their car, laden with bottles of wine. Sylvia had a brief conversation with Gwen and was glad she was feeling better from her earlier morning sickness. Gwen wore the pregnancy glow well. Sylvia noticed Gwen’s aura had a second layer. Was that the baby? Carol motioned to her from the door that it was time to go.

  “You guys are pretty amazing,” Sylvia told Carol. “I never dreamed you were throwing me a shower today.”

  “I know,” Carol said smugly.

  They discussed some of the gifts that Sylvia had received. Sylvia had registered, under duress from Mary, Anne, Marian, Gwen, and Carol, for several items. She and Owen had registered for new towels, bed linens, and new cookware. They had received many of the wished for items.

  “I’ll need to get busy this week and write thank you cards,” Sylvia mentioned.

  “Do four or five thank you cards a night and you’ll get them done in a flash,” Carol suggested. “And by the way, Gwen and I picked up thank you cards that match the invitations. Owen has them for you.”

  “You two are definitely my BFF's!” Sylvia said. “You two are amazing!”

  Chapter 25

  “The truth is you don't know what is going to happen tomorrow. Life is a crazy ride, and nothing is guaranteed.”

  Eminem

  Sylvia accused Owen of giving her the bum’s rush to get out of bed quickly on Monday morning. He was very anxious to return to work. He, in turn, promised her an extra-large coffee and a breakfast sandwich if she hurried.

  Owen had taken Percy on a very short walk. He looked hopefully at Sylvia when she came downstairs.

  “Sorry, Percy,” Sylvia apologized to the dog. “Daddy wants an early start. And, you’ll be all alone again for the first time in weeks. Poor baby!”

  She reached into the cupboard for an extra dog treat. Percy took the treat gently from her hand and went to put it near the French doors. When he came back to the kitchen, Owen was urging Sylvia out the door, but she took a second to give Percy a smooch on his pouf.

  As promised, they went through a drive-thru on the way to work. Owen kissed her swiftly outside her office and promised to email her about meeting for lunch.

  Sylvia was hard at work on the late summer newsletter for Thurmont. She was trying to coerce and cajole the people from research and development into giving her a hint on upcoming products. She wanted to carefully suggest in the newsletter about new products for the consumer. They were deliberating with her when Carol came to the office door. She had a funny look on her face.

  “Sylvia, you need to take the call on line one,” she said gravely.

  “I’ll be finished in a minute, can I call them back?” she asked Carol.

  “No,” Carol was insistent. “You need to take the call now!”

  “Okay, okay,” Sylvia said. She huffed and got back on the phone with the research and development team.

  “Do you think you could think about it, and let me know by tomorrow?” Sylvia asked them. “I’ll call you back then,” she said sweetly after saying ‘thank you.’

  “What’s wrong, Carol?” Sylvia asked, puzzled.

  Carol didn’t answer but shook her head while Sylvia pressed line one on the phone console.

  “Sylvia Ash here,” she answered, “How can I help you?”

  Sylvia recognized Kim’s voice with its edge of hysteria, “Sylvia! Sylvia! You need to come home now!”

  “What’s going on, Kim? What’s wrong? Is Percy all right?” Sylvia asked, getting worried and a little scared between Kim’s hysteria and Carol’s frozen, inscrutable countenance at the doorframe.

  “Your house! No! It’s your garage! It’s on fire! Oh my God! Oh my God!” Kim was hysterical.

  “Kim! Kim!” Sylvia now shouted into the phone, “Did you call the fire department?”

  “Yes!” Kim told her, “They’re coming down the road right now. Come home, please!” Kim pleaded.

  “I’ll get Owen and be right there,” Sylvia told her neighbor.

  Sylvia hung up and she looked up at Carol. “I can’t believe it! Our garage is on fire!” and talking more to herself than to Carol, Sylvia gathered her purse and a few belongings. “Owen! I need to get him.”

  “I’ll call him, tell him what happened and to meet you at the car right away,” Carol told her, “and I’ll call Joe.”

  Carol must have called Owen immediately because Sylvia saw him walking swiftly down the hallway when she entered the bright, sunlit Thurmont lobby. She waited for him anxiously.

  “I can’t believe this,” Owen muttered. He took her by the elbow, and they walked swiftly to the car.

  “Me either,” Sylvia said.

  Sylvia never drove so fast in her life, trying to get home as quickly as possible. As she drove through the trees towards Bayside, she could see a large plume of smoke rising down by the water. Two firetrucks, with lights ablaze, were at their house.

  “Oh, not the house, please! Percy, please let Percy be all right!” she begged the Universe.

  She pulled swiftly into the open space in the community and jumped out of the car. She put her hands over her face for a moment and then heard Percy’s wild barking.

  “Oh, God!” she cried. “Percy!” she called to him. “Percy, I’m coming!”

  A fireman detained her. “I need to get to my dog!” she cried. “He’s in the house!”

  “He’s safe,” the fireman told her. “You need to wait. We need to make sure this fire is under control.”

  Owen stood with her and put his good arm around her. Kim saw her and hurried over. The police and the fire marshal pulled up. Joe was in one of the black and white’s.

  “Oh, Joe!” Sylvia cried, and she threw herself into him. “Why?”

  He gave her a comforting hug and patted her back. “When they get this under control, we can investigate. That’s this gentleman’s job,” he told Sylvia and Owen, nodding to a man who had come near their little group. He pulled Sylvia gently from his arms to turn her towards the gentleman.

  “Sylvia and Owen, meet Ned Polk, our fire marshal,” Joe introduced them.

  Mr. Polk reached out to shake their hands. “I have some questions,” he said.

  “Why don’t you come over to my place next door,” Kim offered. “I have tea and coffee, hot or iced,” she suggested.

  Mr. Po
lk nodded. Kim led them to her kitchen. She had clearly been at work in her studio. She was wearing old black shorts and a t-shirt that were spattered with clay and had dots of glaze colors on them.

  They sat at Kim’s table. Her home was tiny. There was a relatively small great room that wasn’t much larger than an efficiency apartment. It was whitewashed pine paneling with a wall of windows that looked out over the bay. It was an eclectic mix of art and antiques. Craig and Kim had a small, loft bedroom above the kitchen. Sturdy wooden stairs led up to the loft. The previous owners had a guest house in the garage, but Craig had turned that into a studio for Kim. Kim brought out pitchers of iced coffee, iced tea, cream, sugar and lemon.

  “Who called in the fire?” Mr. Polk asked the group.

  “That would be me,” Kim said. “I was in my studio and I heard Percy barking. I had smelled some smoke earlier, but it isn’t unusual for the residents to burn some of the driftwood that washes up on the beach, so I wasn’t worried, until I heard Percy, and I knew something was wrong.”

  “What did you see when you went to look?” he asked Kim.

  “Smoke and some flames, coming from the garage. I called 911 immediately, and then I called Sylvia at the office,” Kim said.

  They heard a small explosion. Sylvia put her hands over her face. She wanted to get up to see, but Owen and Joe put a hand on her.

  “I don’t think you want to look,” Owen said.

  “What is in the garage?” Mr. Polk asked Owen and Sylvia.

  “Garage stuff,” Sylvia said.

  “Tools, lawn mower, gasoline and,” Owen said acerbically, “my car.”

  Mr. Polk wrote it all down. “We’ll need a list,” he told them, “as comprehensive as possible. Also, did you have greasy rags lying around?”

  They both shook their heads.

  Mr. Polk also asked, “Do you know if someone had sour grapes with you two? Is there a chance this is arson?

  Sylvia and Owen looked at each other and then they looked at Joe.

  Joe cleared his throat and answered for them, “Sylvia and Owen have been having some petty crimes committed against them. Their mailbox was smashed and tires slashed. Things are escalating. We’re going to be opening an investigation. I have a few ideas,” he told Ned.