The Blossoming: The Third book in The Green Man Series

by Sharon Brubaker

  “Why don’t you ask them to come to a picnic this weekend?” Carol suggested. “Joe and I can come and then we can fill them in on what happened.”

  “Good idea, sweetie,” Joe told Carol. “What do you two think?” he asked Owen and Sylvia.

  They both nodded in agreement.

  “Jon and Marian will be back too,” Sylvia said. “We’ve been keeping an eye on their home and picked up the mail while Jon and Marian were in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, visiting former colleagues of Jon. We’ll need to tell them as well.”

  “And, Maureen and Skip,” Owen added.

  “And, Mom,” Sylvia said, “We’ll need to tell Mom a little early. She’ll wonder why Percy isn’t here when she comes on Friday.”

  “Do you want me to be here?” Joe asked, “to answer any questions?”

  “Yes, please,” Sylvia answered and Owen nodded as well.

  “Okay,” Joe said. “Plan in place.”

  The weekend came quickly. Sylvia, Owen, Carol and Joe took off a couple of hours early to beat Mary to the house. Joe and Carol pulled up to the house as Mary pulled into the driveway.

  “This is convenient,” she said, after giving each a hug. “Can you help me carry stuff in?”

  “And you,” she ordered Owen, who had come to the kitchen door. “You stay where you are. I talked to your mother and I know you’re not to lift anything heavier than five pounds.”

  “Yes, Ma’am,” Owen answered, giving her a small salute, “Okay if I hold the door open?” he asked her.

  “Of course,” Mary said and gave Owen a kiss on the cheek as she walked into the kitchen.

  “Oh, Mom!” Sylvia cried as she gave her mother a hug, “It’s so good to see you!”

  Her mother put down the packages and hugged her daughter back. She was surprised, and happy, at this unexpected, animated show of affection from her daughter.

  Joe and Carol followed Mary inside.

  “Where’s the big guy?” Mary asked, looking around for Percy.

  “Oh, Mom,” Sylvia began.

  “Why don’t you come and sit down Mary,” Carol said, leading Mary into the living room.

  Sylvia sat next to Mary and took her hand in her own. Tears pricked her eyelids.

  “What’s happened?” Mary asked concerned.

  “We have quite the story to tell you, Mary,” Joe began.

  The sound of authority in Joe’s voice brought Mary to attention. She looked at Joe, Sylvia, and Owen.

  Carol, had slipped into the kitchen to pour two glasses of wine for Mary and Sylvia. She took three beers out of the refrigerator for Owen, Joe and herself. Quietly, she handed the drinks around.

  Joe began the story, telling Mary the incident that had happened with Sylvia and the crazed Flakka addict. Mary gripped Sylvia’s hand harder and harder. During the story, Mary occasionally put her hand over her mouth. Once she took a gulp of wine. She looked at Joe, Carol, Owen and Sylvia aghast as she heard of the events. When Joe had finished, Mary put her arms around Sylvia. And then she reached around Sylvia and put her hand on Owen.

  “Oh, my poor baby!” Mary said to Sylvia. “My brave, sweet girl. Poor Percy!”

  “We couldn’t tell you what had happened in the last few weeks,” Sylvia reiterated what Joe had told Mary. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

  “I’m just so grateful you are all right!” Mary said. “That’s what counts.”

  “That’s why we’re having the picnic tomorrow. We need to let our family and close friends know what happened,” Owen explained.

  Mary asked many questions that evening. Sylvia was grateful that Joe and Carol were there. They had sent out for pizza and they sat and ate, drank and talked until long after sunset. Sylvia and Carol had lit candles, to drive away any mosquitoes. The end of summer insects played their percussion-like song. If their conversation had not been so sad, it would have been a lovely, summer’s evening. Joe and Carol said their good-byes and said they would see them tomorrow for the picnic.

  Mary stood in the kitchen, hands supporting her against the counter after they left.

  She kept shaking her head, “Sylvia,” she whispered, “Sylvia.”

  “It’s okay, Mom. It’s all going to be all right,” Sylvia told her. “We’re okay.”

  “And, Percy,” her Mom said faintly.

  “Percy died trying to protect Sylvia,” Owen said to Mary. “He’s a hero in my eyes.”

  Mary nodded.

  “Let’s get a good night’s sleep,” Sylvia suggested.

  And they all went up to bed.

  Chapter 31

  “Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.”

  Lou Holtz

  A solemnity pervaded what should have been a festive, pre-wedding gathering of friends and family as Joe told the story of what had happened, again. He answered questions, sometimes more than once, but he answered each one with patience. Sylvia, Carol, and Mary prepared the food while Joe spoke. Mary had gone out that morning to pick up champagne. Carol and Sylvia passed out paper cups filled with the bubbly liquid.

  “To Percy,” Sylvia said, raising her glass.

  “To Percy,” they all chorused and took a drink.

  “To our wonderful law enforcement,” Mary said, raising her glass.

  And they toasted again and again. A little more relaxed with the alcohol, and a lessening of tension, the subdued atmosphere exited and excited talk of the wedding began.

  Carol and Sylvia took some of the things into the kitchen to clean up.

  “I’m sorry Gwen and Frank couldn’t make it this weekend,” Carol said, “but, I filled her in on a FaceTime call,” she told Sylvia.

  “Thanks,” Sylvia said. “Sometimes, it all seems so surreal. It’s like I’m watching this from the outside looking in. Almost like déjà vu.”

  “I always knew there was something different about you,” Carol teased. “Maybe you actually live in another dimension.”

  Carol chuckled, but Sylvia paused, thinking of a few comments that the Green Man had made about many other times and dimensions. Maureen and Amber came inside, interrupting her thoughts.

  “We thought we would work on the bird seed packets, to throw after the ceremony,” Maureen said.

  “They’re actually packets that look like roses,” Amber explained. “Carol, be a love and get the stuff out of my car.” She tossed her car keys to her daughter. Carol caught them neatly and went to the car to bring in a large, plastic tub of things. Marian, Anne, and Mary came in as well. They all sat around the dining room table. Amber showed them how to create the flowers. She had already sewn the sage and white satin fabric into small tubes. She demonstrated putting a small part of a cardboard tube inside, gluing the one end of the stem, filling it with birdseed and pushing in the top, so that it looked like a rose.

  Maureen had a beautiful basket to put the completed roses in.

  “Why do they throw stuff at weddings, anyways?” Carol wondered out loud.

  “To wish the couple prosperity and fertility,” Marian answered her.

  “Didn’t it used to be rice that they throw at brides and grooms?” Sylvia asked.

  Anne answered her this time, “and rice isn’t good for birds and it’s a waste of food.”

  They worked together, putting the favors together in a short time.

  “Just two more weeks as a single woman,” Carol teased Sylvia as they finished the roses.

  “Do you need help with anything else?” Anne asked.

  “I can’t think of anything,” Sylvia assured her future mother-in-law. “The boys are taking care of everything for the boat. I’ve been able to get everything organized thanks to all of you here.” Sylvia waved her hand in a sweeping motion, taking in everyone at the table.

  Chapter 32

  “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Marie Curie

  The next two weeks went
by frighteningly fast for Sylvia. Work and wedding planning, wedding and work. Sylvia spent hours and hours, double checking every minutia for both. Owen and Sylvia had blood drawn and picked up their wedding license. Sylvia asked Marian repeatedly if she had heard from the mysterious minister that she had arranged. Sylvia trusted Marian, but she thought it odd that this man was always unavailable. Marian assured her that it would be all right.

  Gwen and Frank came the Wednesday before the wedding. Gwen, Carol, and Sylvia went to get the last minute tailoring check on their dresses on Thursday morning. Gwen’s tummy had popped a little, but not enough to cause hysterics with the tailor. She glowed with her pregnancy and with happiness.

  Scotty came on Thursday night. He was more than surprised to hear all that had happened since he saw them in Baltimore. He told Owen he should write a novel because you couldn’t make up this stuff.

  “You write it,” Owen insisted, “You’re more the creative guy.”

  Skip and Maureen took them out on one of the ‘Buick’ Regal boats for a combined bachelor and bachelorette party. Skip definitely would not let Sylvia live down her faux pas regarding the name of the boat and still chuckled, sometimes, when he saw her.

  Sylvia was in awe of the regal. Skip had a Regal 53 Sports Coupe. It wasn’t a Buick, it was more like an Aston Martin of boats. She thought of George’s fifty-eight foot, Chris Craft Roamer. His boat was not as elegant, but it was large and spacious as this one.

  Skip zoomed down the bay, past the clay cliffs at Turkey Point, past the lighthouse and out into open water. Maureen had the event catered by the marina’s restaurant, and they were served delicious hors d'oeuvres. Champagne flowed freely and Skip had micro-brew growlers for the beer lovers. Gwen and Sylvia were sitting with Carol and Maureen on the boat’s patio.

  “Marian would love this,” Gwen thought aloud and asked Sylvia where she and Jon were.

  “No, she wouldn’t,” Sylvia insisted, “Believe it or not, she doesn’t like boats! Besides, she’s getting ready for the rehearsal dinner tomorrow. Mom, Anne and Phil have joined her.”

  “I thought she was catering it,” Carol said.

  “You know Marian,” Sylvia said, “It’s not a party, but an event.”

  They motored around the bay and headed back towards North Bay at sunset. It had been a lovely, relaxed evening.

  On Friday, Sylvia wished she had gone to work to keep her mind busy. Owen moved back to Marian’s for the night so he could follow the tradition of not seeing the bride before the wedding. Owen and Sylvia had mixed feeling about the tradition. Mary, Anne, Maureen, Gwen, and Carol whisked Sylvia away in the early afternoon to get manicures and pedicures and a hot stone massage.

  When it was time for the rehearsal dinner, Sylvia donned a lovely, long, white lace and gauze dress and strappy sandals. She was pushing the old rule of wearing white after Labor Day, but she figured she was a bride and it was appropriate. It was also Indian summer and the evening was quite warm. They were all meeting at the Pergola before heading to Marian and Jon’s for an elegant picnic. Sylvia kept her fingers crossed that the mysterious minister would be there. Her mother drove them down the street so they would have the car to take to Marian and Jon’s house. Gwen and Frank were staying with Sylvia and Mary at home. They took their SUV on the short drive to the marina.

  Maureen was already in the pergola. She had hired one of the dock girls, Jeanne, who pumped gas for them, to handle the music during the ceremony. Maureen stationed Jeanne in back of the pergola, with a table and stereo. Skip had had the pergola wired for sound. The white, translucent curtains embossed with leaves, fluttered in the evening breeze. It was lovely. The chair rental people had arrived and were beginning to set up the chairs. Maureen hurried away from Jeanne and went to give directions to the men on how to set up the chairs. Scotty had walked over to the marina from the bed and breakfast. He approached Sylvia.

  “Are you nervous?” he asked her.

  “Terribly,” Sylvia admitted, “and I don’t even know why.”

  “It will be okay. Here comes the groom,” he said, pointing at the approaching car.

  Indeed, Owen and his parents were coming down the road followed by Jon’s SUV.

  Owen hurried over to Sylvia and Scotty. He gave her a long kiss and whispered to her that she looked beautiful.

  Sylvia looked up. Owen’s kiss had distracted her. There were Marian, Jon, and the mysterious Dr. Luis coming towards them. Sylvia gasped when she saw the tall, nut brown skinned man with a flourish of a mustache as he walked toward her. She thought she saw double. She blinked. With one moment, she saw this elegant gentleman and in the next moment, it was the Green Man. Sylvia felt as though her eyes would pop out of her head. She looked at Marian, who grinned, joyfully at her and winked.

  Marian made introductions and the Dr. Luis/Green Man came to her, he said, “I think Sylvia remembers me from the party now,” in his rich, baritone voice.

  His firm handshake held her up.

  Owen looked at Sylvia, “Are you okay?” he whispered.

  “Fine,” she said, almost giddy, “I'm all right,” and she flashed him a dazzling smile.

  Sylvia shot Marian a glance with wonderment at how Marian had pulled off such a thing, but Marian and the Green Man had gone on to other introductions. Joe and Carol arrived with Mr. Carter. Sylvia had not been able to decide on one person to walk her down the aisle since her Dad was gone. So, she had decided to ask Mr. Carter and Jon to do the honors.

  When everyone had arrived, Maureen asked everyone to get quiet. They all took their places to practice the ceremony. The rehearsal went off without a hitch – or mostly so. Owen couldn’t seem to say her name – particularly her middle name of Beithe, and they all erupted in giggles. The Green Man / Dr. Luis patiently taught Owen the correct way to say the Ogham name of the birch tree.

  Marian had pulled out all the stops for the rehearsal dinner, with definite touches by Anne. Like the first party Sylvia had attended, white, fairy lights adorned the fence and the trees. Beautiful, glass, candle filled lanterns added more of a magic touch. It was a relaxed and happy time. Sylvia spent as much time as she could with the Green Man. It wasn’t a time he could drive her crazy with didactic or spiritual lessons, but a time that she could just enjoy being near him. He laughed and talked with the guests. His eyes never stopped twinkling with the surprise he and Marian had given her.

  “I think I could be jealous,” Owen whispered to her as he gathered her into his arms for an impromptu embrace and a kiss.

  Sylvia nearly blushed, but returned a kiss in a way that he knew he had absolutely nothing to worry about.

  “Just think,” he said, “Twenty-four hours from now, we’ll be married and on our honeymoon.”

  “I know,” Sylvia said, “I can hardly believe it.” She shivered inside with pleasure at the thought. “But, I think I need to be heading home for some beauty sleep before tomorrow.”

  He nodded and kissed her one last time. Sylvia said good night and after a round of good nights, climbed into Gwen and Frank’s SUV with Scotty and her mom.

  Chapter 33

  “A happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short.”

  Andre Maurois

  Sylvia woke early. It was her wedding day! She couldn’t help it, she still looked for Percy when she got out of bed. A sudden wave of sadness came over her as she headed downstairs for coffee. She was shocked to see her mother up. Mary and Frank were having coffee at the kitchen table.

  “Good morning,” she greeted them.

  “Good morning to you!” they returned.

  “Are you nervous?” Frank asked her.

  “A bit,” Sylvia admitted.

  “Trust me,” Frank said, “It’s all good.” He smiled at Sylvia as she made her café au lait.

  She sat with her mother and Frank for a few minutes, sipping her coffee. Then Sylvia excused herself and went out to the deck to look at the sky and the water. She could not h
ave asked for a more perfect day. The sun was shining, the humidity was low. There was a slight breeze. The water was a silvery blue. It was a bright, beautiful, early, autumn day. Perfect. Part of her wanted the Green Man to appear, but she knew she would see him later that day, and that was all right. She went upstairs to shower.

  Carol arrived a short time later with pastries. She knew Sylvia wouldn’t feel like eating that morning, so she foisted a carrot cake muffin on her friend.

  “You play dirty pool,” Sylvia teased.

  “You have to eat something,” Carol insisted.

  “Yes, you do,” her mother intoned.

  “Or this starving, pregnant lady might steal it from your hands,” Gwen announced as she came into the kitchen. “I think this baby is growing again. I think I could eat anything that isn’t nailed down.”

  They laughed.

  “Listen, girls,” Mary said, “The hairdresser is coming shortly. Gwen, why don’t you get a bite or bites to eat and run up and shower.”

  Sylvia had hired her local, favorite hairdresser to come to the house that day to do their hair and make-up. Sylvia admired her talent and artistry with haircuts, even though her own was relatively simple. She always felt pretty when she left the salon. And, Zoe, the salon owner, had been frank with Sylvia on possible up do’s for the wedding day. Sylvia appreciated Zoe’s honesty and creativity.

  Anne arrived. Zoe came. Frank cleared out. He went over to the Bed and Breakfast to talk to Scotty. They were planning to pick up Owen and head out to breakfast.

  The moms were first. Mary looked chic and Anne looked like a darker haired Judy Collins with her charcoal gray and black hair. Carol was next. Sylvia thought Carol’s hair was too short to put into a fancy hairstyle, but Zoe managed to pull off a lovely style with some creative curls, twists, and rolls. Sylvia knew Gwen’s hair would look stunning with it pulled up. Gwen was stunning to begin with and now, with her pregnancy glow, she was drop dead gorgeous.