Paige was watering her mother’s roses when she saw the white truck pull into her driveway. Dusty stirred beside her, swiveled around, and was quickly on his feet and running toward the house, barking full volume. Paige ran after him. “Dusty. Dusty.” She turned off the water then went after the dog, who now stood a couple of feet in front of Lee Richardson and another man that Paige vaguely recognized. “Dusty, down boy.” She grabbed the dog’s collar and he immediately lay down on the grass, but a low growling sound still came from his throat.
“You look like you’re busy.” The man smiled pleasantly.
“No rain. The flowers need water.”
He extended his hand, “I’m Milton Parrish, we met a while back.”
The man who owned the small chain of boutique pharmacies that Clarissa was hoping to open. “Yes, I remember.”
“I understand Miss Richardson came to see you, and I wanted to speak with you about that job offer.”
“Okay.”
“I wanted to be certain that we’re clear on the details. Lee has agreed to sell me his interest in the store, so I will become full owner, and you would be manager. As such, your salary will be slightly increased, and you’ll be paid back wages for the time lost due to this unfortunate incident.”
“But I don’t want—”
“Not negotiable. The fact is, you were an employee in a store I owned at least a partial share in, and I will set things right—at least, insofar as I am able.”
Lee Richardson looked at her evenly, but she could see the twinkle in his eyes. Every bit as stubborn as she, he would consider this the victory that had eluded him with his previous visit.
Paige crossed her arms and looked him full in the face. “I’d want to keep Dawn on as tech.”
He smiled outright. “Not a problem.”
“Oh, and by the way,” Milton Parrish said, “we’ll be changing the name of the store. Since Mr. Richardson is selling his share, and I’ve already got a line of Parrish Apothecaries, if you’d like to suggest a new name, we could definitely discuss it.”
“All right, I’ll give that some thought.”
“So, does that mean you’ve made your decision?”
Paige extended her hand. “Mr. Parrish, you’ve got yourself a new manager.”
“Glad to hear it.” Lee Richardson nodded. “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help you.”
Paige smiled at him. “I think I’m going to be just fine.”
Just moments after Milton Parrish and Lee Richardson had gone, Clarissa’s car pulled into the driveway. Paige waved from the backyard and walked forward, surprised by yet another visit from Clarissa. What would she have to say this time?
Clarissa got out of her car, her hair burnished by the setting sun. She walked around the car, then leaned back against it, as if she needed the support.
Paige hurried forward. “Clarissa, are you all right?”
Clarissa shook her head, letting her hair fall across her down-turned face. “She’s gone.”
“Who’s gone?”
Clarissa looked up, her eyes full of tears. “Mrs. Vaerge.”
“Gone where?” Paige did not think she wanted to know the answer.
“I went to see her. To tell her how sorry I was about the mix-up, even if she didn’t . . .” Clarissa looked away and shook her head. “She was so gracious about it. So understanding.”
“Where’s she gone?”
“She kept rubbing her forehead, and as I was leaving, she asked me to send the nurse in. They called a code blue while I was still on the elevator.” In the fading light of the day, the final rays of the sun bounced off the tears on Clarissa’s cheeks. “They tried everything, they couldn’t bring her back.”
The strength left Paige’s legs and she felt the sharp sting as her knees hit the asphalt of the driveway. “No. No. She was getting better. We talked yesterday. Maybe you’ve got the wrong person.”
“Paige, I was there. I stood by her bed just moments before.” Clarissa reached down and pulled Paige to her feet. “You need to go sit.”
Paige nodded weakly. “Do you want to come inside?”
The expression on Clarissa’s face said that she very much did not want to, but she answered, “Just for a minute.”
Paige held the door open and Clarissa entered, eyes flickering over the simple furniture, the modest decorations. They lingered on a photo of Paige’s parents. Clarissa closed her eyes for a moment and then took a seat. “She had a message she wanted me to give you.”
“A message?”
“Actually, she said it was for both of us. ‘Romans thirteen, twelve.’ That’s a Bible verse, right? She said you’d know what it meant.”
“I do,” Paige said. “She liked to give me Bible verses she thought could help me.” She could barely get the sentence out without choking up a bit. How was it that words were still coming from her mouth? Her whole being wanted to shut down, to embrace the numbness that followed Clarissa’s announcement. She stumbled down the hall and somehow made it to her room. She walked over to the nightstand and picked up the worn burgundy leather Bible that sat there, unable to believe she was about to read Ora’s final verse of wisdom. She walked back to the living room. “Romans thirteen, verse twelve?”
“Yes, that’s what she said.”
Paige’s hands shook with grief as she turned the last page.
“Here it is. ‘The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.’ ”
Paige’s eyes teared instantly. How could day be nearly here with Ora gone? But the woman was right; Paige felt it. If losing her job had been the blackest night, then these last few days were certainly the coming of dawn. Paige shook her head to herself, amazed that Ora was still speaking to her. Then she heard a surprising noise and looked up.
Across from her, Clarissa was crying, as well. Slow, round drops pooling in her eyes. “Someone new,” Paige heard Clarissa say to herself. Clarissa looked at Paige. “It’s about starting over and fresh chances, isn’t it?”
Paige nodded.
Clarissa stood, embarrassment evident on her face. She quickly headed for the door, but before stepping outside turned to Paige. “I’ve got to get back. But when you say your prayers tonight, will you tell God I could use a little help?”
“Why don’t you ask Him yourself?”
Clarissa nodded, thinking it over. “I just might do that.”
Paige spent the next few hours buried in regret, thinking about all the things she wished she could go back and change. Things she could have done differently.
Then she thought of Ora and her verse. Maybe it was time to stop focusing on regrets. It was time to think about the things she still could change—or at least the things she could at least try to set right.
She picked up the phone. Her fingers were shaking by the time she’d punched the last number, but she refused to give in and hang up. “It’s me. I, uh, called to say I’m sorry.”
For a moment she heard only silence on the other line. And then simply his voice.
“What for?”
“Being too fast to condemn. Clarissa told me the truth, the same truth you tried to tell me, and I wouldn’t listen. I’m sorry.”
This time the silence went for so long that Paige began to wonder if he’d hung up on her. When Tony finally spoke, his voice had a raw edge to it. “You want to prove that by having dinner Saturday night?”
“I . . . I . . . so much has happened.”
“I know. We’ll take it slow and get our footing back.”
“Why would you even want to do that?”
“That day I first met you, I spent half the night afterward walking through waist-high weeds looking for wildflowers—all the while praying I wouldn’t step on a cottonmouth or a copperhead. I knew then you were special. Nothing that’s happened since then has changed my mind.”
“You? You’re the one who brought those flowers?”
“Guilty.”
She couldn’t believe it. Everyone had been so certain they were from Cory that Paige had come to believe it herself. Tony had been the one all along. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“I thought a little mystery was more romantic.”
What could she say to that?
“Well, okay then. Saturday sounds good.” She realized then just how much she meant it.
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Maybe Ora was right. Maybe the night was nearly over.