Lily of the Valley

Chapter 19 | Things Explained

Tom arrived a few minutes after Arthur left with a cute, small pot of flowering cactus and a box of, what appears to be, chocolate. 

“Please, have a seat. I have freshly baked scones and iced tea.” I stated as I walked towards the living room.

“You baked the scones?” He asked curiously.

“Heck no. Arthur dropped it off a few minutes ago from that bakery I was so obsessed with.”

“Oh, good! You didn’t bake ‘em.” he said, and took a big, mocking bite of the vanilla scone.

“Hey!” I scowled, pretending to be offended.

“I’m kidding! I would eat anything that you cook, as long as it looks edible.” 

“I’m learning, you know. The other night, I made chicken parmesan for four.” I boasted.

“Really? You should cook for me then. A three course meal, preferably.” and he took a sip of his iced tea. 

“Demanding much?” 

“Just a tiny bit. Those flowers look exotic.” he pointed at the vase of astilbe that Brittney got from the flower mart.

“Yea. Britt really liked it so she got some for the house, even though she knows I’m allergic.”

“I was about to buy white azaleas earlier, but I remembered your allergy so I just got you a cactus.” he said.

“Aw, how thoughtful of you.” 

“Remember when a family brought sunflowers that one time?” he asked with a playful smile.

“That time I kept sneezing every second? Yes, that’s sort of memorable to me. Don’t they read hospital policies? ‘No flowers allowed’” I stated.

“You looked adorable with red nose and sleepy eyes, though.” he teased.

“Shut up! Would you like some more tea?” I asked when I saw his empty glass.

“Sure.” he said, but stops me halfway, “Karen, I have to ask you something.”

“Ok, what is it?”

“You kept saying that I didn’t say goodbye. That I didn’t even contact you.”

“Yes?” 

“I wrote you a letter before I left.”

“What?” 

“I know how you like old-fashioned letters, so I wrote you instead of calling.” he said with a serious tone.

“I... I never got a letter.” I said, contemplating his words.

“It was the day that I left. Misti asked if we had anything to mail, because she was on her way to the post office. It must have gotten lost in the mail room...” he said sadly.

“It must’ve” I echoed him. We were both silent for a moment, pondering on what he just said. Then I just hear him say:

“Chocolate covered macadamia?” he was holding up the box of chocolates he brought, “I know it’s your favorite.” he says with his usual cocky, but cute voice.

“Let me just get your drink.” I said with a smile, and headed to the kitchen with a confused expression. He wrote a letter to tell me he was leaving... He actually planned to say goodbye, but the USPS messed up and lost his letter. 

I came back to the living room, and saw him poking the cactus he brought.

“Hey.” he greets when he saw me enter.

“Hi.” I said in reply, then we just stared at each other. I was the first one to break the silence, “You said you wrote me a letter.” I stated.

“Correct.” he replied, again with his serious voice.

“What did it say?” I asked curiously.

“Come.” he patted the seat beside him, gesturing for me to join him on the sofa. 

I set the glass of tea on the coffee table, and sat beside him. I did leave enough room between us.

“I left because my father had gotten gravely ill, and my mother wanted me to go back home. The doctors informed her that all they could give him was hospice care.” he paused for a moment, observing something on his palms that only he could see. “When I got home to Indiana, I saw his condition, and understood his doctors’ decision. He was diagnosed with stage IVB pancreatic cancer, and he was in a lot of pain... His suffering ended after three months, and I had to stay with my mother for another month for support. I also needed to finish up some paperworks.” he sighed.

“I’m so sorry to hear about your father.” I grabbed his hand and squeezed it. 

He gave me a sad smile in reply, and continued, “I came back to Kaiser to finish up my residency and to take the board exam.” Then he looked me in the eyes and said, “ I tried calling you as soon as my plane landed, but your number was disconnected. I asked Rita about you, and all she knew was that you went out of state to finish your nursing degree.” 

“I went to Hawaii Pacific...” I informed him.

“I see.” was all he said.

There was a long silence between us. It wasn’t the awkward, cricket silence though. It was more of a comforting silence that let us sink in the information that was just released. It helped me process what he just said, and it helped him relieve whatever was in his chest.

When I felt like the time was right, I opened my mouth and said:

“I'm glad we're starting over." 

"Me too." he brought my hand that was still in his to his lips, and gave it a peck. 

“You know a good way to jump start this ‘thing’ we have?” I asked with a playful smile.

“I'm sensing that you have an idea.” 

“How would you like to be my plus one on Melanie’s wedding?”