Bouquet: Sequel to 'In Full Bloom': The Trilogy of the Rose (Volume 3) by B. A. Beers Page B

her.  “How about large bath towels,” he called after them.
     
    “Linda said you needed me?” David asked, turning a bit red in the face.
     
    “Not for this,” Mark assured him.  The relief on David’s face was obvious.  “I was going to have you pick her up and hand her to me to reverse her direction so I could get her into the seat, but that was before this discovery.  I think I will be able to do it now,” Mark stated.
     
    “Mark.  Bring her back here,” Grandma Jo called from down the hall.  “We found a robe.”
     
    “Where to?” Mark hollered back, picking up Sami.
     
    “Her bedroom,” Grandma Jo called.
     
    “I’ll wait outside,” David mumbled, anxious to leave the scene.
     
    “Not necessary,” Mark replied, moving down the hall.
     
    “I would just feel better about it,” David said, stepping outside.
     
    At the door of the bedroom, Mark smiled, seeing the bed covered in a sheet.  “You got this?” he asked as he placed Sami down on the bed.
     
    “Yes,” Linda answered.  “You may leave.”
     
    “Yes, ma’am,” Mark chuckled.  “Call me when you are done.”
     
    Leaving the two women to tend to the problem, Mark saw Molly and Ollie standing in the middle of the hall.  Kneeling before them, he reached out and petted them.  “Let’s join David on the porch, shall we?” he said, moving in the direction of the door.
     
     
     
    ***
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    FOURTEEN
     
     
     
    H alf an hour later, Mark merged into the slow line of cars on the interstate.  The now-dry Sami was secured in the passenger seat next to him.  Glancing at her, he was thankful her eyes had stayed closed during the changing of her clothes, as well as during her entry in the truck.  He prayed that they would remain closed. The sight of her unfocused gaze would spook anyone who saw her.  Glancing into the rearview mirror, Mark caught Linda’s worried expression.  “Have faith,” he offered.
     
    “I was just thinking about how much I have missed her,” Linda sighed, running her hand over the box which held Sami’s journals.  “Her journals?”
     
    “Yes.  What about them?” Mark asked, recalling his directions to David to place them in the cab.
     
    “I didn’t even know she had them,” Linda said softly.  “She never spoke about them to me.”
     
    “You’re curious?” Mark asked.
     
    “Yes and no,” Linda admitted.  “Have you read these?”
     
    “Only a few entries,” Mark shared, “the ones concerning her wedding and the last one written before the accident.”
     
    “Last one?”
     
    “Yes.  She has not written since then,” Mark answered.
     
    “They are all before the accident?” Linda asked, concerned.
     
    “Yes,” Mark affirmed.
     
    “I am in them?”
     
    “That is a safe bet,” he answered, seeing her hand push the box away from her.  Interesting, he thought, holding back the question to ask her to explain her action.  He could tell by the expression on her face, she would soon give him the answer without him having to ask. 
     
    “I was ten when I first met Sami,” she started softly.  “Our family moved to Arizona from Iowa because of my younger brother’s health.  Sami’s father was an army buddy of my father, and he became our family doctor.  Since Sami and I were the same age, we were thrown together.  I remember her being very shy.  I was the opposite; I became a rebel.  Even at ten, I resented being taken away from my friends because of my brother.  I did everything in my power to show my unhappiness, which included being a real troublemaker. I hate to admit it now, but in the beginning, I was mean to Sami.  I wanted her to hate me.  However, instead of shying away from me, she became like me, picking up all my ugly attitudes.  The selfish child I was embraced the power I had over her.  The things we did over the years. The things I made her do make me physically ill to remember them.  I