SWEET ANTICIPATION by Kathy Clark Page B

in what I’ve done with them. For years, I let someone else take care of all the garden, but I was never completely satisfied with how it looked, so I took it over myself. And let me tell you, this is better therapy than any psychiatrist’s couch. It’s got to be the most fulfilling thing in the world to watch something you’ve planted grow and become beautiful—next to raising children, of course. They bring the most blessings into one’s life, don’t you think?”
     
    “I…I wouldn’t know. You see, this is my first child, so I don’t know much about it yet,” Lauren answered, bewitched and overwhelmed by this energetic, cheerful woman. Now that she looked carefully, she could see that Jordan and his mother had the same sparkling gray eyes and that her hair, now naturally streaked flatteringly with silver, had once been the same ebony as his. It was not perfectly coiffed as Lauren had envisioned, but piled loosely and pinned on top of her head. Her face had very little makeup and she had done nothing to try to hide the tiny laugh lines at the comers of her eyes and on each side of her smiling mouth. Lauren could imagine that Jordan would look like a masculine version of this woman when he got older, and it was not an unpleasant prospect. Would Lauren’s baby have eyes that same shade of misty-gray or hair as thick and black as a moonless night?
     
    “Ah, but you will soon,” Mrs. Daniels went on. “When they’re tiny babies, they’re a lot of work, but they’re so sweet and innocent. Then later as they get older, it’s fun to watch them learn and grow. My only regret is that my husband and I couldn’t have more children, but since we could have only one, I’m glad it was Jordan. He’s a wonderful son. He never forgets my birthday, even though I’m trying to. And someday, I hope he will present me with a half dozen grandchildren.”
     
    Lauren stiffened at the reference to grandchildren. “Did Jordan tell you to say that?” she asked suspiciously.
     
    Mrs. Daniels looked at her blankly. “Why, no, dear. Why on earth should he? Actually, we haven’t talked about the subject. He knows how much I want some babies to do all those typical grandmotherly things with, but I would never pressure him. It’s more important to me that he wait until he finds a woman he really loves, and who loves him, before he starts a family. That’s not something a person should rush into.”
     
    There was nothing Lauren could say to that. She mulled over Mrs. Daniels’s response and could find no reason not to believe it was spontaneous. Jordan could have planned this whole scene, prompting his mother so she knew what to say to draw Lauren’s sympathy, but she didn’t think that Mrs. Daniels could be that good an actress.
     
    “Oh, what is that lovely fragrance?” Mrs. Daniels leaned closer to her birthday present and breathed deeply. “It smells like peppermint.”
     
    “Yes, that is one of a new breed of scented geraniums. Instead of that pungent geranium odor, they come in several different scents such as apple, coconut, ginger, lemon, lime, roses, or, like this one, peppermint.”
     
    “How delightful. I’ve never even heard of these. Jordan knows how much I enjoy my flowers, and he must have had some difficulty finding a species I didn’t already have. I didn’t think he knew a mum from a marigold.”
     
    Lauren wanted to tell her that he didn’t, but why spoil the woman’s delight?
     
    Mrs. Daniels wiped her sleeve across her forehead. “It’s so hot today, especially inside this greenhouse. Even with cooling fans to circulate the air, it stays pretty steamy in here, particularly after we’ve had a rainstorm. Why don’t you come up to the house and let me fix you something cold to drink?”
     
    “I should be getting back to the shop….”
     
    “Oh, please, stay for just a few more minutes. I’ve enjoyed talking with you. I always thought it would have been nice to have a daughter.