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I stop at the grocery store. No, Longdale doesn’t exactly have a florist, but there is a small selection of floral arrangements in the produce section. I buy several and then perform some odd floral surgery in my car, ripping off the cellophane packaging and separating out the various smaller arrangements into one giant one.
It looks terrible, and I almost chuck it out the window as I leave the parking lot. But I won’t litter, and I can’t waste something like this, no matter how much I messed it up.
I arrive at her fourplex and jog up the stairs, holding the swollen bouquet like I’m proposing to an elephant.
I ring the doorbell and look down at the bouquet again, a surge of frustration wells up. I’m frustrated with her and with myself. And I’m frustrated that I thought a jumbo floral arrangement could make things better.
Maybe if I yank out some of these little white flowers that are overpowering it, it will look better.
“Can I help you?” An older man appears at my elbow. He points to the door I’m standing in front of.
“No,” I say. “Just waiting for her to answer the door.”
He cocks an eyebrow and looks me up and down. “If you’re looking for Elianna, she’s gone.”
I don’t have time to respond before he keeps going, my throat growing dry.
“She moved out early this morning.”
“Are you sure?”
He nods. “I helped her with a few boxes myself.”
I can’t show my heartache to this guy, so I try to offer a smile. It probably looks like a grimace, but I do my best. “Thanks for letting me know.” I look down at the floral salad in my arms. “Would you like some flowers?” I’m not going back to the office with this monstrosity.
The guy has the nerve to grimace himself. “Nah, that’s okay. But thanks anyway.”
I manage to make it down the steps of her stoop, well, I guess her former stoop, before the weight of what’s happened hits me square in the gut.
She’s gone.
My phone’s ringing when I get back in the car, and when I see it’s not Elianna, I silence it. I am not going to talk to anyone. But then it hits me that it’s River Judkins, and she might have some information about Elianna.
“River,” I say when I answer. Usually, I try to be more polite, but this time, I just can’t muster it.
“Hey, Sebastian, I’m filling in for Maggie this week. So, you know about Elianna York, right?”
My heart sinks. “Yeah, I think so. Do you know what happened?”
“She left her things with the night front desk staff, but I didn’t see it until a few minutes ago. I guess it was just sitting there in a box for a few hours before someone noticed they were for the HR department.” She sighs. “So, she didn’t tell you she was quitting?”
“Not until this morning. And I wasn’t aware that she’d already left town.”
“I just got an email with her resignation letter. She said she had some extenuating circumstances and had to quit.”
“I know. But thanks for making sure I’d heard.”
“Sorry, Sebastian.” There’s a sympathy there in her voice that tells me she knew more about Elianna and me than I thought.
“Yeah.” I don’t know what else to say. This is a nightmare. And I don’t need everyone in the company to know about it.
Gabriel is trying to call me, so I get off the call with River and answer. Might as well distract myself from the reality of the situation by talking to my brother. Or listen as he talks would be more accurate because I don’t feel like talking right now.
“Things are rolling,” he says. “I’ve been communicating with the actors guild in Orange County. We can provide supplies and labor directly to them for the Capistrano Players’ playhouse renovation.”
“Okay.”
“It’s going to be great. This isn’t like we’re cutting them a check and washing our hands of it. We get to be involved with the process. We’ll work with the guild to get the supplies and contractors up and going. We’ll contribute one big batch for this quarter, so you can get all your charitable donation percentages just how you want them for the year. And then starting in the new year, we can spread it out over each month.”
