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The beautiful black onyx
shone as though under a spotlight, draped with a white satin scarf and a large
bouquet of flowers - daisies, irises, carnations, tiger lilies, pansies, roses
and several others she didn’t know. It exploded with colors - reds, oranges,
yellows, purples - and reminded her of the hill in 'The Sound of Music’,
her mom’s favorite movie.
    I think you would have loved
it, Mom. Bailey pressed her hands together as though in prayer and pressed
them against her lips for a minute. Her mind went on rapid fire.
    Were there enough flowers? Were
they the right ones? Was that the right outfit for her Mom? Did it really
matter what she wore? The blue one was her favorite. All those frills. The red,
sleek dress was the one Bailey would have chosen. It was something else from
the old days her mother wouldn’t talk about. Her mom had obviously arranged for
the blue outfit. The funeral home already had it. But who had given it to them?
How long had her mom known she was dying? Who had paid for the funeral? What
else hadn’t she been told?
    She took in several calming
breaths. When can I get out of here? When can I go back home? Her mom’s
stuff had to be gone through. Then she could go. Should I have found more
people to come to this?
    The letter from her mom had made
it clear she had not wanted her death advertised anywhere, definitely not in
the newspaper. Putting up a small notice at the shop stating it was closed
until further notice couldn’t be construed as advertising. Only the people who
had phoned her cell to find out when it would open again had been told her mom
had died. Walking backward she took one last look before bowing her head. Pain
radiated through her skull with the blunt force of being hit by a hammer.
Stopping, she pressed her fingers into her temples and counted to ten.
    Maybe this’ll all disappear
and I’ll wake up.
    She looked about. A bleak, bleary
day greeted her along with a clear view of her mom’s casket sitting over the
open hole that was ready to swallow her. Bailey spun around. Her eyes lit on
her car. Walking briskly, she moved towards it.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER SIX
     
     
    A man stepped out from behind some trees. He was standing near
the back of her Hyundai rental. She stopped and stared. His black suit was
appropriate for a funeral but she didn’t remember seeing him at the grave site.
He looked as though he’d just raised his head from prayer, his feet were still
shoulder width apart and his hands were clasped loosely in front of him. Who
was he? What was he doing over there? Why was he looking at her so expectantly?
Not just the casual, hmm-who-are-you but the I-need-to-talk-to-you-and-I-know-this-won’t-be-well-received
look.
    Bailey frowned. What could he
possibly want with her? She was tempted to look over her shoulder but she knew
she was the last person there. Slowly she made her way along the gravel road, her
eyes never leaving his face. As she neared she noticed that he wasn’t as old as
she’d first thought. Kind of cute with a young George Clooney look – dark and
mysterious. A shudder shook her body causing her to hesitate a few feet away
from the car.
    “Hello. I’m sorry for your loss.”
    She’d heard that over and over
for the last few days and yet she felt that this man, who she had no idea who
he was, actually meant it. She tilted her head to the side as she studied him.
There was something else in his voice.
    “Did you know my mom?”
    He looked down, his whole body
visibly tensing. A couple of heartbeats later he raised his head. “No. Not… No
I didn’t.” His sky blue eyes darkened. “I just wanted to give you my
condolences.” He stared at her for several seconds before turning and striding
away.
    Bailey stared after him in
confusion. Something had just happened but she wasn’t sure what. It was as
though he’d made a decision that was directly related to her. She watched him
climb into a dark SUV and drive away. He wound his way