Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Ironically, today of all days I could’ve benefitted from being driven home with Jonathan.
I’d just finished eating dinner when I received a text from him.
Jonathan: Had to fly to London for a last-minute work thing. I’ll be gone for a few days, so we’ll have to do our nightly check-ins by text if that’s okay?
Reading his message, I felt an unexpected pang of disappointment. A few days wasn’t a long time, but I’d already missed seeing him that morning on the way to work and on my exhausted drive home. I tried not to let my despondency show in my response.
Ada: No worries! Thanks for letting me know. I hope your trip goes well.
The following day was much the same as the previous. Hannah and Magdalena were still out sick, and the temp agency had no people available to come cover their shifts, so I had to fill in again. I fell asleep almost as soon as I got home, a renewed respect for how hard the carers worked at Pinebrook. My job wasn’t easy, but I sat in front of a computer most of the day. Being on your feet was a whole other ballgame.
That night, just before I was about to fall asleep, my phone buzzed with a text.
Jonathan: Checking in. How was your day?
Ada: Tiring. Yours?
Jonathan: About the same. Get some rest. X
His sign-off kiss sent a flurry of butterflies swarming through my belly. That always happened whenever Jonathan showed me any kind of affection, even something as small as a kiss at the end of a text, which was vaguely troubling.
Ada: You too :-)
The next morning when I woke up, my leg ached from overdoing it the day before, and it was my birthday to boot. Thirty-eight and I was definitely feeling that extra year. I took a bath instead of a shower, hoping it would ease some of my leg pain. I also planned to down a painkiller or two with breakfast because if we were short staffed again, I was going to need some chemical assistance.
The warmth of the bath helped relax my muscles, and when I emerged from my room dressed for work, I got the strange sense that someone had been in the apartment. Then I spotted something colourful over on the kitchen countertop, and my breath caught. The most stunning bouquet of tulips sat there, blooms of every possible colour, accompanied by a card and a gift-wrapped box.
Who left this? Was Jonathan back from London already?
Opening the card, I found a short message.
Dear Ada,
Happy birthday. I’m sad I couldn’t be there to give you your gifts in person, but this will have to do.
Sincerely, Jonathan.
P.S. I had Therese come set everything up early this morning. I hope you don’t mind.
Inside the card, there was a voucher for a nearby health spa. It was a super swanky place, and though I enjoyed a good pampering, it felt like too much. When I lifted my head, something else caught my attention, and I realised there was a painting hanging on the wall in a spot that had previously been empty. It was the very same painting from Jonathan’s lobby, the one his sister’s husband had painted that I’d told him reminded me of Dad. A wave of emotion swept over me, a mixture of gratitude and grief. This was just … so thoughtful. I approached the painting, noting it sat perfectly in the spot Jonathan had chosen for it. My heart shimmered as I gazed at the moody landscape that brought me back to childhood, the good years before Dad’s drinking started to put a strain on our family.
By the coffee table, there was a small carrier bag, and I recognised the items I’d gone to Leonora’s to collect several weeks ago, back when I was sleeping in my car. The bag contained all Dad’s old photo albums, though I wasn’t ready to look through them yet. It also had his collection of Casio watches. They weren’t worth much, but the brand was Dad’s favourite, and he’d kept every watch he’d bought over the years.
Stepping back to the counter, I admired the tulips once again, touched that Jonathan remembered me mentioning they were my favourites. My dad was normally the one to send me tulips on my birthday, and Jonathan must’ve known the first year without him was going to be tough for me. To distract myself, I focused on the final gift. I picked up the box and unwrapped it, my pulse hammering when I realised it was jewellery. Then I gasped when I saw the prettiest pair of diamond studs. They were small, delicate almost, but not so ostentatious I couldn’t wear them every day. They glittered in the box, and my throat thickened with unshed tears. Jonathan was a busy man who’d been called away on a work trip, but he’d still made sure to get me several birthday presents. Not to mention, he had his assistant hand deliver everything to my apartment so it was there when I woke up.