Gail Gaymer Martin - A Mother to Love

“I love them.” She smiled at Carly. “This young lady did a good job of choosing some beautiful roses. But...”

When she faltered, he knew he’d been right. “But what?”

Angie eyed Carly before answering. “It’ll take a long time to plant these, and I’m thinking that today may not be the best day.”

He raised an eyebrow, letting her know he suspected she had left some things unspoken. “How long can flowers sit without being planted?”

“No more than a day or so. I’ll need to keep them watered.”

“What about tomorrow? Carly and I could come after church and finish the job.” His pulse skipped at his impulsiveness. She may have had enough of them. “That’s if you’d like us to.”

Her face brightened. “I’d love you to come if you really don’t mind.”

Carly’s eyes sparkled. “Can I help?”

“You sure can.” Angie slipped her arm around Carly’s shoulders and gave her a hug. “I’ve never had such a good helper in my whole life.”

“Daddy.” Carly bounced on her toes. “Can we come tomorrow?”

“If Angie wants to put up with us another day, we sure can.”

Carly clapped and twirled, then grabbed the handle of the cart and eyed Angie. “Are we done?”

“If you’re planting tomorrow, I have a few more ideas.” Angie chucked Carly under the chin. “What do you think?”

Carly gave a nod and waited for her to point the way.

They followed Angie down another row while his own excitement grew. With Angie’s willingness for them to return Sunday, he wanted to twirl down the rows as Carly had done. Two days with Angie felt like a gift to him as well as Carly. She made life fun and meaningful. Yet a flicker of concern tightened in his chest. He had to be careful. He’d already feared her hesitation to plant today was because of something he’d said.

“If we’re finishing the planting tomorrow...” She paused and looked at Carly. “We might have time to go to the park today.”

“The park? Really?” A gleeful giggle escaped Carly. “Can we, Daddy?”

“If we have time, why not?”

Carly jumped in place. “Why not?”

Angie gave him a wink, pleasure filling her face. She hurried down the row, selected a few more perennials, and after he loaded her choices in the cart, he pushed it toward the cashier. Many times things he longed to know flew into his head, but those kinds of questions needed time. Instead he trod lightly. A lifetime didn’t happen in a day. Angie clung to a private past she seemed unwilling to share. He could learn a lesson from her silence. Already he’d revealed too much.

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