Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 130286 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130286 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 651(@200wpm)___ 521(@250wpm)___ 434(@300wpm)
someone mourn for Pearl, but that is what they all did.
One by one, guests entered the den and paid their condolences. Toni, Jamie, Parker, Nick, the girls
from the salon . . . it was surreal to see these people in Lucian’s private home. There were no rivalries or politics in those moments, only grace.
After everyone came through to offer his or her sympathy, Isadora returned. She whispered to
Lucian and then came up to Evelyn and smiled sadly. “When you’re ready, I’ll be waiting in the hall.”
Ready for what? Evelyn looked to Lucian as Isadora turned away and quietly shut the doors. “It’s
time to say good-bye,” he said softly.
Something protested inside her. It was a little girl waiting for her mom, the one who never gave up
hoping she’d someday come around. Blinking back tears, she soothed the child who lived in her heart
and finally admitted this was how it had to be.
Leaning over the casket, her lips pressed into her mother’s cool cheek. “I love you, Momma. I
always will.”
Lucian walked her to the doors and Isadora waited quietly. “I’ll be with you soon. Go with my
sister,” he said.
She didn’t want to part from him, but allowed Isadora to take her hand and lead her away. They
walked through the house and came to the back door, facing the gardens and pool.
“Here, put these on,” Isadora said, handing her a pair of dainty black flats.
Evelyn did as she was told and followed Lucian’s sister out into the balmy air. The rain had stopped
and the sun gave breath to the ground as it steamed. The earth was soggy beneath her feet as they
stepped off the cobblestone path.
In the distance, over a knoll of emerald blades of grass, she spotted the silhouettes of people
waiting. There was a willow tree luffing in the stiff breeze, and the heavy scent of lilacs filled the air.
Isadora held her hand as they climbed the hill.
When they reached the top, she realized where they were. Beneath the tree stood a stone carved with
angels. She couldn’t read the engraved writing, but knew the grave belonged to Lucian’s mother. This
was where Pearl would forever rest.
The somber faces of those who’d come into the den smiled softly, but not everyone was there. The
men were all absent except for one she didn’t recognize. From somewhere in the distance pipes began
to play, and her heart raced with unsure expectancy.
Cresting the hill, several figures came into view, suited black silhouettes of strength. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted Lucian. Behind him were Shamus, Parker, Nick, and Slade. They were
carrying her mother’s casket.
When they reached the top, the casket was placed within a nest of flowers, and Lucian relieved
Isadora of her duties. His hand curled around hers as he stepped close. The man she hadn’t recognized
began to speak.
“God our Father, Your power brings us birth, Your providence guides our lives, and by Your
command, we return to dust . . .”
Evelyn listened but did not hear what was being said. The sense of losing someone she never had
was peculiar and difficult to comprehend. Relief that this was where she would always be, only a short
walk away from where she sometimes slept, struck her like an unfamiliar comfort that eased the
unending search her life had been conditioned to perform. She’d be safe, blanketed in the belly of the
earth, a garden for flowers to grow. There’d be no time, only peace. And for the first time ever, Evelyn let her worries for her mother go.
A rose was placed in her hand. Lucian led her to the casket. She could read the word engraved in the
plaque. It simply said Pearl. There was a solitary white mollusk embedded in the pewter above her name. It was breathtaking.
They placed their flowers on the casket and walked away in silence. The scent of lilacs imprinted on
her mind. They were Lucian’s mother’s favorite, and every year her mother would now share in their
beauty, as they’d come to bloom. Strange that Pearl had been gifted the same standard of rest as a
woman like Mrs. Patras.
The guests didn’t return to the house with them. Evelyn had no concept of time. A meal was set for
only the two of them on the terrace in the gardens. Her fingers picked at her food, but no taste touched her tongue. Lucian watched her but said very little.
He was right. She needed this closure and embraced the sad peace that came in its wake. Losing
Pearl was like breaking away from who she had always been. She was a tired balloon cut from its
string, floating on to places untold. But Lucian would be there with her, always, making sure she never floated alone.
***
The limo pulled onto the airstrip, and Evelyn’s face went numb. The jet was the size of a two-story
house. “This is yours?”
He smirked as he gazed at his oversized toy. “All mine.”