Olivia Carter-Thompson. God and the Angels welcomed her to Heaven on October 26th 1997. A daughter to Christine and Hugh; a sister to Owen; a beloved wife to Lucas; and a mother to Bobbi Grace. May she rest in peace.
Lucas, Owen, and Bobbi stand before Olivia's headstone with their heads down in prayers that she is in the good hands of God and that she is happy. Other people arrive at the cemetery who visit their loved ones. Some carry bouquets of flowers and it makes Bobbi think of Gracious Gardens from time to time.
She stands at the headstone, glaring at the ground in anger. Angry, because life is unfair. Angry, because God took her mother away from her. Angry, because people are fortunate to have both parents, except her. Angry, because she spends every Mother's Day, this day, and her mother's birthday at the cemetery. Angry, because she'll never have her mother around to give her advice, guide her, have girly chats and to let her know how much she loves her.
Bobbi's breathing is shaky while she wraps her cardigan around her body to keep warm. The weather is just like all of their moods; dull, gloomy, and miserable.
Lucas and Owen manage to say a few heart-warming words, but when it comes to Bobbi, she freezes. Her mind is blank as tears line her eyes with nothing on her mind but her mother. She misses her. She loves her. She needs her.
Anguish. Crestfallen. Low-spirited. Heartache. All three of them went through these all at once, leaving them emotionally drained.
It was hard for Lucas to get Bobbi out of bed. She laid there, unable to move. Numb. Paralysed. This year was harder for her because of the ruins of Gracious Gardens. Roberto had to take that away from her. The same keys Olivia used, gone. The aura, gone. Her touch on the cash register, counter, shelves – everything: gone. The one thing Bobbi had of her mother.
Roberto doesn't know his recklessness caused more of an affect than he thought. The broken feeling pressed down on the three of them. Lucas thought it was better to leave her in bed, but he didn't want her to be alone. He didn't want her to feel alone. So he gently stroked down her arm and took her hand in his and pulled her up into a sitting position.
'Daddy, no!' she pouted, dragging out no.
She didn't want to face her mom. She believed she let her mom down. Her mom trusted her with the shop and Bobbi felt the blame.
Lucas' heart broke as he watched what his daughter went through. He held the bridge of his nose in hope to stop his tears from falling before he ran his hands through his hair. His heart went out to her and he didn't know what to do to get her out of the state she was in. Sat on her bed beside her, he wrapped his arms around her and said what he could to make her feel better.
'Doll, I hate seeing you like this. Today is tough on all of us, but we're all here to help each other get through it. It's torture watching you in pain and I don't know how to make you feel better, but let's use our strength, our courage, and our love to make it through. My baby girl,' he took his arms off her to wipe his eyes and he stroked her hair, 'what can I do to make you feel better?'
'For one, I'd like Roberto to get what he deserves. Is that too much to ask? I want justice. I want what's fair. I don't want to think that if mom was here, she would be sad that the shop caught fire.' She fidgeted her fingers and frowned. Took a shaky deep breath before she dropped her hands on her lap.
'Baby doll, if I could give you everything in the world to make you happy, you know I'd do it in a heartbeat,' he said in a soft voice. Lucas got a lump in his throat before he managed to say his next words. 'I know you do everything you can to make your mother happy, when in fact, you always made her happy from the moment you were born- heck, from the moment she found out she was pregnant. You do know she loves you? She told you at least twenty times a day,' Bobbi smiled, 'What would make her the happiest -and me- is to see you happy, doll. We want to see you happy and healthy and well.'
Bobbi lifted her head up and looked at her father and saw love and sincerity in his green eyes. She smiled, a genuine one, stood up and embraced her father in a bear hug.
Bobbi stares at the picture of her mother on the right corner of the headstone. Olivia's smile is wide, the kind that makes her skin crinkle around her brown eyes. Her long chestnut brown hair is in soft curls, resting on her shoulders. She looks beautiful and animated in this picture. At the bottom of her picture it reads: "Where flowers grow, so does hope". It was Olivia's favourite flower quote.
She reads the quote over and over in her head. A small smile etches on her face, thinking it'll be a lovely idea to paint the quote on one of the walls in Gracious Gardens in exquisite calligraphy. Finds her mom will love it.
"Where flowers grow, so does hope". Hope. It's what she needs to stay strong. What they all need. Bobbi tilts her head to the side and she stares at the cursive writing carved onto the headstone.
Don't worry mom, I'll work better, she thinks as she realises she has been working in the shop with negative energy. Should be working positively instead of letting her anger towards life and Roberto get the better of her. It's not the energy her mom had in the shop. I'll be better mom.
**
Lucas, Owen, and Bobbi say their goodbye's to Olivia as each of them kiss their index fingers and then press their fingers on Olivia's picture. Following the path down to the car lot, Bobbi's phone buzzes in her pocket.
It's her boss, Kate, and with curiosity she picks up. Kate first apologises for calling today, but says it's busy in the café and asks her in her kindest voice if she could do a shift today. Emotionally drained, Bobbi chews down on her bottom lip and tells her she'll be there, unable to say no. Can't see herself saying it, imagining the buzz of customers. Doesn't want to disappoint her boss. A people pleaser. She figures that maybe she could do with the distraction, laugh with some co-workers. Sam was always fun; his catwalk and fierce look always made her grin.
Lucas doesn't approve of her boss calling her as it's 'a day for her mother' - his words. Bobbi assures him its fine; she wants a change of mood in her day.
Bobbi enters the café and notices only a couple of customers, who sip their hot caffeine drinks, eat, or chat. Sauntering to the counter where all her co-workers are scurried together and whispering, her eyebrows knit together and she tries to see what they're all hovering around.
'What's going on? I thought we were busy. What's everyone crowding?' she questions, on her toes to look over some shoulders.
At the sound of her voice, all her co-workers spin around to see her. She has on grey sweatpants, a black t-shirt and a long army green woolly cardigan that passes her thighs. Her hair is tied on the top of her head in a bun. Her face is pale, pink lips chapped from biting on them all day and her cheeks are still blotched from crying, but it isn't noticeable anymore.
'We got you a cake!' Kate squeals.
'Let's surprise her, she says. Keep cool, she says. Don't blow it until my account, I know some of you are blabber mouths, she says,' Sam jokes, his accent thick and full of sarcasm; he's from Pakistan. Rolls his green eyes, his arms over his chest.
Bobbi wears the biggest grin, happy she did come. Sam always knew how to make her laugh.
Kate waves her hand at him. 'Oh you know I'm no good with keeping surprises anyway.' Picks up the cake and shows Bobbi. 'Did you really think I called you in to work?' A triumphant smile etches onto her features.
The lemon and raspberry cheese cake has a note on the side that reads: "Sorry for your loss. You're very brave, keep it up! Stay Strong xx".
Bobbi smiles, appreciative of their thoughtful gesture. 'Thank you. You didn't have to do this,' she assures them with a shake of her head.
Unable to contain it, Kate takes Bobbi into a tight hug until they're interrupted by an impatient customer. Kate pulls out of the hug, but holds her at arm's length, showing Bobbi a frown.
'It's okay, I got it.' Bobbi reassures her.
She plans on calling Jamelia and Nicholas over for some cake, knowing the best medicine is company with your closest friends. Forgets about Nicholas' way yesterday, needing all the people she loves with her for today. It's more important to her to have that love and support. It will get her through how she's feeling.
To distract herself from that feeling, she turns to the counter to serve the customer. 'Sorry to keep you – oh, you.' Her lips fall into a frown, the tone in her voice dropping from cheerful to irritation when Roberto is on the other side of the counter. Her wall builds up at the sight of him.
He taps his money casually on the counter-top. 'And of course you work here, too,' he comments sarcastically, with a roll of his eyes. 'What else? Do you volunteer at a charity?'
'Yeah,' says Bobbi breezily to humour herself, and seeing Roberto huff out air and throw her a deadpan look tells her it was worth saying. She wants to smile about it but withholds. She doesn't want him to know he made her want to smile.
His eyes wander over her shoulder, spotting Kate put her cake in a cake box. 'Is it your birthday?' There's no spark of interest in the way he says this, rather, his voice is monotone and his eyes shift across to Sam. Perhaps he brought it up to change the subject, to forget that Bobbi came back at his charity jab.
She doesn't want him to know it's the anniversary of her mother's death. He doesn't even know about her mother and she plans to keep it that way. Doesn't want to tell him about her personal life, something she doesn't want to broadcast, so she goes along with it by nodding her head.
'Can I have some?'
Bobbi shoots her head back and lowers her eyebrows. 'No.' Shocked at him, thinking he had the nerve to ask and believe she will cut him a slice after what he did. He's out of his mind. Even though it is just a cake, it was what it represents, and she doesn't like him and doesn't want to share it.
Roberto's eyes widen, perhaps offended and surprised someone said no to him, but he should know who he's talking to. 'Why not?'
'Why should I?'
'Because I am nice person. Why are you being so selfish? Just one slice.'
A snort erupts from her. 'You? Nice? Don't make me laugh.' She chuckles. 'Now move or make your order, you're holding up the line.'
Roberto looks over his shoulder to be faced by no one. Turns back to her with squinted eyes. 'There is no line,' he states. He drops his head in frustration. Levels his head with hers and his face softens. 'Fine. I'll have a coffee.' Fixes his eyes on the menu board above her head and mumbles sarcastically, 'Great service.'
'How would you like your coffee?'
'Strong, like me.' He winks.
A vacuous expression can't help but be stuck on Bobbi's face for some time, not at all convinced. Can't help but roll her eyes at him, and turns to the coffee machine when Roberto quickly adds,
'No milk or cream! And to go!' His eyes widen in panic, brows raised high, like she won't catch those last details... like she's not standing a few inches away from him.
'Smooth.' The vacuous look still on her face.
Taking the cup and paying, he says, 'Cheers, Gold.' He walks out.
Her face contorts in confusion, wondering what this "Gold" thing is about. Upon mentioning it, it reminds her to ask him, whether it could be an Italian thing or something. It has to mean something or maybe it was nothing. Still, Bobbi figures there's no harm in asking.
Realisation washes over her and she internally groans. 'I can't believe I just made him a coffee.'
'I would have been happy to,' one of her female co-workers, Ashley, reveals.
'Same.' Came from Sam, arms crossed over his chest.
Bobbi pulls a look of disgust.
'Did he call you Gold?' Kate pipes up with amusement sparkling in her eyes.
Bobbi's cheeks burn a deep red colour and it creeps up her neck and ears, when it dawns on her that her boss may have overheard her conversation with Roberto. She isn't sorry to Roberto, but she's deeply sorry to Kate that she wasn't kind to him. She got caught up in their argument and didn't see him as a customer.
'Kate, I'm so sorry! I just can't get along with that boy and I didn't mean for us to look bad! I'm sorry!' She clasps her hands over her mouth, heart pounding in her chest. Damn you Roberto! You're going to get me fired! You just like ruining my life, don't you? She curses in her head. She gasps and begs, 'Please don't fire me!'
Kate laughs off her worried state. 'Relax, you're fine! Why can't you get along with him?' she asks, intrigued.
Bobbi sighs of relief. 'Because he's the idiot who burned down my mom's flower shop.'
Kate gapes at her while Ashley says, 'Oooh... A bad boy, he's cute.'
Her brown layered hair stops at her shoulders and her eyes are a dark shade of brown. She's twenty years old and likes to work part-time too, as she's a uni student. She bites onto her red painted bottom lip.
A bad boy? Is that the reputation he has in town? An arsonist is what he is. A conceited, arrogant, moody jerk is who he is. Someone who burns down someone's business shouldn't be looked at as a"bad boy" that girls and guys find attractive. He's dangerous. And possibly crazy, Bobbi thinks.
'No, a jackass,' Bobbi corrects Ashley with her arms crossing over her chest. Worse names come to mind but they're inappropriate to use at her workplace.
At home, after Jamelia and Nicholas came over for cake and support with the family, Lucas enters Bobbi's room to find her on the floor reading a textbook, lying in a supine position, her right leg crossed over the other.
'Yo.'
She places the book on her stomach and rubs her eyes. 'Hey dad, are you okay?'
Abruptly, she jumps up and pushes her books to one side on her bed to make room for them to sit. Worries something might be on his mind for the night as he has two cups of hot drinks with him; the hot chocolate with cream for her and his coffee. Might want to talk, a heart to heart to end the day. Be with his daughter before they sleep.
'I'm well. I just came to talk to you about something.'
She takes the mug and raises her eyebrows expectantly.
'It's about Gracious Gardens and you and Roberto working there.'
A quiet, audible gasp is heard from Bobbi, her heart racing, excited. Has he changed his mind about Roberto working there? This is what Bobbi has been waiting for. Knows her dad will hire the right people and won't let her get in their way, but she knows how to talk him into letting her continue the job. Hopes Jamelia and Nicholas won't have a problem helping out. It doesn't have to be an everyday thing.
Maybe today made him see sense. Finally, he's doing something for mom. He's doing what's right.
'I don't want you working there anymore. I refuse, and that's final.'