How To Build A Flower Shop

Chapter SEVEN

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.'