Promise Me Eternity (47 page)

In the evening she looked at herself in the
mirror, unsatisfied with her body. When Henry Lawson had left her
during her pregnancy, she stuffed herself with food to hide the
pain and gained forty pounds. She used various slimming methods but
had managed to lose only ten pounds. Her round face and large
behind bothered her most. She had actually cut her long hair
because of the fullness of her face. It now reached just below her
ears. The new mother couldn’t get used to her altered looks.

The hospital had employed two new
neurosurgeons, both married and extremely serious. Neither of them
showed any interest in her. So she was left with no choice but to
spend her evenings sitting on the couch, holding her baby in her
lap and stuffing herself with potato chips and Coca-Cola, her
favorite soft drink.

One sunny afternoon, she took Samara to the
town park. She sat by the lake and watched the turtles basking in
the sun. Suddenly, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“My God, Anita, is that really you?”

Turning around, she recognized him. “Oh,
Jerry. I haven’t seen you in a year, at least! Unbelievable, how
you’ve changed. You’re in good shape!”

He was wearing navy-blue sweats and a
light-blue T-shirt. She admired his broad shoulders and muscles.
His face was tanned.

“Glad you noticed,” he said. “I’ve been
working out regularly the past year. I swim a lot, run, go to the
gym.”

She couldn’t get over how attractive he’d
become. “It shows.”

“And you, Anita, how are things? You still
with Henry?”

“No. Haven’t you heard? Henry moved back to
Los Angeles with his wife.” She adjusted her daughter’s hat, which
had slid down, covering her eyes. “And left me this lovely little
girl.”

Jerry couldn’t believe this really was Anita
Carter. The woman he’d loved so much was nothing special.
What
did I see in her?
he wondered.

“And you, Jerry. What have you been doing?”
She stared at his strong arms, remembering all the good old times
when they’d lie together in front of the television. “If you’re
free, I’ll invite you for a drink. There’s a lovely bar with a
garden not far away.”

“Thank you, Anita, I’d like to, but I’m not
alone.”

A beautiful woman with red hair, pushing a
stroller, came out of nowhere. “Oh, there you are, Jerry. What’s
the hurry?” she said sharply.

“This is my wife Meghan, and my son Danny.”
He turned to his wife. “This is Anita Carter, who I used to work
with. You know, I told you about her.”

The women gave each other meaningful looks
and shook hands.

“Of course, I’ve heard a lot about you,”
Meghan said.

The disappointment in Anita’s eyes didn’t
stay hidden. Even so, she asked, “So, you didn’t answer my
question. What do you do now?”

“Yes, you’re right. When we got married I
opened a private practice with Meghan’s help. I’m a family doctor
now, like I always wanted.”

“I’m happy for you,” she said to him.

Jerry reached for Meghan’s hand. “Have a nice
time, Anita. Enjoy the lovely weather.”

With sadness she watched them disappear into
the crowd.
Who would’ve thought that was really Jerry.
She
pulled a small bag of chips from the basket under the stroller and
opened it.
They can screw themselves.
She grabbed a few
chips and shoved them into her mouth.

“We don’t need anyone, do we, Samara?”

Chapter 106

_______________________

“Hello, Simon, how are you doing?”

“Thanks, Edna, better now you’re here.”

Her face always glowed. “I’m glad to hear it.
I’m very happy to see you too. I have quite a bit of news that will
interest you.”

He forced himself to smile. “Really?”

“Of course.” She shuffled in her chair. “It’s
a bit uncomfortable here,” she said. “Anyway, where was I? Aha,
news.” In a glance she assessed him. “Did you sleep well? You don’t
look too well.”

“No, I didn’t. I had a stomachache.”

“It shows. You have bags under your eyes. It
must have been something you ate. Just last week I read in some
magazine how people hardly ever check the sell-by date on products.
Research shows that about 80 percent of people have at least one
product that’s past its date at home—mostly spices, jellies,
mustard, and similar stuff. God only knows what they give you to
eat here.”

He was only half listening.

“I keep talking and talking and don’t know
where to stop. I wanted to tell you something. Yes, of course. I
heard that your neighbor, Maria Melton, is getting divorced from
her husband, John.”

Simon was surprised. “What? Who told you
that?”

“Maria herself. I met her two days ago. She
said she’d had enough and would rather live alone. You won’t
believe it, she told me to say hi to you.”

He was touched. “Really? Or are you only
saying that to make me feel better?”

“I’d never do that. Her words were: ‘Give my
love to Simon.’ She asked how you were doing and I said you were
doing quite well.”

He looked away for a moment. “Oh, Maria. I’m
glad she’s divorcing John. His envy is going to eat him up one day.
He doesn’t take other people’s success too well.”

“I know. Whenever I walk past their house, he
gives me a black look.”

Simon Patterson took a deep breath and then
was silent for a few moments. “I want to ask you for something,
Edna.”

She caressed him with her eyes. “Of course,
whatever you want.”

“It may seem a bit of a strange request.”

Her lips parted a little and her eyes looked
worried. “I’ll do whatever I can.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing big. Actually,
it’ll be very easy for you and would mean a lot to me.”

“Of course, of course, anything.”

“When a man is separated from the rest of the
world for a long time, he has simple wishes. I, for instance, keep
on dreaming about walking in the woods and often wish I could swim
in the ocean. But you’ll never guess what I want the most.”

“What?”

“Most of all, I wish I could sit in my garden
and watch the roses bloom. Do you remember how we used to sit in
the garden together with a cup of tea?”

“I do, Simon. Those were the nicest moments
of my life.”

He blushed slightly. “I enjoyed it too.
That’s what I miss the most.”

“I’m curious how I can help.”

He gave a roguish smile. “It’s simple. I
don’t wish for anything impossible. I’ll tell you. You once asked
me what I did in my laboratory.”

She followed with a surprised look on her
face.

“I said I was looking into a fertilizer for
plants, right?”

Edna nodded. “You must have sprayed the roses
with something for them to be so beautiful. Your neighbor John
tried so hard, but never managed.”

“That’s right, Edna. I did spray them with
something. I have to admit they didn’t get so beautiful on their
own.”

“Why didn’t you start selling it? You could
have gotten rich.”

“I intended to, but I discovered something
bigger.”

“Really? What?”

He continued in a more self-confident tone.
“I discovered a spray that made the plant grow bright-red flowers,
twice the normal size. A kind of vitamin spray.”

Edna Weiss was astonished. “That’s
brilliant.”

He waited a moment. “Now I’ll tell you my
wish.”

“You name it.”

“It’s simple. I want you to spray the garden
with it, that’s all. And then tell me how the roses grow. Take a
picture of them every week and bring it with you. Would you do that
for me?”

She felt more at ease. “Yes, I will, with
pleasure. I thought it would be something more complicated. Of
course I’ll do it. When do you want—”

He interrupted her. “There’s one
problem.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t know yet how people and animals
react to it. It could turn out to be dangerous. I’ll tell you
exactly what to do.”

Edna nodded again, signaling she was ready to
listen intently.

“The spray is in the laboratory refrigerator
in a bottle labeled 33. You won’t miss it. It’s the only bottle
with this label. For safety reasons you’ll have to put on a mask,
which you’ll find in a small white closet on the right. You’ll see
it as soon as you step in. Are you following me?”

“Yes. But how will I walk around the garden
with a mask? What will the neighbors think?”

“Oh! You’re right. You’ll do it late at
night, when everyone’s asleep, so that no one sees you. But you
must do it today.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do exactly what you
said.”

“I’m afraid it may already be too late. The
spraying has to be done at a particular point in the growth,” he
explained. His facial expression had turned stern, almost grim. “If
you don’t do it today, we’ll have to wait until next year.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do it tonight.”

“Yes, you must.” He gathered his thoughts and
his face relaxed. “You’ll put on the safety mask and then you’ll
pour the liquid from the blue bottle into the spraying can, which
you’ll find in the garage, and add a quart of water. Don’t take the
mask off. After you’ve finished spraying, you’ll pour the rest into
the soil. By next year it would not be any good, anyway. Do you
understand?”

“Yes, Simon. It seems pretty simple.”

“When you’ve finished, scrub your hands well
and only then can you take off the mask. Then wash the mask and
have a shower.”

“Is it that dangerous?”

“You never know. It’s a special combination
of vitamins that could cause an allergy or something similar.
Promise me you’ll be careful. Don’t touch anything. Once, my rabbit
died because of a small amount of one version of this stuff.”

“Was it that poisonous?”

“Yes. I threw that one away.”

She was relieved. “I’ll be very careful,
don’t worry.”

“And you must do it today.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do it tonight.”

“Good. That would mean a lot to me. That way,
I’ll know if it works or not.”

“I’ll spray them tonight and take photographs
every week. Easy.”

Simon showed his appreciation with a smile.
They chatted for a while longer and then Simon stood up and said,
“Sorry, but I have a stomachache again. I’d better go lie
down.”

“Oh, of course.” She also pushed her chair
away.

“See you next Thursday, Simon, dear.”

About fifteen minutes later, Simon Patterson
was talking to Tuttle. “I’d like to ask you a favor.”

Paul Tuttle looked at him in surprise. “Of
course, Doctor, gladly. As long as it’s in my power.”

“Someone very special to me has a birthday
tomorrow. I’d like to send this person a bunch of beautiful
roses.”

“Oh, that’s what it’s about? I’ll be glad to
help.”

Simon Patterson pulled out a
one-hundred-dollar bill and offered it to him. “You finish at six
today, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I’d like to ask you to call a florist
after work, one that delivers. Can you do that?”

“Yes, of course, whatever you want.”

“What I want is maybe a bit strange. That’s
why I’m giving you a hundred-dollar bill. The favor will probably
cost more than usual. So, you’ll call the florist and ask them to
go to my garden at six o’clock in the morning and cut all the roses
that are in bloom. I’ll write the address on a slip of paper.”

The guard was amazed. “But why your roses?
The flower shop would have enough of their own.”

“That’s the point. I want my roses, no
others. Money isn’t important. Offer them as much as they
want.”

“OK, that’s what I’ll ask for.”

“Make sure they know they have to do it in
the morning.” Simon only hoped they wouldn’t wake Edna. “Mrs. Weiss
is living in my house. She knows nothing about it, but I’ll tell
her on Thursday when she comes to visit. Tell them that if Mrs.
Weiss does wake up, they should tell her I sent them. Are you
following?”

“Of course I’m following. If you want, I can
cut the roses myself and take them to the florist.”

Simon paused. He hadn’t even thought of that.
“Would you really do that for me?”

“Why not? I can’t sleep in the morning
anyway. If you want, I can do it at five in the morning.”

“That would be great, Paul. You’d be doing me
a really big favor. Then nothing else would need to be done apart
from taking the bunch to the flower shop and have them deliver
it.”

“Like I said, I’d love to help.”

“Great—oh, one more thing. I nearly forgot.
It’s a special variety of rosebush from South Africa. The scent may
give you a headache, so don’t stick your nose in the roses.”

“I won’t, don’t worry.”

On one piece of paper, Simon wrote his
address and on the other, Christine Vucci’s, along with a message
for her. He gave both to the guard. “I owe you one.”

The guard laughed and put the notes away.

Then they chatted, just like any other
day.

Chapter 107

_______________________

She lay in the shallow pool, enjoying the
churning of the water jets massaging her body. The room was filled
with oriental incense. By her head sat a young man, massaging her
face.

An older woman entered. “Someone has sent you
flowers, Mrs. Vucci,” she said.

“Really?” Christine replied. In an instant,
she was on her feet and had slipped into a white robe. “I wonder
who they could be from?” Barefooted, she walked over to the woman
and took the large bunch into her arms. “Oh, roses! How
marvelous!”

After her birthday party, which had cost her
a fortune, she had received several invitations. Many prosperous
people had invited her to their estates. She looked for a note.