Not a Flower - A Novel

Chapter 11

The house felt empty when she entered it. Debating with herself briefly, Grace took the stack of letters from her purse and walked to Adrian's bedroom. The door was shut. Suddenly nervous, she stalled for a few seconds before shaking her head and knocking briskly on the door. After a few moments of no reply, she tentatively turned the door handle and opened it.

There was nobody inside. A sudden tiny flare of disappointment surprised her. Had she really wanted to see Adrian? Of course, Grace told herself firmly, she wanted to see him so that she could say goodbye in person. It was only the nice thing to do.

Placing the letters carefully on his bed, she debated whether she should write him a note. Then frustrated with herself, Grace turned away and walked out the bedroom, shutting the door behind her with a thump. Leaning there for a moment, she thought about the fact that she would probably never see Adrian again.

The hallway seemed darker and gloomier at the thought, as if the sun had suddenly gone behind a cloud. She scrubbed her face with one hand and gave an impatient breath of a sigh. Then she left the main house through the front door. Her cabbie was waiting on the curving driveway. Beyond him were the vibrant green hedges of the maze with the fountain at the center. Grace slowed down and hesitated on the steps as she stared at the maze.

It suddenly seemed extremely important that she see the fountain in the middle again. To go through the maze and reach the center and touch the fountain and confirm that it was real. That she had really been here. Grace gave a tiny grin. Maybe she could even scratch her name onto the fountain so that the future generations of Roussiards would see it and wonder who this 'Grace' person had been.

Her smile dying, Grace asked the cabdriver to wait for her and started for the maze. He agreed with a shrug and settled in to read his newspaper.

The maze hedges looked just as tall as she remembered. She supposed it had grown in the past years as she had. Trailing her hand along the glossy green leaves and slender branches, she took a deep breath and walked in.

It was cooler inside the maze. The tall hedges gave shade from the sun and gave her the illusion of being the only person in the world. Grace wondered at herself as she turned blind corners and came to dead ends only to start over again. Why was she doing this? Was this some asinine attempt to relive a painful yet important part of her youth? Or was it to prove to herself that she had indeed grown up and was wiser? Grace vowed that when she reached the middle, she would drink from the fountain this time. To prove that it had only been a myth. A fairytale. Something that hadn't been real and no longer had the power to frighten her.

A bit grimly, she forged through the maze. It could have been hours or it could have been minutes. Suddenly, she broke through and was standing in a faintly familiar wide clearing lined with cobblestones and a marble fountain in the middle. But she wasn't alone.

Adrian was there.

Standing with his back to her, hands stuffed carelessly into pockets, he was staring contemplatively at the fountain. A slight wind gently batted and ruffled a lock of his dark hair like a playful kitten. She lost her breath and couldn't stop staring. Then appalled at herself and her reaction, she cleared her throat loudly.

"Grace." He acknowledged softly without turning around.

She pinned a bright smile on her lips and stepped deeper into the clearing.

"Hi Adrian! Long time no see. What have you been up to?" Her voice was so chirpy that she wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"I've been—busy." Adrian's voice was subdued. "I've never been on vacation this long before and work was stacking up on my desk."