Court of the Myrtles by Lois Cahall Page A

him,” she explained, tapping Scotty on the back. Of course, when Alice had announced to her parents that she was going to wed some thirty years agothey were thrilled simply to have her out of the house. “One less mouth to feed,” she remembered hearing her father say later that night. But with Joy, it wouldn’t be that way. “Do you want to live here?” asked Alice. “Just until you get on your feet? Save a little?”
    Joy and Scotty shared a look.
    â€œPlenty of room,” insisted Alice.
    â€œWell, we don’t think…”
    â€œOh, c’mon, just think about it before you say ‘no,’” said Alice. “We can knock down a wall and make your brother’s bedroom larger. Like a master suite. What do you think?”
    Again the two swapped glances.
    â€œMom, that’s really sweet, but we can’t.”
    â€œI’ve been promoted from traffic controller,” announced Scotty.
    â€œYoungest one ever,” said Joy.
    â€œBonuses and everything, I even get my own squad car!” added Scotty.
    â€œIn Philadelphia,” added Joy.
    â€œThat’s wonderful!” And then her mind processed the last word. “Philadelphia? But that’s so far…” said Alice, hesitant of what might come next. Her eyes searched Joy’s for answers, but Joy’s eyes were cast down to the lawn where she watched one lone ice cube slipping away.
    â€œWe have to move to Philadelphia, Mom,” announced Joy. “It’s the chance of a lifetime for Scotty and I can get a transfer to another real estate office.”
    â€œIt’s where my family’s from,” said Scotty, “so they’re absolutely ecstatic. We’ll be living closer to them.” Joy twisted her hand this way and that, the sun catching herthree-carat diamond’s flawless cut in its rays. It was the very ring Scotty’s mother had handed down from her grandmother.
    â€œWell, of course they must be excited to have their son back. It’s your hometown…” said Alice, pulling her lawn chair under her legs, and sitting before she fainted.
    â€œMom, are you okay?”
    â€œI’m fine.”
    â€œIt’s only about an eight-hour drive, give or take,” said Joy. “And we can talk every day. I’ll get one of those long-distance phone plans.”
    â€œAnd I get three paid vacation weeks a year,” said Scotty, “So you know we’ll be here to visit you.”
    But Alice wasn’t listening to them. All the convincing in the world wouldn’t change what was going on in her head. She knew that her daughter Joy, the child she had paid the least attention to, was grown and gone right before her eyes. And when they say “it’s never too late” Alice realized it might be. Just like her husband, she’d lost the chance to do the things to make it all worth it. She’d failed again. Alice looked at the last remains of the ice cube dissolving down the hillside and knew exactly what that cube was feeling.
    â€œMom, are you sure you’re okay with this?” asked Joy.
    Alice nodded, and drifted off into her rose garden, leaving the two of them to watch after her. Pinching a dead bud from a rose stem she turned back, “Aren’t roses the most romantic flower on the planet?”

Chapter Nine
R.I.P.
Withdrawal & Loneliness
    Two days before Mother’s Day, I’m sitting on the grass by the side of my mom’s grave hugging my kneecaps and rocking myself. “Can Mother’s Day actually be worse than Christmas?” I ask her. “A holiday to honor a mother who no longer exists?”
    I look at my watch—ever a clock-repairer’s grandchild. 10:55—I’m five minutes early but so is Alice. Today I want to be alone. So do I really care? But before I can answer that…
    â€œHey there,” says Alice.
    â€œHey.”
    â€œEver read the epitaphs on