Elly didn’t remember running upstairs. One minute, she was huddled in the bathroom with her employees, and then next, she was flying up the stairs to her apartment. She stepped inside the open door. The kitchen and living room were a disaster, but that wasn’t anything new.
“Dennis! Dennis!” Elly began checking each closet. “Dennis!” She ran down the hall to his room. Everything was gone. His backpack, his stinking pile of laundry, his nerdy books. Her hands shaking, Elly touched the eject button on the computer hard drive. It opened, and showed World of MageCraft still safe in its pocket. Oh no. She spun around and saw the neat stack of papers by the pillow. Her eyes grew wide as she looked down at the papers for the DNA test that she had ordered. When they came in the mail, she had shoved them under her bed, telling herself that she would think about that after the wedding. Dennis had found them. No wonder he had left. She looked around the empty room and a tear fell down her cheek. Oh Dennis. She read his note again.
A new fear rose inside of her. It was unfamiliar, perhaps stronger than any other feeling before it. It was protective, overbearing, and paranoid. She had a sudden longing to wrap Dennis in her arms and take all the ills of his world away. His face was beautiful in her memory, a perfect reflection of her own. She ached for him with a fierceness that surprised her, and her heart began to clutch fearfully in her chest. Elly Jordan was suddenly more afraid than she had ever been in her life. She had to find Dennis. She had to find him now.
Snarky Teenager burst through the door. “What is happening? We have to figure out the flowers.”
Elly looked up from the note. “I have to go find Dennis.”
“He’s probably at the video-game rental store.”
“No. He left.” She handed Snarky Teenager the note.
As she read the note, her eyes grew misty. “Oh God. Do you think he would …?”
Elly’s mind whirled with wild fear. “Yes. And I didn’t help with that. Ah, I’m so stupid!”
“You aren’t. You did all you could.”
“No. I didn’t.”
Snarky Teenager shook her head. “Elly, I care about Dennis too, but this wedding….”
Elly stood up and began taking off her overalls and apron. She quickly pulled on jeans and a long-sleeved maroon shirt. “You can handle it.”
Snarky Teenager’s mouth dropped open. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Take care of it.”
“But …,” she sputtered, “we have no flowers. The wedding is tomorrow night. Elly, it’s BlissBride!”
“You can do the interview.”
“But….” For once, her perfectly aligned features looked absolutely sincere. “Elly, this is your big moment. The one you’ve been waiting for.”
Elly pulled her wet hair back into a bun and began shoving clothes into an overnight bag. “I don’t care. Dennis is …,” she paused as a hot tear rolled down her cheek. “I denied Dennis the privilege of being my family. And he’s my only family. I’m not sure what else is worth living for. I don’t want to let Lola down, and I trust that you won’t. Go to Baisch and Skinner. Hit up Florist Row with our checkbook. Call the wholesalers. Have them hold everything for us that is pink, white, champagne, and any and all shades of blue. Have Anthony go to the farmers’ market and buy them out of dahlias. You will have to adapt the contract to what you can buy. We’re going from elegant flowers to a more native, wild look.”
Snarky Teenager stared at her with huge eyes. “Elly. I can’t do this. I can’t. I’m only in high school. What about Lola’s bouquet?”
Elly reached out and patted her cheek, trying to calm them both. Elly’s heart was racing, threatening to burst out of her chest. Her panic over the dead flowers was nothing compared to this; that was a drop in the ocean. Over and over again in her head, she saw Dennis’s blue eyes, so broken and trusting during their fight. The way he slouched over when he walked or sat, the very posture of someone that life had disappointed. He was her brother and she had let him down. WHY had she ordered that test? Dennis. Dennis. Dennis. His name played over and over in her mind. She looked up into Snarky Teenager’s eyes. “Make Lola’s bouquet last. But if you have to do it, I’m not worried about it. You are an incredible designer.”
Then she hugged her, and to her surprise, she felt her tiny body hug back, with a surprising fondness. “I will. I will do this for you.”
Elly smiled at her. “I believe in you. I always have. Use Anthony. Use Kim. Use every one of the extra hands. Delegate.”
“I don’t even know what that word means.”
“You will.” Elly shoved a pair of sandals onto her feet and zipped up her bag. She flipped open her phone and began dialing.
“You can’t report someone missing for twenty-four hours, I think. Don’t you watch TV?”
Elly looked up from the phone. “I’m not calling the police. I’m calling someone better.”
“Who?”
Elly felt herself grip the phone. “I’m calling Keith.”
“But you don’t even know where Dennis is.”
Elly pressed her lips together and looked at the letter on the bed. “Actually, I think I do.”
Chapter Twenty-Three