Winter in Full Bloom Read Online Free PDF Page A

“Thank you for your kindness.” I wanted to ask him what was so pressing that he couldn’t have a quick peek right this minute, but I didn’t want to be rude. “If you come across anything at all I’ll be here for three weeks. Here’s my cell number and my sister’s name.” I handed Rowan the slip of paper with all my information.
    A sign on the counter, publicizing one of their services, caught my attention. Evensong—perhaps I could attend at some point. I had never been Anglican, so I didn’t know what the word evensong meant, but it seemed as pleasant as a spring breeze, and because my sister may have had some connection with the church I wanted to experience the worship she’d known here. I would participate in evensong and I would imagine where she always sat and sang or took communion or read from the prayer book.
    Rowan raised his hand. “You never did say how you and your twin got separated.”
    “I don’t know really. My mother didn’t explain it to me.” I squeezed back the tears, determined not to shed a single drop until I was on my way.
    “Oh?” He scratched his head.
    “Thank you again.” I left Rowan standing there and fled out the door before he could ask any more questions.
    I felt a need to walk off my disappointment, and the folks at the hotel had mentioned a garden not far from the cathedral. As wearied as I felt I couldn’t seem to slow down. I kept up my brisk pace in the direction of the gardens, crossing the Yarra River again and the busy streets. The church bells rang out in the distance. Perhaps it was a reminder for me not to give up.
    I passed a group of men playing the bagpipes of all things, a museum on the other side of the street, and then I came to a sign that read The Royal Botanic Gardens. I slowed my stride to an amble as I gazed around. The city’s playground of greenery turned out to be grand, full of exotic trees and flora unknown to me. I’d caught the gardens in the midst of embracing spring and every shade of heaven.
    A pathway curved its way here and there through gasping beauty. My favorite—eucalyptus trees—grew everywhere. The leaves chattered like children. I had no idea what they were saying; I just breathed in their scent and strolled on. Julie would have loved these gardens. I fingered the bracelet she’d given me and wondered what she was doing. Was she eating enough? Had she made college friends yet? Did she miss me as much as I missed her? I hoped not, since I didn’t want her to live like I had—as if her wings were clipped.
    The wound of my lonesomeness, though, felt gaping and ready for more salt, and I was usually the person with the shaker who could do the job thoroughly. I couldn’t imagine anything softening the pain, except maybe finding my sister. And yet now my hope dangled on a rope so thin it felt like a worn thread.
    A bird let out a mad shriek in a nearby tree, startling me, and then a young woman brushed by me, wearing a balloon-bottom skirt, fishnet hose, and a floppy hat. Interesting attire. I imagined myself in an outfit like that and chuckled.
    After I passed another flower-laden hedge of yellow, a lake came into view with a vast lawn in the foreground. The pond glistened like diamonds strewn on the water, and swans—black and sinuous-looking—glided across the surface as if they were duchesses in search of their tiaras. People were scattered like random bits of confetti on the green, where they played and chatted and soaked up the sun. And in the distance a couple decked out in their wedding clothes posed for cameras. Lovely.
    I removed my jacket and sat down on one of the wooden benches. The tears I’d saved were on the verge of spilling over, but instead of weeping I opened my purse and pulled out a bag of marshmallows. On a defiant whim I stuffed a big puffy confection into each cheek. Pillows of sugar. Ahh. They were sweet and soft and amiable, and all the things that empty nest was not. Of course, if I kept eating