The Butterfly House (5 page)

She turned down my initial offer but I was going to hold out hope I might be able to win her over with some flowers or a gift of glass
maybe
. I was already spellbound by her and as much as I didn't want to admit it, I felt lonely when I left. I had hopes of getting a chance to get to know her a little outside of the house.

I walked outside to catch a cab and headed back to work. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make her something special. As the cab drove by St. Luke’s Hospital I saw her going inside. She said she had obligations. I wonder if she had a sick family member. It was after one am, a little late for visitors. She did mention she was in college, perhaps she was doing an internship. I was almost tempted to stop and see where she was going but that would be bordering on stalking. I wanted to get to know her, not stalk her or invade her privacy.

Groaning, I realized I was going against my rules and starting to like her. Sam, damn him! He knew this would happen. I hope he had his fun playing matchmaker. This was going to be
friends only
not anything serious. I was not looking for serious, yet as I said that out loud in the cab I wasn't so sure. The cabbie looked at me in the mirror, he had heard me. I turned my head and went back to looking out the window.

Ava

I walked fast towards the hospital entrance, I couldn't wait to see baby Miles. He was doing well on the IV medication so far but he needed to gain more weight. Sometime soon he would be allowed to go home, if there were no heart complications that is. Home, where was I going to keep an infant and who would watch him while I was in class
and
at work? I had to figure that out and figure it out soon.

I took the back elevator up to intensive care and to the prenatal wing. The nurse on duty saw me and smiled. She told me baby Miles had had a good night so far and was sleeping. I put on a gown and mask, then pulled a chair over to his incubator. His little chest was moving up and down as he slept. I reached in and touched his little hand, careful to not wake him. I fought back tears. I was so happy to see him. He was this little guy who had come into my life like a raging storm and no matter what I was falling in love with him. His little tiny hands and feet. He weighed less than three lbs. He was so tiny and helpless. I wanted him to know I was here for him. I didn't care if it meant losing sleep. I had to be here for him. I stayed until dawn, then I had to go home and get some rest. I had no classes but I needed to study in the worst way and do laundry. I would come back in again before work. I blew him a little kiss as I walked out the door heading to the elevator.

Outside, it was still humid and no doubt it was going to be scorching hot day. I walked the few blocks to my apartment. Once inside my apartment I set up my books on the table so I could study then do homework when I woke up. I tossed in a load of wash, then took a shower. After my shower, I threw my wet clothes in the dryer. I ate a bagel with a glass of milk before falling into my bed.

I was bone tired but my first thought was Nolan Walker this time. That look he had on his face when I turned him down for coffee or dinner out. It looked a bit like defeat. I felt bad but when did I really have time for one more thing in my life right now? His smile came across sweet and honest. I felt no worry spending time with him over coffee or even dinner but I didn't want more than friendship. Since I never kept any business cards that came with my tips I didn't get hassled at work from the men who came to the house. Last night Nolan didn't leave me a tip or his business card again. That would have pissed off most women after getting a hefty tip the first time; however I didn't feel that way. I was relieved he didn't tip me, it would have felt like a bribe now that I had met him. What I didn't need was a man who made me feel obligated or pressured. Nolan did neither, instead I found myself thinking about his hands and that tiny bit of chest hair I had a glimpse of.  I thought about his lips touching mine as I finally surrendered my aching tired body to sleep.

Angela

I could hear voices, they were talking about me. I tried to listen to their words but I just couldn't seem to hear them clearly. I wanted to yell I know someone's there but the words just didn't seem to want to form for me. I was so tired and all I could think of was him. I was mentally being held against my will and I was powerless to do a damn thing about it.

The last thing I remembered was running and falling, It was raining, it was pouring down so hard you couldn't hear any other sounds. I could hear someone calling my name, I knew  they wanted something, something I had to protect. I ran left, then right trying to keep my hair out of my eyes. I saw the door almost passing it as the rain blinded me a bit. I banged on the door like my life depended on it, and it did. I felt fear rip through me as I tried the door knob and it was locked. I pounded harder on it. I was crying and screaming as I struck that metal door harder and faster. My fists were starting to hurt but that didn't matter, I needed the door to open. “Someone please open this door!” I shouted until my voice went hoarse.

Finally after what was merely minutes but felt like hours the door opened just as pain ripped through me, I stumbled but I heard a woman's voice as she reached out and stopped me from falling down. She pulled me inside, helping me to a chair. I heard the door lock. I started to cry with relief, I was safe until a minute later I doubled over in hot sharp pain. My fear was back only this time there was no escaping it. The woman looked at me in horror as she saw the blood all over my clothes as I fought to stand. She led me over to her sofa telling me to lie down. I knew I was putting this woman who was my friend in danger but I had nowhere else to go.

We could hear shouts from outside mingling with the sound of the rain pouring, I couldn't run anymore but I still had the strength to pray that God sent them running in a different direction as I held onto the woman's hands. We both waited in anticipation and dread that they would start knocking on her door.

Nolan ~
Seven

My glass studio is in the lowest level of my business. Our offices were on the very top floor and on mid level we kept our customers' work that was completed but not yet shipped or picked up
and
any stock we had on hand.

I still loved the smells and sounds of blowing glass every time I had a chance to walk downstairs. They had machines now that did the job but I still did things the old-fashion way for many of our projects. I preferred to use the machine for the very large projects that required less detail.

There are two types of glassblowing:
lampworking
, which is done with a blowtorch and then o
ff-hand
, which works glass on the end of a hollow tube. I was going to be doing lampworking for the gift I was making Ava Wild. This worked best for smaller and more detailed items.

Just saying her name out loud had the power to bring a smile to my face.
I will admit that I was a bit smitten, but she was also nothing like any of the women I had come across. She was kind from what I could tell. While she worked a job that stereotyped women, she was nothing like the
Monica Lansing or stripper type, she was not looking for a man to support her. Ava was making a living and going to college, that I admired.

I fired up the torch and started heating the mandrel, I only used mandrels that had a ceramic coating so the glass didn't stick to it after it cooled. I chose a thin piece of teal green glass. I had to flash the glass through the tip of the flame to prime it. If I didn't do this step the glass could go into shock and then it would shatter instead of becoming molten. I flashed for less than a minute. I started bringing the glass closer to the heart of the flame, holding the flame until a nice glowing orange ball developed.

I worked the molten tip of the glass to the mandrel, then I added another thin piece of glass in deep purple. It was a bit of a process to work the colors together and then shape them into what I wanted, I used a graphite paddle to do the shaping. I wanted something special for Ava but not too personal. I was making her something that was usable but also could be a keepsake. I had noticed she had dragonflies on the case she carried her things in, working on a hunch I decided to make little dragonfly key ring.

Once I had the dragonfly shaped,
I had to allow the mandrel to cool off a bit before taking it to the annealer. The annealer was used to help the glass cool slowly. I left it there and began cleaning up my work area.

It was almost dawn and Ava Wild was still on my mind, it was going to be a very long day.

Ava

I woke up late but I was feeling a lot less tired. I turned the dryer back on for a few minutes to fluff my clothes as I pulled out my notes and book for class. I had homework to finish and a few chapters to read. I put on a pot of tea and dug into my homework.

An hour or so later my homework was done, the laundry was folded and put away. I sat reading a chapter in my chemistry book. I had a few hours until I had to be at work.

I finished my reading, rinsed out my tea cup and cleaned up the kitchen. I was hungry but not enough to want to cook. I grab a container of yogurt and a spoon as I sat at the table with my foot propped up. I chose gun metal gray nail color and began polishing my toes as I ate my yogurt. I had called earlier to check on baby Miles, he had had a good night and was doing much better. The floor nurse explained that the IV medication was doing its job and soon he would be able to feed normally. It lifted a huge amount of stress off my mind but then it also meant I had to start looking into someone to care for Miles. I had made enough the last few nights to cover my rent and put a nice payment on his hospital bill.

As soon as my toe polish dried I got dressed in jean shorts and tank top, grabbed my work bag, outfit and purse. I was going to stop at billing before going to see baby Miles. I threw in my chemistry book so I could go over my reading homework again later if I had any free time. I had an early class tomorrow.

It was a beautiful but a very warm afternoon as I left my apartment heading for the hospital. Once I walked into the hospital I headed for the billing office first. The lady at the desk accepted my payment, and as I was leaving I turned around and asked her if she knew where I might be able to hire a nurse or infant care giver to watch baby Miles while I worked and was in class. She gave me the name of a day care center that took care of infants and smaller children. She also mentioned that she'd leave a message for the hospital coordinator, they had a small day care center on site that they used for families who had a need for their own children to be watched while visiting a sick family member or friend in the hospital. She said if it was only for a few hours at a time they might be able to help me out. This might work for class but I wasn't so sure about my late work hours. Still I left my cell phone number on the chance it might help.

I took the elevator upstairs to the intensive care wing for infants. I walked in and baby Miles was awake. I could hear the little noises coming from his incubator. I smiled as I pulled on a gown and pulled over a chair to sit with him. His eyes were still covered but his little hands and feet were moving a little. I slowly reached in to touch his little fingers, which then gripped mine. I felt tears sting my eyes as I talked gently to him. Letting him know he was getting better and that he wouldn't be alone here for much longer. He seemed to like the sound of my voice as he kicked a little harder. He was still so little, it made me nervous just thinking about taking care of him alone but I could do this. I would pick up more hours if I had to. Next semester I would try to take any course I could online, that would save on having to hire someone to watch baby Miles.
Maybe I was crazy but at that very moment Nolan Walker popped into my head. I could really use something to eat right now and a friend, even if that friend was a very handsome man I barely knew a thing about, had offered to buy me a meal. I felt that weird flutter feeling you get in your belly when you meet someone new. I thought about his business card still in my purse. Maybe I would call him before I left the hospital for work and see if his offer was still open for dinner and just friendship. It would only be
friendship
, I didn't have room in my life for more than that right now.

Nolan ~
Eight

I was at my desk with a new client Ellis Rathbone. Ellis was looking to order some bulletproof items. We were just finishing up when Cameron buzzed my desk letting me know Ava Wild was on the line. Cameron never interrupted me unless he felt it was important and I had mentioned if
she
called to please let me know. I was smiling like an idiot when I asked Cameron to see if she could hold for a few minutes. I was not letting her get away that easily, I wanted to see her.

After asking Cameron to set up another meeting with Ellis, I left them both outside my office and walked inside to take Ava's call.