Into the Garden (Wildflowers 5)

"We'll get more decorations," Jade said after hanging the pictures on the walls. "I didn't want to take too long.

Well?" she said, gazing at everything, "what do you think so far?"

"It's different," I said, looking at the rug and the candles in the naked, black room. They had even painted the windows.

"Wait until Star sees it all," Misty said. "It gives me an eerie feeling, but I like it."

"It's got to be meditative, spiritual," Jade explained. "Why did we have to paint the w

indows?" I asked. "We want to leave the loud, noisy, troubled, rotten world out there when we all gather in here."

"How do you know about all this?" I asked her.

"My mother was into it for a while. She joined one of those meditative groups shortly after she and my father started their divorce wars and it seemed to help her, but then the organization asked for more donations and she found out her spiritual leader was buying up prime property in Westwood with the money, so she quit, but I liked the music and I read her pamphlets and got more out of them than she did, I think.

"In here, we won't be afraid to expose our deepest feelings to each other. That's what makes it sacred, so remember to always keep it locked so no one else sets foot in it. Okay?"

"Yes," I said. Maybe it would work, I thought. Maybe we would have a special place, a true escape.

We heard the phone ring and I picked up the receiver. The phone had been left on the floor. It was the doctor at the hospital wondering why I hadn't shown up for my X- ray. He wanted to speak with Geraldine.

"Oh, I'm sorry. She's out, but I'll be right there," I said.

"It's important we check how that's healing," he emphasized. "I thought your mother understood."

"She did; she's just been sick," I said, thinking of the first possible excuse. After I hung up, I told Jade and Misty about the forgotten appointment.

"Don't worry about it. Let's get over there."

"I'll drive," Misty said, and we went downstairs. Jade remembered to call Star to let her know where we would be should she arrive. She listened for a moment and then hung up.

"She doesn't sound too happy. She said it was all right because she wouldn't be here until dinner. Rodney was upset. Her mother took him along supposedly to shop and he ended up in a bar with her."

"Maybe she'll drink herself to death and solve the problem," Misty muttered

Jade and I gazed at each other, both thinking the same thing I'm sure. It was sad that Star's and her brother's happiness and even safety depended on their mother being gone and out of their lives.

We got into- the car and headed for the hospital. It took us nearly two hours to get my X-rays done and the doctor to look at them. He was obviously concerned that Geraldine wasn't there, too. I said she was running a fever.

"But I thought you told me she was out before," he reminded me.

"She had gone to the doctor who prescribed medicine and told her to rest," I said.

He still looked annoyed and suspicious, but said I was healing fine.

"I want you back next week. Have your mother call me the day before," he ordered and wrote out his name and number. I thanked him and we left.

"What will I do next week?"

"He won't remember her voice. I'll call and pretend I'm Geraldine," Jade said. "We'll be fine. The important thing is your ankle's coming along well. Now, let's go to Camelot's and get you something for Misty's father's wedding. Shopping is the best way to get rid of worries," she added

"Something a Beverly would say," Misty quipped. She thought a moment and then smiled and said, "Funny, but when Star's not with us, I feel like I have to say what she would say."

"We're all becoming part of each other," Jade explained. "Let's hope it's only the good parts."

We all laughed. I was beginning to be afraid we wouldn't find any reason to, but we did have a great afternoon. Little did I or Misty know that Camelot's was an offbeat clothing store, selling what they described as "Mythic Clothes." The shop was scented with incense and there was music not unlike the CD's Jade had purchased for our special room.

The first dress Jade insisted I try on was a gown of stretch velvet. It had gold metallic trim and pointed sleeves. I thought it looked like a costume on me, but that was nothing compared to what I looked like in what was called the Goddess dress, made of crinkled silk with a gold metallic corded belt. After that I got into the Fairy dress, a silk chiffon with a handkerchief skirt and separate top that tied at the shoulders. It was pale lavender and both Jade and Misty decided it was the one I should buy. I kept laughing at my image in the mirror and thinking how wild Geraldine would be if she saw me in it.