A Rose in Shadow

Chapter 78

Sharon and Samantha went down the hallway to the spare bedroom to make up the bed for sleeping. It was late and everyone was tired.

Samantha entered first and flipped the light switch just inside the door which turned on the three lamps that she had placed around the room and Sharon stepped in behind her. "I've always liked this room" she mused as she looked around.

Her daughter had always had a very tasteful decorating style which had only improved as she had grown. The walls were painted a kind of brownish-pink, which should have been ugly, but wasn't. Samantha had furnished the room with an old wrought iron queen-sized bed frame, topped with a feather bed and beautiful handmade quilts.

There was an antique barrister's bookcase with glass doors, revealing wicker baskets inside which hid Samantha and Adam's bills and paperwork, out of sight.

There was a roll-topped desk, which Sharon remembered helping Samantha drag home from a sale a few years ago. At the time she couldn't look beyond the dings and scratches to imagine what it would look like once repaired and refinished but had learned to trust Samantha's eye. The end result was stunning but Sharon didn't delude herself into thinking that the transformation was an easy thing. Her daughter was tenacious and hard-working and would have probably put in endless hours in finishing the piece.

The lamps, as well, were salvaged and Sharon let out a delighted laugh when her eyes landed on the free standing one in the corner. Twining and twisting all of the way up from the base to the top were four little rabbits, each one climbing on top of the other as though giving each other a boost. The shade was stained glass in tones of red and yellow and the pole and bunnies were cast in iron which had a very slight patina of rust that only added to the charm. The best part though, in Sharon's opinion, was the little chain-metal pull which was decorated at the end with a small iron carrot.

Samantha smiled, appreciating her mom's reaction and wandered over to her.

"Isn't it cute?" she asked, touching the carrot gently with her index finger to start it in a lazy sway. "I saw it in a shop window and paid full price for it" she gave her mom a comical look of horror before chuckling, "but I just couldn't resist and knew it would be perfect in here"

Sharon finished her look around the room and her eyes landed on the treadmill which was folded onto itself against a wall. Although Samantha had covered it with a tapestry cloth it couldn't be disguised and she turned her twinkling eyes to her daughter. "Still hate that thing?" she asked, teasingly.

"With a passion" Samantha answered quickly and moved to open the wooden chest at the end of the bed to gather the sheets and pillow cases that they would need.

Sharon sat down suddenly on the unmade bed and placed her hands over her face.

Alarmed, Samantha rushed to her side "Mom, are you okay?"

Turning her wet eyes to Samantha, Sharon took a deep breath. "It's just hit me." She whispered, the tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. "We could have lost you today" Samantha's heart leapt to her throat and the residual fear that she had been trying to suppress suddenly grew legs and she felt her heart start to race.

Tears came to her own eyes and she sat beside her mom and gathered her gently into her arms.

She was alive. She was okay and her mom needed her to be strong.

They held tightly to each other for several minutes until Sharon reached up to run her fingers over Samantha's bruised cheek and down the length of her hair. "You are one of my proudest accomplishments, my baby" she said, kissing Samantha's forehead. "Don't ever doubt how much we love you".

"I know Mom. I've always known."

Samantha's parents were reluctant to leave the next day until they received a promise that Adam and Samantha would travel to their home in a few weeks to stay and visit for a full weekend. They wanted to get to know Adam better and they missed their daughter. The events of the past twenty-four hours, a reminder of how lucky they all were to have each other.