“Just make me a place to stay. Some dirty hotel will do. I just need empty room. Bed would be nice.”

“How can you get away so suddenly?”

“Did you say someone is dying? Ah, is good time. Best matches are coming in fall. Right now I can be spared. For a little while, not forever. I have only terrible athletes now. Maybe they get nervous and work harder if I ignore them, eh? I can throw a little pout so they think I quit, yes? Then we see what we see! Don’t tell Winifred. She hates me.”

“She loves you,” Grace said.

“That is love? She has the hardest love in my experience.”

“Yeah. I know.” She sighed. “I think you can fly into Eugene. That could be closest. But really, you don’t have to—”

“In Russia, is important to pay gratitude. Otherwise, there might not be a place for me when my time comes.”

When she disconnected, Troy came back to sit beside her on the couch. “You okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “I’m going to have to see her. Will you come with me?”

“I’ll take you,” he said. “But I’m not going to sit with you while you talk to your mother. I think she feels this is personal family business.”

“What am I going to do? I’m not going to San Francisco to live with her!”

“You can do whatever you have to do, Gracie. No matter what you decide to do, the sad reality is that it’s not forever. Be sure that in the end you don’t have any regrets. That’s all.”

* * *

Grace hung a sign on the flower shop door. Closed for the Day. Open Tomorrow 9:00 a.m. She put her work cell number at the bottom for phone orders.

Troy was determined not to be involved, at least not at this point. He dropped her at the cottage Winnie occupied and he left. He said he wouldn’t be far away and she could call him. He’d come back when she needed him.

Winnie was comfortably settled on a chaise longue in her bedroom, a soft throw around her shoulders and a pillow under her knees. She had a book in her lap, but it was closed. Virginia let Grace into the room.

“You look very comfortable,” Grace said, kissing her mother’s cheek.

She lifted the book. “The one thing I thought I’d do with all this godforsaken leisure time was read, but do you suppose I can concentrate?”

Grace laughed and sat on the upholstered bench at the end of the bed. “Skating wasn’t the only gift you gave me, you know. I love to read and I suppose a lot of that is because of you. On all those long trips we took, you always had a book going. You packed books. You read during practice and in the car on long rides.”

“And now I can’t seem to focus.”

“You will once we get a few details organized. I wanted to bring you flowers but since I brought you five hundred dollars’ worth yesterday, it seemed ridiculous.”

“I kept the smashed arrangement and sent the other three to hospitals and nursing homes,” she said, having the grace to blush slightly. “They’re beautiful, Izz—is it really Grace now?”

“It is. And thank you.” She took a breath, shaking her head. “Oh, Mother. The drama. You could have just told me the moment you knew. Instead of fighting we could have planned how we’d manage the time. I didn’t quit skating because of you. I competed as long as I did because of you. And I don’t hate skating—I love it. But I was done with so many aspects of the trials. They were right—Izzy Banks couldn’t take the pressure.”

Winnie sighed. “They say the mind is not affected by ALS. They’re wrong. I’ve made some foolish decisions in the past couple of years. I’ve snapped at you in anger and lived to regret it. But that’s not all. I’ve flown as far as Switzerland for a miracle cure when my specialist assured me all along the research hasn’t caught up with the power of this disease.”

“Well, I guess you’re lucky you had that option to fly to Switzerland. Does your specialist do anything for you?”

“I’ve been taking a drug to slow the progression, but it’s not going to cure me and there comes a time... Grace, you’ll need genetic testing. You should be prepared.”

Grace nodded. “What is Virginia’s role? Nurse?”

“She’s an assistant. She’s been with me for three years and now she does far more for me than she bargained for. I hired her as a secretary but she exceeded my expectations. She’s a genius with the computer.”

Grace tilted her head and smiled. “Is that so?”

“She’s amazing. And she knows she’ll be looking for work before long.”

Grace knew that anyone who worked closely with Winnie or inside the house went through complete background checks and came with high recommendations. Winnie was a genius at hiring the best people. Just look at what Mikhail was able to accomplish for her. “When you say before long...”

“How long will I live? I have no idea. Six months? A year? If I live a year, it won’t be a good year. I’ve already had more time than eighty percent of ALS patients. But Virginia knows her way around files and names and accounts. She can help you with that—she’s managed all of my correspondence for a couple of years now. And she will be replaced with a nurse sometime soon.”

“In San Francisco?” Grace asked.

“It’s where I’ve lived since you were twelve years old,” she said.

“Isn’t that big house getting a little overwhelming?”

“What do you mean?” Winnie asked.

“It’s just that—doesn’t it take quite an army to keep that place going?”

“Indeed,” Winnie said with a curl of the lip.

“Mother...Mama...I called Mikhail and he’s coming. He wants to see you.”

She stiffened in shock. “Why?”

“Well, aside from the fact that he’s fond of you? He also believes he owes his reputation to you. It was because you hired him that he had such success. Now, here’s what I need to know—how long are you staying here? In Bandon?”

“I can have this cottage for another week, but I was going to go home as soon as possible. Hopefully, you will be coming with me.”

Grace shook her head. “I have commitments. For this week, I have lots of orders. After that there’s a wedding out of town—one that I’ve been looking forward to. If I had an emergency, there are several florists who would be happy to take my orders. In fact, for the out-of-town wedding, Mamie and Ross could do the job—they trained me.”