A Christmas to Remember (29 page)

Those words hit home. Lucy felt the sting. She had given up on herself, marked herself as a total failure.

“No matter how often we give up on healing our addictions or trying to mend broken relationships or curb our tempers or have
better values,” he continued, “God doesn’t give up on us. He’s always ready to inspire us with the will and courage to try again, to do it better another time—if we only keep our hearts and spirits open to His inspiration.”

Had she closed her heart and spirit to God? Had she left God out of her dilemma? Maybe that’s why it all seemed so hopeless, with no solution.

“We can expect perfection in heaven. But not on earth. Not from our fellow men and certainly not from ourselves. Our job here is to extend the same spirit of love and forgiveness God shows us, to everyone we meet. And to ourselves.

“One of my favorite sayings is, ‘The greatest wisdom is kindness.’ I would have to add it’s the greatest philosophy and the greatest medicine, too. You can go far making one resolution this year—resolving simply to be kinder. To be more forgiving, accepting. It’s a step in a whole new path through life that can surely make the world a better, more loving place.”

The choir began to sing, and Lucy turned to the hymn “Amazing Grace.” She wasn’t very mindful of the music though, her thoughts wandering. She thought about what Jack had said, about the scales with doing good on one side and screwing up on the other. Did saving that stranger’s life last night balance it all out for her again? Was it a sign, as Charlie had said?

Lucy wasn’t so sure about that, but Reverend Ben’s words had struck a chord. She needed to start by forgiving herself. By knowing she may have made a mistake, but that didn’t make her a failure. Maybe God had given her a talent for helping people, for nursing, and it was her duty to keep trying, until she was really good at it.

Southport Hospital, Early January, Present-day

N
ORA
M
ARTIN WAS A MUCH BETTER TEACHER THAN
Margaret Sherman, Lucy could tell that from the start. She was calm and clear with her instructions. She never made Lucy feel dumb for admitting she was unsure of something, and she was usually encouraging. Nora, who had heard Lucy’s story and agreed to be her new supervisor, made Lucy feel as if she were truly being given a fresh start.

Lucy was now assigned to a different wing but with the same kind of cases she had dealt with before, patients who had noncritical conditions or who were recovering from surgery. Most of the doctors on this wing were new to her, so she was surprised to run into Jack her very first day back.

Things had been good with Charlie lately—better than usual
since he was trying hard to be supportive of her—but she still felt that little spark of attraction when Jack smiled at her.

“Hey, Lucy. I didn’t know you were back.” He walked over and gave her a quick hug, and her heart raced.

“It’s my first day. So far, so good.”

“I knew you’d come back sooner or later.”

“I didn’t. But thanks—I’m grateful to you for coming out to talk to me that day.”

“That was nothing. I knew you had the guts to stick it out. You just had to find them again.”

“Yeah, maybe.” She nodded and smiled at him. “So how’s it going? How’s your new year?”

“Pretty good.” His face lit with a slow smile. “My wife and I are back together. We spent some time together over the holidays and decided to try again.”

“Wow, that’s great.” She looked at him carefully. “You seem happy.”

“I am,” he admitted. “Very.”

Lucy forced a bright smile. She heard a whooshing sound and knew it was the hot air, rushing out of her silly fantasy. She almost wanted to laugh out loud at herself.

“I’m glad for you, Jack. I hope it all works out. Listen, I have to run. Maybe we can have coffee sometime.”

“Sure, I’d like that. See you,” he said. “And good luck.”

“Thanks.” Lucy had the urge to add, “I need it!” but squelched the impulse. She was trying to cultivate a more positive, confident attitude.

Lucy returned to her rounds. With Nora overseeing her, she cared for several patients throughout the morning. At one point Nora asked her to change an IV bag and Lucy nearly lost her nerve,
but she forced herself to feign a professional, confident air and double-checked every step in the process.

She had missed the hospital, she realized. She missed the interaction with the patients, and she missed applying all that information from nursing school to the real world.

Nursing was not exactly what she had imagined. It had demands she never expected, and tedious, routine work, too. But in most everything she did, Lucy felt she was bringing comfort and doing good. A mountain of good, that with God’s help, would always outweigh any grains of sand on the other side.

L
ILLIAN OFTEN RETREATED TO HER ROOM DURING THE MONTH OF
January. A month was not a long time to plan a party, according to Sara, and she and Luke seemed to spend every spare minute preparing for the big event. It all made Lillian very cross.

“You two aren’t big on patience, as far as I can see,” Lillian commented one evening as Sara brought dinner in to her. “It’s the influence of technology. It’s conditioned your generation to instant gratification.”

There was nothing instantly gratifying about fixing up Lillian’s old house, Sara wanted to say. But any mention of the work that was under way sent Lillian into an automatic tizzy, so Sara held her tongue.

Luckily, Sam volunteered to help Luke with more painting and repairs. Lillian’s precious oriental carpets, which were too delicate for the light of day, were rolled up and carried off to be cleaned, and the hardwood floors underneath polished to a high gloss.

The large rooms were crowded with furniture and brick-a-brac. While Sara knew that rearranging upset her grandmother, she did
find a way to move out a number of small pedestal tables, plant stands, curio cabinets, and chairs, one by one—sometimes late at night, when Lillian was sleeping.

The process reminded Sara of a game she had when she was a little girl called
What’s Missing?
There was a very complicated felt picture with many details, and you would close your eyes and the other person would take away one item. Then you had to guess what was gone.

Every morning Lillian would roll into the dining room for her breakfast and look around. “Is something missing in here? Over there, near the window. Didn’t I have that little mahogany cupboard with the glass doors?”

Sara would feign her innocent stare. “I think Jessica took it back to her house for safekeeping when we did the floors. I’ll ask her about it.”

“You can parcel out the goodies when I’m dead and buried,” Lillian snapped. “I’m not ready to have the place ransacked quite yet.”

Sara grinned. “Don’t worry, Lillian. You’ll get it back.” After the party, she meant. Sara wasn’t about to watch all her guests bumping their knees on end tables. The guest list had grown long—too long, she thought. Even though Dan had warned her, Sara couldn’t manage to control Emily’s penchant for large parties. After all, Emily was the mayor. She knew everyone in town. Plus, she had been denied planning a big wedding, so Sara had to cut her a little slack.

Sara’s entire family—her adoptive parents and other relatives—were coming up from Maryland. Luke’s family, who lived mainly in Boston, were coming as well.

At first Luke couldn’t quite believe Sara’s plan to have their party at Lillian’s house. He called it the Haunted Mansion and insisted he was coming dressed as Count Dracula.

But soon enough, he got into the idea. One night, while Lillian was sleeping, Sara slipped the photo of the Warwick party out of her box and showed it to him.

“That’s Lillian? Are you sure?” His shock was genuine.

“That’s her all right. Wasn’t she stunning?”

“A regular knockout. No wonder she bagged a millionaire. He’s not so bad, either. I like the white tie and tails, very classy.”

Sara smiled up at him. “You would look gorgeous in white tie and tails, darling.”

“Oh no…” Luke handed the photo back to her and shook his head. “I was thinking more of my good sports jacket and some new jeans, Sara. You are not going to make me dress up in that penguin suit, are you?”

Sara tilted her head. “It would really blow everyone away if we did go for the glamour look. And I know how you love to do the unexpected, unconventional thing.”

“I hate to tell you, but you’ve got the wrong guy.”

“No,” Sara said, “I don’t. I’m sure of that.”

As he kissed her she thought that there was a chance she might persuade him in time.

T
IME WAS PASSING QUICKLY AND DESPITE
S
ARA
’
S CAREFUL LISTS
,
there was still so much to do. The party preparations often kept her up late into the night.

One night she was working on her laptop at the kitchen table when Luke appeared in the doorway, his hair mussed and his eyes squinting at the light. “Are you still up? It’s nearly two
A
.
M
. What in the world are you doing?”

Sara looked up from the screen and shrugged. She didn’t want to tell him. This was something secret, something special, a sur
prise for the whole family. She wasn’t even sure yet if it would all work out.

“I’m doing some research on the Net,” she said simply. She closed the program so he couldn’t see the screen.

“For work, you mean?”

“Not exactly.”

Luke stood at the sink, drinking a glass of water. “Well, I think you ought to come to bed now. Dark circles under your eyes won’t look very good at the big party.”

“No, they won’t,” she admitted. She was tired these days but sometimes so excited, she could hardly sleep.

O
N THE DAY OF THE PARTY
,
THE CATERERS AND THE FLORIST
’
S
crew arrived at the same time, one at the front door, the other at the back. Lillian’s old house was like a beehive that somebody had picked up and shaken. Lillian locked herself in her room and used her phone to make periodic calls to Sara’s and Emily’s cell phones. She only opened the door to accept her meals.

“Isn’t it over yet?” she yelled into the phone. “What are they doing out there? I heard glass breaking.”

Hours later, the setup was completed and only the servers and kitchen crew remained, managed by Molly. Emily had brought her dress, so she could change at Lillian’s house and help her mother get dressed.

It had been an ordeal to find a new dress for Lillian. She was fussy to begin with and there were the two casts to consider. But finally Jessica and Emily found her a peacock-blue gown, chiffon on top with a long satin skirt. The top was altered to accommodate one cast and the skirt was long enough to cover the other.

Sara was relieved that Emily was occupied with Lillian down
stairs. She didn’t want anyone to see her before she was ready, not even Luke.

Slowly but surely she had brainwashed him into wearing white tie and tails. He had tried on just the jacket for her, and she could tell he was going to look devastating. She hoped he wouldn’t chicken out at the last minute.

When Luke knocked on her door at a quarter to six, Sara was ready. She opened the door slowly and stepped back.

“Sara…wow,” he said on a long breath. “That’s not the dress you bought with Emily, is it?”

“Shhhh. No, it isn’t. I found this one last week. What do you think—too much?”

He shook his head, his eyes fixed on her. “You look gorgeous. Red carpet, all the way. Very glamorous.”

Sara was pleased. That’s what she had been going for. The off-the-shoulder coppery gold dress was not a replica of Lillian’s gown in the photograph, but it was similar in style, with a retro look that created the same effect. It was not her usual “look,” and Sara felt a bit self-conscious, but it was also daring and fun to dress up this way.

“They’re waiting for us in the living room,” Luke said. “They asked me to come get you.”

“Are my folks here yet?”

“They just called. They’re on their way.”

Her parents had come up from Maryland during the day and checked into a nearby bed-and-breakfast. Sara had spoken to them over the phone and was eager to see them. But she was glad they were running a little late. She knew her folks still felt a bit out of place in Cape Light. She didn’t want to have them come into the house all alone, before she and Luke could greet them.

“You think your folks will be okay?” Luke asked.

Sara considered. “Well, it was hard for them when they found out we eloped, and it didn’t help when I told them we decided to have this party so far from Winston. But lots of my close relatives, like my Aunt Ellen and Uncle Bob, will be here tonight. And I know my parents just want me to be happy. When they see us together, they’ll be happy for us.”

“I hope so,” Luke murmured, “since they’re throwing us another party at their house in February. Let’s hope they approve of your groom.”

Luke offered his arm and Sara slipped her arm through his. They left the bedroom and started down the hallway, toward the long, curving staircase.

As per Sara’s instructions, the foyer was filled with flowers, the staircase banister was covered in bunches of laurel and rhododendron, studded with colorful blooms and white and gold toile bows.

Large potted topiary trees with fragrant gardenia blossoms flanked the staircase, and swoops of gossamer fabric hung across the ceiling and over doorways. More flowers and garlands of green decked the entrance to the living room with a cascading arrangement in cream-colored roses, miniature orchids, and phlox.

Sara and Luke wouldn’t have been able to afford decorating the entire house so lavishly, but Molly managed to gather some arrangements from other parties she had worked on during the week. A country club luncheon and a friendly landscaper she often did business with helped. With Molly’s contributions and Sara’s own ideas, they had been able to do up the foyer in grand style—very much like the decorations at Lilac Hall for her grandparents’ marriage celebration.

“Sara, you turned this place into a tropical paradise,” Luke whispered to her.

“Not a haunted garden? That’s good news,” she said.

Sara walked into the living room and stood in the doorway. She watched Emily and Jessica turn to look at her and saw their mouths drop open.

Emily looked confused. “That’s not the dress we bought at Lord and Taylor’s…”

“Uh, no. I found this one last week. I guess I should have told you. What do you think?”

“I think it’s absolutely gorgeous.”