Blue Sky Days (31 page)

He gave my shoulders a little squeeze before turning to address everyone else. “Of course, he’s not out of the woods yet. The cancer’s not gone, and there are still traces of the infection, which the drugs should kill completely. But…I think my original prediction will come true: barring further complications, Nicholas should be in remission and back home by Christmas.”

A cheer rippled through the room, and as my dad, Daisy, and Sam converged on Roy to shake his hand and express their gratitude, I slipped past them and sat on the edge of Nicholas’s bed, taking his hands in mine. I watched our family for a minute, smiling and laughing for the first time in days, the hope we’d all felt prior to Nicholas’s infection returning to their faces and shining in their eyes.

And when I looked down at Nicholas to find him watching me, his tired eyes searching my face hungrily, I had a bright, vivid flash of our future together. If we could get through this, we could get through anything life threw at us. I was sure of that, just as I was sure Nicholas would get better and be home for Christmas, like Roy predicted.

“Why don’t we leave these two alone?” Sam said, making a sweeping gesture as if to clear the room. He met my eyes and winked at me, the way Nicholas always did.

Roy left first, followed by my dad who blew me a kiss over his shoulder. Daisy and Sam paused at the bed to hug and kiss Nicholas and me, then as Daisy passed Sam, smiling at him for holding the door, I saw him take her hand and disappear behind the closing door.

“I guess we’re not the only ones in love,” Nicholas said, moving to the edge of his narrow bed and pulling back the covers. I hesitated for a minute, so afraid to hurt him, but when he raised his eyebrows at me, I crawled carefully into bed beside him and moved my body as close to his as I possibly could.

“I’m so happy for them,” I said. “So glad they found each other again and decided love was worth any risk. They need each other.” I tilted my face up, and Nicholas’s face was so close to mine, his lips were only a breath away. “Just like I need you,” I whispered. “And as happy as I am for them, I’m going to be selfish and say I’m even happier for us. We get a second chance, too.”

Nicholas nodded silently, his eyes glistening with tears. He gazed at me as he had a few minutes ago with that same almost-hungry look, as if he were memorizing my face. His lips curved into a small smile, dimples flashing in his thin cheeks, and for a second, I pictured him as he was that first day we met in the park—the day that changed my life forever.

I knew he would get back to that point—I knew he would gain weight, his hair would grow back, his cheeks wouldn’t be hollow and gray much longer—but I also knew he would never be the same again. Neither of us would.

The smile on Nicholas’s face grew, and I realized I was looking at him and memorizing his face the same way he had done with mine a moment before. He shifted and pressed his lips to mine, kissing me slowly but thoroughly, and I could hear his laughing voice in my head saying something like, “We have to make up for lost time.”

His smile grew even broader when our lips parted. For the first time in weeks, I saw the same impossibly, piercingly blue eyes I had fallen in love with, shining from Nicholas’s pale, shadowed face. And I knew in that moment that everything was going to be all right.

CHAPTER 20

That Christmas season was the best of my life. Roy’s forecast had been right—the lung infection had cleared, Nicholas had gone back on chemotherapy, and within a few weeks he was in remission. Nicholas returned home exactly two weeks before Christmas, just in time for the grand opening of Blue Sky Days Gallery.

Nicholas had encouraged me to put together a book of photographs to sell, entitled Blue Sky Days. Until then, Daisy and I had been struggling to come up with a name for the gallery, but Nicholas’s suggestion for the book made us wonder why we hadn’t thought of the name ourselves.

The book contained pictures of Riverview, several personal pictures, along with stories and anecdotes written by myself, Nicholas, Daisy, Sam, Roy, Vince, Maggie, and a dozen or so townspeople expressing why we loved Riverview, and detailing Nicholas’s battle with—and recovery from—cancer.

Jimmy O’Hanlon offered to have copies professionally printed, and everyone had pronounced it a work of art worthy of our new gallery. For the first three months, all proceeds from the book sales would be split between Maltonville Hospital and the Canadian Cancer Society.

Somehow, amid Nicholas’s final weeks of recovery, bringing him home from the hospital, and opening the gallery, Daisy and I managed to make the house look like Christmas Central. It reminded me of something you’d see in a big department store window—garlands and lights everywhere; beautiful glittering ornaments and decorations Daisy had made or collected over the years; and a huge tree that Sam bought, which we all decorated one night while singing and dancing to Christmas music that blasted from the stereo.

The day before Christmas, Nicholas and I went back to visit Maltonville hospital. I had been right at Thanksgiving when I envisioned the nurses wearing elf hats and reindeer antlers, with a Christmas tree adorning every corner. We brought presents for all the patients who would be in the hospital over the holidays, and a big basket of goodies for the nurses and doctors who had been so kind and accommodating during Nicholas’s—and my—long stay.

We had so many reasons to celebrate that year. Nicholas was well again, and Daisy and Sam had announced their long-overdue engagement the week before Christmas.

“You realize this is going to make us step-cousins or something,” Nicholas had whispered to me with a devilish look in his eyes after they made their announcement.

I had nudged him in the ribs, whispering, “Let’s just gloss over that bizarre and slightly disturbing fact and never speak of it again,” to which he had nodded his head and put his finger to his lips in a promise to be quiet.

Daisy and Sam were finally getting married after all those years of hiding their feelings for each other, and we were all together—Nicholas and me, Daisy and Sam, Vince and Maggie, even my dad and Doctor Roy.

Vince and Maggie had been able to keep the money they’d saved for their trip to New York when my dad’s donation for Nicholas’s drug covered the entire amount. Maggie had mentioned one night that she wanted Nicholas and me to join them on their trip when they went. “We’ve decided to go next spring,” she told me excitedly. “It would be a great way for you and Nicholas to celebrate your first anniversary.”

Her grin, along with her animated description of their plans, had me thinking seriously about it. I’d never done any traveling after all, and what could be better than a long road trip with three of the people I loved most?

As for my dad, he had been spending a lot of time in Riverview over the past few weeks. He’d been livid at my mother for refusing to help Nicholas, and I think he was finally starting to see her for who she really was. It made me sad, but he seemed to be dealing with it remarkably well.

“I’m thinking of buying a house up here in Riverview,” he told me when he arrived a few days before Christmas. This was moments after revealing to me that he had moved into a long-term hotel while he and my mother worked out a separation agreement.

Apparently my mother had always been a difficult person, but when they got married my dad hoped she would mellow. She’d gone the opposite direction though, and had only become more uptight and controlling over time.

“You leaving home really opened up my eyes, Em. I finally allowed myself to see how trapped I’d been feeling. Like you, I guess I didn’t know who I was, and I figured if you could take the leap to make such a change, so could I. Turns out you’re never too old to find yourself.”

It had been a year full of revelations and changes for everyone. It amazed me how my seemingly simple decision to move to Riverview had set a chain of events into motion. Christmas felt like the culmination of those events, an opportunity to celebrate family and life.

When Christmas day finally arrived, the house was buzzing with excitement. Sam, Nicholas, and my dad had slept over Christmas Eve, and in the morning we all sat around the tree opening gifts. I couldn’t help but shed a few happy tears thinking about how lucky we were to be together and how much this felt like a
real
family.

Vince and Maggie showed up after we were all dressed, and Roy was close behind, carrying a sack that looked like Santa’s, full of gifts for everyone.

Just before lunch, while Daisy and Sam were busy in the kitchen and my dad, Roy, Vince, and Maggie were having a lively discussion about the annual winter carnival coming to town in a few weeks, Nicholas grabbed my hand and we slipped outside unnoticed.

“Isn’t this great?” he asked, wrapping my coat around me before putting on his own. He gave me a look of indulgent affection as I zipped his jacket, pulling the collar up around his neck. I found his toque in a pocket and slipped it over his head, brushing my fingers over the fine layer of baby-soft hair that had begun to grow back.

There was still part of me that was terrified Nicholas would get sick again, and I knew he felt the same way, even though he hadn’t said anything. It was likely that for the rest of our lives there would always be that worry in the back of our minds, but we weren’t going to live in fear or let it control us.

“It’s better than I ever could have imagined,” I said. “I feel like I’m in a movie, you know? Beautiful house, surrounded by the people I love, a roaring fire, snow falling lightly outside.” I looked around at the yard covered in a blanket of snow that sparkled in the weak winter sunlight.

Nicholas smiled at me, his eyes full of love as he pulled me close by the collar of my jacket. “Do you remember the promise you made me the night you found out I was sick?” he asked.

I blinked, completely taken aback by his sudden question. “Of course,” I said. “And like I said that night, I didn’t have anything to worry about because I knew you would make it and I was right. You’re well again, just like I said you would be.”

He nodded his head and looked up at the winter sky as if silently thanking the powers that be for his full recovery. “And do you remember the promise I made
you
?”

I thought for a minute, then a little thrill shivered up my spine as I remembered what he had told me that night. It felt like a million years ago. I had purposely forgotten about it because I didn’t want him to have to keep a promise he made in a moment filled with fear and uncertainty. I nodded my head, too afraid to speak.

“I didn’t forget either,” he said, pulling a blue velvet box out of his pocket and handing it to me.

I laughed nervously as I turned it around in my fingers before finally opening it. It was empty. I looked at him in confusion, but he just smiled and held a sprig of mistletoe over my head. “You told me once that you’d never seen mistletoe, let alone been kissed under it. Let me tell you though, Christmas isn’t complete without mistletoe.”

I was about to lean in for a kiss when I noticed something glittering among the small leaves. I grabbed Nicholas’s arm and pulled it down so the mistletoe was only inches from my face and the pale sun reflected off a sparkling diamond ring.

“Nicholas,” I breathed as the diamond winked at me, beckoning me to free it. I reached up and gave it a little shake, letting the ring drop into the palm of my hand.

Nicholas took it gently from me and said, “This was my mother’s ring. When I told my dad I was going to ask you to marry me, he gave it to me. He said it would be perfect for you and there was no one else he’d rather have as a daughter-in-law. And he knew my mom would feel the same way.”

His voice was hoarse and his eyelashes were glistening with tears. I was shocked speechless when he got down on one knee and held the ring out to me.

“I meant what I said, Emma. I wasn’t just saying it because I was sick and it seemed like a romantic thing to do. I know we’re young and some people might think we’re crazy. But it feels like we’ve lived a thousand lifetimes in the past few months. You stuck by me when other people would have run screaming. You were there for me every single step of the way, by my side, making the worst time of my life better with your presence and your love and your faith. When I picture my future, it’s you there with me. It has been since we met. I love you so much, and I want to grow old with you and have a lifetime of blue sky days. So…Emma Hazel Ward…will you make me the happiest man in the entire universe and agree to be my wife?”

He held the ring over my left ring finger and looked at me with such hope and anticipation in his eyes that my already rapidly beating heart picked up its pace, thundering in my ears.

“Yes,” I whispered, and then finding my voice, I cried, “yes!”

Nicholas’s face broke into a dazzling smile, and as he slipped the ring on my finger I noticed his hands were shaking as much as mine were. He jumped to his feet and picked me up, spinning me around with his face pressed into my neck.

After my feet hit the ground, he released me and held the mistletoe back above our heads. “Merry Christmas,” he said and he kissed me with such love and passion, my knees almost turned to jelly.

When we went back inside, Daisy had just called everyone into the dining room for dinner. Nicholas and I took our seats at the long table and we all held hands while Sam said grace.

Before everyone started serving themselves and the chaos of passing dishes began, Nicholas clinked his knife against his water glass and stood up. “Merry Christmas, everyone,” he said, looking around at all our loved ones gathered around us. “I just wanted to say quickly how glad I am to be healthy again and how lucky I am to have friends and family like you to help me through my hard time.”

He paused, his voice thick with emotion. “We’re all truly blessed to have each other and to be together over the holidays. I also have an announcement to make…” He looked down at me and winked, his eyes dancing. “Just before we all gathered at the table, I asked Emma to marry me, and she said yes.”