Loving Lily Lavender (26 page)

I jerked up to a sitting position in bed, gasping frantically for
breath.

“Lily!” Lucas threw his arms around me. “What’s wrong?”

I still couldn’t catch my breath.

“Lily, look at me.” He grabbed my face between his hands and
forced me to look at him.

“Lucas?” I tried to slow my breathing.

“It was just a dream baby, just a dream.” He took me into his
arms and held me tight.”

As reality set in I became aware of the meaning of my dream. “No,
Lucas.” I pulled away to gaze at him. “It wasn’t just a dream. I think I know
where Mom is. Will you help me?”

“Of course.”

We got dressed quickly and drove to the nursing home, calling
Detective Taylor on the way and asking him to meet us there.

“What is it?” the detective asked anxiously as he approached,
looking thrown together and exhausted.

“I think I know where my mom is. We’ve been spending all of our
time and resources searching for her out there, but I think, the whole time,
she’s been right here under our noses. I think she’s somewhere in this facility,
perhaps somewhere we’ve missed.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“I had a dream, and in that dream my mom told me that she was
right under our noses. I believe she meant here.”

“You called me out here at four o’clock in the morning because of
some dream. I don’t have time for this sort of thing, Mrs. Lavender,” he said
antagonistically.

“Hey, with all due respect, Detective Taylor, do not talk to my
wife that way. If she says her mom’s here then she’s here. Now, do you want to
get credit for this rescue or not?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Lavender. I didn’t mean any disrespect. I’ll
contact Mrs. Cope, and we’ll get our search underway.”

“Thank you. Also, can we have an ambulance on hand?”

“Yes, of course,” the detective responded, pulling out his phone.

As every hour passed with no sign of her, I became discouraged.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Lavender, I know you wanted to be right, but
she’s just not here. We’ve searched every room. We’re going to have to go back
to searching the grounds and surrounding area.”

“No, she’s got to be here. Just give me a minute.” I took the
time to walk the hall alone. I stopped, closed my eyes, and prayed. When I
opened my eyes I was standing in front of a door. Out of curiosity I tried to
open it, it was locked.

“Why is this door locked?” I turned toward the direction where
the detective, Lucas, and Mrs. Cope stood.

“That’s the service closet. We always keep them locked so that the
patients can’t get inside,” Mrs. Cope responded.

“Have we checked all of the service closets already?”

“Um, no we haven’t checked any of them because of what Mrs. Cope
just said,” the detective responded, realizing the error. “I’ll get my men on
it right away. Mrs. Cope we’re going to need those keys.”

We checked the closets one by one and still no sign of my mom. As
we came to the last one, Lucas took my hand and squeezed it reassuringly as
they opened the door. There, in the far back corner of the closet, huddled in a
fetal position, was my mom. Relief poured all over me and I ran to her.

“Mom,” I cried frantically as I wiped her face and tried to get
her to respond, but she didn’t. The EMTs came up from behind me and moved me
aside.

“No!” I fought against them, trying to make my way back to her.

“I’ve got her!” Lucas demanded, grabbing me and pulling me out of
the way.

“Luke, let go of me!”

“Lily, honey, look at me. Look at me!”

I peered up into his eyes, and then they turned gentle.

“We don’t have much time. Let them take care of her, okay?”

I nodded slowly as I realized the truth of what he was saying. I
was keeping them from helping her. He pulled me tight against him as we watched
them put her on the stretcher, wheel her out the door, and load her into the
ambulance.

We followed the ambulance to the hospital, and then waited
anxiously in the waiting room for news. It seemed like forever when the doctor
finally came in with the report.

“Mr. and Mrs. Lavender, I’m Doctor Daily.” He reached out to
shake our hands. “Your mother is going to be fine. She’s very dehydrated so
we’re giving her fluids intravenously now. We’re going to keep her here for
several days then she should be as good as new. She’s a very lucky woman.”

Once Lucas and I were alone again we looked at each other and
smiled. Then I practically knocked him down jumping into his arms. “You were right.
You promised me she would be okay and you were right. I love you so much, Lucas
Lavender.”

“Oh baby, I love you too.” He buried his face in my hair. “I’m so
glad you’re happy. Our world is right once again.”

“Yes, our world is right.”

When we were finally allowed to go into her room, she was awake
and alert.

“Lily bug.” She reached her arms out to me.

Lucas and I glanced at each other in disbelief. I ran into her
arms like a little girl, tears streaming down my face. “Oh momma, I was so
scared.”

“I know baby, but I knew you’d find me. I have faith in my Lily
bug. If anybody could find me it would be you, because you have a pure heart,
and you’ve always listened to it. I’m so proud of you and—I love you.”

I cried like a baby with my head at her breast. Oh how I had
longed to hear those words again. They rang like music to my soul. She raised
my head to study me. She rubbed my hair and wiped my tears just like a momma
would.

“Are you okay? You look pale. Are you sick? Lucas, come here,
sweetie.” She reached for his hand. He came over swiftly and took her hand in
his. “Are you taking care of my Lily bug?”

I didn’t correct her for calling me by that silly nickname. She’s
called me that ever since I can remember. I was just glad she was remembering
and was basking in it.

“Yes ma’am. I’m taking very good care of her, Elaine.”

“That’s good because my Lily is very special. There’s no other
woman in the world like our Lily.” She looked at me with twinkles in her eyes.

“Yes ma’am, I whole-heartedly agree.” He looked over at me and
his own eyes twinkled.

My heart warmed at the sight of the two of them. My two favorite
people in the whole world and they only had eyes for me. My own eyes filled
with tears at the realization that this could be my last memory of my mother
the way I remembered her, and Lucas was sharing it with me. He was seeing my
mother for who she really was, before her sickness. Her soul was shining
through like a lighthouse beacon calling me home. This moment was one to be
remembered for the rest of my life.

Lucas and I spent the next hour by her side listening to her
reminisce about the past. She talked about when I was a child, about her love
for my dad, how she missed him, and how happy she was that Lucas and I had
found each other.

I’ll always remember the advice she gave us both before she
drifted off into a peaceful sleep. She took both of our hands in hers and said,
“Make sure you two always cherish each other, never stop doing the little
things, celebrate each other’s accomplishments no matter how small, never go to
bed angry, and always—always hold hands when you pray, even if you’re angry.
There’s power in that simple gesture.” She looked intently at us, squeezing our
hands, looking first at me, and then Lucas, and said, “The most important thing
is to keep God at the center of your marriage. If you’re struggling with
anything, and I mean anything, take it to Him and leave it there. If you do
this then you will always find your way back to each other no matter what
separates you.” And she lived what she taught.

I could tell Lucas was blessed by our time spent with her.

“Your mother is a very special woman,” Lucas remarked in the car
on our way back to the hotel. “I’m glad I got to spend this time with her, and
I know it blessed you too. I’ve never seen you so content.”

“Yes, it was such a gift seeing her like that. It’s been so long
that I can’t even remember. I’ll never forget this evening.”

“Your mom and dad must’ve been deeply in love. She must’ve really
missed him when he died.”

“Oh, Lucas, it was the saddest thing I’ve ever seen. It was like
part of her soul was gone. Even her personality changed some when he was no
longer with her. The heart attack was so quick and unexpected. She didn’t have
time to prepare—or to say goodbye.”

“I’m so sorry, Lily. I know that must’ve been hard for you.”

“Yes, it was a very tough time, but I got through it just like
I’ll get through other tough things that come my way. As long as you’re with
me, I can get through anything.” I reached out and took his hand.

“I’ll always be with you, Lily bug.” He grinned.

“Nice—well, at least I know you mean it.”

“Yes I do.” He pulled my hand up to his lips and kissed it
gently.

“Do you promise? As long as it’s in your power?”

“I promise, as long as it’s in my power.”

You couldn’t have pried me away as I spent the next two days by
my mother’s bedside until she was finally well enough to go back to the nursing
home. I had the staff’s promise that they would watch her more carefully this
time. They felt awful about what happened. Reluctantly, I hugged her goodbye,
but was glad to have spent this time with her even though the circumstances
were undesirable.

After we had her situated and adjusted back in her room at the
nursing home, Lucas and I headed back home.

Once home, I called Meagan and filled her in on everything before
calling the church and thanking them for their prayers. Lucas and I agreed to
make an extra donation to the church as a thank you. Everything seemed to be
back in order once again. I sat down on the sofa and breathed a sigh of relief.
Soon I was fast asleep.

I woke the next morning in my own comfortable bed and glanced
over to see Lucas lying there smiling at me.

“Good morning, lover. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, actually I did. But, Luke, you’ve got to stop carrying me
up those stairs before you hurt yourself.”

“Oh please, give me some credit, will you? Plus you weigh like
what, fifty pounds?”

“Are you looking at the same body that I am?”

“Oh yeah,” he smirked. “That’s the body I’ve been missing for the
last three days. Would you care to add a bigger smile to my face?”

“I would love to.” I reached around and clung myself to him. I’d
missed making love with him. Things were too crazy at the hotel, what with me
being an emotional wreck and all. It felt good to be close to him again. We
stayed in bed all morning getting re-acquainted.

“Lucas, Bella Washington called and wants to meet with us to
discuss the details of the book deal.”

“Oh okay, well you set it up, and then we’ll go see her,” he
said, strumming a lovely melody on his favorite guitar.

Once the appointment was set, we headed to New York to meet with
her. I’d been in such a crazy fog over missing Lucas that the first time I met
with Bella, I hadn’t realized she’d flown all the way from New York to meet
with me.

I’ve never been to New York myself and am looking forward to
seeing it. This will be a unique experience for me. Aside from London, I’ve
never been out of North Carolina.

Everyone seems to be in such a hurry here. The taxis come and go
so fast it’s hard to keep up. Even the people walking on the sidewalk seem to
walk faster than normal, or maybe I’m just slow, considering the fact that I’m
still not feeling well, that’s a possibility.

We met with Bella and worked out a good deal that made both sides
happy. She’s representing us to the publishers and has her sights on a big one.
I’m just happy that someone thinks my writing is good. Although I’ve always
loved to write, I never thought I was really all that good at it, not to mention
that, until now, I’ve never had anything interesting to write about. Lucas is
interesting and everyone’s in love with him, so Bella thinks the book will be a
huge success. I don’t really care about that, nor does Lucas. We just want
people to believe in love again.

With the divorce rate so high, it’s understandable why so many
people have lost faith in true love, but it
is
attainable and
maintainable. Now, I know Lucas and I haven’t been together long enough to
prove that, but we will. I believe true love isn’t just a feeling but something
deeper; it’s a commitment. Without it—what’s life really all about?

Before I met Lucas, I thought I was content living without love,
in the way we know it, but now that I’ve tasted it, I know I could never doubt
its power, nor could I ever live without the influence it’s made in every part
of my being. You’ve heard the song
I’m addicted to love
, well I’m only
addicted to one kind of love—Lavender love.

I met with Bella every day for a week and worked feverishly on
getting the book cleaned up and ready to send to the publishers. By the end of
the week, it looked good, but then again, I thought it looked good before, if
that tells you anything.

Within the week, we received a call from Bella. She’d gotten us a
deal with that big publishing company she was after. I can’t believe how fast
she worked, but she believes she has something big, so I guess she was able to
convince them of that as well. The only thing is they want three books out of
the deal and want me to keep writing our life story as we go along. That seems
easy enough, so we agreed.

We ended up picking,
Loving Lily Lavender
as the title of
the book. I would’ve preferred my original title,
Loving Lucas
. I have a
soft spot in my heart for it. But, in the end, I was outnumbered. Lucas, in
particular, loved the new title better.
No surprise there
.

To celebrate, Lucas and I took Bella and her husband David, out
to dinner. Eating out in New York was not the same as eating out in Jasper,
that’s for sure. We decided on a quaint little Italian restaurant. We had a
nice time, although our conversations were interrupted every now and again with
people wanting Lucas’s autograph, and I was reminded of the first time we met.