Loving Lily Lavender

by Deanna Kinney

  “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.”

  Chapter Twenty-three


  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.

  David’s a very lively and funny man. He had us all laughing the entire evening. It’s been a while since I heard Lucas laugh so much. Have I mentioned he has a charming laugh? Just hearing it warms my heart. Without realizing it, I found myself staring longingly at him, and in a few moments he glanced my way and caught me staring. At first his expression was questioning, but then it turned to a look of longing of its own.

  “Bella, David, I think it’s time I took Lily back to the hotel. As you know, she hasn’t been feeling well this week.”

  “Oh, of course,” they both said in unison.

  We said our goodbyes and got into a cab. As soon as the driver pulled away from the curb we were making out like two hormonal teenagers. Not that I’ve ever had that experience as a teenager, mind you.

  Every once in a while, I caught the cab driver eyeing us in the rearview mirror. But we didn’t care, we were only kissing, although this kissing ought to be illegal, but I’m glad it’s not.

  When we made it back to the hotel I thought we were going to spontaneously combust while waiting for the crowded elevator to take us to our floor. As soon as we stepped out onto our floor and the elevator doors closed behind us, we took off running to our room. Lucas fumbled anxiously with that silly room card, but once inside, we made it as far as the entryway before collapsing together onto the floor. Needless to say, it was a fun memory.

  We stayed in New York for two more days and toured the sights. I was most interested in seeing Ground Zero. I was surprised at my emotions at seeing it, especially when reading the names of the people who lost their lives there. Lucas and I held hands and said a prayer for the families represented.

  Although it was a successful and enjoyable trip, I was glad when we arrived back home. I was also glad to see Mom. She’s doing well and has completely recovered from her accident and her spirits were up, though she didn’t recognize me at all this time. Unfortunately, that’s happening more frequently these days. I guess that’s to be expected under the circumstances.

  We settled right back into our normal routine. Lucas started going back to the studio while I stayed at home and took care of Chewy and the house, no weddings scheduled anytime soon.

  June twelfth has finally arrived, and I can’t believe it’s already been a year since the first time I laid eyes on the dashing Brit I now call my husband. We’re also celebrating our sixth month wedding anniversary.

  I told Lucas I wasn’t really up to going out, so we decided to have a quiet dinner at home, and then our favorite thing to do—snuggling by the fire.

  I spent an hour cooking a very special meal, a recipe from Paula Dean’s new cookbook. It smells delicious and looks beautiful too—whether or not it’s eatable, we’ll find out soon enough.

  Lucas arrived home and gave me a quick kiss just before heading up to take a shower. I decorated the table with candles and a beautiful bouquet of roses from our garden. Tonight’s the night I’m going to give him the news that will change his life forever. How will he take it? Will he accept it? What am I s
aying? I’m not even sure that I’ve accepted it yet. No matter how he takes the news, I know we’ll get through it—together.

  “It smells delicious,” Lucas commented as he entered the dining room. “It looks wonderful too. What’s the occasion?” He winked.

  “Oh, I don’t know, just celebrating spending the last year with the most amazing man on the planet.”

  “Yes, it has been a year worth celebrating. And if I believed in luck I would say that I’m the luckiest man alive to have had the last year with the most beautiful and brilliant woman to have ever existed.” He pulled me into his arms and kissed me with an intensity that left me woozy. In fact, when he released me I actually stumbled into the nearest dining room chair.

  “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, of course. You should be flattered that after a year your kisses still leave me feeling light headed.” I smirked. He smiled back though the concern never left his eyes.

  We ate by candlelight and talked all the while staring longingly into each other’s eyes. We’re in love more now than when we first fell, though it has changed, grown deeper, truer, and much more intense. It’s one thing to fall in love, with all the gooey feelings, sweaty palms, and overactive heartbeat. But it’s another thing entirely, living in love. I am so blessed to have a man like Lucas to live in love with.

  After we finished desert, I set an envelope in front of him. “Happy anniversary.” I kissed him lightly on the cheek.

  “Happy anniversary to you too, baby.” He pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket and placed it in front of me. “Please, Lily, open mine first,” he insisted with a look of anticipation.

  When I opened the envelope, there was a piece of paper in it. I pulled it out, unfolded it, and read . . .

  Loving Lily

  (Verse 1)

  She’s the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.

  She’s the reason I smile when I wake.

  There’s nothing on this earth lovelier in my eyes.