Butterfly Dreams (A Christian Contemporary Romance)

by Bonnie Engstrom

  Dr. Janis’ office called last week to schedule a final X-ray and possibly remove the cast from my leg. I was a bit surprised to learn he had an actual office; I’d thought ER docs seldom did. I hobbled into a dark cubby hole and flopped into a worn wooden chair. I remember gripping its scratched arms, closing my eyes and praying, hard. How I’d feared hobbling down the aisle on my wedding day!

  The good doc’s thin lips formed an even thinner smile. “Leg is healed. Go to Outpatient down the hall,” he gestured behind him, “they will remove your boot.” Boot is the euphemism for the cumbersome annoyance that had burdened me for six weeks.

  Now, even though my left leg is less pudgy than the right, and is a bit weaker, I am basking in a massage chair during a pedicure. The renowned Kay is giving me a gel manicure while the talented Tammy massages my feet. Bliss, pure bliss!

  “Diamonds?” Kay asks.

  “What?” I struggle to understand in my almost slumbering state.

  She opens a tiny round, flat, plastic container and shakes it sideways to display minute rhinestones in every rainbow color. “You want clear diamonds or blue? You are getting married, so you must sparkle,” she insists in her sweet Asian accent. “You want flower?”

  “Can you do a butterfly?”

  She jumps up and click clacks on four inch sandals to the front counter where examples of designs are displayed on fake nails stuck on wooden picks. Holding out two to show me, I gasp. So beautiful.

  “Can you really do that?” Of course she can. She giggles. I hope I haven’t offended her.

  “We will just do thumbs and ring fingers.” She winks. “Maybe toes.”

  “I don’t want it to take away from my diamond, so maybe we should just do thumbs.”

  “No, no. Diamonds will make ring sparkle even more. Show it off.”

  Tammy nods her agreement, and Kay’s husband Duc (pronounced Duke) stops to agree. “Will look beautiful, Miss Betsy. Special for your wedding.”

  Brie bounces up from her pedicure massage chair, feet dripping. “Mama, do it!” She apologizes to Tom who was about to dry her legs and massage them. He grins. So much confirmation.

  I love that Kay calls the rhinestones diamonds. We choose clear and pale blue ones for my butterflies. I am going to sparkle. Will Mr. Blue Eyes notice?

  “I wonder if my groom (it’s so exciting to call him that) will even notice.” I look expectantly at Kay, Duc and Tammy who have gathered around me.

  Duc nods and gives me a lopsided grin. “He will,” he says. “He loves you.”

  Tammy has started to massage my legs with a yellow sugar scrub; Kay is massaging my hands and arms with a warm yummy-smelling lotion. I am in Nirvana. Please, God, may there be mani-pedis in heaven.

  “Miss Betsy, Miss Betsy.” Duc is lightly touching my fingers. “You gonna be able to drive home?”

  I shake my head and yawn. Grinning, I look over at Brie who is sound asleep in Tom’s pedicure chair. I may have to, but I was counting on Brie to be my designated driver.

  I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. I almost put my dress on inside out. I feel like the mother of the bride. I’ve thought of every detail for this wedding for two people I love dearly.

  The hors d’ourves look scrumptious, and the pink lemonade is glistening in the enormous punch bowl. The servers in their Hawaiian shirts are a nice touch, thanks to Nancy for suggesting them. She and Lester have been a huge help with details. She must have taken lessons on how to fold napkins.

  I hope they like the cake. I made sure Cakes Galore alternated the layers between chocolate and lemon, just as Betsy wants. But, the top is special. I will freeze it and give it to them to eat on their first anniversary. Fondant butterflies do freeze, don’t they?

  I hope I’ve done the right thing giving Betsy the letter immediately before her wedding. I’ve waited so long. I couldn’t wait any more. I pray Harriet understands.

  Thank you, Lord, for being my best friend. I adore You. I am so blessed you gave me Betsy and she led me to You.

  EPILOGUE

  The Big Day

  I hear music. Beautiful Frank Sinatra songs play softly over muted loudspeakers in Bett’s garden. I have butterflies flitting in my stomach, and on my toes and fingers. I glimpsed an incredible wedding cake when I came earlier to the garden. Butterflies cascading down the layers, and two butterflies kissing on top. Sweet Bett, so extravagant. Everything, from the tables to the lanterns to the bouquet I am holding, is butterflies. Mom found flowers that actually look like butterflies, although she ordered them from far and wide with Marg’s help. Their delicate petals form tiny wings. Mine are white Ginger Lilies, Brie’s deep blue ones from South Africa match her gown…and Noel’s Crayon blue eyes. Too perfect!

  Mom and Brie fuss with my dress, Bett’s special creation.

  The dress is not a traditional wedding gown, rather a vision of billowing, flowing silk. It is a soft, almost silver that compliments my recently tinted hair, a Francine specialty, as well as her idea to scoop my curls up in a rhinestone-glittering butterfly clip. My nuptial hairstyle is elegant, and my wedding dress is Bett extraordinaire. It hides my hips and my tummy and makes me feel and look beautiful. I love it!

  Brie’s Matron of Honor gown is also flowing to subtly camouflage her pregnancy, now advanced. Little Chelsea’s gown, that just arrived yesterday, looks adorable on her. The wide, blue satin sash is perfect for a perfect child. She is holding a white rose-studded basket filled with white silk rose petals. I know she will probably fling them, instead of tossing them delicately. But, I don’t care.

  This is my big day.

  Actually, my third ‘big day.’ I think of Clyde, my first husband who died suddenly in a car crash. Sweet man, father of James. Didn’t leave me much, except memories. I think about The Jerk who abandoned me when I was pregnant with Brie and Julia was barely a teen. Didn’t even leave me good memories. Then, I think of Noel, the man I am about to wed.

  I start to question. Why me? Do I remind him of Maizie? Was she plump? Noel is Cary Grant handsome. He could get any number of women a lot younger than I. Yes, he has had some issues, mostly with flu symptoms and performance problems. But, we have worked those out. Mostly, Noel is trustworthy. He is a Christian; he doesn’t lie, even to save his face. He cuddles wonderfully. He loves my kids, my grandkids and my grandchild to be.

  I hear the organ music start. How did Bett do that? There is no organ in her back yard.

  Mom says, while adjusting my skirt for the umpteenth time, “Aren’t you going to open the envelope?”

  She hands me a thick square envelope, the one I’d handed back to her a few minutes ago. I guess I had better loosen the flap. Mom and Brie step back and fold their hands in front of them, almost prayer-like.

  Dearest Betsy,

  I never know when is the right time to share, but I feel you should read this before you embark on your wonderful journey with Noel. Please share it with him, too.

  Betsy, yes, I know your name well, and have known it for many years. You are my niece.

  Many years ago, I guess fifty-eight or so, my brother, Joel, came to me to tell me his girlfriend was having a child. The girlfriend died in childbirth. Joel begged me to adopt the child. He was only eighteen and very confused. But, he was mature enough to realize he had an obligation to his child. He wanted a secure, loving life for her. He called her Elizabeth after our maternal grandmother.

  I agreed on Joel’s deathbed to adopt you. (He was very weak from many health problems. I held his hand when he died and made a promise.)

  I realized later I could not raise a child alone when I was just starting a business. My friend Harriett, with whom I’d roomed at college, had recently married and found out she was unable to conceive. They desperately wanted children. So, I appealed to Harriett. She and her husband Daryl were very receptive. They were, still are, the perfect couple to love you.

  We made all the legal arrangements; not difficult, since both your birth mother
and father were deceased, and I was appointed guardian. When you were less than a year old, you became Elizabeth Lindstrom. Now, in a few minutes, you will become Mrs. Noel Sheppard.

  God bless you, Betsy. I love you.

  Aunt Bett

  By the way, Noel is adopted, too. Ask him.

  ~

  I feel tears pooling in my eyes. I should have guessed, maybe almost did. Still, the truth is a bit of a shock.

  I hear organ music again and realize Bett actually has a real organ with a real organist playing the traditional wedding march. For me. For Noel.

  Dad offers his arm and beams at me. Gosh, how can a father go through this scenario three times and still be happy? I really am blessed.

  Chelsea flings rose petals along the white runner-covered aisle. Mom came through with that. Abundant pots of flowers line the moss-covered sides that Bett created with the help of Roberto, her faithful and talented gardener. Mitch looks very presentable in his fashionably wrinkled sport coat. Mom, having been escorted by Derek to her Mother of the Bride seat, is glowing.

  Noel looks handsome, but uncomfortable, squirming in his attire. I love the striped navy and gray trousers and the midnight blue jacket that matches his smoldering Crayon blue eyes.

  What! He is wearing a bolo tie? So is Derek. Just to get my goat? I swallow hard, then I laugh. How many women laugh going down the aisle on their wedding day?

  He winks, and he and Derek both pull off the bolos to reveal real four-in-hand neckwear. They stuff the offenders in their pockets, and his wide smile reassures me. I hope we won’t be spending the evening in the hospital.

  Brie whispers in my ear before she takes her first step on the aisle.

  “We are having a girl, and we are naming her Bettina Elizabeth, Betsy for short.” She squeezes my hand, smiles and steps forward.

  The End

  Aunt Lorrie’s Chicken Salad

  Aunt Lorrie insists one must use only Kirkland (Costco brand) chicken that comes in a six pack. She also insists on Maille mustard which can be purchased at Safeway and WalMart.

  3 cans chicken, drained

  1/2 large sweet onion finely diced

  3 ribs of celery, finely diced

  1/2 to 3/4 cup mayo (to taste)

  3 to 4 tablespoons of Maille old style stone ground mustard.

  Mix all ingredients

  Makes about 4-5 cups of chicken salad.

  Brie’s Baked in Bread Crab Appetizer

  1 Hawaiian round bread, hollowed out and insides saved and cubed

  1 envelope dry Knorr Cream of Leek Soup

  1 cup mayo (not low fat)

  1 cup sour cream (not low fat)

  1 can crab meat drained (canned shrimp can be substituted, but not as good)

  5-6 finely chopped green onions

  1 can water chestnuts chopped fine

  1 package frozen chopped spinach drained and all water squeezed out

  8-12 oz. shredded cheddar cheese (to taste – more is better)

  Dash Worcestershire sauce and Soy sauce

  Blend all well in bowl and pour into hollowed out bread. Loosely wrap bread in foil. Bake in 325 to 350 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes until starting to bubble. Toast cubes of bread in foil in oven or toaster oven to crisp.

  Serve with bread cubes around bread filled with dip and lots of long toothpicks. Enjoy!

  Dear Reader ~

  Thank you so much for spending time in the kitchen with Betsy and me in Butterfly Dreams. I hope you had as much fun as I did when Bett made the tuna salad, sans mayo and with soy sauce.

  And what about that horrible phone call from belligerent Monica? How did she get Betsy’s number? I haven’t figured that out yet, either. Did Noel have an affair with her, or is he telling the truth that he didn’t?

  If you’ve read my next book, A Winning Recipe, you have learned about making sparks in the kitchen and Lance using mystery meat in his meatloaf. Have you figured out what it was? I haven’t. Wasn’t he too cute in Kate’s mother’s apron? I bet even Sandy the dog rolled her eyes.

  Hopefully, in A Winning Recipe you also learned how to solve a mystery. Not a huge, earth-shattering one, but one that hurts hearts and has the potential to destroy love. Dead roses anyone?

  I look forward to spending more time with Bett and Betsy and Brie in Butterfly Dreams as their lives take unique turns. Dear Bett just can’t resist playing matchmaker. Gosh, will Derek and Noel hang in there and be adoring husbands, or will they feel too much pressure from the women? And, what about Mitch, the sometime wedding officiant? Does he ever find love? Is Fancy Nancy and Lester’s love secure now, or will they have another trauma, maybe one that involves white napkins?

  I am excited about the sequel to A Winning Recipe to find out about Kate’s friend Val and Kate’s brother Rob’s romance, if there is one. And, sweet Sandy, Kate’s Golden Retriever. Will she have a child to love in that empty bedroom? And, what about Kate’s dad? Will he find love again with Mrs. Kinsey the widow from the mission trip? Remember, the next mission trip to China will be Kate and Lance’s honeymoon. That could be exciting, or just interesting.

  I would love to have your thoughts on these. None of these books have been completed yet, just begun, so there is potential for reader suggestions. Let me know what you would like to have happen in a Butterfly Dreams sequel (remember, Bett plays matchmaker again) and A Winning Recipe sequel. My characters, Bett, Betsy, Brie, Noel, Derek and Muriel in Butterfly Dreams, and Kate and Lance from A Winning Recipe would love to have your suggestions.

  Don’t forget as Betsy’s mother Harriett says in Butterfly Dreams, “Love is a gift at any age.”

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  Email me at bengstrom@hotmail.com (be sure to put the word BOOK in the subject line). Touch base with me at my website www.bonnieengstrom.com where you can link to my email, and visit my Facebook pagehttps://www.facebook.com/bonnieengstromauthor?fref=ts . You can also write to me at 8776 E. Shea Blvd., 106-528, Scottsdale, AZ 85260.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  BONNIE ENGSTROM, is a free-lance writer and former newspaper columnist. Also, wife, mom and 'NEW' grandmother. She lives in Southern California with, Dave, her psychologist husband of forty years, and Jake the Dawg, a Miniature Pinscher.

  She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Southern California, has studied creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh, is a member of the Orange County Christian Writers Fellowship, American Christian Fiction Writers and a participant at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference.

  Bonnie's favorite genres are romances, mysteries and 'fun' animal stories. She tries to live her life by the Bible verse,

  Hebrews 10:24

  “Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds.”

  She loves to hear from friends and readers at her website: www.bonnieengstrom.com.

  Other Books by Bonnie:

  Recipes for Romance

  Her Culinary Catch

  A Winning Recipe

  A Cup of Love

  The Candy Cane Girls series

  Her Candy Cane Christmas

  Her Valentine Promise

  Her Wild Ride