Lily's Story: The Complete Saga

by Christine Kersey

  My gaze went to Marcy, who smiled broadly.

  So that’s why she looked like she had a secret.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “It’s our pleasure,” John said.

  After transferring the car seats into John and Marcy’s car, Marcus loaded the luggage he’d brought, along with my suitcase, into the trunk of my car.

  “Call if you need anything,” he said to Marcy.

  “I’m sure we’ll be fine,” she reassured him.

  We said our good-byes, then Marcus helped me into the passenger seat before climbing behind the wheel. “Are you ready?” he asked.

  I gazed at my sweet husband. “If you’re there, I’m ready.”

  He laughed, then started the car and pulled away from the curb.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “I booked a hotel in town.” He glanced at me with a knowing smile. “I knew you wouldn’t want to be too far from Natalie and Jackson.”

  “You know me too well,” I said with a laugh.

  “That I do.”

  “What other surprises do you have up your sleeve.”

  A wide grin curved his mouth and set his eyes to twinkling. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”

  More curious than ever, I settled into my seat and enjoyed the anticipation. A short time later we pulled up to one of the nicer hotels on the strip. A valet helped us out, then after taking our luggage out of the trunk and placing it on a cart, he drove away with our car.

  Marcus checked us in, and a few minutes later he held open the door to our suite.

  I walked across the marble floor, down the few steps into the living area, and stopped in front of the window that had an expansive view of the golf course below.

  “This place is amazing,” I said as I turned to Marcus.

  A pleased smile filled his face. “I’m glad you like it.”

  My eyebrows pulled together. “Isn’t it expensive though?”

  With a chuckle, he said, “Let’s not talk about money right now, okay?”

  I didn’t like the way he brushed off my concern—lack of money was one of our biggest problems. But I didn’t want to ruin his plans with an argument right off the bat. “All right.” Forcing a smile onto my mouth, I said, “What do you want to talk about?”

  He drew me against him. “How about how much I’ve missed you?”

  Remembering how much I’d missed him the night before when I’d chatted with Ty and Alyssa, I said, “I’ve missed you too. In fact, I was thinking about coming home today.”

  His eyebrows rose. “Oh yeah? Why didn’t you?”

  I laughed. “Because I’d promised Marcy and John that I’d come for a visit. It’s a good thing, I guess. I wonder how she would have convinced me to stay if I’d told her I wasn’t coming.”

  “I’m sure she would’ve come up with something.”

  I nodded. “How’s your mom doing?”

  “She’s doing fine. Dad’s been taking good care of her while you’ve been gone.”

  “Was she in on your little surprise?”

  He laughed. “Yes.”

  We spent the next two days reconnecting—something our relationship desperately needed. For the last few months we’d hardly spent any quality time together, and being able to focus solely on each other renewed our feelings of love like nothing else could have.

  “I’m sorry I’ve given you such a hard time,” I said on our last day together.

  Marcus brushed a stray piece of hair away from my face as we sat on the couch in our room, enjoying the view. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I’m sorry I told you I feel like a single mother.”

  He grimaced. “You shouldn’t feel sorry about that. After all, it’s true.” A soft sigh slipped from his mouth. “I know I’ve been working crazy-long hours for a while now, but it’s going to change.”

  Not sure if I believed him, I frowned. “What if you get a new client? One that requires lots of your time?”

  “We hired a new employee to help with the load.”

  I sat up straighter. “When? What about the cost?”

  “He started a couple of weeks ago, and we can afford him.”

  Confused, my eyebrows bunched. “So you’re making money now?”

  He grinned. “Things are definitely looking up.”

  He’d alluded to that recently, and I was thrilled to hear he’d managed to hire more help. “That’s great.”

  “Yes, it’s a big relief.”

  I wanted to ask if he was doing well enough for us to move back into our house, but then I remembered my decision to prove to him that he was worth any sacrifice I had to make, and that I wouldn’t lay any guilt on him for doing what he needed to do to support our family. He was working so hard. I needed to make sure he knew I appreciated it—despite the added stress it put on me.

  “Marcus,” I began.

  He gazed at me. “Yes?”

  “I want you to know how much it means to me to see you working so hard.”

  A soft smile lit his face. “I only do it because I love you and our children so much.”

  I stroked the rough skin on his cheek. “I know. That’s why I wanted to tell you thank you. I know it’s hard on you to be away from home so much.”

  He nodded. “That’s right. It is. I’m glad you understand that.” He put two fingers under my chin and lifted it so that our eyes were locked together. “I want you to know how much it’s meant to me to have your support.”

  Guilt sliced through me as I thought about how often I’d wanted to rescind my support, to reverse the decision we’d made for him to strike out on his own. My gaze slid downward, and he released my chin.

  “Lily?”

  I looked up and met his stare.

  “Lily, you mean everything to me, and your understanding is invaluable.”

  I couldn’t stand it anymore. “Marcus, I . . . I haven’t been as supportive as you seem to think.”

  His eyebrows creased. “What do you mean?”

  “You know I’ve complained about wanting to move back to our house.”

  He smiled. “Yes. A few times.”

  I didn’t know why he found that amusing, but I pushed on. “I may have only said it out loud a few times, but I’ve thought it a whole lot more than that.”

  “That’s understandable.”

  “And when the renters set the kitchen on fire . . .” I frowned and shook my head. “I really resented that someone else had been allowed to do that to our house.”

  He laughed. “Yeah, I wasn’t too happy about it either. But the kitchen looks great now.”

  “Yeah, after we had the damage repaired.” I didn’t want to think about that just now. “Anyway, my point is that I’m sorry I haven’t been as supportive as I should have been.” I paused. “But that’s going to change. I know now that it doesn’t matter where we live. The important thing is that we have each other.”

  “That’s right,” he said. “But it’s also important that we actually spend time together, which is why I’m committing to you that I’m going to get home by dinner each night.”

  Doubtful that he could keep that commitment, I said, “As long as you try.”

  “No, Lily. I’m going to make it happen. That’s one of the benefits of hiring the new engineer. We’ll be able to spread the load now, and I’ll be able to have a life.”

  “That sounds good.” I just hoped it would actually come to pass.

  Chapter 30

  After picking Natalie and Jackson up from John and Marcy, we headed home.

  “Did you have fun with Grandma and Grandpa?” I asked as Marcus headed north on the freeway.

  “Yes,” Natalie said with a smile.

  “Good.” I glanced at Marcus. “I had fun with Daddy.”

  Marcus placed his hand on my knee and I set my hand on top of his, feeling closer to him than I had in a while.

  It was November and the days were growing shorter. By the time we
reached our town, the sun had set. I took a deep breath, gearing up to get back into the day-to-day routine. The children had fallen asleep, and I found myself dozing off, but when we stopped, I opened my eyes, ready to carry the children to bed.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked Marcus as I stared at our house. “Is there a problem?”

  He smiled. “I’ll just be a minute.”

  Confused and tired, I nodded. “Okay.” I watched him walk to the front porch, although I couldn’t see the door. I glanced at the children to make sure they hadn’t woken, then waited for Marcus to return. A few moments later he did.

  “Can you come inside?” he asked after opening my door.

  “Why?”

  His smile grew. “Please?”

  “What about Natalie and Jackson?”

  “Let’s bring them in too.”

  I tilted my head to the side. “Marcus. I don’t want to wake them up.”

  He laughed. “You don’t want to leave them out here in the dark, do you?”

  Exasperated, I said, “Can’t we just go home? I’m really tired.”

  His lips twitched in a suppressed smile. “I’ll get Natalie and you get Jackson.” Then he went around to Natalie’s door and began taking her out of her carseat.

  Clearly, he wasn’t going to change his mind. I sighed, then climbed out of the car and took Jackson out of his carseat. What is going on? Why are we here?

  “All set?” Marcus asked me.

  “Yeah.” My tone showed my annoyance, but I followed him to the door anyway. He turned the knob and walked right in. Not sure what was going on, I walked in behind him.

  “Surprise!”

  Stunned to see Jeff and Trish, as well as Jordan and her husband Derek standing in the living room, I didn’t understand what was going on. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  Their faces were wreathed in smiles.

  “Welcome home, Lily,” Marcus said.

  That’s when I noticed our furniture in the living room. Almost afraid to believe what I thought he was saying, I turned to him with a tentative smile. “Home? Here?”

  He nodded, his eyes bright. “That’s right. I wanted to surprise you.”

  Giddy with joy, I laughed. “You certainly did.”

  Greta rushed over to me, looking for attention. I squatted beside her, but then Jackson began fussing.

  “Let’s put the kids down,” Marcus said. “Their rooms are ready for them.”

  Amazed that he’d pulled this off, I nodded. “Okay.”

  Once the children were tucked into their beds, we went back into the living room where Jordan had set up food for everyone to eat.

  “I can’t believe you guys did this,” I said.

  “It was all Marcus,” Jeff said.

  I looked at him, my eyes glowing with pleasure. “You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

  He laughed. “I want to keep you on your toes.”

  We filled our plates, then sat at the table.

  “So you were never looking for new renters after the Bartons moved out?” I asked.

  Marcus laughed. “No. When they gave their notice, I knew it was time for us to move home.”

  I couldn’t believe he’d kept it a secret from me for so long. I wanted to ask him if we could really afford to pay the mortgage, but didn’t want to bring it up in front of everyone. Instead, I enjoyed everyone’s company.

  “Jordan,” Marcus said, “thanks for overseeing everything.”

  “It wasn’t too hard, not with all your stuff in storage.” She glanced at me with a smile. “You’ll have to organize your kitchen the way you want, but I unpacked most of the boxes.”

  Overwhelmed, tears filled my eyes. “You’re amazing. Thank you so much.”

  “Seeing the look on your face was worth it,” she said as she held Gabe on her lap.

  “I’ll miss having you at my house,” Trish said. “I hope you and the children will come over often.”

  “We will.” I laughed. “But once you get used to the peace and quiet you might not want us over too often.”

  “Oh no,” she said. “It’s going to be too quiet now.”

  Once everyone had left, Marcus and I snuggled on the couch. It felt wonderful to be back in our home—the home we’d built together—but I still had some worries that needed to be put to rest.

  “Marcus? How are we affording this?”

  He ran a finger along my jawline, sending tingles through me. “Like I told you yesterday, my firm’s doing pretty well now. Over the last little while I managed to put some money aside.” He smiled. “We can afford to live in our house now. Money will be tight, but my income is steady enough now that we can do this.” He leaned towards me and kissed me softly. “I know how important this is to you, so we’ll make it work.”

  Thrilled that our life was settling back to normal, lightness filled my chest, and I nestled closer to him. “You’re so good to me, Marcus. Thank you.”

  “I wanted to surprise you, so I didn’t put the money in our shared account. I’ll transfer it later.” He chuckled. “I like having you in charge of our household expenses, but if money had started showing up in our account, I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off without you knowing.”

  I laughed. “That’s for sure.”

  “Are you ready to go to bed?” Marcus asked. Then added, “In our room?”

  I let him pull me to my feet. “Absolutely.”

  Hand in hand, we walked down the hall, peeking in on Natalie and Jackson before going into our room. Greta raced past us and climbed onto her bed in the corner of our room, obviously knowing we were home again.

  Laughing, I looked at Marcus, and when his gaze met mine, I knew without a doubt that home was wherever he and the children were.

  “Thank you,” I said as I stood in front of him.

  “For what?” he said as a contented smile curved his mouth.

  “For loving me, for doing so much for me.” My voice softened. “For being the best husband I could have ever asked for.”

  “I love you, Lily,” he said as his hand slid to the back of my neck.

  “I love you too.”

  His lips descended toward mine, and when our mouths pressed together, love, peace, and joy mingled within me, and I knew that as imperfect as life could be, I had what I needed right in front of me and I knew that it was all worth it.

  Epilogue

  One Year Later—Thanksgiving

  I put the final touches on the salad, then turned to Marcus. “Are you done carving the turkey?”

  “Yep. Just about.”

  “That looks delicious,” Alyssa said as she looked over his shoulder. Then she rubbed her pregnant belly. “I just don’t know how much I can fit in here.”

  Her baby was due in January, and I was excited to meet the little guy. “As long as you save room for the pumpkin pie.”

  She laughed. “Oh, I will.”

  I smiled, then after carrying the salad to the table, I walked to Marcus’s side. “Marcus?”

  He turned to me with a smile. “What is it, sweetheart?”

  Love and happiness swept over me as I gazed at my husband. “When you’re done, can you tell everyone to come to the table?”

  “Sure.” He leaned towards me and kissed me, and a few moments later he went into the living room where his parents were talking to John and Marcy, who had come up from Las Vegas. After he spoke to them, they walked into the dining room.

  “Where would you like us?” Trish asked me.

  I smiled, happy she was there. Her cancer was in remission and her prognosis was good. “Wherever you’d like.”

  “Sit by me,” Natalie said as she slid into an empty seat.

  Nearly four, Natalie was thrilled to have both of her grandparents visiting, and had colored nearly an entire coloring book full of pictures to hand out.

  Marcus picked up Jackson, who was nearly two, and placed him in a booster seat. “I’ll sit by this little guy,”
he offered.

  Appreciative of his constant willingness to help, I went into the kitchen to get the rest of the food. Alyssa and Ty carried the remaining side dishes into the dining room and set them on the table, and a moment later we began.

  As I enjoyed the feast, I looked at the people sitting around my dining room table and was filled with an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. The relationships I enjoyed with these people—my family—were my most important possession. As happy as I was that we’d been back in our house for the last year, and that Marcus’s business was thriving, the good people in my life beat all of that by a mile. After what we’d been through, I’d come to know that no matter what, nurturing those relationships—especially with my husband and children—was the most important and worthwhile thing for me to do.

  Material possessions would come and go, but my family would always be there for me—and I would always be there for them. A smile of contentment curved my mouth.

  I looked at Marcus and caught him looking at me, and when our eyes met, I knew our connection was solid and unbreakable. After the difficulties we’d faced, we’d only become closer, and now we looked to our future with confidence.

  Challenges were inevitable, but we’d learned how to work together, and I knew that we would be able to face whatever life threw our way. We were a team, and we would stand together against whatever this imperfect life handed us.

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