Lambert's Code

by Hauck, Rachel

  “What?”

  “We’re taking her to Paris next year for her seventieth birthday.”

  “Oh? We are?”

  “Well, that is, if you want to go to Paris.”

  “I could do Paris.”

  “They don’t have basketball or football, but you can survive a week without them, can’t you?”

  He laughed. “I’ll manage.”

  “Good. Paris it is.” She twirled the phone cord with her fingers and, for the first time in a long time, felt love for her husband.

  “You sound happy.”

  She laughed. “I am. Oh, Ethan, I never saw it before. I knew, I think, deep, deep down, you know?” Her words flew at him.

  “Babe, slow down. What are you talking about?”

  “Me, my parents, babies.”

  Ethan scratched his head. “What do you mean?”

  “Ever since I can remember, Mom and Dad always wanted more children. But alas, I was their one and only. Yet every holiday, every family reunion, they commented one way or another how sad it was they never had more children.”

  “Go on.”

  “Well, then it turned into grandchildren. ‘Waiting for Julie to give us grandchildren.’ ”

  “I think I know where you’re going with this.”

  She gushed. “Ethan, having children became my obsession, my sole reason for existence. My idol.”

  “Strong words, Julie. Obsession. Idol.”

  “But it’s true. I took my eyes off the Lord and did crazy things like buying an expensive car without talking to you.”

  “It makes sense.” He answered low, as if contemplating her conclusion.

  “God’s plans for me didn’t matter. Your plans didn’t matter. Only mine, and giving grandchildren to my parents.”

  “So your issue is more than just a natural desire for children; it’s the burden of fulfilling your parents’ desires.”

  Julie shouted, “Yes!” She jumped up, standing in the middle of the bed.

  “How did you figure this out?”

  Julie explained her Bible study of Old Testament heroines. “I started praying, and all of a sudden, I knew.”

  “He’s faithful to us, Julie.”

  “For the first time, I’m okay with this, Ethan,” Julie said.

  “Jules, I’m sorry I’ve been a jerk.”

  “Me, too.” She laughed. “I mean—”

  He laughed with her. “I know what you mean.”

  “Just making sure.”

  “I’m sorry I resented you,” Julie confessed.

  “You resented me?”

  “Well, yes. I resented the fact you seemed to move on with life while I lived with the burden of being barren.”

  “I’m sorry I didn’t see—”

  She interrupted. “I didn’t see it myself until I stayed with Bobby and Elle. Ethan, I want to move on with life, too, and you.”

  “I love you, Julie. More than I can say.”

  The words washed over her, warm and cleansing. “I love you, too, Ethan.”

  “I’m sorry you’re a thousand miles away right now.”

  “Me, too.”

  Eighteen

  Ethan whistled a light tune as he reviewed the production crew’s schedule and approved overtime pay.

  Will popped into his office. “Did you buy a canary?”

  Ethan shook his head and lifted one brow at his cousin.

  “What’s gotten into you?”

  Ethan stopped whistling and motioned outside his window. “Did you see the bulldozer in the south parking lot? The contractor brought it out this morning, ready and waiting to clear the land for the warehouse.”

  Will crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame. “I did.”

  “If we can ever get past this snow, we’ll break ground by May.”

  “God willing,” Will replied. “So tell me. Why the whistling?”

  Ethan rocked back in his chair, locked his hands behind his head, and gave Will the short version of his conversation with Julie.

  “Sounds like you two are breaking some ground of your own,” Will said.

  Ethan grinned. “Yeah, we are.”

  “Good for you two. Listen, I’m meeting Grandpa for lunch. Want to come?”

  Ethan checked the time. Two o’clock. “As a matter of fact, yes. I’m starved.”

  He rode with Will to Peri’s Perk. Grandpa waited for them at one of the high, round tables, his hands around a large cup of whipped-cream-topped coffee.

  “Does Grandma know you drink those things?”

  Grandpa winked at him. “Lambert’s Code.”

  Ethan laughed. “So you had to tell her?”

  “Of course.”

  Will and Ethan shook their heads. Grandpa was a man of his word. They loved him for it.

  They ordered sandwiches, and while they waited for their names to be called, they chatted about the new warehouse and the upcoming Spring Festival.

  “How’s Julie?” Grandpa asked without warning.

  “Matt!” Peri called.

  Grandpa got up for his order.

  “Ethan!”

  “She’s fine,” Ethan told his grandpa as they picked up their sandwiches.

  “Will!”

  “Talk to her recently?” Grandpa eyed Ethan as he took his seat.

  “As a matter of fact, last night.”

  “Did it go well?”

  Will dropped his platter onto the table. “He’s smiling, isn’t he?”

  For a few moments, the conversation around the table stopped while the three men bit into their sandwiches. Grandpa broke the quiet. “Are you still going to Costa Rica?”

  Ethan eyed Will, then his grandpa. “I’m not sure. I mean, yes, as far as Steve is concerned, but. . .” He held his sandwich between his hands.

  “Something wrong with your sandwich?” Grandpa asked.

  “Um, no.” Ethan took a bite. A simple phrase echoed in his mind. “Submit to one another.”

  Grandpa leaned toward him. “What’s on your mind?”

  Ethan reared back. “Do you have X-ray eyes?”

  “Only when the Lord allows.”

  Will and Ethan chuckled.

  “I don’t know,” Ethan started. “You mentioned Costa Rica, and suddenly, I felt bugged.”

  “What do you make of it?”

  Ethan stared at a point beyond Grandpa’s head. I don’t want to go to Costa Rica. But he’d spent the money. How could he throw it away?

  Grandpa patted him on the shoulder. “I think you should go to Florida. Surprise your wife.”

  “I’d love to, but what about Costa Rica?”

  Grandpa reached for his coffee. “Still stuck on that, are you?”

  Ethan fiddled with his napkin. If he showed up in Florida, Julie would be shocked. Surprised. Over-the-top happy. “Will, do you think Bobby would go to Costa Rica in my place? Buy me out?”

  “Now you’re thinking,” Grandpa said.

  “I’m a little slow sometimes, but I get there eventually.” Ethan sat up straight and jutted out his chin. “Will, what do you think?”

  “Can’t hurt to ask. Let me call him.” Will dialed his cell phone while Grandpa continued talking to Ethan.

  “You’ve cracked Lambert’s Code, son. Yielding your will for the good of your marriage.”

  Confidence gripped him. “I’m going to Florida.”

  Will clicked his flip phone shut. “Bobby’s calling Elle, but it looks like he’s in.”

  Ethan rested against the high-back chair. For the first time in weeks, his soul felt right within him. “There’s only one problem: I don’t know how to find her.”

  Grandpa pulled a slip of paper from his shirt pocket. “Here, this might help.”

  ❧

  Julie reclined in a beach chair, her face toward the sun. The quartet practiced in the morning, but Kit gave them the afternoon off.

  “Just be ready to go to the wedding rehearsal by five,” she’d said.
<
br />   Like the breeze, Julie let her thoughts go wherever they willed. She smiled when a picture of Ethan blew past her mind’s eye. Last night’s breakthrough changed her world.

  Her thoughts drifted to this morning when the quartet met Kit’s cousin for the first time. She chuckled out loud when she remembered Mike’s impression.

  “I feel like I just got hit by a bulldozer.” Mike’s oversized eyes, wider than normal, watched as Tina exited, Kit in tow.

  “And when were you ever actually hit by a bulldozer?” Cassie clicked her tongue in disapproval.

  “You know what I mean.” Mike curled his lip.

  Julie watched, amused, covering her lips with her fingers to keep from laughing. They were like brother and sister. Never mind the twenty-year gap between them.

  When Kit returned to their table, she looked like she’d collided with a wind tunnel. “I forgot how bossy that woman can be.” She smoothed her hair into place with her hands.

  “Well, when you’re getting married for the third time, I guess you want everything to be perfect,” Julie had commented as she speared a piece of cantaloupe from her fruit plate.

  Her thoughts returned to the present when she heard Kit call from down the beach.

  “Here you are.”

  Julie rose to see her approach. “I thought I’d catch a little bit of sun. Otherwise, no one will believe I actually went to Florida.”

  Kit stopped by Julie’s chair, hands on her hips, watching the waves. “What happened to you?”

  “Excuse me?” Julie squinted up at her, shielding her eyes with her hand.

  Kit looked down at her. “I knew the minute I saw you this morning. Your eyes. . .they have a different light in them.”

  Julie tried to squelch her smile but lost. “God is good, Kit.”

  “That He is.”

  “Last night I went back to my room and read about Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah.”

  Kit listened, the hem of her skirt snapping in the salty breeze.

  “I realized some things about me that needed to change.” Julie explained what happened. “I feel like I lost a hundred pounds.”

  “Good for you.” Kit patted her shoulder.

  Julie dropped her head against the top of the beach chair and drew a deep, peaceful breath. At the core of her being, she still didn’t understand the Lord’s purpose in her barrenness. But she was weary of chasing her will. She wanted to surrender to God’s will, submit to Him. For now, if children were not a part of her life’s tapestry, then so be it.

  One thing she did understand in the dawn of this new day. God loved her, and His plans for her were far better than any dream she could ever conceive.

  ❧

  Ethan caught a flight out of Boston. His dad drove him down and shook his hand good-bye when they called for his row to board.

  “You’re doing the right thing,” Dad said, giving his hand an extra shake.

  Ethan looked down to find a folded bill. “No, Dad, I can’t.” He handed back the money.

  “A gift from your mother and me.” Dad waved away the return of the money.

  Ethan thanked him. “You know we can’t have children, Julie and me.” His candidness surprised him, but the moment felt right.

  Dad jutted out his chin with a slight nod. “Yes. Grandpa told us.”

  “I’m sorry you didn’t hear it from us. Life hasn’t been very smooth lately.”

  “We understand.”

  “Now boarding all rows for flight 1210.”

  Ethan held up his ticket. “Guess I’d better go.” He lunged at his father, wrapping him in a son’s hug.

  When they separated, Dad reminded him, “Your mom and I are here for you two. Let us know what you need.”

  “Thank you. You’ve always been there for us.” Ethan waved good-bye and jogged down the jetway.

  When the plane rolled away from the terminal, Ethan checked the time. Four–and-a-half-hour trip, with a plane change in Philly. . .taxi over to the island. . .find Julie. . . I’ll get there just before she leaves for the wedding. Barely.

  Grandpa’s little slip of information that day in Peri’s contained Kit’s cell number. Ethan had forgotten that Grandma and Kit had friendship roots reaching back into the ’60s and their ladies’ Bible study. They kept in touch even after Kit moved closer to Manchester.

  “I’m thrilled to hear you are coming, Ethan,” Kit told him.

  “Keep it from Julie, will you?”

  “Would I dare spoil such a romantic surprise?”

  Ethan grinned at the notion. A romantic surprise? Julie just might faint away. “I hear we’re taking you to Paris next year.”

  “Yes, darling. In the spring.”

  He liked the lilt in her voice. “I’m looking forward to it.”

  “As am I.”

  Sitting on the runway, waiting to take off, he shifted in his seat, rubbed his hands together, and peered out the plane’s oval window. Surprising Julie. . .this ought to be fun.

  Ethan whispered a prayer. “Let this be the first step to a deeper, more mature marriage.”

  “Ladies and gentlemen, we are experiencing a small technical difficulty,” the captain’s voice reported from the cockpit. “We’re returning to the gate to let the mechanics check it out. We apologize for any inconvenience. We’ll get it fixed as soon as possible.”

  Ethan moaned and snapped up his cell phone to dial Kit. This was not the romantic surprise he had in mind.

  Nineteen

  “Is this seat taken?”

  Julie lifted her eyes to see a handsome man, dressed in black tie, bending over the chair opposite her. For a brief moment, he took her breath away. “Um, no.”

  With his flawless smile fixed on her, he extended his hand. “Alexander Crawford.”

  Julie hesitated but took his hand. “Julie Lambert.”

  “Nice to meet you.” His eyes were the bluest she’d ever seen, and his features were perfect and even as if sculptured by a master.

  She tugged her hand away from his. Where’s the rest of the quartet? They’d taken a break midreception for the cake cutting and bouquet toss. With cake and punch in hand, Julie picked an empty table in the back of the room. Mike and Cassie promised to join her, but she had yet to see them. Kit, she knew, was visiting with the family.

  “How long has the Merewether Quartet been together?” Alexander asked, tipping his head to one side. His question did not reflect the expression on his face.

  Julie held her hands in her lap as if to shrink away from him. “About a month.”

  His brow rose. “Really? You’re quite polished.”

  “We’ve worked hard.” His presence made her skin prickle.

  “I’m having a little get-together at my home on the beach tomorrow night. I know it’s late notice, but—”

  Oh, that’s it. Julie exhaled. “You need to ask that lady over there. She’s the boss.” She pointed across the room to Kit.

  He followed the line and frowned. “Maybe you could come if the quartet is busy.” He scooted his chair closer to hers.

  She laughed. “I’m only prepared to play with the quartet.” She fiddled with her fork and plate, pressing leftover cake icing into miniature pancakes. She didn’t like the way he watched her.

  “Forget the cello. What about you and me?” His tone said way more than those simple words. “You’re a beautiful woman, Julie.” He leaned forward and slithered his fingers across her arm.

  His touch burned. She rocketed to her feet, fear creeping down her spine. “I’m married, Mr. Crawford.”

  He shrugged and pulled on her arm so she sat down again. “I’m not.” He moved closer. “Is your husband here?”

  “No, he’s in New Hampshire.” She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth.

  “Good for me then.” He inched his chair toward her again.

  Julie tried to push back her chair, but one of the legs was tangled with another chair. His warm, sticky breath made her nauseous. He’d be
en drinking. His smile, which first appeared flawless, now appeared evil.

  Where does he get the right? She looked directly into his eyes. “Please leave.”

  “Only if you come with me?” He sat so close his leg touched hers.

  She rose to her feet. “Excuse me.” As she walked away, Alexander Crawford’s sardonic laugh followed.

  Oh Lord, oh Lord, help. Julie found Kit with her mother and aunt. She waited for a break in their conversation before whispering, “I need to see you.”

  Kit finished up and walked with Julie to the outside deck. The horizon, dark and ominous, harbored the sounds of the surf.

  Kit propped her arms on the railing and lifted her face to the wind. “Hard to imagine being alone at sea when it’s so dark, isn’t it?”

  The lump in Julie’s throat kept her from speaking. “Mm-hmm,” she muttered. She shivered and rubbed her arms with her hands.

  Kit faced her. “What’s troubling you?”

  “I want to go home.” Her teeth chattered, but she bit her lower lip to keep it from quivering.

  “Now?”

  “I don’t belong here, Kit. I belong at home with Ethan, working on our marriage.” She batted away tears. If she cried, her mascara would smudge, and they had another set to play before the evening ended.

  Kit smiled and drew her into a hug. “We leave in a few days; can you wait?”

  “A man came on to me in there.” Julie wrenched her arm around, motioning to some obscure point behind her. “He mocked me when I told him I was married.”

  “A guest?”

  Julie shivered. “Yes, a guest.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Kit, he was evil.”

  Kit put her arms around her. “I’m sorry, Julie. Tina Marie and Marco have unusual friends.”

  “Unusual?” Julie shook in the cold. “I’ve always known Ethan was special, but this week, I’ve realized how special. He is an amazing man, flaws and all.”

  “Being apart awakens love, doesn’t it?”

  “Too bad it took a personal crisis and one slimeball to make me realize it.”

  “Here, let me pray for you.” Kit put her hand on Julie’s back and asked the Lord for peace and protection.

  Julie wiped the tears from her face as Kit said amen. “How much time do I have before the next set?”