Impossible Things

by Alexandra McBrayer

  She was about to step into the bathroom when there was a knock on her bedroom door. She called out and Rodrigo opened the door and stuck his head in. “Are you coming or what? We’ve been waiting for you to wake up for an hour now and we can’t wait anymore.”

  “I have to get dressed,” she told him and he shook his head and opened the door wider. “No you don’t. We’re all in our pajamas.”

  He was wearing pajamas, red linen ones, with a faint white stripe. She grabbed her robe and followed him down the stairs. “Those don’t really seem like something you’d wear,” she told him and he laughed and said, “These are the first pair of pajamas that I’ve owned since I was a boy but I didn’t think you and Rosaline would want to see me in my boxers.”

  Lucy shrugged. They might have. It would at least have been a pretty sight first thing in the morning.

  They got to the drawing room and before Rodrigo opened the door he and Lucy heard laughter coming from the room. They smiled at each other before opening the door and going in.

  Isabella looked up, “There you are I thought you were going to sleep all day!”

  Lucy looked over at the clock on the mantelpiece and saw that it was only a few minutes after eight, but she didn’t say anything.

  Isabella was like a child as she handed out presents. She made Rodrigo pass out hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls and Lucy was more interested in stuffing her face with the delicious cinnamon rolls than opening her presents.

  She watched Rosaline and Isabella smiling and laughing with each other. Being here, with her family, was the best present that she could have wished for.

  Isabella finished handing out the presents and then told them that they would take turns. Each would open one a present at a time so that everyone could see what they received.

  Rosaline went first and she opened her present from Rodrigo. It was a shiny black envelope and when she opened it and pulled out the card inside she gasped. She looked up at Rodrigo and said, “I can’t take this.”

  He shook his head. “Don’t be silly. Of course you can. They expect you on Friday morning.”

  Lucy raised an eyebrow and looked at her mom. Rosaline handed the card over and Lucy saw that it was an appointment card for his family’s store and that Rosaline was to be fitted for an entire new wardrobe on Friday. She smiled at her mom and there were tears in Rosaline’s eyes.

  “Are you sure,” she asked Rodrigo and he nodded. “Yes. Rosaline this is what my family does. What we’ve done forever. You are my family now, so it is part of you as well, and you deserve beautiful clothes that you love and that make you feel good. Besides if my daughter doesn’t wear our clothes that will reflect badly on her papa!”

  Rosaline laughed and went across the room to hug him. When Rosaline moved away Lucy watched as Isabella reached out and squeezed her husband’s hand. On her face was a look of pride.

  It was Lucy’s turn to open her present from him but she realized that she didn’t have one. She looked at him and he shook his head. “You were hard. I thought of a hundred things to buy you and then dismissed them all. I wanted it to be something special, but I didn’t want to buy you jewelry. I almost went crazy. You’re as hard to buy for as your grandmother is. But then it hit me like a bolt of lightning and I realized what you needed.”

  He stood up and came over to her and handed her a key.

  “What’s this?” she asked and he smiled.

  “Safety,” he said, and went back to sit on the settee next to Isabella.

  Lucy shook her head. She didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

  “You were with Sam because you had a desire to be safe. You left him and now you’re exploring this thing you have with Lucas, so you’re no longer safe. I worry about that. So I’m giving you safety. Not from him or from love but from the rest of the things that life throws at us.”

  She looked down at the key in her hand. It was a large, old fashioned key.

  She still didn’t understand.

  Isabella asked for her, “What do you mean Rodrigo? What did you do?”

  He looked from his wife back to Lucy. “I can’t protect you, or us, from aging or sickness and I don’t want to protect you from love, or even from life, but I can make sure that you have a job, that you have money and that you have a safe place to live.”

  Lucy looked from the key back to him as he said. “I bought you a flat. It’s only on the next block, I’m selfish that I want you close to us, but it’s still far enough away that you have privacy.”

  “You bought me an apartment?” she asked in a whisper and he nodded.

  “This way you have a home. You’re always welcome here of course, but I know you need privacy. You will never be dependent on another man ever again. If you and Lucas work out and you marry one day you can rent it out or sell it and keep the money, and if you don’t work out then you still have it. It’s yours and no one can ever take that away from you.”

  When he was done Isabella was clutching his arm and crying and Rosaline had tears rolling down her face. Lucy got up and went over to Rodrigo and he stood and held open his arms to her.

  “Thank you Rodrigo. Thank you for everything.”

  He kissed her cheek and stepped back. He cleared his throat before saying, “That’s enough crying now. This is a happy day. No more tears.”

  But there were more tears as each opened the gifts that had been given to them and revealed the thought and care that went in to each gift.

  From her mom Lucy got a new leather purse, it was from a high-end French label and Rodrigo shook his head in disgust at the French label until Rosaline reminded him that they were part French. That didn’t seem to totally appease him but he didn’t say anything else.

  From her grandmother she got a beautiful platinum bracelet that her grandfather had given Isabella on their wedding day and Rosaline received Isabella’s wedding and engagement bands as well as the wedding band that had been her father’s.

  They also received the pieces of jewelry from Rodrigo’s family and Lucy had laughed when she realized that in the past few months she had built up an impressive jewel collection of her very own.

  It was the best Christmas of her live because every dream that she’d ever had was coming true. Thanks to her family.

  Lucas and his mom arrived at one and they sat down to a wonderful, international dinner. They had a true English roast along with all the fixings for their English side, a ham to represent America, pasta and Italian side dishes for Rodrigo and Lucas and even foie gras and champagne to represent their French side.

  It was a wonderful meal filled with lots of food, laughter and conversation, and there was so much going on that Lucy found herself involved in more than one conversation at a time. She laughed as she watched Lucas and Rodrigo argue over who was the better driver and smiled as she heard her mom and Lucas’ talking about them.

  After dinner they went back to the drawing room where Lucas pointed to a large box on the coffee table and told Lucy that it was for her. She moved past him and touched the box. It was beautifully wrapped in silver paper with a huge blue and silver bow on top. She looked over at him, her eyebrow raised in question but he only smiled.

  Carefully she pulled off the bow and took a deep breath as she lifted the lid off the box. She smiled at what she saw inside and looked up at Lucas.

  He stepped towards her and put his hand on his arm. “I thought you had enough jewelry, at least for now. But you have nothing to put it in.”

  Lucy reached inside the box and pulled away the tissue paper. It was a leather jewelry box. It was big; the size of a small trunk, and the leather was a rich sapphire blue. She looked up at Lucas and he reached in and lifted it out of the box for her.

  He sat it on the coffee table and she sat down on the settee and pulled it towards her. “It’s just like my grandmother’s,” she said and Lucas nodded and said, “When you told me the stories about your grandmother’s jewels you seemed to love her case as much as t
he jewels. She told me where to have one made for you.”

  She stood and moved towards him. He took a step and met her halfway. “Thank you Lucas.”

  He smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “You’re welcome.”

  She shook her head and reached out to grab the lapels of his jacket. “No. Thank you for everything. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for giving me time.”

  He smiled again and her arms went around him and pulled him close. She lifted her head and buried her nose in his neck, taking a deep breath of the warm scent of him into her lungs, a smell that she would never be able to forget as long as she lived.

  “I love you,” she said and she felt him go stiff in her arms, but he didn’t say anything.

  She raised her voice and said it again, louder this time so that the entire room could hear her. “I love you Lucas Antonelli, I love you.”

  His arms came up around her and he squeezed her close. So close that she had difficulty catching her breath. But that was okay. She was okay. They were okay. She wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was he.

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  They sat around for the rest of the afternoon talking, laughing and sharing the magic of the holiday with each other. Lucy felt whole, she felt healed and it wasn’t just because of the love of a good man, it was the love that she had found for herself and the love and support that her family gave her.

  At dusk Lucy got up to turn on a lamp and that was when she saw the envelope that Lucas had handed her when he’d arrived. She picked it up and walked back over to the group. She sat down on the floor, in front of her mom, and Rosaline smiled down at her.

  “Mom I have one more present for you,” she said and Rosaline smiled in confusion. “But sweetie you’ve already given me a present!”

  Lucy handed her the envelope and with a confused look on her face Rosaline opened it and looked down at the tickets inside.

  “What is this?” she asked and Lucy was hesitant as she said, “Its tickets. For us. I thought we’d go to France for a week.”

  Rosaline looked and Lucy, “But why here? Why Avignon?”

  Lucy put her hand out and covered Rosaline’s hand. “Because it’s Avignon mom. It’s where Jeremy lives.”

  Rosaline shook her head. “No Lucy. No.”

  Lucy nodded. “It’s time mom. Let’s go see him.”

  Rosaline’s head shook faster and she tried to thrust the envelope back into Lucy’s hands but Lucy wouldn’t take it. “No. I can’t.”

  Lucy rose up on her knees. “Yes you can. Let’s just go see him and talk to him.”

  Rosaline’s voice was frantic as she said, “He’s married!”

  Lucy shook her head. “No. He’s divorced. He’s been divorced for ten years. Let’s just go see him. Talk to him. See if you could love him again.”

  Rosaline began crying. “I never stopped loving him.”

  Lucy pulled her mom to her and rubbed her back as Rosaline cried on her shoulder. “”I’m married.”

  Lucy pulled back and looked at her mom. “Are you? Really?”

  Rosaline nodded and then in a low whisper said, “But not for long. Your father called this morning and when I was still here he said he’s filing for divorce the first of the year.”

  Lucy nodded and Rosaline said, “I don’t want you to hate your father.”

  Lucy shook her head. “I don’t. But we’re two different people and I have to be me mom. I have to. And so do you.”

  George Jacobs was her father, and she loved him, but she couldn’t live her life for him, and he wasn’t the man for Rosaline, just like Sam hadn’t been the man for her.

  Lucy leaned forward and said, “Just see how he feels about you mom. Just see. If he doesn’t love you anymore than you’ll know and you can move on. But if he does…well then who knows.”

  Rosaline sniffed and wiped her face. “I’m scared,” she said and Lucy nodded. “Of course you are. So am I. So is everyone. But a wise woman once told me that to really live we have to do the things that we’re afraid of.”

  Epilogue

  “Lucy.”

  She rolled away from the soft voice and the hand rubbing her arm.

  “Lucy.”

  “Hmmm,” she said and rolled further away. She had been having an amazing dream and didn’t want to wake up.

  “Lucy wake up.”

  She rolled over and opened one eye. Lucas was standing over her, dressed in a black sweater and jeans. “Why are you dressed?” she asked and tried to pull him towards her but he pulled away, grabbed the sheet, and threw it back.

  She was naked underneath and she saw his pupils dilate as he smiled. “Get up and get dressed. I have a surprise for you.”

  She smiled back at him and moved her legs apart, and said, “Come back to bed and I’ll give you a surprise.”

  He laughed and walked away.

  Disappointed she sat up and saw that he was in the closet picking out clothes. He came back to the bed and handed her a pair of underwear, a bra, jeans and a sweater. “Get dressed,” he said again and she stood and for once did as she was told.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “It’s a surprise, but hurry.”

  He went back to the closet, got his leather jacket and her coat, and brought them back. “Do I need my purse?” she asked and he shook his head. “Not for this.”

  She finished dressing and followed after him as he left the room and went down the stairs that led to the hotel lobby. At the front entrance to the hotel a black Mercedes was waiting for them and Lucas helped her in before getting in behind her.

  She looked up as the car pulled out of the hotel and smiled. It was still hard to believe that she was here, that they were here. She had wanted to visit this city her entire life but had never thought she’d ever get a chance. Now here she was, driving through a magical, foreign city at night and staring at one of the world’s most beautiful sights.

  She turned and smiled at Lucas and he smiled back and grabbed her hand.

  They didn’t talk as the car drove them closer and closer to the wonder that was waiting for them. When they got there a man was waiting for them, and he handed Lucas a bag and gestured towards the walkway. Lucas nodded, and handed the man a wad of cash which he took, thanking Lucas in English before walking away.

  Lucas led the way and when they were standing at the base he stopped, put the bag on the ground and opened it. Lucy watched as he pulled out two glasses and a bottle of champagne.

  She smiled at him and asked, “What is this for?”

  His eyes were a warm, sparkling green as he held out a glass of bubbles for her. “When we first met you said that when you were a little girl you dreamed of a life of adventure and that you dreamed of drinking champagne at the pyramids. I just wanted to help fulfill your dream.”

  Lucy turned, looked up at the Great Pyramid and smiled. She fought back the tears that threatened. They weren’t tears of sadness but rather tears of happiness and thankfulness. She took a sip of her champagne and raised her glass to Lucas.

  They clinked glasses and she smiled at him. “I love you Lucas.”

  He smiled back. “I love you too Lucy Jacobs.”

  His was a smile that she would never get tired of. His was a face that she would always love. When they were old and gray, he would still be the love of her life, the same way that Jeremy and Rosaline were still in love after all the years they had spent apart.

  She realized that there was no time like the present so she bent, put her glass on the ground and knelt in front of him.

  “What are you doing?” he asked and she smiled up at him. “Lucas, you are the love of my life. Every day that we’re together I love you more than the day before. Will you marry me and spend the rest of your life with me?”

  He shook his head, put his head back and laughed up into the dark night. He looked back down at her and Lucy swore that the stars in the sky didn’t twinkle as much as h
is beautiful green eyes.

  “You know I’m supposed to ask you right?”

  She nodded. “I know. But I told you not to ask me for a year.”

  One side of his mouth went up as he grinned. “It will be a year in exactly two minutes. I brought a ring with me. I was going to propose to you,” he said.

  She smiled back at him. “You can still do it. But this way you know I want it. Besides I’m a modern woman. I hope you can handle that.”