Sunrise on Cedar Key

by Terri DuLong

  “He told you all this?”

  “Of course. Once he found out we were best friends, I’m sure he had no doubt whatsoever that I’d relay it all to you.”

  “I’ll make you that latte now,” Suellen said. “Sounds like you talked me up to him. Thanks.”

  “Hey, what are best friends for? Did he ask you out?”

  “No, but he came back over here to tell me he’d stop in again tomorrow morning.”

  “Ah, yes, it’s only a matter of time until you, Suellen McSwain, have joined the ranks of the dating world.”

  And I was right. Suellen had her first date with Mitchell two days later. He took her to Gainesville for lunch and a movie. Tonight Lucas and I had invited them to his place for dinner.

  I was slicing tomatoes for the salad and felt Lucas come up behind me. He kissed the back of my neck.

  “So my little fiancée enjoys playing matchmaker, huh?” he said, pressing his body against mine. “Must be those French genes for romance and l’amour.”

  I laughed and jabbed him gently in the stomach. “Must be,” I said.

  Lucas lifted the cover on the large pot simmering on the stove, and the mouthwatering aroma of his cassoulet filled the kitchen. “I’m glad Suellen will have a companion,” he said. “I think that will be good for her.”

  I laughed. “I might be the matchmaker, but you’re the romantic at heart.”

  Suellen arrived a short time later with Mitchell at her side. I noticed she seemed to have a glow about her, and I couldn’t have been happier for my friend.

  The four of us enjoyed general conversation while we had a glass of wine with cheese before dinner.

  When we sat at the dining room table, Lucas lifted his wineglass. “Here’s to good times with good friends. Bon appétit.”

  The cassoulet was exceptionally good, with a mixture of various meats, beans, fats, and herbs.

  “Oh, Lucas,” Suellen said after her first bite. “You really outdid yourself with this one. It’s wonderful.”

  Mitchell nodded. “I must say, I thought I cooked fairly well for a bachelor, but I can’t compete with this. My compliments to the chef.”

  Lucas sent me a wink and smiled. “Thank you, but it’s really quite easy, and I’d be happy to share my recipe with you.”

  “That would be great. So, Grace, in addition to helping at the bookshop, Suellen tells me that you and your aunt have a business doing knitting retreat weekends. That sounds like fun.”

  “Oh, it is, but I think we might have to slow down a bit.”

  Suellen looked across the table at me in surprise. “Oh, why’s that?”

  “I think every weekend is becoming a bit too much for Aunt Maude. She barely has time to relax and it’s Friday again with more knitters arriving. I think she’s looking tired lately, although she’d never admit it to me.”

  “You know,” Suellen said, buttering her roll. “Now that you mention it, I saw Maude at the post office yesterday and I thought the same thing. She looked a little pale and well ... just tired. So you could be right, but how on earth will you convince her to cut back a little?”

  “I have no idea, but I plan to have a talk with her.”

  “Did she find a replacement for Rachel yet?”

  “Yes, thank goodness. She found a nice girl from Chiefland and she’ll begin the end of May when Rachel leaves. Mitchell, was there a reason you wanted to open a dog-grooming business? I’m always curious why people choose certain jobs.”

  He laughed. “Well, I have an Old English sheepdog, and Olivia has always required constant grooming. When she was a puppy I decided to purchase the equipment and do it myself. I found that I really enjoyed it, and over the years I taught myself how to groom various breeds. So when the time came for me to get out of the rat race, I thought, why not open my own business?”

  “Very good idea,” I said. “And it’s obvious you enjoy it. Are the dogs well behaved for you?”

  “For the most part, yes. Now and again I get one that doesn’t want to cooperate, but eventually they get used to it and I think they even enjoy it.”

  By the time Suellen and Mitchell left a few hours later, I had decided that my best friend had found a male companion who was worthy of the good qualities she had to offer. I also decided that my matchmaking skills had probably paid off.

  38

  A few evenings later Suellen and I were sitting in her living room working on our knitting projects. I missed my weekly gathering with the women at the yarn shop, so I appreciated my friend suggesting we have our own evening of girl time and knitting.

  “I heard the book signing with Shelby Sullivan went well,” she said, not taking her eyes from the intricate sweater pattern she was working on.

  “Oh, it did. A huge success. Lucas has already lined up some other Florida authors over the next few months. It’s good for the bookshop and good for the authors, so he’s pleased.”

  “Do we know yet who my partner will be at your wedding?”

  “No, he hasn’t made a definite decision yet on best man. He only has a few male acquaintances here on the island. Fellows he goes fishing with, but nobody that he’s really close to. What he really wants is to have his cousin from France.”

  Suellen’s head now popped up from her knitting. “Really?”

  “Yeah, Lucas is an only child, and Jean-Paul has always been like a brother to him.”

  “So what’s the problem?”

  “Jean-Paul’s wife is quite ill. Cancer. And Lucas doesn’t want to put him on the spot—committing to be best man in October and not knowing what the situation will be then.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad. Gee, I hope it works for him to be here.”

  “Me too. I can tell it really would mean a lot to Lucas.”

  “How’s Maude doing? Did you have that talk with her?”

  “She still looks tired to me, and yeah, I brought up the subject of cutting back on the retreats. To be honest, I was surprised she didn’t fight me on it. We’re booked through the end of this month for every weekend, but for June we only have one weekend booked right now, and she said maybe we should leave it like that. July and August are the same. She didn’t say not to book if somebody calls, but I’m not going to. I think one weekend a month is plenty. Besides, I’m really a little concerned about her. I think she needs to slow down, and I’ll feel better when she sees the doctor in a few weeks.”

  The next morning before heading to the bookshop I checked in with Aunt Maude. Knocking on the back door, I walked in hollering, “It’s me.” Lafitte greeted me in the kitchen with nonstop meowing.

  I reached down to give him a pat. “What’s your problem? Where’s Aunt Maude? Aunt Maude, are you here?” I called, walking into the living room.

  That was when I saw her. Crumpled in a small heap on the carpet in front of the sofa.

  “Oh, my God!” I yelled, racing to her. “Aunt Maude, it’s me, Grace. What happened?”

  She opened her eyes slowly as she whispered, “Grace ... I need some help.”

  I reached into my pocket, yanked out my cell, dialed 911, and quickly explained the situation to the dispatcher. I was told not to hang up, and I gripped the phone as I brushed the hair from my aunt’s face.

  “An ambulance is en route,” I heard the woman say before I disconnected the call.

  “Are you in pain? Did you fall?” I asked my aunt, kneeling down beside her. I was stunned that she had seemed to age overnight. What had been pale skin the past few weeks was now pasty white. I took her hand and felt the clamminess.

  “No ... no pain. I felt ... dizzy ... last night ...”

  “Last night? Dear God! You’ve been lying here since last night?” Fear shot through me, and all of a sudden I felt like I was face to face with my aunt’s mortality. Where the hell is that ambulance?

  “I tried ... I tried to ... call you ... but you didn’t ...”

  “It’s okay. Don’t talk,” I told her as I finally heard the wail of sirens
coming closer.

  The rest of what followed seemed like a blur. EMTs rushed into the house loaded down with equipment, and they immediately began working on my aunt. I heard the EMT say low heart rate, fly her to Shands, and the next thing I knew, Cedar Key’s fire chief had his arms around me, once again consoling me.

  “Grace, they’re going to do everything they can for your aunt. I know you’ll want to go to the hospital, but you’re in no condition to drive. Do you want me to call Lucas for you?”

  I nodded dumbly as I saw my aunt being lifted onto a stretcher. One EMT was on his cell and I dimly heard him talking with somebody about my aunt’s condition and then heard him say, “We’ll meet you at the helicopter pad on Twenty-four.” I knew that for serious health injuries or accidents, residents of Cedar Key were brought via ambulance to State Road 24, just off the island, where they were met by the helicopter that would transport them to Shands in Gainesville, but I had never thought my aunt Maude would be one of those patients.

  I stood beside her and took her hand in mind. “You’ll be okay,” I told her, although I had no way of knowing this. “They’re going to fly you to Shands and I’ll see you there. I love you, Aunt Maude.” I leaned over to kiss her cheek and realized the wetness I felt was from my own tears.

  “I ... love you ... too ... Grace,” she whispered before they took the stretcher out to the ambulance.

  Jim Jacobs came back into the living room. “I just spoke with Lucas,” he said as the wail of sirens filled the air again. “He’s on his way. Here, Miss Grace, come sit down.”

  He ushered me to the sofa where Lafitte came to rub against my leg. I lifted the large, fluffy cat in my arms, cuddling him, as sobs overtook my body. That was how Lucas found me a few minutes later when he raced in the front door.

  “Grace, I’m here,” he said, wrapping me in his arms.

  “We have to go, we have to go,” I told him, unable to control the tears.

  “Yes, yes, it will be all right,” he said, with more confidence than I felt. “Let me lock the back door and we will leave.”

  Returning to the living room, he said, “Okay, let’s go,” and put an arm around my waist to lead me out to the car. He passed me my handbag and closed the door. I heard him thank Jim Jacobs before jumping into the driver’s seat and heading off the island.

  During the one-hour drive, my left hand gripped Lucas’s while my right one kept dabbing my eyes with a tissue. Except for Lucas’s occasional words of reassurance, neither one of us spoke.

  When we were on Archer Road with the stores and restaurants on either side, I knew it wouldn’t be much longer until we were at the hospital.

  “I can’t lose her,” I finally said. “I just can’t lose her, Lucas.” I was about to say she’s all that I have, when I realized that was no longer true. I did have Lucas. But it was Aunt Maude who had been both mother and father to me since I was twelve, and the thought of losing her brought a fresh flood of tears.

  I felt him squeeze my hand. “Do not think that, Grace. Your aunt is a strong woman.”

  But she hadn’t looked strong at all when I’d found her on the floor. She’d looked so fragile and small. Two words I never would have used to describe my aunt.

  “I’m going to drop you at the emergency room entrance and go park,” I heard Lucas say as I looked up and saw the brick buildings on my left.

  As soon as he braked, I yanked open the door to get out. “See you in there,” I called over my shoulder as I ran toward the glass doors that automatically opened for me.

  I raced over to the information desk. “Maude Stone,” I said to the middle-aged woman sitting behind the glass partition. “I’m her niece, and she was flown here from Cedar Key. Can you tell me where she is?”

  The woman adjusted the reading glasses perched on her nose and glanced down at papers in front of her. “Yes,” she said. “She just arrived a little while ago. You’ll have to have a seat.”

  “I need to know how she is. Can’t I see her?”

  “The doctor is with her now. I’m sure as soon as he knows something the nurse will be out to speak with you.”

  I could feel my patience disappearing quickly. “But I need to know if she’s all right. Can’t anybody here tell me anything?” I heard my own voice rising at the same time I felt Lucas by my side.

  I’m not sure if it was the increased volume of my tone or the sight of a male next to me, but the woman coughed, cleared her throat, and said, “I’ll call back there for you and see what I can find out.”

  “Thank you,” I said, not entirely sure I meant it and still not budging from the information window. The window, which she had now effectively closed between us, preventing me from hearing her side of the conversation.

  “Would you like some coffee, Grace?” Lucas asked as his hand reached for mine.

  I shook my head. “No. Thanks,” I said as I continued to stand there waiting for word on my aunt.

  The woman finally hung up the phone and slid back the barrier. “The doctor is with your aunt. They’re going to be conducting some tests. And a nurse will be out to speak with you very shortly. I’m afraid that’s all I can tell you,” she said in a kinder tone.

  “Thank you,” I told her, and this time I meant it.

  I allowed Lucas to lead me to one of the chairs in the waiting room, and we had just sat down when a nurse came through a door and hollered, “Grace Stone? Is there a Grace Stone here?”

  I jumped up and ran to her. “That’s me. How’s my aunt?”

  “It appears she had an episode of what we call bradycardia, low heart rate. This is what caused her to be dizzy and pass out. We don’t know if there’re any other cardiac complications, so the doctor has ordered multiple tests. A CT scan, MRI, and possibly a cardiac catheterization. We’re going to be admitting her, and we’re waiting for a room now. You can come back for a few minutes to see her if you like.”

  “Oh, yes. Thank you so much.” I glanced at Lucas.

  “You go, Grace. I’ll be waiting right here for you.”

  I nodded and followed the nurse through the door and down a corridor with curtained cubicles on each side. She turned into the last one on the left.

  “Here you go,” she said, pulling the curtain aside. “Miss Maude, your niece is here. Just a few minutes,” she told me, leaving the area.

  “Oh, Aunt Maude. How’re you doing?” Except for the hospital gown, I didn’t think my aunt looked any different than she had at her house. I reached for her hand and did notice the clamminess seemed to be gone.

  “Tired. Just very tired, sweetie.”

  “Well, they’re going to get you to a room and admitted and then do a lot of tests to find out what’s going on. Lucas and I will be out in the waiting room, so we’ll be here when they take you to your room.”

  “Oh, Gracie,” she said, and it didn’t escape me that even her voice sounded filled with fatigue. “I’m sure you both have things to do. You don’t have to stay here.”

  I smiled. “Try and get us to leave.”

  A weak smile covered her face. “Okay.”

  The nurse returned and went over to pat my aunt’s hand. “I’m afraid it might be a couple hours till we get you to your room. We’ll be sending you for a CT scan first.” She turned to look at me. “She’ll be in three twenty-two, but you might want to go to the cafeteria for a while to kill some time.”

  “Thanks.” I leaned over and kissed my aunt’s cheek. “I love you, Aunt Maude. I’ll see you up in your room.”

  I wanted to go before she saw the tears once again filling my eyes, and I retraced my way back down the corridor, through the door into the waiting room—and saw my sister, Chloe, standing there talking to Lucas.

  39

  I marched directly over to Chloe. “What the hell are you doing here?” I said before I could stop myself, and I instantly hated the nastiness I heard in my tone.

  “She is my aunt, too, Gracie. I had to come.”

  Of
course she did. What happened between Chloe and me didn’t have a thing to do with our aunt.

  “Is she going to be okay?” she asked, and I heard the fear in her question.

  I let out a deep sigh. “I don’t know. We don’t know anything yet. They’re going to be taking her to her room shortly and then doing a lot of tests. All I know is she had a low heart rate and that’s what caused her to pass out.”

  Lucas had stood there quietly and now said, “Why don’t we all go to the cafeteria and get something to eat or coffee until your aunt is in her room?”

  Was he crazy? He expected me to break bread with this sister who had betrayed me?

  I heard this sister immediately say, “That would be good.”

  I had no choice but to follow Lucas and Chloe to the elevator.

  We wound our way through the counters of food and drinks. When we got to the cashier I saw both Chloe and Lucas had gotten a sandwich, and as she reached in her handbag to pay, Lucas held up his hand. “No, no,” he said, holding out a twenty to the girl behind the register.

  I took my coffee and headed to an empty table, filled with a million conflicting emotions. Lucas and Chloe joined me, and none of us spoke while they ate their sandwiches and I sipped coffee.

  All of a sudden I heard Aunt Maude’s words—telling me that someday she’d no longer be here and that Chloe and I would only have each other. I said a silent prayer that that day hadn’t yet arrived.

  Chloe wiped her lips with a napkin before taking a sip of her coffee. “You’re the one that found her, Gracie? That must have been scary.”

  “It was.” And then it suddenly hit me. “Who called you?”

  I glanced up in time to see her look at Lucas, and he nodded.

  “Lucas did,” she said softly.

  I now turned to directly face him, waiting for an explanation.

  “It was the right thing to do, Grace. I called her from the bookshop as I was leaving,” he told me, to which I said nothing.

  I continued sipping my coffee and looked around the cafeteria. A few tables over, an elderly woman was being consoled by another woman who possibly was her daughter. A man in his forties sat by himself, a soft drink in his hand, deep in thought. So much sadness in the world, I thought. So many people facing terrible health issues either for themselves or for family members. A woman approached the man who had been sitting alone, kissed his cheek, sat beside him, and took his hand. How do people get through these situations, I wondered. But I already knew the answer to that—they get through it with each other and, most important, with love.