Two days before her wedding, Elisabeth stood over the kitchen stove preparing breakfast. She was the first one awake and decided to treat her family to a nice, big breakfast; something they weren’t allowed to enjoy together very often. She knew that before long everyone but Katy would soon be joining her in the kitchen. Katy, she knew, would want to sleep a little longer since she had gotten in late the night before. Just as she predicted, Jacob came dragging down the stairs within the next few minutes. Her parents closely followed with Ben bringing up the rear.
“Lizzie, this smells wonderful,” Robert grinned and placed a kiss on his daughter’s forehead. “What in the world possessed you to do all this?”
“I just thought it would be nice,” she said with a shrug as they all seated themselves around the table. “Everything has been so hectic this past week and I thought it would be nice just to sit down and enjoy time with one another.”
“Well, you shouldn’t have to cook and clean everything in site,” Ben smiled and nuzzled the back of her neck. “You should be relaxing.”
After Elisabeth left Nick’s one week earlier, she had come home to find Ben waiting. He’d been worried sick not knowing where she had been or what she’d been doing and decided he would wait for her. As soon as she had come through the front door, he’d taken her in his arms. Apologizing profusely and begging forgiveness, Ben carried her upstairs where he begged and apologized for hours on end. Even the next day, he would look over at her and whisper how sorry he was. Seeing his sincerity, Elisabeth knew she couldn’t stay angry at him.
“Morning everybody,” Kaitlyn said cheerfully as she entered the kitchen.
“Katy, I thought you’d still be asleep,” Elisabeth told her daughter as she poured a glass of orange juice.
“Well, I thought the same thing, but I couldn’t really sleep,” she replied with a small shrug. “Besides, I thought we could get an early start and spend the day together.”
Elisabeth practically beamed. Even now after repairing their almost shattered relationship, she still felt as though it was sometimes too good to be true. “That sounds great!”
***
“I dunno. I’m really glad that I decided to take a year off before going to college, but I just feel really out of place sometimes,” Katy said as she and Elisabeth walked through downtown Sunset Beach window shopping. “I mean, it’s not like I’m having trouble adjusting ‘cause I’m not.”
“Well, it just takes time to get back in the swing of thing. College is a big thing, and I know it’s not that easy; especially when you’re going back after taking a break. Just give yourself some more time to get settled in and you’ll be fine,” she smiled reassuringly. After a few minutes of walking quietly, Elisabeth glanced over and smiled. “So, have you met any cute guys?” She didn’t miss the blush creeping into Katy’s cheeks.
“Actually…” Katy paused for a moment, “I was gonna surprise you, but I have a date for the wedding. He’s supposed to be flying in tomorrow.”
“Really?” Elisabeth cried excitedly. “That’s wonderful!”
“So, you don’t mind?”
“Of course I don’t mind, Katy. I’m just a little offended you didn’t tell me sooner,” she answered with a wink. “Tell me about him.”
“Well, his name is Trent Davidson and he’s a junior,” Katy said as she began to tell her mother all she could.
The two continued to chat as they made their way around the small town. Soon, they found themselves on the pier overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Stopping at a bench, they both sat quietly just watching the people around them. It had been a long time since either of them had been on the pier.
“You should have planned to have the wedding here,” Katy said as she stared absently out across the water. “That would be beautiful.”
“Ben wouldn’t have gone for having the wedding here; it was all I could do to get him to agree to the beach. This is a place Nick would have chosen,” the words were out before Elisabeth could even think about them.
“Nick?” Katy asked curiously.
“Oh, well…uh…this would have been somewhere he would have liked. At least, when I knew him,” she stumbled over the words.
Suddenly turning serious, Kaitlyn looked at Elisabeth and took a breath. “Can I ask you something?”
Elisabeth didn’t know if she wanted to hear the question or not, but she nodded regardless.
“Do you still love him?”
Elisabeth had told Katy about what she and Nick shared that summer; not in detail of course, but enough to know what they shared was something special that only comes along once in a life time. At 13 Katy could never have understood the situation, but as she grew older, she became more curious and started asking questions. Finally, one day about two years before, Elisabeth sat down with her and told her what happened. Finally, Katy was able to appreciate exactly what Elisabeth was explaining to her.
Now, with the question still hanging in the air, Elisabeth didn’t know what to say. She wanted to be completely truthful; however, she didn’t want to upset Katy. She finally gave a short nod. “Yes, I do and I’m sure I always will. But time just hasn’t been on our side, and well, you know what they say.”
“Timing is everything.”
“Exactly,” she answered sadly.
***
Nick exhaled slowly while trying to keep from losing his patience. He checked his watch again and decided that he would wait a few more minutes and then leave; he didn’t have all the time in the world to wait for this kid to come whenever it was convenient for him.
One of his neighbors’ kids needed a small, part-time job after school, and he had talked Nick into at least talking to him and seeing what he could do for his son. Now, Nick was waiting in the shop for the kid and it didn’t seem like he would be coming anytime soon. He finally decided that there was no point in meeting him and started gathering up his things when he heard the bell above the door jingle.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” the teenage boy was breathing heavily as though he’d run a mile. “I had to stay after school for a few minutes, but I swear I’m not usually late.”
Nick suppressed a smile and seated himself back behind the counter. Aidan Price wasn’t a bad kid, he knew, but he did tend to get a little jittery every now and then. “That’s okay. I was just jumping the gun, I guess. Bad day.” They had a short talk and Nick showed Aidan how to run the register among other things. “That’s about it; it’s pretty simple. You can start tomorrow if you like.”
Aidan gave a confident nod and smiled. “Thanks, Mr. Carter.”
Nick smiled, internally wincing at the use of Mr. in front of his name. “No problem. I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon.” Walking to the front of the shop, he nodded at Gabe. “I’ve gotta get going. You got everything under control here?”
“Sure thing,” Gabe said in his usual monotone voice.
Nick had begun to realize that the only time he seemed to liven up was when his grandmother happened to be nearby. Grinning to himself, he turned to look at Gabe. “I think Gram is supposed to come by later. Will you tell her where I went?”
Sure enough, Gabe’s aged eyes seemed to brighten up a bit. “Sure will.”
“Thanks.”
***
“Daddy?”
“Hm?” Nick asked as he looked over the day’s paper while Maddie ate her dinner.
“Are you gonna marry Ms. Norris?”
Just as his daughter had asked the question, Nick had decided to take a sip of his soda and he nearly choked in order to keep himself from spitting it all over his paper. Finally composing himself, he looked at Maddie in confusion. “Where did that come from?”
“Mia said that when you really like somebody you marry them,” she said as she wiped her nose on her hand. “Don’t you really like her?”
“Well,” Nick was stumped. How was he supposed to answer this question? “Of course I like her.”
“Then you’re gonna marry her?” she almost looked hopeful.
Folding up his paper and sliding out of the chair, Nick placed himself on the floor beside Madelyn. “Well, no, that doesn’t mean I’m gonna marry her. See, I like her, but in order for two people to get married, they have to love each other for a long time first.” But that’s not true is it? You didn’t know and love Elisabeth for a long time, but you still would have married her, he heard part of his mind saying.
“Oh,” Madelyn said obviously disappointed. After a second she looked up at him, blue eyes shining. “Why doesn’t Mommy love me?”
Nick was crushed by the look in her eyes; his heart wrenched as he tried to find the right thing to say. “Baby, Mommy loves you very much.”
“Then why is she gone?”
“Well, sometimes people have to go away for a while and then come back later. I know that it’s hard to understand right now, but your Mommy loves you and don’t ever think otherwise, okay?”
Maddie nodded halfheartedly and then snuggled closer to Nick. “Daddy?”
“Yeah, Munchkin?”
“I love you.”
Nick smiled and pulled her onto his lap, savoring the moment as though it could have been his last. “I love you, too.”
***
*The Next Day*
Elisabeth woke up with the sun shining right in her eyes. She groaned and rolled over, pulling a pillow over her head. It, however, was quickly snatched away.
“Good morning, sunshine!” Abigail called cheerily.
“What time is it?” Elisabeth asked. She felt like her throat had been through a desert.
“7.”
“In the morning?” she cried as she sat up. “Why are you getting me up this early?”
“Because, dear, we have lots to do. So, come on, let’s get going. Chop chop!”
Falling back onto the bed with an irritated groan, Elisabeth draped her arm over her face. “Oh, I’ll chop chop something for ya.”
“I heard that!” Abigail called from the stairs.
After a nice long shower, Elisabeth finally found her way downstairs. Forty five minutes after she had been woken up, she was sure Abigail would be wonderfully irritated by the time she made her way into the kitchen. “Good morning,” she grinned broadly as her mother frowned.
“You’re breakfast is cold.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’m not really that hungry anyway,” she was still grinning. It was so much to do everything the way her mother hated.
“Well, you need to hurry up and get ready because we have too much stuff to get done today for you to take your time at everything,” Abigail’s voice was definitely less cheerful than it had been before.
“Hey, Grandma, why don’t you and I go ahead and get a head start on some things and let Mom rest a bit more? I mean, it’s nothing we can’t handle,” Katy piped up sensing an argument brewing.
“That sounds great, Katy,” Elisabeth offered a thankful smile. “You can handle that, right Mother?”
“I suppose I’ll have to, won’t I?”
Elisabeth’s eyes twinkled mischievously as she watched Abigail leave the room to get her things. “I’ll meet up with you two later,” she said as she gave Katy a kiss on the cheek.
“Okay, but do me a favor, okay?”
“Anything.”
“Try and behave a little better, Mom,” she couldn’t hide her smile.
“Well, I’ll try. Can’t make any promises though.”
Thankful to finally be able to relax a little, Elisabeth made herself a cup of coffee and went out on the back deck. She hoped the weather would stay this perfect tomorrow for the wedding. She was out there for quite a while until she heard the doorbell ringing. Pulling her robe tighter around her, she bolted into the house. “Oh dear lord,” she cried as she caught a glimpse at the clock. 9:38…they’re gonna kill me! She finally made it to the door just as the person was about to leave.
It was a florist.
“May I help you?” Elisabeth asked with a polite smile.
“Yes, ma’am. These are for Elisabeth Walker.”
Flattered, Elisabeth smiled. “That would be me.”
“Here you go,” he smiled and tipped his hat.
Still shocked, Elisabeth carried the lavish arrangement into the den and sat them on the coffee table. There had to be at least two dozen long stem roses there. After searching for a card, she finally found it hidden in the middle of the flowers. Opening the tiny envelope, Elisabeth found not a traditional card, but a piece of paper that had been folded over twice.
There's no in-between
I'll give my best, won't second guess
This feelin deep in me
You make me want to love you
With every breath I'll love you, endlessly
I'll give my heart, give my soul
I won't hold back, I'll give you everything
All of me, completely*
I just wanted to let you know how much I truly love you before tomorrow. You are everything a man could ever hope for. I love you.
Elisabeth felt herself smiling. How sweet could one man be? “Now I feel silly for ever doubting him,” she murmured to herself. Just then, as if on cue, the front door opened and Ben rounded the corner. Before he could even get his greeting out, she was in front of him, her lips covering his. “Oh, baby, I love them! You are so wonderful.”
“Whoa…wait,” he chuckled. “What on earth are you talking about?”
“My flowers, silly,” she was grinning from ear to ear, still clutching the note in her hand.
“What flowers?” Ben asked seriously as he looked past her to see what she was talking about.
She could feel her smile falling. “You mean…you…they’re not from you?”
“No,” Ben looked as confused as she felt.
Then it hit her. No, they weren’t from Ben, but she knew exactly who they were from.
***
* “Completely” by Jennifer Day
