The Big 5-Oh! (30 page)

Becky didn’t respond right away, and Liv imagined the worst in those seconds of silence.

“All right. Let's say Monday.”

Pheeeww.

“Thank you so much, Becky.”

“But I do want you to know that I’ve checked with Dr. Bradley, and he said they aren’t going to be filling the openings at the peds clinic until late fall.”

“Oh.” She felt the disappointment drop within her until it thudded at the bottom of her stomach. “That's a shame.”

“She's willing to consider you then,” she added. “I’ve set up a meeting for the two of you to discuss it. Next week, Thursday, at four o’clock.”

“Thanks, Becky. There's some hope then.”

“Oh, there's always hope, Olivia. You would know that better than anyone. We’re so happy that you’re healthy again and ready to come back to us.”

Ready? That might be an overstatement.

“Thank you. I’ll check in next Monday then.”

Liv sat down on the edge of one of the chairs in the lobby and stared at the cell phone in her hand. When she finally dialed Jared, the call went to voice mail, and she hung up without leaving a message.

She stopped at the coffee cart and ordered two lattes and a cup of tea for Josie before heading back to Hallie's room. When she reached the doorway, though, she stopped just short of going in. She could hear Hallie whispering, and she didn’t want to intrude.

“Oh, Father, she won’t ask for herself,” she clearly heard Hallie say. “So I’m asking you for her. Somehow, some way, Lord, if Liv and Jared are meant to be together, we just ask that you start laying the groundwork now to make it happen. They’re too ignorant to do it on their own, but miracles are
what you do best. So make their crooked places straight and lead them to your will for their futures.”

“Oh, yes, Lord. Show them the way to their destiny,” Josie added. And then they both agreed and harmonized a subdued, “Amen!”

Liv leaned against the wall outside the room for several seconds, mulling over what she’d just heard before turning the corner and joining them at Hallie's bedside.

The three of them sat in a semicircle, chatting for almost two hours over their coffees and tea. They touched on every subject under the sun, laughing like schoolgirls when Liv told them about the alligator in the swimming pool and the late afternoon bike ride with Jared that nearly crippled her for the rest of her life. Hallie and Josie gasped in unison at the tale of Morey's untimely death and Boofer's spontaneous exhumation of the body, and they roared when Liv recalled the first morning when she came across Clayton doing laps in Josie's swimming pool.

“It sounds like you had a great time,” Hallie said, both arms folded across her ribs, trying not to laugh anymore and wincing when she did.

“I really did,” Liv replied, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. “I loved it down there.”

“I told you so,” Hallie cried. “Didn’t I tell you so?”

“Well, you were right. The water out in the Gulf is just as green as an emerald, and the sky is just so perfect and blue. I think it would be impossible not to find that renewing.”

“Oh, that's right,” Josie exclaimed. “Hallie told me you went for a ride on Jared's boat. He's offered many times, but I’ve never taken him up on that yet.”

“You have to, Josie. It's just exquisite out on that water. There's nothing quite like it to bring things into clear perspective.”

“I’d say you need another trip out then,” Hallie remarked.

Liv chose to ignore the comment.

“I thought I’d make lasagna for the children tonight,” Josie told them. “Does Jim like lasagna?”

Liv's heart sank a little, and then she smiled. “Your lasagna is fantastic, Josie.”

“Good. You had the one I left in the freezer for you?”

“Jared and I had it for dinner one night. We both thought it was the best we’d ever tasted.”

“What a sweet thing to say, Pumpkin. Would you like to join us for supper tonight then?”

She knew it seemed silly, but Liv didn’t want to have Josie's lasagna again without Jared.

“That sounds great, but I think I’ll pass. I have such a lot of things to catch up on at home. But tomorrow, after the kids go to school, I thought I’d come over and help get things ready for Hallie to come home.”

“Like what?” Hallie interjected. “You don’t need to do that. We don’t even know yet when that will be.”

“I just thought of a couple of things. Like I figured I’d change the linens on your bed and maybe bring over a few pillows so you’ll have some backups to prop yourself up in bed.”

Hallie sighed, and her head fell to one side as tears welled in her eyes. “You’re such a good friend,” she said, and then she looked at Josie. “So are you, Mama. I’m so blessed.”

“We’re just happy to have you with us,” Liv told her. “Don’t ever scare us like that again.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Just then, Liv's cell phone jingled, and she looked at the screen to find it was originating from a number in Florida. But it wasn’t Jared's.

“Hello?”

“Olivia, how are you? This is Georgia Brown.”

“Georgia,” she said, and then pulled a face at Hallie before heading for the door. “I’m well, thank you. How are you doing?”

“I’m well too. I’ve just had my second date with Preston. Do you remember meeting him at Shelby and Rand's wedding?”

“Of course. Cary Grant, the later years.”

Georgia cackled at that and then sighed. “Yes. We’ve had dinner two nights in a row now, and I have to admit to you, honey, he steams up my windows.”

It was Liv's turn to laugh. “You’re a hoot, Georgia.”

“Listen, honey, the reason I’m calling is that I heard something this morning that I thought, well, this is just meant for Liv to hear.”

“What's that?”

“Remember that conversation we had in the car the night of the first storm? When you told me you wanted to make a move to pediatrics?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Well, I was having lunch with my girlfriend, Marge, today. She works at the pediatric clinic down here, and she told me she's looking to fill two slots for nurses with emergency training. Well, you coming from the O.R. and being so wonderful with children, I had to tell her all about you. And she asked me to send you her information and maybe give her a call if you would be interested in filling one of those slots.”

Liv wasn’t sure which part to react to first. The fact that Georgia thought to do that, or the fact that she was making a semi-offer of employment based on something she knew Liv wanted so badly.

“Sugar? Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m here.”

“You know how those cell towers are. I thought maybe you were dropped.”

“No, I’m still here. I’m just … well … stunned.”

“I know, Sugar. I just have to believe this is one of those opportunities you don’t let pass you by. I mean, I don’t know what your plans are with Jared, and I haven’t had the courage to come right out and ask him, but it could mean a reunion for the two of you, don’t you think?”

“I—”

“Well, at any rate, I wanted to ask you if you have an email address so I can send you Marge's details. Then the ball is on your bat, and you can decide what to do from there.”

“Yes, I have email.”

“Okay, then. What's the address? I have pen in hand right now.”

Liv gave her the email address, repeating it twice at Georgia's request. Her heart was racing and so were her thoughts. Hallie and Josie's prayer bounced around her brain like a roller coaster about to slip off its track.

Start laying the groundwork. Show them the way to their destiny.

Liv pushed back as hard as she could as the hope that this was part of that plan began to rise inside of her. Could this be the first section of the road that would lead her back to Jared? An old scripture played in her ears.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick.

She didn’t want to start hoping too soon for something that probably wasn’t going to happen.

What's the rest of that verse?
she wondered.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick …

“I have an old scripture verse playing over in my mind,” she told Hallie and Josie when she returned to the room. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick. What's the rest?”

Josie and Hallie exchanged secretive pirate smiles.

“But when the desire comes,” Josie said, “it is a tree of life.”

Liv rolled the words over in her mind, and then her heart raced out of control.

When the desire comes …

“But what if I hope and hope and hope, and I never get what I’m hoping for?”

“Then all you’ve wasted is a bit of wishing time,” Horatio offered. “But what about this? What if you hope and hope and hope, and you get what you’ve been hoping for? What then?”

J
ared couldn’t help but think about the last time he’d taken someone to the airport. The citrus scent of Liv's shampoo rose in his nose and tickled him with the memory of her. It had been so hard to let her go that day, so hard to be without her every day since.

“They’re going to board us in a minute, Dad.”

He pushed himself up and out of the uncomfortable terminal chair and walked toward Rand, pulling him into an embrace.

“Call me when you get there.”

“I’ll email, Dad. It will be the middle of the night your time.”

“I don’t care what time it is.”

“He says that now,” Rand joked to Shelby. “But when the phone rings at two a.m. he reverts into his father voice.”

Shelby chuckled as she hugged Jared. “Thank you for every-thing,” she said with a whisper as he held her. “Especially for your son.”

“He's all yours now,” Jared replied. “No refunds or exchanges.”

“I don’t think we have to worry about that.”

She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled at him as she backed away—a sweet, angelic smile that made Jared's heart thump harder. If he’d spent years searching for the perfect wife for his son, the woman who would make Rand's heart skip a beat, the one who would jump enthusiastically into a life with him with both feet, Jared wasn’t sure he could have found her. Fortunately for Rand, he’d searched on his own and seemed to know just where to look to find Shelby.

“Safe trip,” he called to them, and Rand gave one last wave before turning the corner, hand-in-hand with his bride.

Instead of heading straight for the car, Jared sank into a nearby chair and crossed his ankle over the opposite knee.

It seems I’m always saying good-bye to the people I love. There's something intrinsically wrong with that. Isn’t it time for me to start something, rather than seeing everything end?

Liv opened the email message waiting in her inbox from [email protected].

Olivia, here is Marge's information. She's excited to hear from you, and I’m hopeful that you’ll give this opportunity a fair shake. Could be I’ll see you again soon? Hope so! Sweet Georgia Brown.

She hit reply.

Georgia, thank you so much for forwarding this to me, and for putting in a good word with your friend. How's it going with Preston? Are you two in love yet? Liv

She’d never asked Jared for an email address, but she guessed from seeing Georgia's that his would be in the same format. So she opened a new message box and addressed it to [email protected].