The Big 5-Oh! (32 page)

L
iv almost could have forgotten that she was in Ohio when her morning started out at 5:45 a.m., sounding very much like just about every morning on Sanibel Island.

She didn’t have any idea how long Boofer had been barking, but by the time she limped sleepily into the kitchen, the dog was at her back door, scratching the grain right off the wood. When she opened the door, Boofer tore into the house and ran the entire length of it, from the kitchen through the dining room and down the hall into the bedroom.

“Boofer!” Liv called, and when she reached her, Boofer stood at attention in the center of her bed, panting. “What in the world is wrong with you? What are you doing over here? You belong next door now.”

Boofer snarled and growled, and then the tirade resumed.

Liv approached the dog on tiptoe and then sat down on the bed beside her and stroked the top of her head and the back of her neck. In a very soft voice, she said, “Boofer, you’re fine. Nothing to worry about.”

The dog seemed to believe her because she circled the pillow twice and then lay down against it.

“Just like old times,” Liv whispered, and then she crawled under the blanket, fluffed the other pillow, curled up next to Boofer, and closed her eyes.

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang.

Liv popped out of bed and Boofer barked all the way down the stairs. Someone was hammering out a warning on the kitchen door. She looked at the clock and discovered that it was seven-thirty. She had slept for nearly two more hours.

“Scotty, what on earth are you doing?” she exclaimed as she opened the door to the ten-year-old.

“Boofer's missing!” he shouted, and then he scratched his head and laughed as the dog stood before him, yowling. “Oh, I guess not.”

“She scratched at my door before dawn. I let her in so I could get some sleep. Go ahead and take her home, and then you get to the bus stop, young man.”

“Daddy said we could stay home from school today.”

“He did not.”

“He did! Mom's coming home from the hospital.”

“She is? When did he find that out?”

“Last night. We’re gonna have a party for her. Oh, yeah. I was supposed to invite you to the party. It's at about two o’clock, and Granny Josie says you don’t have to bring anything but your smile.”

Liv chuckled. “Okay. Tell her I’ll be there early to help you guys decorate. I’ll come around noon, and we can put up signs and balloons.”

“Coooo-ol,” he said, bobbing his head as he thought it over. “Come on, Boofer. Granny is sure gonna give you what for.”

“Tell her to give her some for me too.”

Scotty snickered as he pulled the dog into his arms and headed out the back door and across the lawn.

The happy news that Hallie was being released sent a surge of excitement through Liv. She put the coffee on and made some toast with blackberry jelly. After she poured a cup, she took her breakfast with her to the desk in the corner of her bedroom.

Remembering that she still had banner paper left over from a co-worker's retirement party, Liv pulled up the banner-making application, typed in the words
welcome home mommy
, added a couple of graphics, and then loaded the paper into the printer. It took about five minutes for the entire thing to print out and feed through, so she concentrated on her toast and coffee while it did.

After she rolled the banner and fastened it with two paper clips, Liv went to her closet and stared at the contents. Even though the ground was no longer frozen over with snow and ice, she knew there would be no more sundresses, sandals, or shorts for a while. She pulled out a pair of faded black jeans
that she hadn’t worn in forever, and the mint green sweater she’d bought on clearance last spring and never wore because, somewhere between then and now, she’d decided the cropped sweater that laced all the way up the front with a leather cord was too “young” for a tired cancer patient with a fiftieth birthday barreling toward her.

But Liv didn’t feel too old for that sweater now. Her trip to Florida and meeting Jared had revived her somehow. And to prove it, she reached into the white box at the very back of the closet floor and pulled out the other item she’d been hiding from for two years for the same reason.

After getting showered and dressed, Liv sat down on the bed and opened the large white box. She ran her hand over the long suede leg of one of the black boots tucked inside.

Nope
, she decided.
These are just a little too
Pretty Woman.
What was I thinking when I bought these?!

She used the bathroom mirror to fluff her loose spiral curls and dab on a bit of makeup. She chose a large pair of hammered metal earrings and a braided silver thumb ring to finish off the look. Standing in front of the mirror, Liv couldn’t help shaking her head and chuckling. She was a different woman. And the change felt really, really good.

Even if the worst happened, and she never saw Jared again, or if he fell over to the dark side and took up with Georgia, Liv knew she would at least have this restoration. She was fifty again—not a hundred and fifty. Most important of all, she no longer saw cancer as she looked at her reflection.

All in all, two weeks on Sanibel Island had changed her, and Liv closed her eyes and thanked God for bringing her back to life.

“A little more to the right. No, that's too far. Go back.”

The chair wobbled slightly beneath her, and Josie and the kids screamed as Liv regained her footing.

“It's going right here!” she declared, and she poked a thumb tack into the corners of the WELCOME HOME MOMMY! banner before hopping down from the chair.

She stood back and looked at it, all three kids at her side.

“It needs something,” Scotty declared.

“Balloons!” Katie shouted, and Liv nodded.

“That's it. Let's hang some balloons on each side of it.”

“You blow ’em up, Scotty,” Katie cried. “And Jason can tie the knots. I’ll get the ribbon.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Jason asked, irritated. “Just tie the knots? That's lame.”

“You’ll supervise too,” Liv suggested. “Make sure they’re hung in the right place.”

Jason appeared to be all over the idea of supervising his younger siblings.

“Can we put candles on the cake, Aunt Liv?” Katie beamed. “Like if it was Mommy's birthday or something?”

“That's a great idea,” Liv replied. “I’ll go see if there are any candles in the drawer.”

Liv walked into the kitchen to find that Josie had overheard and retrieved a box of birthday candles. She joined Josie at the kitchen table as she poked them into the top of the cake.

“What's with that smile you’re sporting?” Liv asked her. “You look like you just ate the canary.”

“Do I?” she replied in a sing-song voice. “I guess I’m just so happy that Halleluiah is doing so well, and coming home where she belongs.”

“That's an interesting name,” Liv said. “What made you name her Halleluiah?”

“Her father wanted a baby girl,” Josie explained. “All through the eight and three-quarters months that I carried her, he hoped and prayed for a little girl. And when she was finally born, after the nurses counted all her fingers and toes, and they told Hosea that he’d gotten the girl he wanted, the first words out of his mouth were words of praise. And he hollered, ‘Well, Halleluiah!’ It seemed like the perfect name for the baby girl we’d waited so long to bring into this world.”

Liv grinned. “It's a great name.”

“Oh, she hated it her whole life. ‘Mama, no,’ she’d say. ‘Don’t call me that in front of my friends. Call me Hallie. I’m begging you, Mama.’”

They shared a laugh, and Liv nodded with confidence. “I can hear her saying that.”

“She's a special blessing,” Josie remarked, and Liv noticed that her expression had turned quite serious. “I’m so thankful that she's going to be whole and healthy again.”

“You know, Hallie was a rock for me when I was sick. She cooked for me. She pushed back my hair when the chemo overwhelmed me. On the worst nights, she even sat by my bed and just read to me in that soft, sweet voice of hers. I couldn’t even tell you what she was reading. Only that she created a soothing hum that carried me through.”

“That must have been an awful time for you, Pumpkin.”

“It was,” Liv agreed, and then a smile broke over her face like the dawn of a new day. “But you know what? It's behind me now. And I’m happy and strong again. I can’t really remember if I’ve ever felt like this.”

“Must be love.”

Liv's heart fluttered. “Pardon?”

“Oh,” Josie said, shaking her head. “Just something my mama used to say. If something was going right, or we kids were in good spirits, she would say, ‘It must be love.’”

At just that moment, Katie exploded into the kitchen, hopping from one foot to the other. “She's here! Mommy's home!” And just as quickly, she disappeared.

“Mommy's home,” Liv mimicked, and she gave Josie an over-the-top excited smile. “She's home!”

Katie scuffled back into the kitchen, just long enough to shout, “Somebody's with her!”

“That's your daddy,” Liv responded, but the little girl was gone again.

Josie touched Liv's arm as she passed, and Liv followed her out into the living room where they were all gathered in front of the picture window.

Jim helped Hallie out of the car while someone else stood behind the open trunk, pulling out a folded wheelchair.

“Who's that with them?” Liv asked Josie, and the woman returned an awkward shrug and then turned away.

The third person rolled the wheelchair around the car and toward Hallie. She sat down in it, grimacing and supporting her ribs with both arms.

Liv's heartbeat suddenly picked up the pace and cold perspiration percolated on her upper lip, across her forehead, and in the hollow of both palms.

“It's Dr. Jared!” Katie cried. “Dr. Jared is with them.”

Once Katie was out the door, the boys followed suit. Scotty jumped the shrubs lining the sidewalk and reached Hallie first.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Jim called. “Go easy. Your mom's very fragile, kids.”

Jared stepped aside, allowing Jim to push Hallie up the walk toward the house. From opposite sides of the hubbub of children's voices and excited greetings, Liv and Jared homed in on one another. When he smiled, something in her stomach jumped.

“Step back, Katie. Let me get your mother into the house.”

Hallie reached up and grabbed Liv's hand. “Surprise,” she mouthed, and then Jim rolled her forward.

“What on earth?” Liv said, as Jared reached her and wrapped her up in his arms without a word. “What are you doing here?”

“What do you think?”

“Come on in, everyone,” Josie directed. “Let's let my daughter get comfortable. What do you need, Hallie? Something cold to drink? A snack?”

“I just want to look at my family,” she replied. “It's good to be home.”

Jim knelt at her side, took her hands in his, and stared into her eyes. “It doesn’t work without you.”

Hallie tried to smile, but the tears that rose in her eyes melted it. Stroking the side of Jim's face, she told him, “I know that feeling.”

“Hey, Mommy, did you see the sign?” Katie interjected.

“I did,” she answered, releasing the shared moment with her husband with evident reluctance. “It's beautiful.”

“Aunt Liv made it on her computer.”

“Did she?” Hallie cast Liv a quick smile. “Did you kids say hello to Dr. Jared? He came all the way from Florida to see us.”

Katie took Jared's hand and led him toward the kitchen. “Wanna see Mommy's cake?”

“I’d love to,” Jared replied, looking back at Liv as they went along. “I do love a good cake.”

“Me too!” Katie exclaimed, as if they were the only two people on earth who could truly appreciate cake.

Liv followed them and stood in the doorway as Katie led Jared toward the table and leaned in for a cautious closer look.

“This one's real good too. It's vanilla inside, with red raspberries in the middle. We had the same one for Papa's birthday, and Mommy said it was the best cake she ever had.”

“How clever of you to remember that,” Jared told her. “And then to get her the same one for her Welcome Home party.”

“I was the one who remembered! See it? Isn’t it pretty?”

“It really is,” Jared replied.

His attention darted toward Liv for a quick moment, and then his focus was back on Katie, right where the little girl wanted it.

“It was my idea to put the candles on it too. Like if it was her birthday or something.”

“Oooh, good one. She’ll like that.”

“Katie, come here, sweetheart.”

The little girl tossed Jared's hand away like a used napkin and ran toward her mother's voice. Liv stepped out of the way just in time to avoid a collision.

“You’re a sight for my lonesome eyes,” Jared said, leaning back on the counter and regarding her like a long-lost prodigal.

“You didn’t sound so lonesome,” she replied. “Too busy to talk to me because you were having dinner with Georgia.”

“Jealous?”

“No.”

Jared beamed. “You’re jealous.”

“I am not.”

“Come on,” he said, swaggering toward her with an infuriating grin. “Admit it. You’re jealous of me having a simple meal with another woman.”

“Oh, please.” She forced a soured expression. “You’re an arrogant fool.”

“Maybe so, but you’re still jealous.”

“Hush up.”

Just as she turned away from him, Jared snatched her wrist and eased her toward him. His embrace was too much to refuse, and Liv dissolved into it with a laugh. Jared kissed the top of her head and rubbed her arms warmly.

“I’d like to tell you about that dinner, by the way.”

“Oh?” She pulled back and looked at him, serious all of a sudden. “Is there something to tell?”

“Quite a bit, actually.”

“Really.”

Well, there it was.

“It must be staggering news to bring you all the way up here to tell me in person.”

Jared cast a glance toward his shoe and, without looking at her, he softened. “Staggering is a good word for it.”

Liv braced herself.

“There was a little more to it than just dinner—”