Lined With Silver

by Roseanne Evans Wilkins

  “Probably not a bad idea.” Sondra’s heart swelled. “Thanks.”

  Zack was quiet during the part of the flight Sondra didn’t sleep through. He seemed distant, and Sondra thought, He’s missing his dad.

  Sondra was pleasantly surprised when Zack pulled up under the awning of a familiar hotel. When they walked up to the same rooms they’d shared during the previous trip, Sondra stopped and stared. “How did you manage this?”

  Zack chuckled. “It wasn’t as hard as you’re making it seem. Winter in DC isn’t tourist season.”

  “I have to admit that with all the stressors going on in our lives, it’s nice to have something familiar.”

  Zack nodded. “I feel the same.” He walked through the room and then handed her the card. This time, Sondra understood. His time in Afghanistan had left its mark.

  The next morning was cold and gray. It matched her mood. Attending a funeral of someone she didn’t know with people she didn’t know was going to be difficult.

  Zack knocked on the connecting door. When she opened it, he was dressed in slacks and a sports jacket.

  “No suit?”

  “My dad wasn’t the suit type.”

  “What type was he?”

  “He was an outdoorsman. He loved sports.” Zack inspected Sondra while he was talking. “He owned several sports shops, and he wouldn’t be caught dead in a suit.”

  “Is that why the casket is closed?”

  Zack shrugged. “I have no idea what Jade decided to dress Dad in. I would hope a suit isn’t what she picked, but that’s Jade’s call. In the meantime, I’m going to honor him by dressing how he would.”

  “Makes sense.” She raised her brows. “Do I pass?”

  “Was I that obvious?”

  She pursed her lips. “Yeah. You were.”

  “You look great.” The approval in his eyes spoke volumes. Then his look changed to concern. “How do you feel?”

  “Feeling the same as usual, thanks for asking.”

  For the first time in days, Zack reached for her hand. Startled, she looked up at him, but his expression hadn’t altered. She had to assume the connection was for appearances, but it was hard not to hope that the connection was for comfort. If he could find comfort in her touch at this time, maybe he could find comfort in more than a temporary arrangement. She bit her lip. Grasping at straws wasn’t going to fix things.

  * * *

  It was about half an hour to the chapel. When they stepped to the sidewalk, Zack reached for Sondra’s hand again. They were connected while they searched through the building.

  “Ah. There you are.” Zack released Sondra’s hand and approached a blond woman who was nearly six feet. He hugged her and then turned to Sondra. “Jade, this is Sondra.”

  Sondra reached out to shake her hand. Jade ignored the hand and enveloped her in a hug. Sondra was surrounded by the scent of lime and coconut. “Welcome to the family.” Jade said, “I’m sorry I haven’t been myself. Dad’s death has been hard.”

  Sondra hugged her back and then moved a step away. “I’m sure. And I’m glad to be part of your family.” Her eyes met Zack’s, and he seemed to approve of her unplanned speech.

  A young teen, who looked much like Jade, stepped forward. Her eyes were lighter than Jade’s. They were almost a golden brown, and they met Sondra’s boldly. “My name is Joselyn.” Her gaze turned to Zack. “I hope you’re good to my Uncle.”

  Sondra caught his amused look and then she hugged Joselyn. “You’ll have to ask him, but I plan on it.” She stepped back. “How old are you?”

  “I’m thirteen.”

  “That’s how old I was when I met your Uncle Zack.”

  Joselyn’s brows furrowed, and shock ran across Jade’s face. “I didn’t know Uncle Zack knew you when you were young.”

  “We haven’t had much of a chance to get to know each other, have we? We’ll have to fix that.”

  A younger version of Joselyn stepped forward. She shyly held out her hand. Sondra shook it politely. “My name is Julie. I’m ten.”

  “I’m so glad we met.” Sondra smiled down at her.

  “Me, too.”

  While Sondra was interacting with Julie, she was trying to overhear the conversation between Jade and Zack. Jade’s whisper carried. “I haven’t heard you even mention her name. How could you have met when she was just thirteen?”

  Zack sighed. “We haven’t had a lot of time to talk. How about we go over all this after the funeral?”

  Sondra caught the tail end of Jade’s glare as Zack stepped out of the room. Jade switched tones when she turned her attention back to her daughters and Sondra. “Jeremy will be playing the piano.” Sondra noticed another blond head poking above the upright piano.

  He grinned at her. “I’m Joselyn’s twin.”

  Sondra was taken aback. No wonder Zack was so happy about the twins. They ran in his family.

  She just managed to smile a greeting before Jade had them lined up to practice “How Great Thou Art.” To Sondra’s surprise, her voice harmonized with the group. She wouldn’t have to feign laryngitis, after all.

  Before they entered the chapel, Jade introduced Sondra to a man about her height. His dark blond hair was matched by the two boys clinging to his legs. “This is Stan, my husband. Joseph is five and Jake is three.” They peered up at her, their brown eyes full of curiosity. Sondra shook Stan’s hand and smiled at the boys before moving to join Zack at the front bench. The familiarity of the building was a comfort.

  Just before the service started, there was a disturbance at the front of the chapel. A couple of men were trying to prevent an older woman dressed in black, complete with a veiled black pill box hat, from opening the casket. “This is a closed funeral, Ma’am.”

  “I want to see my son.” Her voice was loud enough to wake Mitchell.

  “We can’t do that. This isn’t the place for it.”

  Zack stepped over and settled her in next to Jade. Whatever he said seemed to comfort her, and she relaxed into her seat without any further trouble.

  Based on her claim, Sondra guessed the person under the veil was Zack’s grandmother. Her vital voice didn’t sound like an eighty-three year old. She hoped she’d get to meet her after the services.

  Even though Mitchell hadn’t joined the church, his funeral had a distinctly LDS feel to it. His children were both members and the funeral was geared to the living. The comfort of the gospel was abundant in the service, as was the promise that they would reunite as a family.

  Sondra stayed close to Zack during the internment. She glanced around the crowd and couldn’t see the veiled woman who had disturbed the services earlier. “Where is your grandmother?”

  “She refuses to attend internments. She thinks they’re bad luck.”

  “I’ve never heard of that.”

  “Granny has her own views on life, that’s for sure. You should be able to meet her during the family dinner.”

  “What was the fuss about before the services?”

  “She wanted to see Dad. I assured her she’d get to see him after the services. Fortunately, the funeral director was able to let her have a moment between when we wheeled him out and when we loaded him into the hearse.”

  After the internment, they met at the church for a traditional funeral meal. Zack searched for his grandmother. When he saw Jade, he asked, “Do you know where Granny is?”

  “She said she was going to be late. She doesn’t like attending the internment, but she wanted to say good-bye to Dad.”

  “I thought her moment with him after the funeral took care of that. I was hoping to introduce her to Sondra.” Zack searched the room again.

  “You can do that when she gets here. She shouldn’t be long.” Jade assured him.

  As they settled into their seats, Jade’s determined look meant she was going to do some fishing. Stan was occupied with keeping the younger boys in check. Sondra snuck a look at Zack. He didn’t seem to be bothered. She hoped he
had created a convincing story.

  “So… tell me about how you met.” Jade prodded.

  “Remember that summer I spent in Stockton?” Zack asked.

  “Yeah. I was jealous I couldn’t go with you.”

  “You were on the all-star softball team.” He reminded her.

  “I think you had more fun.”

  Zack reached around Sondra’s shoulder. “Well, it was certainly life-altering, that’s for sure.” He caught Jade’s eyes and continued, “I met Sondra while we were on trek together. She was my sister.”

  “How come I never heard about Sondra?” Jade asked.

  “Well, Grandpa died after that summer, remember?” Jade nodded, then Zack continued, “I never had an opportunity to go back. I didn’t even know which ward she was in. It was Grandpa’s stake. And how would I go about finding her? Besides,” and this time he chuckled, “I wasn’t thinking of a Beehive as a romantic interest.”

  Sondra’s heart felt like it was being strangled. All the time she had dreamed about him. Obsessed over him. And he hadn’t thought of her. Not once.

  Jade furrowed her brow. “What changed your mind?”

  Sondra wanted to know as much as Jade did. What kind of fiction was going to roll off his tongue?

  “I was flying out to the East Coast on a business trip...” Sondra’s breath caught. This was too close to the truth. Would Jade figure it out? Zack reached up and stroked Sondra’s hair, “when the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen sat down beside me.”

  “Did you know who she was?”

  Zack shook his head. “The astonishing part was that she knew who I was.”

  Jade’s eyes met Sondra’s, who felt the color steal up her face. Oh man. Think fast. It was a good thing she was an attorney. Sondra smiled, trying to act relaxed even with her heightened color. “Zack hasn’t changed as much as I have. It took me the entire flight to go through all my lists of acquaintances. By the time we were off the plane, I’d remembered where we met.”

  Zack’s eyes were asking questions she didn’t want to answer. What is truth and what is fiction? She had the same question of him. The most beautiful creature he’d ever seen? Yeah right. It did sound nice though, she admitted with a small smile. Suddenly, she realized Jade must have asked another question. “What did you say?” Sondra asked.

  “So when did you two decide to get married?” Jade repeated.

  Zack answered even though the question was directed at her. “A couple of months ago.”

  “Why didn’t you let anyone know?” Jade probed.

  Once again, Zack replied, “Sondra’s parents are serving a mission in Norway. We were going to wait and plan a temple wedding when they returned.”

  Comprehension dawned. Jade continued the story, “And then Dad changed the will and you moved up the date.” She turned to Sondra. “I’m sorry you gave up your temple wedding.” She glared at Zack, “Not that you had to make the sacrifice.”

  Zack’s voice was calm. “Depends on who you’re talking to.” Then a wicked grin spread across his face. “Besides, Sondra is pregnant.”

  Sondra’s jaw dropped. She snapped her mouth shut and glared at Zack. He continued to stroke her hair, attempting to calm her. It was a failed attempt.

  Jade blinked. “Well. That certainly puts things in a different perspective. When is the baby due?”

  “Twins. And they’re due in about eight months.”

  “Twins?” Jade raised her brows. “You do work fast.”

  Zack lowered his hand to Sondra’s clenched fist, loosened her fingers and brought them to his lips. “It helps when you have an irresistible partner.”

  For some reason, Sondra felt like slapping him. Right there. In front of everyone. She narrowed her eyes. Zack almost looked afraid. Almost.

  Jade directed her attention back to Sondra. “Good luck with that. I have first-hand experience.”

  Sondra swallowed and then smiled. “I’ll pick your brain. Zack,” she turned a saccharin smile his direction, “has mentioned that I’m following in your footsteps already.”

  “Really? In what way?” Jade’s interest was genuine. She seemed to have bought the story hook, line, and sinker.

  “I’m so exhausted I can hardly stay awake. Zack won’t let me drive.”

  Jade snickered. “That sounds like my brother.”

  “And I’m so sick every morning I can’t eat anything.”

  Jade nodded. “Sounds familiar.”

  “Is there anything I should be scared of?”

  “Very.” Jade nodded. “You can ask me later.”

  “That bad?”

  “Just enjoy the moment while you can. Once the babies come, your whole life will change.”

  Zack and Sondra exchanged glances. He must’ve seen the glisten of tears because he stood up abruptly and announced, “We’re still on our honeymoon. I hope you don’t mind if we leave. Please let Granny know we’ll be down to visit.”

  Jade smiled. “She’ll be disappointed you left. When are you planning to see her?”

  “Sometime next week.” Zack glanced at Sondra, worry on his face. “I’m not sure of our schedule.”

  “I’ll let her know. Enjoy.” She hugged Zack and then hugged Sondra again. “I think you’ll fit in just fine.”

  Sondra bit her lip to distract herself. It was so far from the reality she desperately wanted that her whole body hurt. On the way out the door, Sondra managed to nab a box of tissues.

  The clock on the hotel wall read six thirteen when they walked through the door.

  “I’m exhausted. I’m going to crash.” Sondra announced.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Zack didn’t offer any information on his evening’s plans, but then, he rarely did.

  Chapter Thirteen, Loss

  Pain. Sondra stared into the darkness, unable to focus. She stumbled to her feet and moved to the connecting door. Another wave of pain drove her to her knees. She writhed in agony. “Zack,” she whispered; she had no breath. She pulled herself up with the help of the connecting door’s knob. Another wave of pain stopped her lungs. When the pain ebbed, she opened the connecting door and knocked softly. It was all the energy she had.

  A breath of air against her cheek announced the opening door. Sondra had dropped to the floor again, curled in a fetal position. A serrated blade slicing through her gut would have been kinder. Her vision narrowed to pinpoints of darkness.

  Zack wrapped his arms around her. She could almost feel them against the pain. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

  “Ho-hospital.” Was all she could manage.

  His warmth disappeared and she felt herself being wrapped in something. He grunted as he lifted her, but she was too weak to help.

  Helpless. Absolutely helpless. Tears of frustration leaked around closed lids.

  She was aware enough to know she was being buckled into the car, but the trip to the hospital was a blur. Some of it was the speed of the scenery as it flew by. She suspected Zack was driving faster than she’d ever dared.

  He carried her into the emergency room. As they walked past a mirror, she caught a glimpse of someone she hardly recognized. The robe she’d worn the night before must’ve been added by Zack. Green pallor was a clear indicator that her nausea was just barely in check. Her eyes were dark and wild and matched her out-of-control hair. She closed her eyes and tried to erase the vision when another wave of pain had her clenching her fists and biting her lip. She couldn’t help the cry of pain.

  She was strapped on a gurney and in an emergency cubicle in a matter of minutes. A nurse drew some blood and took vitals while a physician talked to Zack. After a few minutes, Zack smoothed her hair back.

  “They’re going to do an ultrasound and see what’s going on. They want to make sure it’s not a tubal pregnancy.”

  Sondra took a deep breath to counteract another wave of pain. “I don’t think that’s a possibility given how the babies were put there, is it?”

  “I have
no idea. Let’s just let the doctor take a look.”

  Sondra reached for Zack’s hand. Her knuckles were white with the strength of her grip, but he didn’t pull away. “You’ll be okay, Sondra. Everything will be fine.”

  She hoped it was true. A few minutes later, they had her wheeled into the ultrasound room.

  A technician ran the machine over her stomach. “It looks like you’re having twins. Congratulations.”

  Sondra trembled, and Zack reached for her hand. “What is this pain she’s experiencing?”

  The technician pushed away from the table and busied herself cleaning her equipment. She avoided their eyes. “I’m not a physician. He’ll be talking to you in a few minutes.”

  Sondra was wheeled back into a private room in the labor and delivery section of the hospital. The room was decorated with flowered wallpaper and had a homey feel even though evidence of the room’s purpose was evident. A nurse came in and attached a heart monitor, an IV and a blood pressure cuff. As another wave of pain shook Sondra, the heart monitor echoed her pain.

  A doctor in a white lab coat walked in. Sondra was clenching Zack’s hand as if her life depended on it. As the pain lessened, she looked up at the doctor. He picked up her clipboard and read through her information. While he was staring at the paper, he asked, “When did the pain start?”

  Sondra scrunched her brows. She hadn’t looked at a clock.

  “It was around midnight.” Zack answered.

  The doctor looked at the heart monitor as it registered another spasm of pain. “Her contractions are about three minutes apart.”

  “Contractions?” Sondra was dumbfounded.

  “You might be losing your babies.”

  Sondra’s anguished eyes met Zack’s.

  “Is there anything that can be done?” Sondra whispered.

  “This early on, there isn’t much we can do. You should know in a few hours whether this pregnancy will keep.” The doctor sounded sympathetic, but Sondra had the feeling that he’d lived through this same scene with so many patients that he was having a hard time empathizing.

  Sondra’s grip tightened on Zack’s hand. This wasn’t something she’d really prepared for. Sacrificing nine months. That was the plan.