Years of Summer: Lily's Story

by Bethanie Armstrong

  I was still paranoid though, I kept looking into the sky expecting tree branches to fall from the clouds. Dave kept me from flipping out. As soon as Sunshine finished she came back through the snow tunnel and followed me and Dave back up the deck stairs. I opened the door and let us all in as snow blew in with us. Sunshine was happy to get the little booties off her. She started sniffing the air. It smelled so good when we walked in.

  We smelled bacon and biscuits and coffee. Mom was making scrambled eggs too and gravy to go with the biscuits. All of a sudden I was starving. I made me a cup of coffee and I made Dave one too and Ally had already made hers. I pulled out the plates and we all made our plates and sat down in the den. It was warmest in there.

  Dave had already made up his bed. He laid the blanket and quilt and pillows down on the air mattresses in Mom and Dad’s room for that night too. The roads were closed for four days, from Saturday March thirteenth to Tuesday March sixteenth. Dave stayed with us through Tuesday and went home that Wednesday. Luckily it was spring break that week so no school days had to be made up.

  Dave stayed at home that Wednesday and also Thursday. He called me though, but I really missed him. I could tell he missed me too. I whiled away the time looking through old picture albums, pictures of when I was little and Ally was a baby. I was thrown into fits of laughter by what I found. It was really neat too. I had to show Mom.

  “Oh how funny. I had forgotten about that. You were in four-year-old kindergarten, I believe, might have been five-year-old kindergarten. That was right before we moved to Huntsville.”

  Dave came back over that Friday and brought his sisters with him, as well as Sam in his Dad’s huge pickup truck. Sunshine stayed in the floor of the truck and we all went out to eat and to the movies. It was so much fun.

  I really liked his sisters. I had come to know them pretty well since I started UNA and I came to know Sam well too. If I had to guess whether Sam and Ally would end up getting married then, I would have had to say yes. They were so in love with each other. It made me happy to see how happy Sam made my little sister. Connor was nothing but a memory.

  Chapter 16

  April and May flew by and Dave and I had become inseparable right along with Sunshine. He worked at his Aunt’s clinic that summer while he was looking for a job. Late June one came open at Jones Valley Elementary. “Lily, do you think I should go for it?”

  “Yes, the principal said he would hire you if a job ever became available. They were so impressed by how you taught, Dave, why not go for it?”

  “You don’t think they were just saying that?”

  “No, I don’t. Dave all they can say is no. Just try it. It might just be the one waiting for you. You have already gone through the mass interview, just do it.” I handed him the phone and he dialed the number.

  “Mr. Handley . . . Dave Jameson . . . you were? Yes, sir . . . I was calling about that . . . Yes, sir, when do you want me to come? Tomorrow at 10:00 . . . Yes, sir, I’ll be there. Thank you. Goodbye.”

  I started getting excited. “Well, what did he say?”

  Dave looked like he was in a state of shock. I waved my hand in front of his face. “Hello, Earth to Dave. Come in Dave.”

  “Oh, sorry Lil.”

  “Well what did he say?”

  “He said he was trying to find my number to call me to come interview for that third grade position. Get this it was the same teacher I was in there with when I did my student teaching. He decided to retire. I know he said he was contemplating it while I was teaching that last month, but wow. He even left a lot of the stuff in his classroom. Or at least that is what Mr. Handley said. Lily, if I get this job, basically all I would have to do is walk in and take over the classroom and its contents. That would be fantastic. I wouldn’t have to spend a lot of money to fix up my classroom. Doesn’t that sound good? My classroom.”

  I giggled because Dave was acting so funny, but I was about as excited as he was. They loved the way he taught and Mr. Freeman was highly impressed by how well the students learned under him. He gave him straight A’s for everything. Dave made President’s List for last semester. I had made the Dean’s List again. Dave was so proud of me. It made me feel good.

  That day after he got off the phone with Mr. Handley he walked with me to get the mail with Sunshine tagging close behind. We received a wedding invitation from Chelsea and Ty. They were getting married on July 25th. Dave just kind of looked at me waiting on me to cry I guess, but I didn’t feel like crying. I was happy with my life. There was nothing to cry about.

  He took my hand. “Lily, are you okay?”

  “Yes, why shouldn’t I be?”

  Dave tried his best to skirt around it. “Well . . . I mean . . . uhm . . .” He was about to sweat. I had to let him off the hook.

  “You mean because Jace and I were supposed to get married in July of this year?”

  He looked at me sympathetically. “Well yeah.”

  “Dave is Jace standing here now?”

  “No.”

  “Who is?”

  “Me, but . . . okay, fine. Do you ever think about him anymore?”

  I placed my hand on Dave’s face and touched him gently. “No, I don’t. I have what makes me happy and he is standing in front of me.” I pulled his face to me gently so I could look into his eyes. I love his eyes. He kissed me lightly on the lips. It tickled. I giggled a little.

  “What are you giggling about?”

  “Your kiss tickled my lips.”

  “Oh it did, huh.” He started kissing me again.

  “Want to go to the park?”

  “Yeah, that‘s a great idea. Let’s go to the park.”

  The ride was silent until I started giggling hysterically. Sunshine just stared at me. If you have ever had a dog to just stare at you, and you can see the “she is absolutely bonkers” look written all over the dog’s face, it really hits home when your dog is with you because you’re crazy and then she looks at you like that, yeah not a warm fuzzy feeling. Dave saw how Sunshine was looking at me and then he started laughing.

  “Now that’s sad. Sunshine thinks you have lost it and that is saying something.” I started laughing hysterically again. We went to the back most swing and sat down as I calmed down from my laughing fit.

  “Lily, will you please tell me what you were laughing so hard about.”

  “No, I won’t. It can keep until much later.”

  “What?”

  “Never mind Dave.”

  “Okay . . . Can I talk to you about something?”

  “I am all ears.”

  “Okay, if I get this job . . .”

  I interrupted. “I think you already have the job. The interview is just a formality.”

  “May I finish?”

  “Sorry, go ahead.”

  “Lily, if I get this job there is something I want to do, but I don’t know if I should.”

  “Okay, when in doubt, don’t.” Dave looked at me like that’s not what he wanted to hear.

  “Lily, there’s something that I need to know and it may open old wounds, but I still need to know. Forgive me ahead of time. If Jace was still around, would this be happening?” He pointed between him and me.

  I looked at him and smiled. “Yes, it would, but the circumstances would be different.”

  “Would you mind explaining that?”

  “Okay, first of all Jace and I would never have met. He would have been on a full Baseball scholarship at Auburn. You and I would never have met at UM because Jace is the one who talked you into coming. Where are your parents from?”

  “Corner, but you know that, because your parents are too.”

  “Okay, go with that. Our parents are from Corner. They went to High school together and were friends. How old were you when your parents moved to Decatur?”

  “Hannah and Hallie were in seventh grade so I was sixteen. What does that matter?”

  “You have never asked me how I got to Huntsville, among other things.
”

  “Are you mad because I didn’t?”

  “No, but there is something extremely ironic that I found out back in March. I wanted it to be a surprise and then I forgot about it until you asked me about Jace.”

  “Okay Lily, I love you, but you’re driving me crazy.”

  “Humor me, this is really neat.”

  “Okay, fine. Lily, how did you end up in Huntsville?”

  “We moved there after my grandparents passed, just before I started Elementary School.”

  “Where did you go to elementary school?”

  “Blossomwood.”

  “I’ve heard that’s a really great school.”

  “I know it was when I was there. Ally enjoyed it too.”

  “Okay, now getting back to why I am asking you these questions. Why am I asking you these questions?”

  “Dave did you notice anything about what we just discussed?”

  “So you lived in Corner until you were around five and our parents grew up in Corner.”

  I finally saw things click. “Oh, so we were both living in Corner for the first five years of your life.”

  “Right, now keep going, you’re bound to figure this out.” I was having so much fun with that.

  “You’re going to make me figure this out aren’t you. Don’t I get any clues?”

  “Yes I am and if you get stuck I have a few clues for you.”

  “Okay, so what is the big deal about both of us living in Corner at the same time at some point?”

  “Dave, just think. Do most kids go straight into first grade when it comes time for them to start school?”

  “Well no, most kids go to kindergarten of some sort.”

  “Okay, there, I gave you a really big clue.”

  “What does kindergarten have to do with us?” You know what was funny. He had forgotten what this conversation began with.

  “Lily, what started this?”

  I started laughing again. “Dave, I need to show you something, but it’s at home and what started this conversation was you asking me if Jace was still around would we be happening?”

  Dave looked at me embarrassed. “Oh yeah, now I remember and you answered yes, just not with the same circumstances. Are you about to show me how that’s possible?”

  “Yes, but I need to show you something at home and that should answer everything else, besides, it’s beginning to rain.”

  The curiosity was killing him while he drove us home. I loved it. He kept glancing at me I guess to get an idea of what I was talking about, but I never gave anything away. “You’re not going to tell me are you?”

  “No, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

  “Oh, so now this has turned into a surprise?”

  “Yes, I even had it wrapped.”

  “This is a gift?”

  “Of sorts, you probably won’t even care once I give it to you.”

  “Why don’t you let me be the judge of that?”

  “Okay, but I’m still going to try to make you guess.”

  It started pouring down rain as we were driving home. It was really hard to see, and I started panicking. Dave knew it. “Lily, it’s okay, we will be okay. Sunshine take care of Lily.” She was immediately there. I took several deep breaths to try and calm myself. I was able to. It didn’t go into full-fledge panic attack. It made me feel good that I was able to control it. Dave definitely didn’t need that while driving in the pouring rain.

  “That’s my girl. You’re going to be okay.” Sunshine stayed across my lap until we made it home. Dave heeled Sunshine out of the truck and then helped me out. He took me and kissed me. “You did a great job controlling that and thank you. I would have pulled over under the next bridge if there was one. You know I would have. There was just nowhere for me to go.”

  “I know, but thank you anyway. Okay now back to our discussion from the park. Do you know why kindergarten is significant?”

  “No, and you’re not going to tell me either are you?”

  “Not until you are completely out of guesses. So do you want to start guessing now or would you like a glass of tea.”

  “I would like some tea, please. Okay, so you lived in Corner for the first five years of your life. I lived there too during that time. Every child goes to kindergarten of some sort before they start elementary school. Wait a minute. Are you saying that we went to kindergarten together?”

  “Yes, I knew you would figure it out. Where did you go to kindergarten?”

  “Some church, I can’t remember the name of it. It was a Baptist church I believe.”

  “Okay, do you remember anything about that? It was a really long time ago I know, but I didn’t remember it either except vaguely.”

  “Lily, you’re killing me here. Will you please tell me what you’re talking about?”

  “Okay, you asked me if Jace was still here would we still be what we are. My answer is yes, because of this.” I handed him a small wrapped package. “Before you open that, remember you said or rather wrote that there was something about me when you saw me that first day in ENGLISH 101?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  I pointed to the little package. “This should help you figure that out.”

  He began opening the package. I wanted him to be as surprised to see it, as I was to find it. He was grinning and shaking his head as he opened it. He opened it upside down and when he flipped it over, the look on his face was priceless. “No way, Lily this is us, but we were like five years old.”

  “I know; how ironic is that? We were sweethearts in kindergarten. I found the picture when I was going through some old picture albums back in March, the day after you left to go home after the snowstorm.”

  He was still in shock. “Wow . . . I mean . . . wow . . . how . . .”

  “. . . could you forget that?”

  “Well yeah, that is unbelievable. Did you remember this?”

  “Only vaguely, until I saw the photograph. Then when I saw it I remembered that we were at Katy Midships house on a class Easter egg hunt. We were in K-5, and you held my hand and we hunted Easter eggs around her backyard. Then I remembered you taking me to sit in her backyard swing. I also remembered that you told me I was pretty and I told you I liked your hair. That is when you kissed me on the cheek and Mom just happened by at that time with her camera and caught you kissing me on the cheek with me having the surprised little girl face. Then I was mad at you because you left me in the swing and went to play with the boys.”

  Dave laughed out loud. “That is the part I remember now that you mention it. You were so mad at me.”

  “Well what do you expect? You kiss me on the cheek at the tender age of five and then run off on me. That wasn’t nice, Dave.”

  “I was five, what do you expect?”

  I was jokingly serious. “I expect you to spend the rest of your life making that up to me.”

  He answered me in a jokingly serious way. “I accept that challenge and will do that to the best of my ability.” There was a promise somewhere in that phrase.

  * * * * * * *

  The next day was Dave’s interview with Mr. Handley. He was so nervous. He came by to see me first to get my opinion on his interview outfit. Wow, did he look gorgeous. He had on a light blue, long sleeve, button-down shirt, a silvery-tan tie and khakis. I would have hired him on looks alone. I kept my fingers crossed for him, but I had a feeling this would be his new position. He was gone about three hours.

  I started getting worried about him and then about five minutes later he pulled into the driveway. Relief washed over me. I met him out on the deck with Sunshine standing right next to me. Compared to Dave I looked like Ms. Country-girl. I had on denim shorts and a white-cotton blouse and flip-flops, an Alabama girl’s summer wardrobe.

  Dave ran up the stairs and grabbed me up and spun me around and Sunshine danced around with us too. I hoped that by the way he was acting; he either had a really good interview or something better. He set me back down and loo
ked me over. “Wow, you look really beautiful, especially in white.” He gave me a strange look like he was imagining me in something. I had a feeling I knew what it was. It made me happy, but scared me at the same time. I took the attention away from myself. “So, how did it go?”

  “How would you like to help me celebrate tonight?”

  “What are we celebrating?” I was hoping I knew the answer.

  “Well actually we are celebrating two things tonight? By the way I’m going to need your help for the rest of the summer.”

  “Okay, what two things are we celebrating and why are you going to need my help the rest of the summer?”

  “First we’re celebrating a future—that is becoming clearer and clearer.” He brushed my cheek gently with his fingers. “Secondly we’re celebrating the newest member of the Jones Valley Elementary third grade faculty.”

  I screamed. “YOU GOT THE JOB!! THAT IS FANTASTIC!!” I flitted to him and hugged him. “So, you’re going to need my help for the rest of the summer to work on your classroom?”

  “Exactly, can you help me?”

  “Of course, I wouldn’t dream of being any place else. Can Sunshine come too?”

  “Of course, I don’t think you could leave her behind anyway. Not because I don’t think you can make it without her, but because she has become a part of you, and I love every part of you. Especially, the way you look in that outfit.”

  “So, how are we going to celebrate tonight?”

  “Well depending on how you feel about it, there is this really nice restaurant, you have to dress up, but I have been dying to take you to it. I have only been there once for Senior Prom, but it is a Japanese restaurant called KOBE. It has great food and they cook it in front of you if you want to sit at the grill tables or you can choose to sit off . . . at a table for two . . . in a cozy corner . . . where no one is around.” He looked deep into my eyes and caressed my face. He was searching for something. I knew what it was. All I had to do was act upon it, but if I was honest with myself, there was no action required, because it would happen eventually and what did it matter whether it was sooner or later.

  If I was honest with myself I never would have started dating Jace to begin with and Dave would have never started dating Brianna and we could have been together two years earlier, so why not go ahead and let it happen. There was no fear of losing him anymore and had not been since March. I gave myself the time I needed to understand that back in January and February as I wrote all of those Letters to My Future. I found my future during that snowstorm and it was confirmed for me the Thursday Dave stayed at home. My future was shown to me by reminding me of my past through that one photograph. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Way more mysterious than you would ever guess.