Miracle of Love

by Victoria Chancellor

  She would never be able to live with herself until she confessed her sins. But Colin was fussy, no doubt missing Grant as she did. Tomorrow she'd go to the church and tell the priest everything that had happened. If the good father though her crazy, so be it. She simply couldn't go on like this, torn between the two times, between her love of the church and her love for Grant.

  As the sun dipped low in the sky, Colin napped and so did Erina. She dreamed of a house by the beach, with sunshine and windows that gave a glorious view of the ocean. All the furniture was light, soft and comfortable. Standing outside on the sand was Grant, holding Colin in his arms while the seagulls drifted in the breeze overhead and a large dog, his fur near the color of Grant's sunbleached hair, bounded toward the surf.

  She walked toward the windows, holding out her hand. Grant turned and smiled, reaching out to her, beckoning her to join them. She put her hand against the cool glass and looked for a door. But there was no door. She ran along the barrier, searching, leaving smudged prints in her wake, but could not find the way outside. Grant turned away and walked toward the water, but she couldn't follow. She beat against the glass, but it didn't break. She yelled until her throat was raw, but to no avail.

  Erina woke with a start, heart racing as she looked around the dark room. The candle she'd lit earlier had burned down. Colin began to stir, so she reached down and lifted him into her arms. She felt so weak that her hands shook. The dream was so real; the house was just what she would have wanted had she stayed with Grant.

  But she wasn't with him. The door to the future was just as real as the glass barrier in her dream.

  After she nursed Grant and changed his diaper--missing the paper ones from the future as she secured the soft fabric around his waist--she paced her small room. Restlessness set in, leaving her edgy and her mind racing. She'd prayed for a miracle once; was it possible to pray for one again? But the miracle had been for Colin, not for herself. She doubted if Mary would be inclined to bestow another miracle for such selfish reasons.

  But what about Grant? He loved her, even if he'd never said the words. He showed it each time he looked at her, in each kiss, in all his actions. Grant might now even realize the depth of his feelings, but she did. The fact that he was suffering alone added to her own anguish.

  If only she could help him, reassure him through all the years. You've done that through the quilt, she told herself. But was that all she could do?

  No. She could use the power of prayer to help Grant. If the Blessed Virgin would allow her one more wish, she'd send strength and faith to him across the years.

  "We need to go out," she told Colin. "Back to St. Mary's Cathedral." Suddenly she felt energized, her restlessness turned to purpose.

  She grabbed a shawl and Colin's blanket, wrapping him securely against the evening breeze. At the last minute, she turned back to the quilt. A sense of unease tickled the back of her neck, as though she didn't want to be parted from her labor of love. But she couldn't drag the heavy item with her to the church; carrying Colin was already enough of a burden.

  The quilt must end up in Kirby House. The knowledge made her aware of how vulnerable they all were to time. What if the quilt was ruined in the hurricane? What if it wasn't donated to the Galveston Historical Society?

  She unwrapped Colin and placed him on the bed. Grabbing her lap desk, she sat beside him and wrote a note to Mrs. Abernathy, telling her of the hurricane and the importance of donating the quilt. She added that if anything happened to Erina, make sure to leave Galveston before September of 1900 and take the quilt with her. So many people had died in that awful storm. Erina knew she couldn't be one of them, and she couldn't let Mrs. Abernathy perish either.

  After looking around the room one more time, she bundled Colin up and walked out the door, the folded quilt and note on top of her bed.

  A half an hour later, she knelt at the altar of St. Mary's and lit a candle. The night reminded her so much of when she'd presented Colin to the Holy Mother for a miracle. To her, it was weeks ago. In the reality of 1896, it was yesterday.

  Colin began to fuss, so she rocked him in her arms while she knelt. "Blessed Virgin, please hear my prayers. I come to you tonight to ask for help for my husband, Grant Kirby. I told you he was a good man, a kind man. But his faith has been sorely tested and he doesn't believe. I ask you to help him find faith, to comfort him during his time of need."

  Erina bowed her head over Colin, tears coming to her eyes. "I love him so much," she whispered. "I'll bear whatever burdens I must because of the deceptions about my marriage, but in my heart, he is my husband. He needs me, and if I cannot be there, please give him the comfort of faith. Please, Blessed Virgin, guide him during these dark days. Guide him back to God, Mary, please. I pray."

  #

  Grant stayed at Kirby House until it closed for the day at six o'clock. He had failed to bring Erina and Colin back. Was there no hope then? As he stood on he front steps and heard the lock click behind him, he felt even more desolate than even.

  If only you could believe. Erina's words came back to haunt him again. She was the kindest, most giving person he'd ever known. A woman of faith and virtue, the kind of person who represented everything good about the church.

  And as he looked out at the twilight sky, he knew what he had to do.

  He ran to the Jeep, jumped in and started the engine. With an excitement that he hadn't felt since Erina disappeared, he drove to St. Mary's Cathedral. The parking lot was empty, and when he ran to the doors, he found them locked.

  "No," he whispered. He ran down the side of the building, but found no other entry. He changed directions, searching the side near the parking lot. There! He went through a gate and bounded up the stairs.

  A priest answered the door, dabbing his mouth with a napkin. He'd obviously been eating dinner.

  "Please, father, I need to get inside the church. It's . . . important. I have to--"

  "Calm down, son," the father said. "Come inside and take a breath."

  Grant realized then that he was breathing hard, that he probably appeared to be a wild man to the priest. He entered the open door, standing inside a sunroom filled with plants.

  "I can see you're troubled. Can I help?"

  "I'm not sure. I . . . I think I need to confess what I've done, and then I need to pray."

  "We usually do confessions on Saturday, but I think you have a more serious need." The priest took his arm and steered him through the kitchen, past the dining room where two other priests sat around the table, and down a long hallway. "Just come with me."

  Grant followed the man through a room that had obviously been enclosed at some earlier time. The original brick could still be seen. They entered the church above the altars, through a door Grant had noticed when he'd visited St. Mary's with Erina.

  "Have a seat at the confessional. I'll be with you in just a minute."

  Grant did as he was told, his heart still pounding. A sense of rightness assailed him here in the church, as though he'd been called here. He couldn't explain the feeling, but he knew that in this place he would feel closer to Erina.

  He gave his confession to the priest, telling him of the miracle that had occurred, of his doubts about Erina, about how he'd grown to love her even when he thought she was deluding herself about her background. He confessed the lies he'd told to INS, Sam Reynolds, Mrs. Henshaw, and everyone. He admitted that he'd lied to his mother and to the priest in Houston so he and Erina could marry in the church.

  When he was finished, he dropped his head to his hands and wept silently.

  The priest spoke quietly to him for a long time. And if the man thought Grant was crazy to believe that someone had traveled in time, he never said a word. Grant felt a weight lifting from his shoulders as he listened to the absolution. He'd sinned, but he could be forgiven.

  He'd do whatever necessary to make himself the man he should be, he vowed as the confession ended. He'd strayed, but mostly from neglect. Er
ina had showed him the importance of faith and he'd never forget that lesson.

  The priest left him alone to pray in the quiet, dim church. Following Erina's example, he walked softly to the statue of the Virgin Mary and knelt. Again, he felt closer to Erina in this holy place.

  "Holy Mary, mother of God," he began, then prayed with all his heart for the first time since he was a boy. He closed his eyes and thought of nothing else but asking forgiveness for the wrongs he'd done, for lacking faith in Erina.

  "She's the kindest, the best, person I've ever known. She asked for a miracle to save her son and you granted it. She would never ask for anything for herself, but please, protect and watch over Erina. I know she's hurting. She has so much love to give, so much that I never realized what we shared when she was here with me. If only I could see her one more time, to tell her how much I love her. Please, if there is any way, tell Erina of my love. Tell her what I never got to say , tell her--"

  Behind his closed eyes he sensed a brightness, as though the priest had suddenly switched on the overhead lights. He opened his eyes, expecting to find the father standing above him near the doorway behind the altar. But there was no one there.

  "Grant?"

  He pivoted at the sound of the voice he'd never expected to hear again. Standing before him, holding Colin tightly in her arms, was Erina.

  "Oh, God," he whispered, reaching for her with trembling arms. "Is it really you? Are you really back?"

  "Yes! Oh, yes," she cried, melting into his embrace. "I was in the church, praying for you, and then I got up to leave and . . . Oh, Grant, it is a miracle."

  "I love you," he said, tilting her face up so he could see her through the tear filling his eyes. "I love you and I believe you and I want you forever."

  She smiled, touching his face as though she couldn't believe he was really here. Her eyes were also brimming with tears of happiness. "I know," she whispered. "I always had faith in you."

  He hugged her again, then took Colin from her arms. "We're a family, Erina, and we'll be together always."

  There was a sound of someone coughing discreetly behind them. They turned to see the priest standing there, a baffled look on his face. "What's going on here?" he asked.

  "It's a miracle, Father," Erina said joyfully. "A miracle of love."