Fortress of Love

by Ann Nichols

  She squeezed his hand. “It’s all forgiven and forgotten, Luke. All forgiven,” she repeated, and he knew she really meant it. Though the swelling of her face made a mockery of her appearance, she had never looked more beautiful to Luke.

  He reached down, and lifting the old cross from where it had been warmed by the beating of her heart for the last year and a half, he held it gently with his fingertips and said, “Maybe, when you’re feeling better, you can tell me,” he paused and smiled, “just what this means to you.”

  Her soul sang at the words she had waited so long to hear.

  Without hesitation, she tilted her head to remove the chain from around her neck. Luke had to help her because it was tangled in her hair. He did so with infinite care.

  She handed the necklace to him.

  Without protest, he took it from her hand and placed the chain around his neck. The old cross settled, like a sigh, back where it belonged.

  Melissa covered the metal pendant with the palm of her hand, touching it, and touching Luke at the same time. “The cross itself means very little,” she began. “It’s a beautiful piece of jewelry, a family heirloom that I have loved because it is yours,” she whispered. “But it’s the cross of Jesus that it represents that has true meaning, eternal meaning.”

  “The cross of Jesus,” Luke repeated.

  She nodded and her eyes filled with tears because it was the first time she had ever heard him say the Savior’s name. It sounded so beautiful coming from his lips and she was glad that he had never spoken the Lord’s name in anger or bitterness.

  Sitting on the side of the bed, he leaned so close to her that their noses practically touched. “I realized last night, Meli, that anything important to you, is important to me. And that includes your belief in the cross of Jesus. I want you to tell me everything, but not here. At home, when you’re feeling better.”

  She nodded and sank into the cool sheets. She didn’t mind waiting to tell him. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

  ❧

  The days of Melissa’s convalescence were joyful days for all the inhabitants of Villa Beauvoir. Gabriel and Luke were on holiday, and Nono finally gave in to the persistent entreaties of Emilia and Anastasia and agreed to close up his house in the village for the rest of the summer to stay with them. Soula was in her element catering to the many hearty appetites, and Emilia flitted among them all, like a butterfly that had just learned how to fly. Melissa and Gabriel, brother and sister in the Lord, became friends immediately.

  Melissa was surprised at how long it took for her to regain her strength. She seemed to be tired all the time and spent many hours each day sleeping, either in her room or on the veranda. She would drift off to a happy sleep while conversations played around her, and wake up an hour or two later to find herself lovingly covered with a nicely scented sheet, either alone or with Anastasia softly strumming the guitar Melissa was teaching her to play. Sometimes, Emilia was quietly playing with her dolls by her feet, or Gabriel was reading in a nearby chair.

  Luke always appeared soon after she awoke, and he was as solicitous and caring as a prince in a fairy tale might be to his princess.

  Melissa floated along on a cloud of happiness that took several days to reach the earth. What finally brought her back to earth was something that brought heaven down with it.

  Nineteen

  Four mornings after the bee sting, Melissa awoke bright-eyed and feeling like her old self again—except happier. Checking her ankle, she was relieved to see that the swelling was finally gone. Only a head remained where the actual sting had occurred, but Luke had told her that it would go away with time as well.

  Stretching, she was determined to start her days again with sitting on the veranda, reading her Bible, and praying. She hadn’t been able to follow her routine for the past several days. Exhaustion, one of the aftereffects of the sting, as well as medication, had kept her in bed until well after ten each morning.

  She reached into the night-table drawer for her traveling Bible, but it wasn’t there. Sitting on the side of her bed, she remembered that she had last seen the Bible in her backpack the day at the castle. Gabriel had retrieved her pack from Chlemoutsi the following morning, along with her car, so she assumed that the Bible must still be in it.

  Glancing around her room, she realized that she didn’t even know where her backpack was. She was about to retrieve her father’s Bible from the dresser drawer when the soft strains of guitar chords drifted into the room. Tying her silk robe around her waist, she padded out to the veranda and leaned up against her doorjamb to watch Anastasia. Luke’s sister, dressed in a new, bright yellow dressing gown, started singing the hymn, “Rock of Ages.”

  She sang softly in first soprano, but it was a voice that contained strength, and Melissa was sure that she would be able to fill an opera house with her notes if she wanted to. Anastasia was a gifted musician and Melissa felt privileged to have played a part in her discovering her talent.

  Sensing Melissa’s presence, Anastasia turned to her. A smile parted her lips as she started to sing the third verse of Thomas Hastings’s song. Her shining, green eyes bored into Melissa’s in a way that told Melissa more clearly than a million words ever could that her friend was singing her testimony!

  “Nothing in my hand I bring,

  Simply to Thy cross I cling,

  Naked, come to Thee for dress,

  Helpless, look to Thee for grace;

  Foul, I to the fountain fly;

  Wash me, Savior, or I die.”

  Softly the strings faded into quietness and in answer to the wondrous question covering Melissa’s face, Anastasia nodded her head. “We are truly sisters now, Melissa. I believe.”

  “Oh, Anastasia!” Tears filled Melissa’s eyes. Running quickly to Anastasia’s side, she knelt down and rested her head in her lap. “How?”

  “How?” Anastasia repeated and laughed, a carefree, happy sound. “You, Gabriel, Nono, Soula, Emilia, Luke. . .but most of all, God. He didn’t desert me, Melissa. Not ever. Not even when I was angry at Him and accused Him of not caring, and not hearing, and even, of not existing. He has always been close to me. I only had to answer Him. I finally did.”

  Reaching over to the table beside her, she picked up Melissa’s much-used travel Bible. “I hope you don’t mind, but when I saw that you weren’t reading it these last few days,” she paused, and grimaced, “I kind of borrowed it. Gabriel gave me a Bible a long time ago, but you know, there’s something alive about reading a Bible that someone else has loved and written in, prayed and cried over.”

  Melissa nodded her head in understanding. “As your sister—your spiritual sister—I want you to keep it.”

  Anastasia’s lips puckered together. She knew how much the Bible meant to Melissa. “That’s one of many things I like about you, Melissa. You see past things to what is really real. The cross, the Bible, they mean a lot to you, but not as objects in themselves.”

  Melissa shrugged her shoulders and laughed. “It took me a long time to learn that.”

  “I will treasure it always.” Anastasia held the book lovingly to her chest and they sat in companionable silence for several precious minutes. The same feelings of euphoria ran through Melissa that she would have felt if she had just been told that a much-awaited baby had just been born.

  “Melissa,” Anastasia began softly after a moment. “There’s something else that I want to tell you.”

  Melissa knew from her friend’s tone that it had to be something wonderful. Tilting her head to the side, her eyes flashed like topaz as she eagerly waited for Anastasia to continue.

  “Now that I have accepted Christ as my savior, Gabriel and I—we’re are going to be married!”

  “Anastasia!” Melissa squealed and threw her arms around her. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “And I’m happy for you,” Anastasia laughed, squeezing Melissa closer to her. “I think, that very soon, we are going to be sisters in more than j
ust a spiritual way.”

  Melissa sat back and searched Anastasia’s face with her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  Anastasia looked like a cat who had just been given a sirloin steak. “Only that, my Bible, the one Gabriel gave to me, hasn’t gone unread these days.”

  Melissa’s mouth opened, but it took her a moment before she could whisper her question. “Luke?”

  Anastasia smiled. “I think you’d better get dressed and go find my brother. Most likely he’s where he’s been all week. In his office,” she paused, “uhh. . .studying.”

  ❧

  When she had showered and dressed, Melissa walked downstairs to Luke’s office. Suddenly feeling shy, she knocked softly on the door. She had only been in the room on one other occasion and had been impressed by its beauty. The deep, rich brown of his oak desk and matching unit of shelves filled to capacity with medical books of all shapes, colors, and sizes, had impressed her. That Luke’s brain could contain all that knowledge amazed her even more.

  Luke opened the door hunched down to the level of a young child. “Luke?” Melissa laughed.

  He straightened and smiled self-consciously. “Sorry. I thought it was Emilia,” he confirmed her suspicion. “She’s always telling me that I’m too tall for her to see my eyes, so. . .” his voice trailed off.

  “You are tall,” her eyes twinkled with love. “But I like it.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “And I like everything about you, Meli, my love.”

  “Everything?” she asked.

  Without saying a word, he reached for the chain around his neck and pulled the cross out from beneath his shirt.

  When Melissa saw what was hanging on the chain with it, she drew in a sharp breath. “My engagement ring,” she murmured. Amazement painted her features. She had assumed that he would return the ring after she gave it back to him at the cabin. She’d never expected to see it again. She looked at him with a silent question in her amber eyes.

  He didn’t make her wait for an answer. “I told you the other day at the hospital that I was ready for you to tell me about the cross.” He rubbed his fingers over the pendant. “But, I’ve changed my mind. Instead, I’m going to tell you about what I believe. When I’m finished, I think you will agree that what I believe is the same as what you believe—maybe a little bit immature—but the same.” His eyes looked very green to her and very, very deep.

  “Luke,” she whispered his name, and joy soared in her heart. She hardly dared to breathe.

  Slowly, he began. “You told me, a long time ago, that the ring was because of the cross. And you’re right. The ring is because of the cross, and anyone who takes the ring without first taking hold of the cross, starts off in a relationship that is crippled.”

  “You understand,” she whispered.

  He gazed for a moment into the amber depths of her eyes. They drew him in the same way they had at the Christmas ball the night he met Melissa. He nodded. “Your accident made me think, Meli.” He walked over to the packed bookshelf and ran his fingers lovingly over the spines of the books. “I realized that I have read all of these volumes that describe everything we humans have discovered about treating diseases. But,” he walked back to his desk and picked up Anastasia’s Bible, “I had never read the book that tells the reason for diseases.”

  “Luke,” she took a step toward him but forced herself to stop.

  “I don’t want to be your savior anymore, Melissa. You’ve already got one.” He paused and Melissa was certain she saw water begin to pool in the corners of his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was softer and tinged with love. “And so have I.”

  “Luke,” she reached for his hands. “You believe?”

  He nodded. “I believe that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ And I never knew this existed, but I have found ‘the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.’ And I am confident that this peace will guard my heart, and your heart, and my mind, and your mind, and everyone else who believes in Jesus Christ.”

  “Luke,” she fell into his arms and great big tears of happiness and relief welled from deep within her soul.

  “You were right, Meli,” he whispered, and she turned her face up to meet his. “It never would have worked before. We would have ended up a divorce statistic.” He paused and kissed her lightly on the cheek. “Thank you for not accepting me as your savior. I never would have been able to finish the job.”

  “I know, Luke. But your heart was in the right place. It really was.”

  He nodded. He finally understood. “I loved you then and I love you now. But there is a difference, a gigantic difference. I now understand that love isn’t what all the popular songs say. It isn’t only tied up with our feelings and desires for one another. It’s a meshing of all our parts—body, soul, and spirit—in line with God’s spirit. God is Love, and only Love itself can guide us in how to be ‘in it.’ Because to be ‘in love,’ is to first be ‘in’ a right relationship with God.” Keeping his arm around her shoulder he guided her over to his desk and reached into the top drawer. Pulling out a carefully wrapped bundle, he handed it to her. “Open it.”

  With a questioning frown, she folded back the soft, blue felt. The little man-and-woman Christmas tree ornament that Luke had bought for their tree at the cabin stared back at her. Melissa looked up at Luke with wonder in her eyes. The last time she had seen the little carved couple, they had tumbled beneath the woodpile at the cabin after Luke had angrily yanked them off the top of the tree and thrown them across the room. She almost shuddered at the memory of that night.

  “When I bought this ornament I hoped that we would eventually be like them,” he admitted, and pointed to the happy expressions on the little wooden faces. “But I made a mistake when I put them on the top of our tree. The top should be reserved for a star or an angel, something that heralds the incarnation of Christ.” He pointed to the Bible. “A star shone and angels sang that night as a way of declaring the wonder of God’s Son leaving His throne in heaven and coming on a rescue mission to earth. This little couple can go on all of our Christmas trees, but not at the top,” he declared. She nodded her head in amazement at how quickly he had grasped spiritual things.

  “Melissa,” he continued, “I’m only going to ask you this question one more time.” With a big smile, he removed the heavy gold chain from around his neck and opened the clasp to pull off the engagement ring. Holding the ring between his thumb and forefinger, he said, “In Christ, we are both complete halves now. Be the half that makes me whole. Will you marry me?”

  “Umm. . .” Melissa bit her lip and then dissolved in merry laughter. Without further hesitation, she reached out her hand to let Luke slide the ring onto her finger. “Dear, wonderful, faithful Luke, I would be honored to be both your wife and. . .” her smile deepened as she considered how much her next words would mean to him, “the mother of your children.”

  He pulled her tightly against his chest. “A family,” he murmured.

  “Our family, Luke. Our family,” she whispered. As she rested her head against his chest and listened to the strong, steady beating of his heart, Melissa glanced through the window at the little fortress on the hill and she smiled. Raising her eyes higher yet, to the soaring sky above, she gave thanks to her Rock, her Refuge, her Redeemer, her Fortress, for saving the man she loved.

  Epilogue

  “Christos Anesti! Christ is Risen!” the pastor shouted joyously to the congregation of believers from around the world who had gathered for the Easter sunrise service on Philopappos Hill in Athens. The Acropolis sat before them, silhouetted against Homer’s “rosy fingers of light” as the dawning of the new morning, Easter morning, filled the sky.

  “Alithos Anesti! Truly He is Risen!” the believers replied in unison. Luke drew his wife closer to him. His fingers touched the gentle fullness of Melissa’s belly, where their long-awaited child was growing sa
fe and secure.

  Leaning over, in the great outdoor church with birds singing and fluttering above them and church bells ringing in the city below, Luke kissed the side of Melissa’s head.

  She looked up at her husband and smiled. No woman had ever been loved more. She had prayed that Luke’s parents would spend Easter with them, and he had been amazed when they accepted the invitation. She had prayed the same thing about her aunt and uncle, but her petition had not been answered in the same way. She had received a nice card from her uncle, who said that he would come for a visit when the baby was born, but the note made it clear that he would be traveling alone. Her aunt’s heart was still as hard and cold as ice, but Melissa didn’t let that bother her. She continued to pray for her aunt’s salvation. Melissa knew that miracles could happen if she lifted her requests up to God.

  But as she surveyed the happy faces around her on the ancient hilltop, she rejoiced to see so many friends, including Jane and Dale from Virginia, and dear Nono and Soula, who had traveled with them from St. Andreas.

  Luke nodded his head toward Anastasia as Gabriel pushed her wheelchair to the front of the congregation. Emilia walked next to them holding her mother’s guitar.

  “Christos Anesti! Christ is risen! Happy Easter!” Anastasia shouted, smiling broadly as the congregation replied in kind.

  “My name is Anastasia Crown,” she announce. She reached out for her husband’s hand. “I’ve been asked to sing this morning, but before I do, I wanted to say a few words.” The congregation hushed as they waited; the only sound was the chattering of the birds and the movement of the leaves on the trees.

  “My name is of Greek origin and it means ‘Who shall rise again.’ ” She motioned toward a stylish, older man and woman, who were standing, a bit uncomfortably, but proudly, next to Luke. Anastasia smiled, a gentle, forgiving smile. “I think my parents knew what they were doing when they gave me my name. Several years ago, I suffered a horrible automobile accident. I lost my first husband and my unborn son, and I was left paralyzed. But then a man came into my life,” she looked up at Gabriel, “who slowly, with love, and much patience showed me that I was much more crippled in my soul than I ever would be in my legs. And then a sister,” she looked over at Melissa and her smile deepened, “came into my life, and through her life, she showed me the same thing. Now, I am of the resurrection and I praise God daily for it. I would like for you to join me in singing ‘Christ the Lord is Risen Today’!”