The Soul Believes It

by Julie Allan

  She rose as quickly, “I’ll be right back, I forgot something.”

  She hurried downstairs and into her office. On her desk was one of Caroline’s diaries with a bookmark sticking out of it. Lizzie scooped it up and headed back upstairs.

  Reclaiming her perch on the side of the bed, she opened it to the bookmarked page. “I want to read you something from my mother’s diary. She wrote this right after her best friend Melanie’s wedding when I was about two-years-old.”

  What a beautiful wedding this has been. I know that Melanie and Rob will be as happy as me and Bobby. It was so odd to be around my parents as strangers. Mother did try and talk to me in the ladies’ room. But, it was the same old excuses, your father this and your father that. I don’t know why she doesn’t have more of a backbone like Aunt Beverley. Despite that, I adored everything about this wedding.Someday, I’ll get to plan Lizzie’s wedding and maybe a daughter’s yet to come. Perhaps Lizzie will have a daughter too. I pray she will. Lizzie has been such a joy for Bobby and me. I vow I will always cherish her, no matter what. I want her to feel that way about her daughter. I want Lizzie to know I’m right beside her on her wedding day and I want the same for my granddaughters.

  Lizzie closed the book. “Your grandmother Caroline might not be here in body, but I believe she is in spirit. She, better than most, understood the sacred bond between mother and daughter. I cherish you Dot, and no matter what I’m on your side. Thank you for being such a lovely daughter.”

  Dot pushed the tray to the foot of the bed and threw her arms around Lizzie. “I love you so much, Mama. I just wish you hadn’t made me cry on my wedding day.”

  “Tears of joy are a blessing. Isn’t that what Aunt Dorothy used to say? I know she is here with us as well.” Lizzie wiped away her own tears and brushed Dot’s cheek with the back of her hand. “Come on, we’ve got to get dressed, and to the salon, it’s time for this bride’s up do.”

  The church was packed by the time Sawyer escorted Lizzie to her seat. Hudson and his groomsmen stepped out the side door and took their places. The wedding march began, and Ben’s young daughter toddled down the aisle dropping rose petals from her basket. One by one, Dot’s friends and Hudson’s sister floated down the aisle. Finally, Bennett and Dot appeared at the head of the aisle and Lizzie fought back her tears. Audible gasps of delight were heard as the guests took in Dot’s vintage gown. Lizzie turned to look at Hudson; his eyes were glued to Dot, his radiant smile and Dot’s back to him, an invisible thread of love already binding them. Lizzie knew that look, she and Bennett had shared the same for years.

  The ceremony was sweet with everything happening on cue. The only hiccup, when the flower girl had enough and went running up the aisle to find her mother. Everyone laughed including the reverend.

  The guests headed to Alhambra Hall for the cocktail hour and the bridal party and family lingered at the church for photos. Then on to the lawn behind Alhambra for some with the water as a backdrop.

  On the far side of the field were some benches. Once Lizzie was done with pictures she headed over to sit while Bennett fetched her alternative shoes from the car. For the church, she had worn a pair of beige pumps that painfully pinched her toes, but she had thrown a pair of gold strappy heeled sandals knowing she wouldn’t last long in the pumps.

  Lizzie noticed a familiar woman sitting on one of the benches, and she headed in that direction. “Camille, right?”

  The woman nodded, “You’ve got a good memory.”

  “I take it you found your friends?”

  “Oh yes, I turned right when I should have turned left. I just walked down here to look at the water. I take it that’s your daughter who got married.”

  “Yes, it has been a marvelous day so far.”

  “Is that your mother in the powder blue dress?”

  “That’s my mother-in-law. My mother died when I was very young. I wish she were here and other family members we have lost too. I’m sorry, I’m not sure why I said that to you.”

  “Weddings are a time for family.” Camille stood. “It was nice to see you again. I should be heading back now.”

  “Nice seeing you too. Enjoy your time with your friends.”

  Lizzie watched as Bennett approached and Camille departed. Bennett handed Lizzie the sandals. “Who was that?”

  “Some woman I met in the neighborhood yesterday, her name is Camille.”

  Bennett turned to look as Camille disappeared beyond the building, “There was something familiar about her, maybe I’ve seen her in the neighborhood too.”

  Lizzie stood and twirled, “Now I’m ready for dancing, but I doubt you’ve seen her, she’s visiting a friend.”

  Bennett led Lizzie upstairs in the hall to greet their guests. After all the months of preparation, it was time to enjoy.

  Dot had arranged to have the large white M from her shower displayed on the fireplace mantle surrounded by magnolias and greenery. Every table sparkled with candles in white lanterns, their handles tied with sprigs of lavender and roses tied on with pale pink ribbon.

  Faith and her team had outdone themselves with the catering and Lizzie’s carefully crafted seating chart ensured no one went without a seat or a dinner companion. The food was set up around the perimeter in stations, and the band was set up at the far end.

  As the sun set, guests crowded the balcony trying to get the perfect picture to capture the moment. By the time Dot and Hudson were ready to depart for their suite downtown, Lizzie had danced with every male family member at least once. She even persuaded M.A. out on the dance floor for a few songs.

  It was ten o’clock by the time they headed back to the house. “Not as late as Pensacola, but at least as fun.”

  Bennett held the door open for her, “The night doesn’t have to end yet.”

  The wedding weekend rolled on into one last gathering, the family brunch and honeymoon send off.

  Pat, with Amy’s help, had arranged a traditional brunch of shrimp and grits upstairs at the Dunes West Country Club. Even with just family, they were forty-three strong between the two sides.

  Becky and Charlie Mills and their smaller contingent of nine were once again amazed at the generosity and warmth of the Wilson clan.

  Lizzie found herself wishing they lived closer. She and Bennett truly liked them, and she thought they felt the same. Families forever expand, each marriage, each birth widens the circle.

  They gathered in the drive to bid farewell as Dot and Hudson headed to the airport and their European honeymoon. Family broke away; it was time to get back to routine.

  Lizzie hugged Becky goodbye. “Don’t be strangers, you are welcome to come and stay with Bennett and me anytime, we might even spend some of the time with the kids.”

  Becky hugged back, “We will, and our door in Pensacola is always open.”

  Bennett and Lizzie drove home, stomachs, and hearts full, ready for some down time.

  Monday had Bennett back to work and Lizzie at loose ends. After walking the dogs, she was at a loss on what to do next. The last few months had been so packed with things to do and now the day stretched out in front of her, too open for comfort.

  Lizzie walked the house, looking for small tasks. She stopped in front of the family portrait that Caroline had started and Dot had finished. Lizzie had framed it and hung it in the front hall. Bobby, Caroline, Lizzie, but someone was missing. Will I ever meet my sister?

  She piddled around the office for a bit, moving her mother’s journals from one place to the next. Enough of this! She grabbed her garden clippers from the back porch and headed around front, at the very least she could dead head the geraniums. She was startled to see Camille coming up the walk.

  “Hello again.”

  “Lizzie, right?” Camille came closer.

  “Yes, are you turned around again?” Lizzie sat down on the front steps.

  “No, I have a confession to make, I’m not who I said I was— I mean, I am Camille Waterson, but I wasn’t lo
st last Friday, I was looking for you.”

  Lizzie’s heart fluttered in her chest, and her lungs forgot to breathe. “Are you my. . . “

  “Sister. I’m your sister.” Camille finished for her. She sat on the step next to Lizzie.

  Lizzie turned to face her. “I tried to imagine this moment, what I would say, but I just have this overwhelming urge to hug you. May I?”

  Camille smiled, “I’d like that very much.”

  The two embraced, and Lizzie felt a jolt of connection run through her. She began to cry and then Camille began to cry. After a long while, Lizzie stood and pulled her up. “Come in for some tea, we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

  Lizzie fixed the tea and led Camille to her office. She sat in Aunt Dorothy’s chair and motioned for Camille to sit in the other.

  Camille looked around, taking it all in. “What a peaceful room.”

  “Thanks, it’s my favorite room in the house. I have to ask, was it my letter that brought you here.”

  Camille nodded. “I knew I was adopted from a very early age. My parents, told me I was loved so much, my birth mother wanted me to have the best life possible, and she had given me to my parents, but she carried me in her heart always. So, my birth mother, our mother, was like an angel who delivered me to the loving home I was raised in. I never thought to seek her out until this past fall when my newborn granddaughter was diagnosed with a genetic disorder. My daughter came to me for family history, and I realized I didn’t have all the information I should.”

  Lizzie nodded as she listened. She found herself looking for traces of Caroline and Cole and herself. Camille had darker features, like Cole, but she had Caroline’s smile and eyes. Camille stopped to take a sip of her tea before continuing.

  “Well with the help of an attorney I was able to gain access to my adoption records, and I found three letters waiting for me. One you know about because you wrote it. One was from our mother, Caroline. It was very sweet, telling me how I was made of love and how she wanted me to have a secure home. She wrote about my dad, what he was like and how he died. It was so sad, their story. She even wrote that she hoped someday I would look for her.”

  Lizzie’s eyes welled with tears. “Our mother did not have a happy home life, but she somehow ended up with a loving heart.”

  “I could tell that, but it was still a lot for me to process. I couldn’t imagine giving my daughter up. My husband reminded me that Caroline faced much different times than what we have now.”

  Lizzie nodded, my husband told me the same thing when I found out about you. You said there was a third letter.”

  “Yes, from your Aunt Dorothy. She was concerned I would look for Caroline and find out that she had died and not look any further. She wanted me to know about you and how she would welcome me if I wanted to get to know you.”

  “That’s Aunt Dorothy, she was my dad’s sister. She was another great woman with a big heart.” Lizzie pointed to her portrait on the wall, “That’s her when she was a young woman.”

  Camille gazed over to it. “She was beautiful.”

  Lizzie smiled at the portrait, “She was, inside and out. I feel like I should tell you I sensed something about you that day you rang my doorbell. I must have known who you were on a subconscious level. You probably think that’s silly.”

  Camille leaned forward and held out her wrist. “I don’t think it’s silly at all. Do you see the heart charm on my bracelet?”

  Lizzie looked closer. “Yes, with the two C’s linked together.”

  “That charm was left with me when I was adopted. In Caroline’s letter, she explained Cole had given it to her, the night before he left for Vietnam. My mother, my adoptive mother, told me my birth mother was insistent I should have it. My mother ended up giving me a name beginning with C because of it.”

  Lizzie reached out a squeezed Camille’s hand. “Your birth mother sounds like a remarkable woman. How wonderful that she followed through with Caroline’s wishes.”

  “She is remarkable. When I was young, I wore it on a necklace, and later I put it on this bracelet. But here’s the part that some would call silly. Anytime I have been sad or troubled if I rub this charm I instantly feel better.”

  Lizzie smiled, “I don’t think that’s silly, I think that’s lovely. Does your mother know you came to Charleston to find me?”

  “She does, and she is looking forward to meeting you, that is if you would like to meet her.”

  “I would love to meet the woman who raised my sister! I want you to meet my family as well.”

  Camille sat back in her chair. “I thought this would be harder or more awkward, but somehow it’s like my soul already knows you.”

  Lizzie felt her heart expand. “I feel the same way.”

  They turned towards the sound of the back door opening. “Hey Lizzie, I’m home for lunch.”

  “We’re in the office.” Lizzie hollered out.

  “Who’s we?” Bennett stopped in the doorway.

  Lizzie stood up, her smile wide, “Camille, this is Bennett, my husband. Bennett this is Camille, my sister.”