Lily Fields (Garden of Love 1)

by Melanie Wilber

  “Uh-huh. When’s the wedding?”

  Josie sat down beside her on the sofa and clutched a navy throw pillow to her chest. “Believe me, we are nowhere close to that yet. I like Mark. I like him a lot, but I’m happy to take things slow and not rush into anything. I think whoever I end up marrying, I’m going to take things slow and make sure it’s right.”

  “Now who’s being the peaceful one?”

  “Since we’re on the subject of Mark,” Josie said, seeming to have another line of conversation on her mind, “I have something I want to ask you. But before I do, I want you to know it’s okay to say no, all right?”

  “All right.”

  “You promise to tell me the truth?”

  “I promise.”

  “How would you like to go to the concert on Wednesday with someone besides me?”

  Lily’s immediate reaction was to say no. She had been looking forward to going to the Christmas music concert, featuring some well-known artists, with Josie for the last three weeks, but she knew her friend wouldn’t be asking her this unless she had a good reason.

  “Why? Do you have to work?”

  “No. Mark got us some tickets as a surprise. He didn’t know we were already planning on going, and when I told him, he suggested we make it a double date.”

  Now Lily really felt like saying no. “I’d have to find a date by then?”

  “Does anyone come to mind?”

  “Not really,” she laughed.

  “Devin?”

  “I don’t think so.” Lily wasn’t sure why she didn’t want to ask him, but she didn’t.

  “Would you mind going with Mark’s brother?” Josie asked. “He’s coming into town tomorrow and staying until Thursday. But we won’t be sitting together because Mark got fifth row tickets and ours are in the balcony.”

  Lily wanted to say no. She hated being set up and already had been by her mother for tomorrow. But if Mark’s brother was from out of town, she wouldn’t have to worry about ever seeing him again if she didn’t like him, or feel jilted if he never called.

  “It doesn’t matter to me,” Josie said at her hesitation. “I thought I’d ask and see if you were interested. If not, Mark knows someone who wants his tickets, and we can go together like we planned.”

  “We can all go,” she replied, sensing that Josie liked the thought of going to the concert with Mark. “I don’t mind.”

  “Really? You’re not just saying that?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “You’re a sweetheart,” Josie said, giving her a hug. “I’ll make this up to you. I promise.”

  “Hey, you never know,” she replied, choosing to be optimistic. “This could be the best date I’ve had all year.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  On Monday morning Lily had some photocopies to make in the teachers’ room before the students arrived. Today she was going to help Max make some Christmas cards for his family and had selected some pages from a coloring book to have him color, cut, and paste the designs onto the construction paper.

  Max didn’t understand the concept nor have the ability to draw something like a snowman or a stocking, but this way he could take part in what the rest of the class did during art time. She made special modifications for Max daily.

  “Are you about done there?” she heard someone say from behind.

  She glanced over her shoulder and saw Devin smiling at her. She turned back to her work, feeling determined to keep her heart rate at a normal rhythm.

  “Just one more,” she said, laying the book on the glass and pressing the button.

  She had on her Christmas dress today. She had worn it to church on Sunday and gotten tons of compliments. She wondered if Devin noticed. Stop it!

  “I see you’re looking festive today,” he said, his voice startling her. Without turning around, she knew he had closed the distance between them. He stepped beside her and leaned casually against the copy-machine. “Is that a new dress?”

  “Yes,” she replied, trying to sound aloof. “I was going to wear it on Friday, but then I got to thinking about the cupcakes we’re going to be having for the party and the glitter on the ornaments, and I decided today would be a better choice.”

  “It looks very nice on you, Lily.”

  She collected her copies and stepped away from the machine. “Thank you,” she replied, backing out of the room with a cordial smile.

  There, that wasn’t hard. I can be around him without getting all bent out of shape. From now on, that’s the way I’ll act: friendly but nothing more.

  Returning to the classroom, she saw that Max had arrived. He opened the door for her and watched it close, then opened it again, put down the door stop, waited a few seconds, and then let the door close once again. It was part of his routine. Every morning he would play with the door for about ten minutes, opening and closing it for students as they arrived.

  “Good morning, Max,” she said, giving him a quick squeeze.

  “Good morning,” he replied in a monotone voice without taking his eyes from the closing door.

  “We’re going to make Christmas cards today,” she said, “right after workshops.”

  “Okay,” he said in the same voice and opened the door once again.

  She let him be and set the copies she had made on Mrs. Stewart’s desk. She was there to help Max, but she also tried to help the other children whenever Max didn’t need her assistance. She helped Maya put her backpack on its peg, reminded Paul to take his coat off, and helped Becky find the plastic ring she had dropped.

  At nine o’clock she coaxed Max away from the door and got him to come sit on the carpet with the other children for roll call and morning rug time. Mrs. Stewart had been teaching the children some simple sign language and reviewed all of the words and phrases they had learned. Several times she called on Max, and he always gave the right answer even though he appeared not to be listening.

  One of Max’s greatest strengths was his memory. Once he learned something, he never forgot it. He could already read more words than it took the average first-grader an entire year to learn plus dozens more. His parents said he had been reading since the age of four.

  The morning went smoothly. Lily had Max make one card for his mom and dad before lunch. He copied the words in red marker on the front that she had written on the white board for him. He colored a snowman with red, green, and blue crayon, and she helped him cut and paste it onto the front.

  On the inside he pasted a Christmas tree and stocking he had colored and wrote the words, I love you Mommy and Daddy. Love, Max. She was proud of his hard work, and he appeared proud of himself, giving her a big smile and his contagious little laugh when she made a big deal about what a nice job he had done.

  She would have him make the other one after recess while the other children worked on another art project that was too complicated for Max to do. She was planning to have him make the second one for his grandparents.

  While the children were at recess, Lily needed to go out to her car for Max’s notebook. She kept a daily log of what she did with Max, progress she observed, and any problems she encountered. It helped her to always be challenging Max in new ways, remembering what she had done, what to make a part of his regular routine, and what to put aside and try again at a later date when he had developed more skills.

  The daily log was also for the parents, other resource workers, and for Mrs. Stewart to see how Max was doing since they weren’t looking over his shoulder six hours a day like she was. She usually spent her break time during recess writing details about the morning and then she would take it home each night to write about the afternoon.

  Walking back to the classroom, she passed Devin’s room and saw him putting some papers in his students’ cubbies beside the door. She fully intended to keep walking, but he spotted her.

  “Hello, Miss Sullivan,” he said in his usual charming way.

  “Hello, Mr. Taylor,” she replied, without slowing her stride.<
br />
  “Got all your Christmas shopping done?” he asked.

  She slowed her pace, still feeling determined to make this a quick exchange without being rude. She had decided to stop swooning, not ignore him.

  “Yes,” she replied. “You?”

  He smiled and came to stand in the doorway, leaning against the door frame like he was posing for a Dockers’ ad. “Almost,” he said. “I met this nice girl at the mall on Saturday, and she helped me out.”

  “Well, that was nice of her,” she replied, coming to a full stop. “Did you reward her for her effort?”

  “I took her to lunch.”

  “Well, well, Mr. Taylor,” she said, silently applauding him. “I am impressed. You may get an A in charm and congeniality this semester.”

  “I was thinking about asking her out to dinner,” he said. “Do you think she would agree to go out with me?”

  Lily’s heart stopped beating. Given her new resolve, she knew her response should be something like, ‘No way’ or ‘Sorry, I’m not riding that roller-coaster anymore,’ but her actual words came out a bit differently.

  “I don’t know,” she said, sounding more calm than she felt. “I suppose you’ll have to ask her.”

  He stepped back into the classroom, tossing her a wink. “Maybe I’ll give her a call.”

  Lily turned away and walked numbly to the classroom. She didn’t know how to feel about what had happened. Excited? Nervous? Mad? She tried not to think about it for the rest of the day but had little success. On the drive home she told herself to forget about it, knowing his chances of actually calling her were none to nil.

  But he said he might...

  For once she was glad to be going to her parents’ house for one of her mother’s dinner dates. Otherwise she would pace the hardwood floors in her apartment down to splinters waiting for Devin to call.

  Usually when her mother invited her to dinner, she didn’t go to great lengths to impress her mystery date, but as she stood in front of her closet pondering her attire, she decided to go all out, wearing her Christmas dress again with white tights, low heels, her pearl necklace and matching earrings. She put her hair up in a French twist, leaving some tendrils hanging beside her face. She even put on make-up and lipstick, something she almost never did.

  “Well, Lily Renae Sullivan,” she said to her reflection in the mirror. “You look nice. If this guy has half an ounce of potential, he may stay for coffee after dessert.”

  She laughed at herself and felt determined to have a good time tonight. If this guy didn’t like her, so what? After today she was done trying to figure out how to attract men.

  Descending the stairs to the street a few minutes later, Lily hurried through the crisp December air to her car. Within eight minutes she had pulled in front of her parents’ home, the same one she had lived in for ten years herself. She stepped out of her car into the cool air, and another car pulled up directly behind her own. She knew it was probably her “date” for the evening, and she waited for him to emerge so she could introduce herself casually rather than endure her mother’s theatrics.

  Lily’s renewed confidence faltered a bit when she saw her mother’s latest choice. Even in the dim light she could see he should be a model in a men’s casual fashion catalog--right next to Devin.

  Mother, what on earth are you thinking?

  Letting a sigh escape and seeing her breath in the cool air, she approached the handsome stranger and let her beautiful smile emerge: Her one hope of actually snagging this guy.

  “Lily Sullivan,” he spoke with an air of familiarity, halting her in her tracks. She knew that voice but couldn’t quite place it. “Has it really been seven years since I last saw your pretty face?”

  She stopped and stared. Seven years? Unable to speak for several long seconds, she slowly recognized him.

  “Marty?” she inquired, looking at him more intently. His crooked smile and twinkling brown eyes convinced her she had guessed right.

  “Great to see you, Lil,” he said, stepping forward and embracing her warmly. “How are you?”

  She couldn’t speak.

  Marty released her and laughed. “Your mother didn’t tell you I was coming, did she.”

  “No,” she admitted, echoing his laughter. “What are you doing here?”

  “Having dinner with my old friend Lily Sullivan and her family.”

  “I was thinking about you the other day,” she admitted. “Are you back from Kenya permanently or only for a visit?”

  “For a visit. I’m here for nine months to raise support and see my family.”

  That news disappointed her slightly. Although she felt that she and Marty going their separate ways back in college had been the right thing, he had been her only serious boyfriend, and she knew there was a part of her that was still in love with him. Marty had been her Devin many years ago. She’d had a crush on him for a long time before they started dating. Being asked out by him in the first place had been a dream come true, let alone the two years of dating that followed.

  His dad had been the pastor of the church where she and her family attended. His family had moved to Portland at the beginning of her senior year. Marty most likely would have never asked her out on his own, but Marty’s mother and her own had become close friends during that time, and they had decided she and Marty should go to their senior prom together.

  At first she thought Marty, or Martin as she always called him, had asked her on his own initiative, and she had been thrilled. Later, however, she discovered the truth. She had gone back inside the church that Sunday to find her Bible that she had left lying somewhere. Marty and his two younger sisters were on their way out the back door and didn’t know she had returned.

  “Marty and Lily, sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s...” his sisters were chanting down the hallway.

  “Shut up,” he called out to them. “I’m only taking her to that stupid dance because Mom’s making me.”

  Lily’s stomach had lurched. It was worse than not being asked at all. That afternoon she told her mother she wasn’t going and begged her to call his mother and end the nightmare.

  “There’s no reason why a boy like Martin wouldn’t want to go with a sweet girl like you. He’s shy, that’s all.”

  “You knew his mom put him up to it?” she asked, not believing she was hearing this.

  “We thought it would be nice for you to go together. No one should miss their senior prom, honey.”

  If their little scheme hadn’t worked out so well, she may have never forgiven either of them.

  All through the pre-dinner chit-chat and the meal itself, Lily couldn’t get over how good Marty looked or that he had suddenly dropped into her life. He had been a cute teenager, but he had become a very handsome man. She didn’t think she would have recognized him if she had passed him on the street. Maybe if he had smiled at her, but otherwise, no.

  His hair had darkened since college, turning into a rich brown. He was about the same height, three or four inches taller than herself, but his chest and shoulders had broadened.

  She still was most drawn to his eyes, however. Deep brown eyes that had eluded her for most of the night on their arranged prom date until their gazes finally met during a slow dance. Something about the way he had looked at her in that moment told her he might not be having such a bad time after all.

  The night had been awkward for both of them and endured rather than enjoyed. Knowing he’d rather be anywhere than with her, Lily had been shocked by his words when he drove her home and walked her to the front door. She was ready to bolt inside, vowing to never do something so humiliating ever again, but his soft and nervous voice had stopped her.

  “Do you want to go out again sometime?” he asked.

  Surely his mother isn’t forcing him to take me out twice! Supposing she must be, Lily decided to let him off the hook. She couldn’t possibly go through another night like this.

  “Look Martin, I know that our mothers arranged th
is--”

  He had silenced her with a gentle kiss. “Call me Marty,” he said, stroking her bare arm that had goose-bumps springing to the surface, partly from the chill in the spring air and partly from his kiss--her first one ever. “And yes, I’d like to take you out again. This time because I want to, not because I was forced to.”

  She remained cautious. Did she dare believe he could actually be interested in her? An unglamorous wallflower that had never had a boyfriend and never been kissed before?

  “I-If you want to, that is,” he said, appearing embarrassed and shy again. Knowing the feeling of rejection all too well, she didn’t want to turn him down, and she really did want to go out with him if he was serious.

  “Okay,” she replied, letting her real smile emerge for the first time all night.

  That had been the beginning of a two-year relationship. When college began in the fall, separating them from one another after a fun summer of dating and becoming close friends, they wrote letters and saw each other on breaks. The following summer they decided to go on a mission trip to Europe together, and that had been a life-changing time for both of them.

  Following their summer together in Europe, several things had led to the end of their dating relationship. She had decided she wanted to change her major from nursing to education, because in her heart-of-hearts she knew that’s what she wanted, despite the strong influence of her family to do otherwise.

  Marty changed not only his major but also decided to go to a different school where he could pursue a career in full-time ministry, either as a field missionary or a pastor. Their relationship had continued through the following year, but by the next summer they both knew their lives were heading in different directions. Marty was leaning toward overseas missions, and Lily wanted that to be her calling too for the sake of their relationship, but she didn’t feel that it was.

  They had decided to end their dating relationship but continue to be close friends. The letters from Marty had continued for several months but eventually ceased. She supposed it must have been five years since she had heard from him.