Yuletide Twins, page 14
“No harm in trying on wedding rings and dreaming a bit,” Zeb said softly.
“I suppose not,” she said, sneaking another peek at the ring before looking into Zeb’s kind face. “What are you shopping for, Mr. Zeb?” He mentioned nearly every day that his sweet Dolly had passed on and that he looked forward to seeing her again. He also mentioned that they hadn’t had any children, which was why he was so attached to all of the kids he read to each week. So Laura wondered who he was buying jewelry for.
“One of the girls at the hospital, her name is Faith,” he said. “She has a charm bracelet and wanted some new charms for Christmas. I asked Mr. Grier to order one that I thought she’d like.”
Mr. Grier had apparently finished taking her father’s payment because the two of them made their way back to where Zeb and Laura stood by the display case.
“Zeb, your charm came in yesterday,” Mr. Grier said, reaching beneath the counter and pulling out a small white box.
“You want to see it?” Zeb asked Laura.
“Sure.”
Mr. Grier opened the box to reveal a tiny pink heart charm.
Zeb’s mouth rolled in as he looked at the tiny charm. “We call Faith a little sweetheart,” he said. “She wasn’t supposed to make it this long, but God had other plans. She’s still hanging on and touches all of our hearts every time we see her.” He touched the delicate heart. “And her favorite color is pink. So I thought this was perfect.”
Laura was moved by the elderly man’s thoughtfulness. “It’s incredible,” she said. “David and I are still going with you next week to read to the children at the hospital, right?”
“I’d hoped you would. I’d like for you to meet them, and for them to meet you.”
“I’m looking forward to meeting Faith,” she said.
“I’m looking forward to you meeting her, too. Faith, well, Faith will change your life.”
Chapter Thirteen
Whimsical murals from stories in the Bible covered the walls of the children’s floor at Claremont Hospital. Zeb led Laura and David past the floor’s lobby, which displayed a huge Noah’s Ark scene, complete with fun, colorful animals lining up in pairs to hop on the boat. In the distance, a bright rainbow filled the sky, and the words I have set my rainbow in the clouds hovered in the center.
“That’s gorgeous,” Laura said.
“Why, thanks.” A nurse wearing scrubs covered in teddy bears stepped away from the nurse’s station to greet them. Her name tag read Shea Farmer. “We got the murals two years ago. As a matter of fact, they’ll be mentioned in the paper this week in an article Nadia Berry is working on about Secret Santa.”
“Secret Santa painted your murals?” David asked. “Didn’t you kind of figure out who it was when you saw them painting?”
The lady laughed. “No, Secret Santa didn’t paint them, but he sent the money to a woman who did the work. And it was pretty awesome, because she had been several months without employment, and she said the money she received for the murals helped her catch up on her bills and also allowed her family to have a real Christmas.”
“That’s wonderful,” Laura said.
“I know,” she said. “So, Zeb, the kids have been especially looking forward to tonight’s visit, since you told them you were bringing some friends.”
“Are they all in the playroom, Shea?” Zeb asked.
“Everyone except Faith,” she said. “I told her you’d visit her room.”
Laura recognized the name from the jewelry store. The little girl for whom Zeb bought the charm and whose favorite color was pink.
“She had a rough day?” Zeb asked.
“The day after chemo is always rough,” Shea said, “but I know it’ll cheer her up to see you.”
Zeb nodded and then continued down the hall to a large room with toys and books bordering the walls and a group of children seated in the center.
“Hey, Mr. Zeb!” a little boy called. He looked about the same age as Kaden, but his skin didn’t have the rosy glow that Kaden’s had. Instead it was pale, if not tinged slightly yellow. “Are those your friends?”
“Yes, Avery, this is Mr. David and Miss Laura, who I told you about. Mr. David owns the bookstore that gives y’all the books we read.”
“Cool!” another boy said. He sat in a wheelchair with a portable IV hooked up to a rolling pole. He had red hair and freckles and a beautiful smile.
“What’s your name?” Laura asked.
“I’m Timothy, but you can call me Timmy if you want. That’s what everyone else does. I’m seven.”
“Well it’s nice to meet you, Timmy,” she said.
Zeb addressed the kids. “Now, like I told you last week, Mr. David and Miss Laura are going to start coming with me sometimes and will be reading to you from the Boxcar Children books. They’ve been reading them with some other kids at their bookstore each week and thought you might enjoy them, too.”
Laura held up her copy of the book. “Ready to get started?”
They all nodded or answered “Yes!” and Laura took a seat in the middle of the group then opened the book to the first page.
“If it’s okay with all of you,” Zeb said, “Mr. David and I are going to walk down the hall and visit Faith while Miss Laura reads.”
A little girl with brown pigtails bobbed her head. “Faith will like that,” she said.
“That good for you?” David asked Laura.
She nodded. “Yes, it’s fine.” More than fine, really, because these children were undeniably anxious to hear the story, and she realized as she read that they were even happier about sharing the story than the kids in her weekly book club. The boys and girls surrounding her were confined to a hospital room the majority of their day. But now, as they leaned forward to hear every word about the story, they escaped their sickness, escaped their pain and lost themselves in the world of the Boxcar Children.
Laura read for an hour, answering questions whenever any child raised their hand, and she loved every minute. When Shea reappeared, Laura was saddened that it was time to leave, but the nurse explained amid the children’s groans of disappointment that it was time for them to go to bed.
“I’ll come back tomorrow if you like,” Laura said.
They all clapped, and she smiled, happy to have this opportunity and grateful to Zeb for giving it to her. “Where is Faith’s room, Shea?”
The nurse had started wheeling Timothy out, and the little boy answered, “She’s at two twenty-four,” he said, still smiling. He hadn’t stopped smiling for the past hour.
“Thank you, Timmy,” Laura said, then headed toward the room.
She found David and Zeb sitting on each side of the bed holding cards. The little girl, wearing a sequined pink cap to cover her lack of hair, plucked a card from David’s hand.
“Another match for me,” she said, then noticed Laura. “Hey, are you Miss Laura?”
Laura neared the bed. “I am.”
“Mr. Zeb said you’ll read to me next time and catch me up on what I missed with the Boxcar Children.”
“I’d love to,” Laura said. “I think I’m coming back tomorrow night. Maybe I can come in here first and read to you before I read to the others.”
Faith’s smile beamed. “That sounds great!” She watched as David grabbed a card from Zeb’s hand, and then giggled when Zeb had to take one from hers. “I’ve only got two left,” she said, “and guess what one of them is.”
Zeb held his finger in front of one, tilted his head as he watched her eyes, blinking mischievously, and then took the other card.
Faith’s giggle filled the room. “Old maid for you,” she said.
Laura watched them continue until, sure enough, Zeb’s last card was the unwanted lady.
“You lose again, Mr. Zeb,” Faith said.
“And so I do,” he said.
A young woman who looked to be in her early thirties walked in, her eyes bloodshot and undeniably tired, but she gave them all a smile. “Did you let Zeb win tonight, honey?”
“Nope,” Faith said.
“I wouldn’t know what to do if I won,” Zeb answered, and Faith grinned.
“Thank you for playing with me,” she said, “and you, too, Mr. David.”
“It was my pleasure,” David said.
“And you must be Laura,” the woman said. “I’m Sharon Mulberry, Faith’s mom.”
“Wonderful to meet you,” Laura said.
Faith stretched her jaw wide in a huge yawn, and her mother stepped forward to gather the cards from the bed.
“I think that’s your clue that you need to sleep now,” she said.
“I know. Thanks again for coming, Mr. Zeb, and Mr. David and Miss Laura, too.” She shimmied down in the bed and tugged the covers to her neck. “I love y’all.”
“We love you, too,” Zeb answered, giving her another smile and patting the top of her hand. “We’ll be back tomorrow night.”
“Awesome,” Faith whispered, her eyes growing heavy and another yawn slipping free.
Laura and David walked back down the hall passing murals of David and Goliath, Moses and the Ten Commandments, the Garden of Eden and then Noah’s Ark again as they neared the elevator.
“Thank y’all for coming,” Shea called from the nurses’ station.
“We were glad to,” Zeb said, and Laura and David nodded in agreement.
Laura waited until they were on the elevator and the doors slid closed, then she said, “Bless their little hearts.”
Zeb nodded. “I feel the same way. This means a lot to them, to have people care enough to visit and spend time with them on a regular basis.”
“It meant a lot to us, too,” David said. He stood next to Laura in the elevator, and she felt his hand slide against her palm, then his fingers clasp with hers. The motion was sweet, tender, like the precious moments they just spent together with those children.
“I needed someone to help me out here,” Zeb said. “I couldn’t spend enough time with the group and also with Faith, or any of the others when they’re unable to leave their rooms. Tonight, having your help meant the world to me.”
“You can count on us, anytime,” David said.
The elevator door opened at the first-floor lobby and they stepped out, with Zeb stopping a moment to look at them. “That’s what I was just thinking,” he said. “I can count on you.” He took a step in the opposite direction. “I’m going to say hello to the lady that runs the flower shop before I leave.”
“You want us to wait on you?” Laura asked.
“Nah, y’all go on home. I know you and those babies need your rest.” He nodded his goodbye and then walked away.
Laura and David started out of the hospital, and he said what she felt.
“That was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.” He let go of her hand to open the door for her as they exited the hospital, and Laura immediately missed the contact of his skin against hers.
“I can’t believe I’ve never thought to visit the kids on the children’s floor before,” she said. “Reading to them was incredible. They were so into the story and so appreciative of us coming to see them. I’m looking forward to coming back tomorrow.”
“Me, too.” He opened the passenger’s door of his car.
Laura slid into the seat and then waited for him to shut the door, but he didn’t. “Everything okay?” she asked.
David leaned into the car, took the seat belt and gently draped it across her and then snapped it into place, his face so close to hers she could smell a hint of peppermint on his breath. “You’re amazing,” he said. “You know that?”
Embarrassed, she felt her cheeks blush. “You really think so?”
“I know so.” He still leaned into the car, so close that Laura would merely have to move forward a couple of inches to have her lips touch his.
She could feel her heart beating solidly in her chest as she waited for...whatever he planned to do.
“Remember when I told you that you’d know if I took you on a date?” he asked.
She blinked. “Was this a date?”
His smile broke free. “No, this is me, asking you for a date, tomorrow night after we visit the kids here. So, Laura, would you like to go out with me, on an official date, tomorrow night?”
She didn’t hesitate, and she didn’t let her promise to herself not to get in another relationship hinder her words. This was David, a completely different kind of guy than she’d ever gone out with before, a guy who’d been there for her when she needed him most, and a guy who made her feel something so special that she didn’t want to miss the chance to see exactly where the feelings would lead. “I’d love to.”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say.” He slowly eased out of the car, shut her door, rounded the front and climbed in the driver’s seat. Then he started the engine but didn’t back up.
She glanced behind them and didn’t see anything blocking his path. “Everything okay?” she asked again.
He turned to face her. “No, everything isn’t.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m thinking that the whole time we’re on our date tomorrow night we’re going to keep wondering about something, and that wondering is probably going to make it where we can’t enjoy our date,” he said smoothly.
“Wondering about what?”
He smiled, leaned closer. “This.” Laura hadn’t been kissed in eight months, and she wasn’t all that sure she remembered how, but David certainly did. His mouth was soft and inviting, teasing her lips and every last one of her senses.
When he pulled away, he must have been satisfied with the awestruck look on her face because he gave her a confident smile and said, “Now we won’t have to wonder.”
But Laura was already wondering...how long she’d have to wait to experience another kiss like that again.
Chapter Fourteen
David couldn’t be happier with his choice of locations for their first date. The food at Messina’s was amazing, as evidenced by Laura humming her contentment with nearly every bite. He pinched his lips together to keep from laughing, and she noticed.
“I’m doing it again,” she said, shrugging. “I don’t think I ever made noises when I ate before I got pregnant.” She picked up another bite of lasagna with her fork and grinned. “But I also don’t remember enjoying eating quite this much before.”
“Personally, I think it’s cute,” he said. “In fact, I think several things you do fall into the ‘cute’ category.”
She paused her fork in midair and then slowly placed it back on the plate, one corner of her mouth lifting as she turned all of her attention to David. “Several things?”
He nodded, enjoying the flirtatious banter of their first date. “Several.”
“You realize you can’t make a statement like that without elaborating,” she challenged. “So...what things?”
“What things do you do that I find cute?” he asked.
The other side of her mouth joined the first to give him a full smile. “Yes. Tell me.”
“Okay.” He wasted no time with his list. “The way your eyes glisten when you talk about your baby girls. The way you glance away at the bookstore when you catch me looking at you. The way your voice softens when you read to the kids in the book club, and the way I know that it’ll do the same thing one day when you read to your little girls. And the way the base of your neck blushes when you’re embarrassed, or flattered, or whatever it is that you are...right now.”
Her hand touched that small pink spot at her neck, and she looked down at her plate. “You sure do notice a lot, don’t you?”
“When I find something interesting.”
She lifted her eyes back to his. “You find me interesting?”
“I always have.”
“I’ve always found you interesting, too.” She cleared her throat, and David thought for a moment that she’d say more, but then she pushed her plate away. “I’m done. Actually, I think I was done three bites ago, but it was too good to stop.”
He understood that they’d gotten a little more personal than she’d planned for their first date. But he was satisfied, sensing that they were growing closer, step by step. He finished off the last of his own lasagna and nodded. “Agreed, but I kept going, too.”
“It is that good, isn’t it?” the waitress said, nearing the table with a tray of assorted desserts. “We have our famous tiramisu, pignoli nut pie and cassata.”
“Oh, I can’t hold another bite,” Laura said, “but those do look amazing.”
“They are,” the woman said.
“We’ll take a tiramisu to go.” David handed his credit card to her. Then to Laura he said, “You know you’ll want it later.”
She laughed. “Didn’t take you long to figure that out.”
The waitress nodded her approval then left the table to tally their check and get their dessert. A few minutes later she returned with the tiramisu boxed and bagged, David’s card and receipt.
Laura started to stand, and David hurried to get up and help her out of her chair.
“I’m attempting to be a gentleman here.”
“And I’m getting more and more used to having one around,” she admitted. She leaned into him as they left the restaurant, the two of them admiring the elegant décor and also saying hello to a few people they recognized from town.
When they neared the exit, David opened the door and a blast of cold air pushed inside.
“Oh, my.” Laura turned her head away from the chilly wind.
David pulled the door shut. “Wait here. I’ll go get the car.”
She nodded. “I’m not going to argue with you.”
* * *
Laura watched through the window as David walked across the parking lot toward his car.
“Excuse me.”
She turned toward the man. She’d seen him before at church but didn’t remember ever being introduced. “Hello.”
“I’m Milton Stott,” he said. “David’s accountant for the bookstore. You’re the lady he hired, aren’t you?”
Laura nodded. “I am. I love working there.” She glanced out the window and saw that someone had stopped David in the parking lot to talk, but she couldn’t identify the man. She wished David would hurry. Milton seemed harmless enough, but he was definitely crowding into her three feet of personal space.
