As You Wish (28 page)

Now Christy understood the wisdom of Todd's advice. As she had begun to fall unreservedly in love with the Lord over the years, her heart was so turned toward Him that more and more she wanted to do whatever was the most pleasing and honoring to God.

“Love God and do what you want,” Christy whispered in the gentle morning quiet. She felt complete peace. No doubts. This was right. A smile pressed Christy's lips upward in what felt like a permanent expression. She felt full inside. Full of love. Full of God. Full of hope.

Rising to her feet and stretching, Christy decided she'd better start the fire. The wood caught right away, and the grill she placed across the top of the cement fire ring balanced just enough for her to settle the skillet in the center. She placed the bacon strips in the skillet and waited for them to sing their splattering tune in harmony with the melody that was sizzling in her heart.

The bacon was just beginning to smell promising when Christy looked up and saw Todd coming toward her, Thermos in one hand and two coffee mugs in the other. His steps were slow but steady. Straight. His eyes were set on Christy, and he looked as if nothing in this world could stop him from coming to her.

Christy's heart danced a waltz as she counted his deliberate steps toward her.

Step, two-three-four. Step, two-three-four. Do you have any idea how incredibly handsome you are, my beloved, my friend?

Christy playfully touched her fingers to her lips, kissed them, and tossed her kiss to Todd on the fresh morning breeze.

Since his hands were full, Todd quickly turned his head and stretched his neck, as if to catch her kiss on his cheek. His smile seemed as permanently in place as hers was.

Christy's gaze never wavered from Todd coming toward her. In her mind and her heart, Christy knew she would never forget the sight of this man walking to her in the sand. This man who had brushed up against death two weeks ago and was now very much alive and very much in love. With her.

“Smells good.” Todd stopped in front of the fire.

Christy thought it funny that his opening words for this momentous occasion were so common.

“I love you,” Christy blurted out. Her hand immediately flew to her mouth. She had meant to say, “It's the bacon,” but she was so full of love for Todd that the declaration just tumbled out.

Todd slowly lowered himself next to her on the blanket. He put down the Thermos and mugs and looked at her as if he wasn't sure he could trust his ears. His expression invited her to repeat the words.

Lowering her hand from her mouth, Christy looked at Todd's ocean blue eyes, and taking a deep breath, she dove in all the way to his soul. “I love you,” she said slowly and deliberately. “I love you, Todd.”

“I thought that's what you said.” His voice caught with emotion as he added, “I love you, Kilikina.”

Neither of them moved.

The bacon seemed to send sputtering firecrackers into the air while the flames snapped brightly in the fire ring. Overhead, three sea gulls circled and squawked loudly, like trumpeters heralding a proclamation from the King.

Slowly, tenderly, Christy and Todd moved toward each
other until their lips met in a kiss that filled Christy even more full of love. As they drew apart, the overflow brimmed in her eyes and spilled down her smiling face.

Todd wiped her tears with his steady hand. Then he did something he had done when they were in Europe. He pressed his moist hand to his chest, right over his heart. Christy knew that was his way of saying he was holding her tears in his heart.

She touched his warm lips with her fingers. Todd grasped her hand and placed a long kiss in the palm of her hand. Christy let go and pressed his kiss to her heart. In a steady, sure whisper, she said, “I love you.”

Todd's grin broadened. “You know what they say about a vow being established. If a declaration is stated three times, that means it's established forever.”

Christy nodded. She didn't know if Todd was trying to give her a final opportunity to change her mind, but nothing could prompt her to alter her declaration. He knew what these words meant to her, to him, to their future. Her vow before God was established.

“I love you,” she stated firmly, pausing between each word. This time an unexpected giggle escaped at the end. “I had it all planned. We were going to eat, and we were going to be all snuggly and romantic, and then I was going to tell you.”

Todd moved closer and took her in his arms. “How's this for snuggly and romantic?”

Christy giggled again. “I can't believe I just blurted it out like that.”

“You know,” Todd said, his deep voice rumbling from his chest, “I've been dreaming for the past week or more that you told me you love me.”

Christy pulled back and faced him. “Those weren't dreams, Todd. I have been telling you. I told you the very first time on the camping trip, but you couldn't hear me over the dune buggy motor. I told you again and again at the hospital while you slept, and also at Bob and Marti's.”

“Then I guess I wasn't dreaming.” Todd brushed Christy's flyaway hair from the side of her face.

“No,” Christy said. “You weren't dreaming then, and you're not dreaming now. This is real. As real as it's ever been for me.”

Todd's silver-blue eyes were fixed on hers, filling her, adoring her, speaking to her all the cherished messages she knew he held in his heart for her.

Just then a daring sea gull swooped closer.

“Oh no you don't!” Christy grabbed the spatula and swatted the air. “You guys stay away from the food this time.”

Todd reached for the tongs and flipped the bacon. “This is looking like it's almost ready.”

“I have eggs and croissants, too,” Christy said. “And I even bought mango-papaya jam.”

“You are amazing,” he said. “How about some coffee? It's strong, but I added cream and sugar in the Thermos, the way you like it.”

Christy knew Todd didn't drink coffee very often, but when he did, he drank it black. She thought how considerate he was to remember she liked her coffee spiffed up and to be willing to drink it the way she liked it.

Side by side, heart by heart, Todd and Christy prepared their beach breakfast. The sea gulls kept their distance. The raindrops stayed to themselves on some other corner of the planet while the lazy sun stretched and peeked out from
under its thick gray comforter every ten minutes or so.

Todd and Christy's long, slow, private picnic leisurely rolled through the calm October morning. They laughed, teased, kissed, prayed, and ate until they could take in no more. Christy knew she couldn't have asked for a more perfect morning. Everything was more wonderful than any dream she had ever dreamed of Todd.

Yet, as they gathered up the blanket and packed up the cooking gear, Christy felt uninvited remorse come over her. Todd hadn't proposed to her.

She knew she hadn't expected him to. Not really. But after she had opened her heart so wide and felt him responding with equal openness and joy, the next step should have been for Todd to say the life-changing sentence that naturally would follow. He needed to say, “Will you marry me?”

And he hadn't said that at their picnic. He had said lots of other wonderful things. He had told Christy how he had been waiting for her to be sure of her love and to verbalize it. He told her that, yes, Doug and Tracy were right: He had known she was the one for him from that first day on this beach when he had seen her tumble to shore, draped in seaweed. He affirmed to Christy that there had been no other girls for him. She was the only girl he had ever kissed. The only girl he had ever loved. The only one.

But he didn't say, “Marry me.”

They walked slowly through the sand back to the house. Todd hadn't taken his medication before joining Christy on the beach, and he was suffering now. Christy carried the heavy picnic basket with the frying pan, dishes, utensils, and leftover jam. All Todd carried was the folded-up blanket
and the empty Thermos, but those two items seemed almost too heavy for him.

By the time they entered the warm kitchen, Todd's face was pale, and he had broken out in a sweat. He placed the blanket and Thermos on the kitchen counter and immediately went to bed, where he stayed for the rest of the day.

Christy knew she had no reason to feel anything but delight over their time together. Todd had given her every ounce of energy he had. She reminded herself of that when the nagging thoughts of
Why didn't he propose?
came flying at her the rest of the weekend.

On Sunday morning Bob and Christy went to church together, while Todd stayed in bed and tried to regain some of his strength. Christy and her uncle both invited Marti to go with them, but she insisted Todd needed her.

As it turned out, the message that morning was on baptism, and Christy wasn't sure that was what her aunt needed to hear right now. Marti needed to come to Christ and surrender her life to Him. Christy thought of her brother as the sermon came to a close. She wondered how he was doing and realized she hadn't called home for more than a week.

Her parents would understand. Todd was her top priority right now. She knew they would be supportive of her decision to move forward in her relationship with Todd, too. Yet she felt sad that they were so removed from her life. The separation had begun when she went to Switzerland and had continued even after she settled into school at Rancho. She never had been the kind of daughter who discussed everything with her mom.
Christy had grown up as someone who kept to herself and worked through life's dilemmas quietly, in her room with the door closed.

Now that she had entered this next wonderful stage with Todd, Christy regretted that her mom hadn't been the kind of mom who was a best friend and a pal. But then, Christy's mom didn't have that kind of relationship with her own sister, Marti.

“You know,” Bob said on their way home, “I made a decision this morning.”

Christy, thinking her uncle was ready to talk about his strained relationship with his wife, positioned herself on the leather seat of Bob's Mercedes to pay full attention. It struck her that sitting in this position in ol' Gus was a miserable experience. But in Bob's car, it felt warm and comfy. She didn't know what it felt like to sit in the front passenger seat of their new Volvo because she hadn't had that pleasure yet.

“I've been doing what you suggested, Christy. I've been reading the Bible. I started in the New Testament with those first four books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.”

Christy nodded.

“And what I keep reading over and over is how Christ loved people through their weaknesses. He didn't pretend their problems didn't exist. He spoke the truth in love, but He said what needed to be said.”

Christy felt a little nervous. How did her uncle intend to live out his revelation?

“I'm going to speak some truth to my wife,” he said firmly.

“In love,” Christy added.

“In love.” Then Bob paused and said, “Christy, hand me the cell phone, will you?”

Christy handed it to him as he drove. She watched Bob punch in the automatic speed dial number for his home. “Are you going to tell her now? On the phone?”

“No, I'm checking to see if she wants us to pick up some lunch on our way home.”

Christy felt nervous about Bob's plan while they stopped at Betsy's Deli to pick up sandwiches and salads. She felt nervous as Bob drove down his street and pulled the car into the garage. She felt nervous when Marti entered the kitchen and asked if the deli had her favorite chicken salad.

To Christy's surprise, instead of Uncle Bob's blasting out to his wife how she needed to make some decisions and some changes in her life, he went to her, wrapped his arms around her, and said, “I love you, Marti. With all my heart, I love you.” Then he kissed her soundly on her surprised lips.

Christy couldn't remember ever seeing her uncle shower such affection on her aunt. Bob always had been kind and generous with Marti. But not passionate like this.

Marti pulled back, flabbergasted.

“I haven't told you that in a long time,” Bob said, undaunted. “But it's true. It will always be true. I love you, and I always will love you. I'd give my life for you, Marti. Jesus said, ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God.' I want your heart no longer to be troubled. I want you to trust in God.”

Bob paused in his message of adoration just long enough for Christy to grab two of the deli sandwiches
and make her exit, saying she would check on Todd.

He was sitting in the living room by the window, reading one of the textbooks Christy had brought for him, along with a list of assignments from his professors.

“You wouldn't believe what's going on in there.” Christy settled in next to Todd and handed him a sandwich.

“Are they arguing again?”

“No, the opposite. Have they been arguing a lot while you've been here?”

“I couldn't sleep the other night because they were yelling so loud about who was right and who was wrong. Bob backed down, as he often does. He apologized, but it didn't settle anything.”

“Well, he's in the kitchen right now telling her he loves her and would give his life for her and quoting verses to her.”

Todd grinned. “Was the sermon on the book of Ephesians this morning?”

“No, baptism. Why?”

“Ephesians 5 says husbands are called to love their wives the way Christ loved the church and gave himself for her. You know, the way He gave His life for us. It talks about the husband washing his wife with the Word to make her clean.”

Christy stared at the unwrapped sandwich in her hand. “That's beautiful. And so poetic. But let me tell you, it's weird to watch.”

Todd laughed. “I don't think we're supposed to watch a husband as he washes his wife.”

The imagery of Todd's words stirred Christy. She felt herself blushing and turned away. They ate quietly while
she processed the concept of being washed clean and made presentable to God by His Word. The thought tied in with what the pastor had said that morning about baptism.