Retribution (38 page)
He cleared his throat. “Look, there's one more present.” He handed the box to Sandra.
“Who's it from, Bill? I've already unwrapped a present from everyone.”
“Just open it,” he murmured.
She pulled apart the blue snowman paper, exposed the tissue box, and chuckled. “I think I threw this box into the trash, Bill Iver.” As she removed the tissue her eyes softened.
Bill knelt beside her as she lifted out the small square box nested inside. He gently took the box from her hands and opened the lid, exposing the diamond ring he had chosen just for her. “Sandra, I am not good with words, you know that by now. But I love you with all of my heart. Will you marry me?”
The room's silence was broken only by the gentle sob from Trina and a cooing gurgle from David.
Jimmy looked from Bill to Sandra and back again.
“Bill Iver, I have loved you from the moment I first met you.”
Bill ran his thumb around his shirt collar. “So does that mean yes?”
Trina bounced on the couch. “Yes!”
“Yes!” Tears ran down Sandra's cheeks as Bill placed the ring on her left hand.
Jimmy pulled his eyebrows together and looked at Bill. “So are you still going to be my uncle?” he asked, “or are you going to be my grandpa, like David's?”
Bill pulled the boy to his side. “And what would you prefer me to be?”
“My grandpa. I have a grandma, but I never had a grandpa before.”
“Then grandpa, it is,” Bill stated, ruffling the boy's hair.
Trina grabbed Sandra. “I love you so much, and now you're
really
going to be my mom.” The women beamed at each other's tear-stained faces.
Ted clapped Bill on the shoulder. “About time, old man.”
With wrapping paper scattered over the floor in colorful heaps, he watched as the girls took turns admiring Sandra's newly adorned hand. His grandson and soon-to-be grandson added the childlike dimension of Christmas that felt so special. He knew that if houses had feelings the old homestead would be beaming with joy. A family reunited. A new generation living within its walls. Fresh starts.
Amid all the excitement and joy, he sensed heaviness. It belonged to Lillian. As she bounced the fussing David on her shoulder, with Paul at her feet and a smile brightening her face, her eyes spoke of a hidden sadness.
“Stop, stop!” Sandra held up her arms. “Listenâ¦I think I hear a phone ringing.”
As the chaos quieted, Lillian's face paled. “That's my phone.” She shifted the baby to Paul's hesitant arms.
Bill was certain that after she checked the caller ID, she hesitated to answer the phone.
~*~
Lillian glanced at the caller ID and her heart sank. Her father's cell phone number. He had refused to return her calls since she had moved in October. Even her mother's calls were short, claiming the time as inconvenient. Only her sister had remained on friendly terms, but could offer no advice on how to fix the fracture that existed with her family. Lillian didn't know where to begin when her parents rejected everything she believed in. As she pushed to answer the call, she walked toward the kitchen. “Hello.”
“Merry Christmas, Lillibelle.”
She squeezed her eyes closed as the tears formed. She had ached to hear her dad call her by her pet name, but why now? He no longer held the same affection for his oldest daughter that he had before she became a Christian and married a man he considered beneath her.
“Merry Christmas, Dad.” She waited for him to share why he had really called.
“Lillianâ¦I'm sorry how things ended between us at Thanksgiving.”
She leaned against the sink.
Was he really sorry, or was this another ploy to get his way, get her back home where he could use his power to revert her life back to what he felt it should be? He had manipulated her so many times before.
Her muscles tensed. She stiffened her resolve, and, at the same time, hated defending herself from her father.
“I have something to tell you that may surprise you,” he said.
She gripped the phone even tighter. “Dad, if you are going to argue with me again, I don't want to hear it. I love you, but I have to live my own life, and I'm doing a good job of it.”
“Lillian, Iâ”
“No, Dad, not this time. You'll have to hear me out.” She took a deep breath. “I am a Christian, a follower of Jesus. I don't judge the value of an individual by his job or education, but by his heart. Craig had a loving and giving heart, and so did my precious Susan. I lost them both because of my selfishness. But my decision to come here was the right one. My job is satisfying. I'm making a difference in young lives. And I have wonderful, supportive friends. They are good people, all of them. And there's a baby⦔ A sob escaped from her throat, the first of many emotions building within her.
“Your mom and I have been going to church.”
Was this some cruel joke? She sank into a kitchen chair.
“Did you hear me, honey?”
“You're going to church?” This was the last thing she expected to hear on Christmas day, or any other day for that matter.
“Pastor Cooper stopped by the Saturday after Thanksgiving. You remember him, don't you?”
“Of course I remember Pastor Cooper.” He had baptized her and buried Craig and Susan.
“Pastor Cooper said your mom and I had been on his mind since you moved south, and he felt led to give us a visit.” She could hear her father's breathing. “You know, honey, I got to thinking about what you said when you were home. None of our friends called us during the holiday. Not one. But this man who had only met us once felt compassion and stopped by. He invited us to church the next day, and we decided to go. His sermon was different. The music was different. The peopleâthey seemed actually happy to be there. In church. Imagine.”
Lillian heard him chuckle as her own mouth hung open.
“Your mom and I were overdressed, but we felt welcome.”
He paused and she knew she should say something, but her mind whirled. Nothing could have surprised her more even if he had told her little green men were walking all over his yard. She took a deep breath. “I'm glad you went, Dad. Pastor Cooper is a godly man.”
“We went back the next Sunday, and the next. We haven't missed a Sunday since Thanksgiving. And we're attending a Bible study on Wednesday nights at one of the church member's homes.”
“I don't know what to say.” She had been praying so long for them.
“You don't need to say anything, just accept my apology for being narrow-minded and short-tempered. I am truly working to change, Lillibelle. It won't happen overnight, but if this Jesus is Who I think He is, then your mom and I are in it through the home stretch.”
“Lillian, honey, this is Mom. I miss you.”
“Mom⦔ Her voice caught in her throat.
“What your dad said is true, sweetheart. Most of our friends don't understand, but we are making some great new friends.”
“Mom. Dad. I'm so happy. I'm just overwhelmed right now.”
“I bet this is the last thing you expected on Christmas day,” her dad said. “We're planning a visit. We want to meet these friends of yours. Can we stay at your bed and breakfast?”
“You're taking time off work?”
“Amazing, isn't it? I think I need to use some of those weeks of vacation I've been stock-piling for the last twenty years.”
Her face stretched into a smile so broad that her cheeks hurt.
Her parents were going to church! They wanted to come to see her instead of taking her dad's rare time off to go to Europe or some other exotic vacation spot.
“There's plenty of room here. Just give me the dates and I'll reserve you a place.” She wanted to jump up and down right there in the kitchen.
“How about tonight?”
“Tonight?”
“We're sitting out in the drivewayâ”
She dropped the phone and ran to the front entry. She flung the door open. Her dad and mom stood on the porch. Sobbing, she wrapped her arms around her parents and pulled them close.
“Lillian?” Trina stood in the doorway. “Is everything all right?”
Trina and Ted, with David now in Sandra's arms, stood in the door of the parlor.
Jimmy peeked around the doorframe.
Paul and Bill had moved close behind Trina and Ted.
All her friends. She beamed, showering her joy on them. “Everyone, these are my parents. Mom and Dad, these are the best friends anyone could ever have.”
“Hey, don't stand out there in the cold. Come on in,” Trina said. “Have you had anything to eat?”
Ted reached for David as Trina and Sandra headed toward the kitchen.
Lillian grabbed Paul's hand. “Mom and Dad, I want you to meet a special friend of mine, Paul Studler.” She waited for the expression on her parents' faces and wasn't disappointed. “Yes, that really is his last name, and I wouldn't change it for anything.” She turned and gave the red-faced man a long look.
“You two have any luggage you need to bring in?” Bill asked. “I'm Trina's dad, and serve as the bellhop around here.”
As Bill and her dad headed back outside, Lillian reached for the baby.
Ted lowered his sleeping son into her arms. She gazed at his peaceful face, his mouth pursed in a soft circle, eyes twitching beneath pale eyelids. “And this is David,” she murmured, not removing her gaze from his face. “I delivered him.” She looked at her mother and smiled. “I'm officially his auntie.”
“May I?” her mother asked.
Ted nodded in approval.
Mrs. Goodson slipped out of her jacket and handed it to her husband. She cradled the child to her chest. “There is nothing like a baby. Somehow they make everything right.” A tear trickled down her perfectly made-up face. “I miss Susan.”
A knot rose in Lillian's throat. During Susan's short life, her mom had hardly acknowledged the child as her granddaughter. But love had a way of growing.
“Your father is not the only one who has a lot to be forgiven for. If only we could start over.”
“We can't start over, Mom, but we can start again.”
Trina's footsteps moved toward them. “I have food on the table. Come and eat!”
Still holding the baby, Martha Goodson followed the others to the dining room.
The men returned from outside, laughing and patting each other on the shoulders.
Jimmy grabbed Bill's hand and walked with them.
Only Lillian and Paul remained in the foyer. “I hope you meant it when you called me your special friend.” His eyes softened as he stared into hers. “I would like to be more than friends, when you're ready.”
Reaching up, she took hold of the back of his neck. She met his lips with hers. Arms wrapped around bodies as the kiss lengthened. She sighed as they parted. “I plan on that being the first of many.”
Hand-in-hand, they walked into the dining room amid a jumble of laughter and talk.
She looked at her parents and the people she had learned to love. Six weeks ago, she had promised retribution for her sins. God had taken those sins and made something good come from them, just as He had promised.
David gave a couple of good grunts and the air in the room turned foul.
“Give him to me,” Lillian said, reaching for the baby. “I'll do diaper duty this time.” Lillian smiled down at her little bundle. Life would not be without challenges, but God remained in control.
Thank youâ¦
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