Say Yes (2 page)

            “With you? 
Like, what, like a date or somethin’?” I laughed. It was hilarious to me that
someone like Luke Beckett, the quarterback of our high school football team,
would ever go for a plain Jane girl like me.

            “Naw, I
gave up hope on you a while ago,” he said, a laugh escaping him, and it almost
sounded like there was a touch of sadness behind it. “Just as friends on your
last night in Glenbrook. Daisy and Jack will be there too. What do you say?” He
held out his hand, smiling while his ice blue eyes bore into me.

            “Sure,
okay.  Sounds like fun.  You gonna win me a stuffed animal I can take with me?”

            “Just one?
I bet I can win you a hundred of ‘em.  I am a quarterback you know, so rumor
has it I have a good arm,” Luke said, taking my hand and leading me off my
front porch down the road.

            “Please fasten
your seatbelts as we make our decent into Saint Mary’s Airport.  We hope you
have had a pleasant flight, and thank you for flying with Omega Airlines,” the
friendly flight attendant said over the speakers.  I sat up in my seat.  Holy
shit, we’re here already? I must have been tired to sleep through most of the
flight.  My stomach growled.  Because of the previous evening’s festivities, I had
passed on breakfast, and now I had slept through lunch.  Daddy’s barbecue
turkey sounded downright mouth-watering right now.  Ugh, I felt groggy from my
nap.  I yawned and stretched my stiff arms out.  Did I just dream about Luke
Beckett?  That dream…it was odd.  Well…the dream wasn’t odd, but the timing of
it was.  Of
course
I would dream of that night before I left home as I
was coming back to it. I shook my head and sighed, shaking off my trip down
memory lane. It’s been eleven years since I have seen him. Luke probably
doesn’t even live in Glenbrook anymore.

            After safely
landing, I got off the plane and took my first step on Georgia soil in eleven
years.  I took a deep breath.  The air still smelled the same, it was
comforting.  I immediately felt at ease, which was a little unsettling. I
started to walk toward the baggage claim, turning on my cell phone and
preparing to check my messages. But, before I could do that, in the distance, I
heard a high pitched voice squealing, “Oh, honey, look, there she is!  She’s
here!  Lilly!”

            I looked to
the left and saw my baby sister Violet smiling and waving, with a very handsome
man standing next to her, his arm wrapped around her waist.  I assumed it was
her fiancée.  At this point, I had never met him.  I quickly walked over to
her.  “Oh my goodness, Violet, hi!” I said, surprised.  I wasn’t expecting
anyone to meet me when I got off the plane. 

            “Oh, Lilly,
I’m so glad you are finally here!  My wedding will be perfect now, everything
is just perfect,” she said, stepping away from Mr. Handsome and pulling me into
a tight hug.  “I’ve missed you so much!”

            I hugged her
back, and in that moment, I realized how long it had really been since I had
seen her. I had obviously seen her when the family would fly to California to visit
me, but the last time I was in Glenbrook, she was only eleven years old.  I
pulled back and looked at her.  She was so beautiful.  Still the same long
blonde hair, but lighter than the last time I had seen her.  Same big blue
eyes, same sweet smile, same energetic personality.  We looked absolutely
nothing alike.  I looked just like Daddy, and Violet looked just like our mom. 
Daisy, my middle sister, was the perfect mix between both my parents with
Daddy’s dark hair and Mama’s blue eyes.  I had dark hair, jade green eyes, and
was a little thicker and curvier than she was. Violet looked like a model.  I
suddenly felt a tad self conscious.  Anyone meeting her the first time would
think she was either the head cheerleader or the homecoming queen when she was
in high school.  And they would be right.  And now, she really had seemed to
have it all, including a huge rock on her left ring finger and a handsome
husband-to-be.  “Vi, I have missed you too. Look at you, you are stunning!” I
said, taking her left hand into both of mine.  “Ooh, this must be the ring!
Wow, look at this thing, its breathtaking!”

            Mr. Handsome
smiled, and said, “No,
she
is breathtaking. This ring pales in
comparison.”

            Violet smiled
at him for a brief moment, and turned back to me.  “Oh, I’m so sorry, where are
my manners? Evan, this is my sister Lilly Harrington, the big fancy chef from
California,” she said, still beaming at me.  “And Lil,
this…,”
she said,
snaking her arm around his waist, “…is my Evan.” Violet looked up at Evan
adoringly, and he widely smiled back.  Great, now I’m smiling.  It was
impossible not to instantly get caught up in their joy.

            I extended my
hand to him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Evan,” I said.

He
took my hand in his, and smiling, he pulled me into a warm hug.  “No need for
handshakes, we’re family now,” he said, and released me from the hug, still
holding my hand. “And the pleasure’s all mine, Lilly.  I’m Evan Sanderson. 
Violet has been talking of nothing but you for weeks.  I am so glad to finally
get the chance to meet you.  You are pretty famous around here.”  I have never
been greeted by someone for the first time like that before.  Looking at him
now, I can see why Violet is crazy in love with him.  Sandy blonde hair, blue
eyes, and wide, killer smile. Wow, this guy seems incredible.

I
looked at Violet, who was still beaming, and said, “Wow, you know what? I don’t
even know what to say after that, thank you! That was very sweet.”

“Isn’t
he?  Lilly, I am so, so happy you are here.  Everything feels just so perfect,”
Violet said. 

“I’m
happy to be here too. I wasn’t expecting a welcoming party the minute I got off
the plane. This is such a nice surprise,” I said.

“Oh,
it was actually Evan’s idea.  I needed a break from the wedding plans, and Evan
wasn’t on call today, so we took a little road trip, and now here we are,”
replied Violet, as we started walking toward the baggage claim.

            “On call?” I
asked.

            “Yes, I’m a
physician at Glenbrook General.  Your father introduced us,” exclaimed Evan. 
My father was a nephrologist and had been there for almost forty years.

            “Oh, wow,
you’re a doctor. How exciting,” I said, and looked at Violet, giving her a
quick wink. “What kind of doctor are you?”

            “I’m an
obstetrician.”

            “So you get to
deliver babies every day?  Very cool,” I said.

            “Thank you,
Lilly.  I love what I do.  I am actually in the process of opening a practice
with two colleagues of mine.  We are about halfway through construction.”

            “Oh, that’s
great.  It’s nice to have the opportunity to go out on your own
professionally.  I’ll admit I have thought about opening my own restaurant on
occasion,” I confess.  Of course, I had never admitted that to my friends in
California.  I had never even said that out loud until just now.

            Violet clapped
her hands together loudly. “Oh, Lilly, that would be so great!  You know,” she
said, quickly changing the tone in her voice, “if you were to, ya know,
move
back home, I’ll bet Evan’s contractor could give you a great deal, with you
being family and all.”  She looked right at me, with a mischievous twinkle in
her eye.  Of course she would be talking about me moving back here.  I’ve been
back for all of fifteen minutes.

            Evan chuckled
at her.  “Sweetie, let’s let her be here for more than an hour before you try holding
her hostage,” he joked, picking up my suitcases before I could grab them.

            Violet smiled
back at him. “Hey, I am honest about what I want, and that is why you love me,
mister.”

            “I do,” he
replied, kissing her lightly on the lips.  “We should probably start heading
back to Glenbrook, your mother is probably on pins and needles waiting for you
two.”

            “You’re
right.  Let’s go,” I replied, and followed Violet and Evan out of the airport
to his car.

            The drive to
Glenbrook was smooth, and pleasant. Upon getting to know more about Evan, I
learned that he is originally from Valdosta, which isn’t far from our little
town.  His mother died of breast cancer when he was six years old, and was
raised by his father, who stayed single all while Evan was growing up, and he
finally got remarried after Evan graduated from medical school.  He also spent
a year after he got his medical license in Chile helping to build a birthing
center for women who did not have access to regular healthcare.  He also does
volunteer work, gives to charity, and during the holidays he dresses up in
costume with one of his best friends (who is the pediatrician in town) and goes
to the pediatric ward of the hospitals in the surrounding counties to cheer up
sick children and their families.  Violet has truly found a terrific man, and I
couldn’t be happier for my sister.

            When we pulled
up to the driveway of my childhood home and I looked at our huge wraparound
front porch, another memory from the night before I left flashed in my mind…     

            “Well,
Luke, I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I had a lot of fun with you
tonight,” I said, holding onto my giant brown teddy bear with a blue bow around
its neck in one arm, and three stuffed bunnies in the other. 

            “You say
that like you’re surprised or somethin’, Lil.  That hurts,” Luke said, smiling
as we stepped up on my front porch. Just as I set my stuffed animals down on
the swing, he took hold of my hand and sighed. I was surprised that his skin
felt hot against mine. “I still can’t believe you are leaving tomorrow.  Ha,
you’re such a nerd. Who starts college a week after graduating high school?”

            “This girl
does. Besides, I don’t know why you care so much.  We never really became any
kind of friends until Jack started dating Daisy, and then you were always
hanging around here with him all the time. You only talked to me because you
had to,” I said.

            Luke looked
right into eyes, a little stunned. “Is that why you think I was hanging around
here so much?”  He was looking at me like I had three heads.

            “Well,
yeah, I guess I do. Wait, are you mad at me?”

            “No, I’m
not mad, just...yeah, I guess I am mad. Are you really that blind?” Luke said,
frustration dripping off his words.

            “What does
that mean?  What is your problem?” I answer back.

            Luke
clenched his jaw and he took a deep breath.  He seemed to be choosing his words
carefully.  “Lilly, I started coming over with Jack because when he told me he
had a thing for Daisy, I thought if I came along…that I’d get to see you.  I would
sit here on the couch, staring at the TV, sometimes for hours while they
flirted and kissed, which was
disgusting
by the way, just in case you might walk into the room and I’d get to see you
for five minutes.  I just…oh man, are you really gonna make me say it?”  He
paused for a long moment.  “I am in love with you, Lilly.”

            I just
stared at him.  I couldn’t speak. Luke Beckett was in
love
with me?  Jesus, I really was blind. I just
thought he was a flirt…I mean, I’d seen him be this way with other girls at
school all the time. My scalp started to tingle and my face suddenly felt like
it was going to catch fire. “Luke, I…don’t know…” I couldn’t speak.

            “Well, I
guess it doesn’t matter now anymore does it?  I’m out of time. But…there is
just one thing I have to do before you go.”

            I gulped. “W-w-w-what’s
that?” I stammered, my hands shaking.

            He took a
step closer to me, so that we were only inches apart, and before I can think,
he leaned down and kissed me…

            Violet leaned
over in her seat and honked the horn three times. “Hey y’all, we’re home!” she
shouted, and opened the car door before Evan can turn off the engine.

            I shook my
head to try and forget that memory.  I haven’t thought about Luke in years, and
now I have thought about him twice just on my way home.  I had to get a grip on
myself.  I opened the car door, and saw behind me that Evan and Violet were
getting my bags from the trunk.  Wow, with service like this you’d think I was
a queen or something.  Just then, my parents walked out onto the porch of our
home.  It looked exactly the same as it did when I left.  And so did Mama. 
Blonde hair, blue eyes, delicate features…my mother was just beautiful.  She
held her arms out for me. “Lilly, come here and give me a hug!”

            I jogged up
the steps and into my mother’s waiting arms.  I took a deep breath and
instantly I felt home.  She still smelled the same, like her favorite perfume.
“Hey, Mama,” was all I could say.

            “My baby
girl,” she crooned. “Oh, honey, I’m so happy you are here.  It’s been much,
much
too long,” she said.  She held out my arms and looked at me up and down. 
“Lilly, look at you!  You look so beautiful! So sophisticated!” I smiled back
at her. Looking to my father, she asked, “Calvin, isn’t she beautiful?”

I
looked at my Dad, and he smiled at me.  “Of course she is, Rosalind, she’s a
Harrington.  So, do I get a hug or what?”

            I smiled
brightly and wrapped my arms around his neck.  I breathed in his scent, and he
also smelled the same as always.  His best cologne and a hint of spearmint
mouthwash.  “Oh Daddy, I have missed you so much.”  I pulled away from the hug
and looked at both of them.  “You both look great, seems quiet country life is
still agreeing with you.”

            “So it seems. 
Well, come on in darlin’, I believe we have some catching up to do!  Dinner’s waiting
for us inside, and I hope you’re hungry.  You’re Mama’s been cookin’ up a storm
in that kitchen for almost two days,” Daddy said, winking at me.  “So, how was
your flight?” he asked, and we walked arm in arm inside the house.

            “Well, shorter
than I expected, I guess. I slept through most of it.”

            “Did you not
get enough sleep last night?” he asked with a furrowed brow, like only a
concerned father would.

            “Well, some
friends and I went out for dinner last night, and we stayed out a tad late,” I
said, remembering just then the image of Tara doing shots off a cute bartender’s
stomach.  I smiled at the memory, and my Dad smiled back at me, knowing I was
thinking about something I probably wouldn’t be repeating in dinner
conversation.  “Where’s Daisy?”

            “She’s should
be here soon.  She had to cover for another nurse whose kid was sick, but
she’ll be here any minute. I think she said she was picking up a bottle of
wine,” he said, smiling.  I smiled back, remembering that Daisy had become a
nurse, and how strange that still seemed to me.  Now that I thought about it, I
think Violet and I were only members of the family that didn’t go into
medicine.  I was the big Cali chef, and Violet just started her first year as a
kindergarten teacher.  My dad was a nephrologist, Daisy was a nurse, my mom had
been a nurse before she retired, and now I am getting a brother in law that was
an obstetrician.  Daddy put his arm around me, and led me inside the house.