It was quiet in the car as we drove away from Crissay Sur-Manse and Anya’s home. By my wristwatch, our visit had lasted about two and a half hours. In a way it seemed like time had stood still. Lex lay on the seat in the back but no longer grunted at every bump in the road. Sky’s face appeared lit from within by the joy of composing. He had bought the hammer dulcimer from Anya and couldn’t wait to hire a pro to make the song he wrote sound as wonderful as what he heard in his head.
As for me, I had lots to ponder. I could stay buried under the pain of Sky’s past or I could let God carry it. Good idea since it was crushing me. I studied Sky’s handsome profile. He looked tired and there were dark circles beneath his eyes. The same hunted, haunted expression had stared back at me in the mirror that morning.
I pondered the scene of my last few moments with Anya.
She wiped the dirt from her hands onto her apron. A frown creased her forehead. “I must say a bit of what is in my heart. I see you and your husband surrounded by swirling storm. You hold tight to each ozer but zee battle is fierce to sever zat hold. You have a sword in your hand, but its point rests on zee ground. You have power to stop zee assault but you are not trained.”
“But I thought God wouldn’t give me more than I can handle?” I responded.
Anya rolled her eyes. “Zat is a lie many misquote and hold up against God. Zee scripture never says God will make life easy for us. Christ tells us, ‘In zese world you will have tribulation.’ But He also says, “Be of good cheer for I have overcome zee world.” He promises to provide shelter in zee storm and ‘strength to help in time of need.’” (No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. I Cor. 10:13 NIV)
I had begun to think Anya was never flustered, but this subject brought a flush of anger to her cheek. “His strength is perfected in weakness because zees is when we realize we are not capable of anything weseout Heem.” Her French accent intensified with emotion. “It is Hees power, Hees love, Hees holiness zat is ours to receive. To sink power is from us is to return to zee witchcraft. We must realize it is not we who destroy evil plans but Christ in us.” She flicked her hands as if shooing away a fly. “Pssssh! To believe we can handle our challenges? We can more likely stop a locomotive by pushing weese bare hands, no?”
“But you have a definite advantage,” I had countered. “All this ‘I see things’ and ‘I am con-nec-ted.’”
Anya smiled at my imitation of her accent and expressive hands.
“Seriously,” I continued. “It’s an unfair advantage.”
Anya fixed me with her unwavering gaze. “If zees is a gift you are needing, no one is keeping you from asking ze Father for it.” Her eyes narrowed. “In fact, you have already a touch of zese gift, no?”
Before I could deny what she said, I recalled the scene at Princess Diana’s party when I had glimpsed the pain of those in the room. “Um, I guess so.”
“Zat is a gift. Sank zee Father and trust Hees wisdom. He knows what you need.”
~~
“Thank the Father. He knows what you need,” I mumbled as I stared at glorious vistas etched with vineyards and hilltop chateaus scrolling past the car window.
“What’s that?” Sky turned to me as if surprised to find me there.
I grinned. “We’ve both got a lot on our mind, huh?”
He studied my face. “That visit seems to have done you a world of good.”
“And you,” I reached to rub his shoulder. “It was fun to see you in creative mode.”
“I wondered how long it was going to be until I saw a real smile again.” He stole a sidelong glance. “Or until you touched me.”
I froze.
“Sorry,” he paused. “I’m just glad you made a new friend. And I know you love being outside.”
“Anya is wonderful.”
“I half expected to catch you stirring a big black pot and tossing in eye of newt,” he teased.
I shared a bit of Anya’s background with him.
“Hmmm. I suppose she would have a spiritual advantage having switched teams so to speak.”
“She said she sees danger in our lives.” I described Anya’s vision of us in the storm. I snuck a peek at Lex who appeared to be in deep sleep once more. “I never told you what happened, what I saw, the night we met Princess Diana.”
I filled Sky in about the vision of that evening’s glitterati revealed as starved, dying and suffering. “It was such a shock it made me sick. Luckily I made it to the Ladies’ lounge in time. I was so nauseous.”
“That’s been happening a lot,” Sky mused. “We’re probably taking a break just in time.”
“Point is, I have never seen anything like that before. There was no warning, nothing. Just Bam! There it was.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Well, it was crazy. I couldn’t believe it. How could I expect you to?”
“And ever since then, we’ve hardly had a moment to call our own. Seems like God should have included an instruction booklet with the vision. I mean, what do you make of it?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. In a way it’s been comforting. Good to know other people suffer even if they look like they’ve got it together.”
“Only because they’ve become good at lying. Please don’t ever develop that talent. I’d rather know when you hurt.” He reached for my hand. “Again, I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
“I know,” I tried to smile. “But the imagination goes crazy. Wish I could turn off my mind until I’m better.”
I looked out the window. How long would pain no one can see continue? Did time really heal all wounds? Or did it just poke down the poison to fester in the dark like Anya said?
“I feel horrible. You were sick and I drug you along to party with Paris thugs,” Sky noted with a roll of his eyes.
“I was okay. There was the sweetest little lady who helped me in the bathroom after I was sick. I tried to see where she went when I came out since I wanted to thank her, but she was gone.”
Lex made a sort of growling noise. “I told you, nobody came out and nobody went in on my watch.”
I turned to Lex who still reclined with his eyes closed. “That’s the last time I assume you’re asleep.”
“Tryin’ to give you two lovebirds time to work out your troubles. But I gotta speak up when you’re just flat blind.” He opened one eye. “You said she was in blue, kinda dressed like the hired help?”
I nodded.
“But she spoke English?”
“Not a trace of accent as I recall,” I supplied.
“How old did she look?”
“I’d say at least seventy.”
“And that doesn’t seem odd.”
“Look, there was lots going on,” I defended. “All eyes were on Princess Diana more than the hired help.”
“Well I noticed ‘em,” Lex continued. “Not a one over forty and all very French.”
“So you’re saying I imagined her?”
Lex spoke slowly as if explaining to a child. “What I’m sayin’ is, when the facts add up to somethin’ that don’t seem possible, then the impossible may be the only explanation.”
“Well she wasn’t a ghost. That cherry antacid was real enough.”
Lex shifted impatiently and grunted with pain. “You been in church all your life, right?”
I nodded.
“Don’t they teach you nuthin’?”
“Hey!”
“Aw, don’t get mad. Listen. You read the Bible, right?”
“Of course.”
“Well all through the Bible God has Heavenly messengers workin’ for him.”
“So you think she was an angel?”
“Did she say anything to ya?”
“Well, yeah. She said, ‘God is with you, especially in such a time as this.’”
“So,” Lex summed up, “she had what you needed, was in a form that made you feel safe, used words from the book of Esther, then disappeared without a trace. That’s one heckuvalot of coincidence if ya ask me.”
“You’re saying an angel visited me in the form of a seventy-year-old maid.”
“I’m sayin’,” Lex gave me the schoolteacher-over-spectacles stare, “God must think what y’all are goin’ through is important and He wants you to know He’s with you.”
With that, Lex resettled to rest, mumbling under his breath. “Don’t recognize no angel when it’s right in your face.”
I winked at Sky and whispered, “He just can’t admit a little old lady walked away right under his nose.”
“Hey now,” Lex responded, “I see and hear just fine. You two hold it down up there so a man can rest.”
“Can’t believe I’m paying you to sleep all day,” Sky teased. “Fat lot of good you’ll do if we need a bodyguard.”
“Don’t you be fooled by no cracked ribs. A wounded Marine is better than five men in their prime,” Lex boasted. “Just need that 100,000 mile tune-up and I’ll be right as rain.”
“Good. I don’t have time to break in a new bodyguard,” Sky looked in the rearview mirror with a grin. “Finally getting used to your quirks.”
“How long have you been with Sky?” I asked.
“Just over five years now. Hooey! You shoulda seen the mess this boy was back then. On top o’ the world and carryin’ the weight of it all at the same time.”
“That was about the same time Wally and James began to travel with me,” Sky gripped the wheel harder and shifted with impatience.
“That helped, but I didn’t see nuthin’ affect you like meetin’ this gal here,” Lex nodded toward me. “Messed you up and helped get your head on straight all at the same time.”
“Hey now,” the fun was back in Sky’s tone, “Loose lips sink ships.”
“Now I been good all these years, keepin’ my opinion to myself. We both know I won’t be workin’ for you so it’s time to speak like a friend.
“What that gal saw back there is right on track. You’re in a storm. There’s lotsa evil around you. Some of it I understand, some I don’t. Just know, if you ever need a friend, if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.”
I reached back to grasp Lex’s hand.
“And I have a feelin’ you better get used to unexpected characters crossin’ your path ‘cause if I sense you’re in danger, I’m gonna send angels to help. That’s somethin’ they taught me in church.”
“Who knows,” I replied, “Maybe you’ll help even more doing that than you would standing close by scowling at everybody.” I grinned. “Come on. Show me the face. Scare me.”
Lex’s eyes grew hard as flint.
“That’s it. There’s the Lex we know and love.”
But Lex wasn’t through with the persona. “Now you. Scoot on over there next to your husband. Don’t make me come up there!” A grin tugged at his lips.
“Sir! Yes, sir!” I slid over obediently. Sky’s arm rested around my shoulder and pulled me tight against his side.
“Now that’s more like it,” Lex announced. In the rearview mirror I watched as he settled down to rest once more. “If folks are gonna be newlyweds they darn well oughta act like it,” he grumbled.
I laughed but his words struck a chord of truth. For a couple days, I had not been acting like a newlywed and I sure hadn’t even felt like one. I reached for Sky’s hand on my shoulder. Though my heart hurt, our hands still fit together and my head still nestled perfectly against his chest.
~~
My thoughts drifted back to Anya, beneath her peach tree, nestled by sounds of nature and surrounded by vistas that made me feel I visiting a fairy tale.
“All you have told me makes me want to keep you here, to take care of you, help you to heal. But zat is not my place. However, it is my place to help you accept a precious gift.”
I waited as Anya raised her face to a breeze. She nodded as if the wind brought encouragement for what she felt compelled to say. “You are in a place of hurt. But zere is not time to stay in hurt. You are in pain for actions you could not control. However, you have choice and responsibility. Zere is one who drinks of your pain. One who hears your heart beat. One who is affected by your emotions as zey get a first taste of life.”
I stared at the half-eaten peach in my hand as her meaning dawned in my heart. “Are you saying I’m… ”
Anya’s eyes lit with joy. She nodded.
~~
I leaned against Sky, one hand resting on my stomach. The thought of life growing within me was both marvelous and frightening. I would, of course, confirm Anya’s words with a pregnancy test, but what she said made sense. It was just very strange timing for new life and tragedy to hit at the same time.
Or was it? If there really was a spiritual battle going on—something I fully believed—wouldn’t the side intent on evil want to poison the conception of a child born to parents who loved God and loved each other?
Sky kissed the top of my head. “We have about an hour, I think, until we reach Lex’s relatives. Hand me that map?”
Sky peeked at the map and asked me to confirm the name of a couple roads. About every five miles we would pass through another quaint, ancient-looking village. Each had their own personality, some a cluster of pointy roofs, some walled and built around a chateau. All were ablaze with glorious blossoms. I soon gave up trying to decide which was my favorite. I could understand why the Loire Valley had been home to so many members of royalty. Since it was almost always blooming and fertile it was the perfect dwelling for those used to ease and plenty.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Sky noted as we watched the play of sunbeams through clouds. “Perhaps we could have a home here.”
It was a delicious thought, but already priorities were realigning. “It is gorgeous. But I think, if we’re not traveling, we’ll want to live close to family, don’t you?”
“Within reason,” Sky conceded. “But when at home, I’m going to want you all to myself.”
“Within reason,” I mimicked. I attempted a broad hint. “When we have a family we’ll want to be close to grandparents, right?”
“Of course. When that’s an issue I’ll be open-minded. For now, we need to get used to being married.”
I bit my lip. Not a very encouraging response. “Um, next town we come to, let’s stop at a drugstore, okay? I need a couple things.”
The little shop had about four aisles. Hopefully the item I sought would have telltale pictures on the package to clue me in. Aha! I reached for a likely green box. The clerk might have grossly over-charged me, but my mind was racing with possibilities. I tucked the bag in my purse, thanked the non-friendly clerk and slid back into the waiting car.
Next stop: Lex’s family’s Bed & Breakfast.
Plus, the answer to a life-changing question.