Early Sunday morning, Liv’s courtyard circuit stalled in front of Cottage Three. The aquamarine on its front door all but reached out and smacked her. Samantha had been right. The color had to go. Today.
She whispered, “Lord, have mercy.”
It was the easiest prayer in the universe, easier than saying thanks or admitting need or letting someone off the hook. Since the awful incident months and months ago, those words had been the only prayer she could come up with when passing it. Wasn’t it time for something different?
Of course she’d already prayed over the work to be done, for creativity and safety for those involved. She had prayed for the boy who had briefly lived in it. She had prayed for the perpetrators. May they all know God’s mercy.
But could it be time for the other prayers, the ones that opened her heart to usher someone new into the fold?
She waited, quiet for a moment.
Nothing came to her.
She shook her head. Nope. It was too soon. Or she was too old.
Or Jasmyn’s exit was too much to bear.
Oh, dear. She was not herself. Not herself at all.
“Wretched heart attack.”
She pulled keys from her pocket, unlocked the door, and entered.
The interior’s appearance had changed drastically, thanks to Beau. He had scrubbed down the walls and removed all the kitchen cabinet doors. There were white spots on the hardwood floors, as if he’d bleached them. He’d probably needed to use extreme measures.
Her heart, with its wretched damage, sank. The work was going to be far more involved than she had imagined. She felt overwhelmed.
“Liv.” Jasmyn stepped inside, her eyes wide in alarm. “Are you all right? You’re rubbing your chest.”
Liv glanced down at her hand and lowered it. “I don’t know why I do that. I’m fine. Just fine. Well, except for…” She gestured and sighed. “All this.”
Jasmyn grasped Liv’s hands between hers and held them tightly. “Liv, if this stresses you out, maybe you shouldn’t come in here. Let Beau work. You know he’s good. It’s wonderful you’re feeling up to taking charge again, but you don’t have to do it all.”
She took a shaky breath. “Growing old is for the birds.”
Jasmyn dropped her hands and gave her a quick hug. “Think of it as a vacation.”
“A permanent one?”
“You need some cheese and crackers to go with that whine.”
“Well, aren’t we the feisty one this morning?”
“Somebody has to do it.”
“Especially when someone else is having a moment?”
“Exactly.” She nudged Liv toward the door and they went outside. “I was wondering if I could go to church with you this morning.”
Liv turned to shut and lock the door, hiding what must be a dumbfounded expression. “I hadn’t planned on going.”
“I know. What’s up with that, anyway?”
Liv opened her mouth to speak but didn’t have a real reply, except for the standby that was probably becoming overused. She turned and said it anyway. “Heart attack?”
Jasmyn’s eyebrows rose, but she didn’t voice what she was probably thinking, that Liv’s excuse for everything was indeed overused.
“Okay,” Jasmyn said. “I thought maybe you’d stopped talking to God.”
“Really? Goodness gracious, no. You do realize I think the Holy Presence is everywhere, not just in church.”
“I do, but you like your church, right? Don’t you feel well enough by now?”
“But I can’t drive yet.” Actually, the doctor had said she could, but the thought of possibly losing control behind the wheel frightened her to no end.
“Your friends offered to pick you up, Liv. Remember, I was there when you turned them down. Maybe it’s the control issue again. Or having a hard time asking for help.”
Jasmyn certainly was on a roll.
“The thing is, when I sat in that church on the reservation with Nova, I remembered that I liked going to Sunday school. I usually felt, I don’t know, quiet. Deep inside.”
Liv had heard the story about the small-town church in Valley Oaks and how Jasmyn’s grandmother had gotten her feelings hurt and quit going.
“This is my last day, you know.”
Liv shook her head. Several days ago she had announced it was best if she played ostrich and buried her head in the sand. “We are not to talk of that.”
“That was your idea. I decided I’d rather not pretend. I’d rather embrace the moment. So, what do you say? Are you up for it?”
“Oh, Jasmyn, dear. I just don’t want you to be disappointed. We’re all so old at Seaside Village Grace. You might like Noah’s church better. It’s full of young people and they sing contemporary music. I’m sure he’d be more than happy to…”
Jasmyn’s face fell, literally. Liv had no idea such sadness could be expressed in the slight shift of skin.
Fiddlesticks! What on earth was she thinking? This surrogate daughter whom Liv had begged for stood right there before her, graciously putting the kibosh on a silly woman’s whining, asking to take that woman to church and not wanting to miss their final hours together.
This is sheer love, Liv. Why can’t you accept it?
At the blast of clarity, she nearly plopped down into the aquamarine chair in front of the aquamarine door.
Instead, she straightened her shoulders and cleared her throat. “I have missed church. By the way, I always swing by the donut shop and pick up a couple dozen glazed—”
“Olivia McAlister.” Jasmyn smiled. “That is not going to happen. I’m sure everyone will be happy to see you even without donuts.”