Chapter 24
It was a few weeks later, the day of Lucy’s graduation ceremony, and Jesse was about to meet Lucy’s family for the first time.
He was a nervous wreck. Lucy had told him that her mother was kind, if a bit high maintenance.
Her family was fairly well off, and Mrs. Westbook apparently enjoyed the finer things in life, such as designer clothes, handbags, and jewelry.
Jesse couldn’t help but be self-conscious about the ring he had gotten for Lucy.
Her mother probably wouldn’t approve of the simple ring with such a small stone, but it was all he could afford.
Lucy told Jesse that, though her father complained about her mother’s spending habits, he loved her dearly and seemed to genuinely enjoy indulging her.
Jesse was dressed in a suit and tie that he had bought from a local thrift store.
He wiped his sweaty palms on his dress pants as he made his way across the lush lawn of Gettysburg College where Lucy’s graduation would take place and where he would meet his future in-laws.
His heart leapt when he saw Lucy dressed in her cap and gown.
She looked so beautiful and he was so proud of her for all her hard work at school.
How was it possible that a woman so smart and so lovely could have fallen for a guy like him?
“Jesse!” she happily called to him when she saw his approach.
Her mother and father turned to look at him, as did her older brother and younger sister. Jesse’s throat went dry as he shakily walked toward them.
Jesse glanced at her family, then back at Lucy. She smiled reassuringly at him, then said, “Mom, Dad, this is Jesse Spenser.” He relaxed slightly when he heard the love and pride in her voice when she spoke his name. “My fiancé.”
Jesse couldn’t help but grin, as that was the first time he’d heard her say the word “fiancé” out loud.
“Nice to meet you, Jesse,” her father said, extending his hand to shake Jesse’s.
Jesse firmly shook the man’s hand and said, “Sir.” He bowed slightly to her mother and said, “Ma’am.”
Jesse’s mother had been scrutinizing him pretty carefully, but she smiled softly when he called her Ma’am. He knew his Southern charm was one of his strengths.
“So nice to meet you finally. I’m Caroline, and this is my husband, Kurt. And our son, David, and daughter Alison.”
David, an older man who had Lucy’s brown eyes but was much taller than her, stuck out his hand and pumped Jesse’s eagerly. “Nice to meet ya.”
“Hi, Jesse,” Alison, Lucy’s high-school-aged sister, said shyly. She had her father’s blue eyes and seemed to have some of Lucy’s natural shyness.
“Nice to meet ya, miss,” Jesse said with a smile.
Alison blushed. Oh, yeah. She’s Lucy’s sister, all right.
“I’m sorry to leave you all, but I better get going. They’re going to start soon,” Lucy said. She put her arms around Jesse and kissed him. “I’ll see you soon, okay?”
Lucy looked worried that she was leaving him alone with her family, but he grinned at her and said, “Okay, darlin’. I’ll be cheerin’ for ya!”
The second Lucy was out of earshot, David snarled at Jesse, “What is wrong with you? Asking Lucy to marry you before her own family has even met you!”
Jesse stared at him, having no idea what to say. The silence was horrifying.
David burst out laughing, then punched Jesse on the shoulder. “Sorry man, I just hadda bust your balls. Welcome to the family!”
Jesse laughed heartily. David chuckled warmly, and just like that, the ice was broken.
“David, for heaven’s sake,” Caroline said.
She turned to Jesse and said, “I admit I am a little concerned about Lucy getting married so young and to someone we just met, but she’s got a good head on her shoulders.
If she says you’re the one, then you’re the one.
Welcome to the family, honey.” With a smile filled with warmth and affection, she opened her arms, expensive bracelets jangling.
Jesse eagerly hugged her back. She was nice, but she seemed unsure of him.
“Well! We better get to our seats,” Caroline said.
Jesse sat next to David and was able to talk to him for a while.
The guy was friendly and had a great sense of humor.
Jesse found he rather liked his future brother-in-law.
Alison was shy, but sweet, just like her sister.
Lucy’s mother still seemed wary, but who could blame her?
Jesse understood that she just wanted what was best for her daughter, and she needed time to get to know him.
Jesse flipped through the graduation program and swelled with pride when he saw Lucy’s name. She was graduating with honors with a Master’s Degree in Education.
Lucy looked incredibly beautiful when she crossed the stage to accept her diploma. Jesse could not take his eyes off her. He heard Lucy’s mother mutter, “Well, the boy’s in love, that’s for sure.”
Jesse turned to her and said, “Yes, Mrs. Westbrook, I am in love. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure your daughter never wants for anything.”
Caroline’s face broke into a lovely, sweet smile that looked so much like Lucy’s. She looked relieved, and Jesse realized how much she just needed reassurance that her precious little girl would be happy. She wrapped her arms around Jesse and squeezed him tight.
“Thank you, honey.”
The Westbrooks took everyone out to dinner after the ceremony, and it was the perfect way for the family to get to know Jesse better.
Lucy’s father seemed pleased at the gentlemanly way Jesse treated his daughter, and her mother seemed equally charmed.
There were also times when Caroline looked at Jesse with a hint of sadness, and Jesse remembered Lucy telling him how upset she was to find out that he had no family of his own.
Caroline reminded Jesse a bit of Fillis—like she wanted to adopt him as her own.
“So, I have some exciting news to share!” Lucy said, eyes sparkling. Jesse nodded and proudly put his arm around her.
Kurt and Caroline Westbrook looked slightly horrified.
Lucy giggled. “I’m not pregnant, Mom.”
Caroline laughed, too, then nodded. “Not that a baby wouldn’t be great news. Just not, you know, yet.”
“I got a job!”
“Yeah?” David asked. “Way to go, kiddo!”
Lucy squealed. “Oh, I’m so excited. I found a job at a school only about fifteen miles from your place in Rockville. I’m gonna be teaching third grade!”
Caroline smiled happily and reached across the table to grab her daughter’s hand. “That’s wonderful, Lucy. Congratulations! And third grade. Such a fun age!”
“I know,” Lucy said dreamily. “I can’t wait.”
Jesse gazed lovingly at her. She was smart and so kind. Those were some lucky kids to have a wonderful teacher like her.
“So, Jesse and I have been talking and, well, we want to be married by then.”
“By September?” Caroline asked. “This September?”
“Yes. We want to be married before I start working and settle into an apartment near the school. Jesse is looking for work around there now.”
“But how can you plan a wedding by then?” Caroline asked.
Lucy and Jesse exchanged worried looks. “Well, that’s the thing. We don’t really need an actual wedding. We could just go to the courthouse and—”
“What?” Caroline shrieked.
“Caroline,” Kurt said, looking uncomfortable with her making a scene.
“Sorry,” Lucy’s mother said. “I just—don’t you want a wedding with a gown and a cake and a reception?”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Westbrook,” Jesse said, looking down. “I-I just… I can’t afford to give her none of that. I wish I could. God knows she deserves all that and more but—”
“Oh, honey,” Caroline said, her face filled with empathy for her precious, orphaned future son-in-law. “Of course I don’t expect you to be able to provide that. You both are so young, and you’re just starting out. We’ll pay for it all!”
Kurt’s eyes opened wide, but when he looked into his wife’s pleading face, he softened. Yes, Caroline had him wrapped around her finger every bit as much as Lucy had Jesse wrapped around hers. Kurt drew in a deep breath and nodded.
Caroline squealed. “Yay! But we’re still gonna need more time than September! I’ve got to hire a caterer and talk to the church and get a cake and—”
“Mom,” Lucy said. “Don’t get carried away.”
“Oh, and you can get designer gowns for the girls, and maybe we can get that banquet hall over at Smith Avenue and—”
“Mom…”
“And we gotta find a really nice place for the rehearsal dinner and—”
“Mom…”
“And then we’ve got to—”
“Mom!”
Caroline looked at her daughter like she had forgotten Lucy was there. “What?”
Lucy gazed lovingly at Jesse, then looked back at her mother. “I just want to be married to him. By September. That’s all I want.”
Caroline looked at her daughter and smiled. Lucy was happy, and her mother knew that was all that mattered.
“Okay, sweetheart. Pick a date late in August, and I’ll make it happen.”
Lucy nodded and snuggled up next to Jesse.
* * *
At long last, Fillis decided it was time for her to go.
She met with Theresa and with Mary, the spirit guardian of the Farnsworth House, on how best to care for her soldiers after she was gone.
Fillis spoke at length about each of her adopted children, explaining every quirk and every special need.
This one had doubts about his actions in the war, that one struggled with his past relationship with his father, and that one had two children die of illness after he left for war and still blamed himself.
Fillis was emotional when speaking of her boys, and several times she nearly changed her mind about leaving.
Mary reassured her that she would keep careful watch over them and would always be there for them, day and night.
Theresa would still be in Gettysburg for a while, as she was still in school pursuing her psychology degree, and she would continue to counsel any soldier who asked for help.
“We’ll take care of them, Second Mama,” Theresa reassured her. “And you know that Lucy will care for Jesse.”
Fillis nodded and smiled softly. Jesse had always been her favorite soldier, one of the few who had been with her all the way back to 1863. She knew she never had to worry about him. Not with Lucy around.
Fillis’s portal had actually opened for the first time nearly forty years earlier.
After decades of struggling with her private issues—mainly her guilt at having an affair with a man’s wife and with wrestling with the homosexuality that she had once believed was sinful—she was finally at peace with herself.
She came to understand that her love for Helene was a blessed thing, and something to be celebrated.
Once she felt worthy, she was invited to heaven.
She declined. She refused to go until all her soldiers were taken care of. Finally reassured that they would be well cared for, she made the decision to go home to God. And to Helene.
Fillis took her time saying her goodbyes to all of her soldiers. When it was time to leave, there was quite the crowd gathered. She had passed away under a tree in a field not far from where the battles had taken place, succumbing to her illness. That was where the portal had opened the first time.
“I’m gonna miss you so much, Second Mama,” Jesse said, struggling to keep his composure.
Lucy wrapped her arms around him. It was painful for her to see Jesse hurting, but they both knew they had to be strong for Fillis. If Jesse broke down, she would never go to her reward.
“I’ll always be watchin’ over you, ya hear?” Fillis said, anguish in her eyes. Lucy could see the pain of losing hundreds of her children in her eyes, and now she was losing her favorite. However, there would be no more pain, no more loss where she was going.
“Yes, I know,” Jesse said. “I love you, Second Mama. Thank you for always takin’ such good care of me.”
“I love you, too, Jesse,” Fillis said. She reached out and touched his face, but her hand went right through. Lucy could feel her aching to touch her child.
Jesse drew in a sudden breath as the portal opened.
Theresa, Remy, Avery, and lots of soldiers who had gathered to see their mama off on her final journey all turned to see it.
Many of them had seen people cross over, but it was easy to tell which ones hadn’t.
Some of the soldiers stared, slack-jawed at the sight of the blindingly white portal.
Fillis walked over and stood in front of it. Her eyes lit up with love and recognition.
“My God,” she whispered. “You’re just as beautiful as I remember.”
Tears fell from Lucy’s cheeks, and she hugged Jesse tighter. “She’s going to be so happy now,” she whispered to him. “Happy and at peace. Now and forever.”
Jesse nodded. “That’s what she deserves.”
The look of grief on his face was more than Lucy could bear. She hoped she hadn’t made a mistake by helping Fillis to cross over. She felt like she had sent Jesse’s mother away.
“I don’t know if I could’ve moved so far away, knowin’ she was still here. I know it’s for the best,” he said, his voice quavering.
Lucy gently stroked his back as they watched Fillis. They couldn’t see Helene, but they all knew she was there.
Fillis turned around and looked at the throngs of loved ones gathered to say their final goodbyes to their mother. She blew kisses all around, then her eyes rested on Jesse.
Fillis ran over to him, and then opened her arms. Jesse gasped with understanding, then pulled her close into an embrace.
Lucy pressed her hand to her mouth to stifle her sob as she watched the love of her life finally get to hug his second mother.
“I’m so proud of you, boy. So proud!”
Fillis finally let him go.
“I’ll see you on the other side, Second Mama. You be sure to keep Joel in line!”
Fillis’s eyes were filled with peace, love, and happiness. Not only would she be reunited with Helene, but with all of her children she’d lost along the way.
“I goin’ do my best!”
With that, she walked over to her portal. A delicate, feminine hand reached out and pulled her into the light.