Chapter Thirty-two - Lu
Chapter Thirty-two
Lu
A fter helping Lorenzo in the kitchen, Lu sat on the stairs of the veranda, a mug filled with herbal tea and lemon wedges in hand. She stared off into the darkness of the night, watched as the moon twinkled and the stars danced; listened as the ocean rippled against the shore. Ella Fitzgerald belted the lyrics to “Summertime” as it played softly on the stereo. She thought of John and hoped he was listening to Ella as well, and dancing . About this time on any given evening, they would’ve been engaged in a heated discussion about something or other, or she’d have been asking him a million questions, and he would answer every one of them ever so eloquently and honestly. He was one of the most transparent people she knew. It was what she most admired about him, the way he seemed to lay things all on the table or tossed things into the air, allowed the pieces to fall where they may. It was a wonderful trait, she thought.
A butterfly floated past her nose. She reached out her hand and allowed it to land on her palm. It flew away, but then a few seconds later it was perched on her knee. She reached out her hand and allowed it to rest on the curve of her finger.
“I know that’s you, John Samuels,” she whispered and then chuckled.
The butterfly, which flew past her nose again, its melanin—a blend of yellow, brown, and black—landed on her hand again, stayed there until she finished the last drop of her herbal tea.
She relaxed her back against the wooden railing and pulled up her legs to her chest.
“Hey.” Zach stood at the bottom of the stairs, wearing blue scrubs and a pair of Crocs on his feet. He stroked his precisely lined beard and his eyes lit up when he saw Lu. “You’re still up.”
“Yep, just enjoying the night.”
“How was dinner with the girls?”
“It was good. A lot has happened since we last spoke. It was great catching up.”
Zach took a seat next to Lu on the top step. “So, everything’s good. You all made up?”
“Yeah, we did.” Out of habit, she stretched out her legs, rested them on Zach’s lap. It was something she’d done many nights when they’d relaxed on the veranda steps, especially after one of his long shifts at the hospital.
He slipped her flip-flop from her foot, massaged her heel and then her arch, then slid his finger between her toes. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a moment. She exhaled as a moan slipped from her lips. Her inner thighs tingled, and she wanted to tell him to stop, but she couldn’t.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Nala. I realize now that it was a terrible mistake to keep my past from you. Honestly, I just never handled it because I didn’t meet anyone, before now, that I wanted to marry.”
“Her name is Nala,” Lu said it emphatically. Before then, she’d never heard the woman’s name. Didn’t know that she’d even existed. “What’s she like?”
“She’s a nice person. She was a good friend at one time.”
“Apparently, you were a good friend to her as well.”
“We were a couple of silly kids making decisions that we had no idea would affect our future lives. She was facing deportation and I wanted to help.”
“Did you love her?”
“I loved her as a friend. That’s all we were. I didn’t love her like I love you. I’ve not loved anyone like I love you.”
“Is she pretty?”
“She’s pretty.” He looked into Lu’s eyes. “Not as pretty as you.”
“I guess I walked into that.” Lu smiled.
“She was looking for a better life in the US. People in other countries aren’t as fortunate as we are here. I wanted her life to be better.”
“Kinda like John rescued Yana from poverty in the Philippines. I guess I can appreciate that. We all need our knight in shining armor.”
“I’d like to be your knight in shining armor. I’d like to be your rescuer, your protector.” He grinned. “Your baby daddy, if you change your mind and decide that you want children.”
“Have you changed your mind about children?” Lu asked. It was the first time they’d talked about children since they’d both decided they didn’t want to be parents.
“Well, after going through this whole John Samuels thing with you, it’s had me thinking about some things. I mean, if I was ill and dying, I think I would like to have a family around me. As annoying as that sister of yours was, I bet John was still proud of her. Proud of all his children. It was beautiful to see how his eyes lit up when you were around him.”
“So . . . how many children would you want . . . I mean, if you potentially had some?” Lu asked.
“I don’t know, one or two. I’d definitely want a junior, I mean, if I ever decided I wanted children. Potentially.” He slid off the flip-flop from her other foot and began massaging her heel. “What about you? Have you thought about it at all?” Zach stopped massaging her foot, long enough to hear her response.
“I must admit . . . I have. I mean, of course, not right away, but I’m not completely against it anymore, not like I was. I wouldn’t mind a girl and a boy. Potentially.” Lu motioned for him to get back to the massage.
“So, if we were to . . . say, continue with our wedding plans, and got married, we might have a little Zach Jr. and a little Lualhati running around Cape May? Potentially.”
“Potentially.” Lu giggled.
“My lawyer has located Nala, and she’s been served with the divorce papers. I’m just waiting for her to sign,” Zach offered.
“What if she doesn’t sign?” Lu asked.
“She will. She has no reason not to.”
Lu turned her head, looked out into the darkness of the ocean, watched as the waves played hide-and-seek against the sand.
“So, Lualhati Samuels, I have to ask you.” Zach grabbed her hand in his and caressed her empty ring finger. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the three-carat princess-cut diamond engagement ring that he’d given her eight months before. “Will you still marry me?”
“You just carry that ring around in the pocket of your scrubs?” She smiled.
“Don’t mess up the moment.”
She placed her hands on each side of his face and caressed the stubble against his jaw. She looked into his tired eyes and then gently kissed his lips. She’d wanted to do that since the moment he’d dropped everything and come to her rescue, without pause or reservation. He’d already been with her through the better and certainly through some of the worse. She had no doubt, he loved her.
“Yes. I will still marry you,” Lu touched his nose, “provided your wife gives you a divorce.”
“Oh, you got jokes.” He kissed her lips again and then slid the ring back onto her finger.
“No joke, sir. Get yourself unmarried or there will be a problem.”
“Consider it done,” he said.
“Good, because there isn’t room for three of us in this relationship.”
Zach chuckled. “I love you and I can’t wait to be your husband.”
The truth of the matter was, even after all that had gone on in her life in just a short time, she couldn’t wait to be his wife.