Chapter Twenty-five - Lu
Chapter Twenty-five
Lu
Six weeks later
L u’s head sank into the pillow. Her eyes fluttered; her breathing slowed; her head hurt. Exhaustion consumed her entire body. It had been days, even weeks since she’d had a good night’s rest. But tonight she was determined to sleep. The week’s remaining guests had checked out earlier in the afternoon, so the inn was unusually quiet, which was exactly what she needed. Now, lying awake in her bed, the only sound to be heard was the chirping of the crickets outside her window—that and the waves crashing against the shore. The sheer white curtains danced as the wind blew and the scent of her petunias crept inside the open window and tickled her nose. Zach’s unanswered calls and text messages had finally stopped days ago, and she was left with her own thoughts—which were driving her crazy—wondering what he was doing when he wasn’t at the hospital, and who he was doing it with . She stared at the ceiling in her bedroom, consumed by heartache. As angry as he’d made her, she had to admit his absence was felt—caused her pain.
Her ringing cell phone broke the silence. She glanced at the screen. It was John Jr. calling. She sighed deeply. A part of her wished that Zach would call again. She wouldn’t answer, but she wanted him to try again, give her the satisfaction of knowing she was still in his thoughts. As Lu looked at her phone again, she wasn’t certain that she wanted to talk to John Jr. either. He would hear the pain in her voice and ask questions that she didn’t have answers to or didn’t want to answer. He would ask about Zach, and she wasn’t ready to reveal they were no longer together and, moreover, that she had called off the wedding. While in California, she and John Jr. had vowed to keep in touch, yet neither of them had called the other in weeks. Perhaps this call was an attempt to keep his end of the bargain, but his timing couldn’t have been worse. She was in her feelings. Her heart raced and she closed her eyes, squeezed them tightly until the ringing stopped. She would call him back when she was in a better place. She made a mental note of it.
When the phone rang a second time, her heart started beating even faster. Her eyes widened in the darkness of the room. She sat straight up, grabbed the phone from the nightstand, and took a deep breath before answering.
“John Jr. Hi.” She tried to make her voice sound normal. Jovial, even.
“Lu.” He sighed long and hard, his voice dripping with melancholy. He sounded as if he was short of breath. “Doctors are saying that Dad won’t make it past a day or two, maybe not even through the night. He’s dying, Lu.”
It felt as if time stood still; her heart had dropped from its place in her chest and was now at the bottom of her stomach causing turmoil there.
“What?” It was all she could manage to say before tears began to well in her eyes. Though she already knew he was dying—he’d been very sick on her last visit—hearing those words caused her great anguish, as if she was hearing the words, he’s dying , for the first time. She was heartbroken by the thought of him leaving so suddenly.
“He took a bad turn this afternoon,” John explained. “He’s been asking for you.”
“Really?” Her ears perked up, and for a split second her heart danced.
“Yes. This afternoon. Then he was in a lot of pain after that. They have him heavily sedated right now, so he’s sleeping. But if by chance you wanted to come . . . you know, to say your goodbyes . . . now is the time.”
“I want to come, but I don’t know if I can. I have the inn, and I don’t know if I’d be able to get a flight out in time. There are so many things to consider . . .”
“I understand. I just thought you should know.”
“Thank you, John Jr. Thank you for calling me.”
“No thanks needed. He’s your father, too.”
Indeed he was— her father . A father that she’d known for a very short time, but her father nonetheless. Her heart was shattered in pieces. She had lost so much time with him, and now there was a chance that she wouldn’t have any more time with him. If Zach were there, he’d comfort her. He would hold her until the pain settled. He always knew just the right words to say. He knew how to ease her fears about things. The reality of his absence only caused her more grief. She scanned the phone for his number and pulled up his profile. His beautiful face graced the screen of her iPhone, greeted her with his award-winning smile—the one she loved so much. It was the same face that had popped up on her screen with every single call she had ignored. Her finger lingered just above the digits of his phone number, not really touching the screen, just lingering, contemplating. She leaned her head against the headboard as she began to have a full-blown conversation with herself. What if he rejected her call? What if he was with someone else? What if he answered and berated her for ignoring his calls? What if . . . what if . . . what if . . .
She tossed the phone onto the bed. To call would be admitting that she was wrong, or that she needed him. She closed her eyes, chill bumps racing up and down her arm, and not from the breeze that was blowing through the open window. She thought of John Samuels and the pain he must be enduring. The pain from his illness but also the anguish of knowing that he would soon leave this life and his family behind. It had to be terribly frightening. Tears strained her eyes.
She picked the phone back up from the bed and pulled Zach’s number up again. She tapped the number on the screen, turned on the speakerphone. She was willing to take whatever lashing he dished out. Maybe she even deserved it, but the truth was, she needed him.
“Hello,” he answered on the second ring.
“I’m sorry to call so late, but . . .” Her voice quivered. She didn’t want it to, but it did.
“Lu, what’s wrong?” Zach’s voice dripped with concern.
“It’s my father, John Samuels. He’s dying. Doctors are saying he won’t make it more than another day or two.” Saying the words aloud caused such a tightening in her chest that she could barely breathe. “I don’t know. I’m just really, really sad right now, and . . .”
“My shift is over in an hour. I can come over, Lu. Do you want me to?”
She was silent for a moment. Her heart rejoiced at the gentleness of his words. She exhaled. She contemplated his question: Do you want me to come? She hadn’t seen or spoken to Zach in over six weeks. Though she hadn’t answered any of his calls, she’d listened to his voice messages—all seventeen of them—twice. She missed him.
In almost a whisper, as if it was a struggle for her to admit it, she said, “Yes.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be there soon. Try to be strong until I get there, okay?” His words were like the antidote that her aching heart needed.
“Okay.” Her voice cracked.
After he hung up, she held the phone against her chest and exhaled deeply.
* * *
The sight of Zach made Lu tremble. He was handsome, she thought, but his hair and beard were a bit disheveled. His eyes were weary. He’d been picking up extra shifts, she was sure of it. And he looked thinner. His olive-green scrubs were wrinkled. He stood on the veranda of her inn, didn’t speak, just pulled Lu into him. He wrapped his strong arms tightly around her shoulders and held her there for a few long moments. She relaxed in the comfort of his arms. He smelled of expensive cologne. He placed his hands on each side of her face, forced her to look into his deep brown eyes.
“What do you want to do? Do you want to go there to say your goodbyes?”
“I want to so badly, but I don’t have anyone who can watch the inn, since Kenya and I, you know . . .”
“You two still aren’t talking?” Zach’s eyes bulged as he stepped away from her. He placed his hands on top of his head in frustration, a wrinkle formed in his forehead. He paced the stretch of the veranda, but then turned to face her. “Lu.”
Lu dropped her head low. There had been times when she had wanted to call her best friend, make things right, but they were both as stubborn as mules. Neither of them had wanted to give in to the other.
“I don’t think she can take another vacation anyway,” Lu explained. “And she has her big murder case and all . . .”
He was never one to dwell on things, just simply moved on to the next thing. “What about Yana?”
Lu smiled, shut her eyes, and shook her head. “Can you seriously imagine Yana running the inn? She’d be gone somewhere in the middle of the night, probably back to Atlantic City to one of the casinos, leaving the guests here to fend for themselves.”
Zach laughed. “I think she’d be fine. You said that you don’t have any guest reservations ahead for a day or two. Maybe you could just let her take care of things for a few days.”
She shook her head, pondering his suggestion. “I don’t know, Zach. What if someone pops up, a new guest or something else? I’m not worried about the regulars. Most of them know Yana anyway.”
“A few days wouldn’t hurt.”
Yana had never run her inn before. She’d never even been there for more than a visit. She wasn’t tech savvy, had no idea of how to make reservations or take credit card payments. She also talked a lot and might get on the guests’ nerves. She’d be telling the staff how to do their jobs. But she was all that Lu had now.
As much as it pained her to say the words, she managed to say, “She might be okay.”
“I think she’ll be fine. Marissa, Max, and Lorenzo, they all know their roles. All Yana would have to do is answer the phone and check in any arriving guests. Teach her how to do it manually, so that she doesn’t have to run the system.”
“True.” Minimizing what her role might be made it seem practicable.
“If you want me to go with you, I could get someone to fill in for me at the hospital. I’ve worked enough extra shifts that I’m sure someone would take mine. We could catch a red-eye . . .”
She interrupted him, astounded by his words. His disregard for the fact that she’d broken up with him and ignored all his calls moved her. “You would do that?” she asked.
Zach grabbed her hand and pulled her close to him. “Are you kidding me? I would go to the ends of the earth for you.”
She tried to fight the tears, but they were persistent, burned her cheeks. There was a lump in her throat, preventing her from speaking.
“This is one of the most important moments of your life,” Zach whispered in her ear. “I’ll call my friend at the airline to see if I can get us on standby first thing in the morning.”
“Okay, I’ll see if I can get Yana on the phone. See how quickly she can get here.”
She inhaled and then exhaled. Even when things were upside down, Zach always managed to bring them right side up again.
* * *
She dialed Yana’s number, and she answered on the first ring.
“Hello, my darling.”
“I need you, Ina.”
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
“John Samuels has been given only a day or two to live. He’s been asking for me, and I’d like to see him while there’s still time.”
“I’m really sorry to hear that, about John.”
“Are you, Ina?”
“Of course, Lualhati. He’s someone I once loved. I would never wish suffering upon him.”
“Well, I’m headed to California . . . first thing in the morning.”
“That soon? Wow. Who will take care of the inn?”
“That’s why I’m calling.” She swallowed hard and contemplated before saying the words. “I was wondering if you could take care of things here while I’m gone.”
Yana was quiet for a moment. Was she also contemplating? Checking her schedule, maybe? Her hesitance made Lu nervous and rethink her idea— no, Zach’s idea— of her running the inn.
“Really? You want me to run the inn?” Yana finally spoke.
“If you have time.”
“Of course I have time.”
“How soon can you get here?” Lu glanced at her watch, took note of the time.
“I can be there in a couple of hours.”
“Good. I’ll be waiting for you.”
“Wow,” Yana said. “Sweetheart, it means a lot to me, that you would entrust me with your precious baby—Lu’s Seaside Inn. I’ve never really . . .”
“Never really what?”
“I’ve never really been invited to come for more than a quick visit. Never stayed overnight.”
Lu dwelled on her mother’s words for a moment. She sighed heavily as guilt rushed through her. It was true; Yana had never stayed overnight, but Lu had no idea that she felt uninvited . The discomfort of the moment made her sad.
She changed the subject. “You can’t be running up and down the highway, abandoning the place. You have to sit still, Ina.”
“I know, I know. I wouldn’t do that. I know how important the inn is to you. I would run it as if you were here. I promise, you won’t regret it.”
“I hope not.” Lu closed her eyes and said a little prayer. If she was thinking of changing her mind, she certainly couldn’t at this point. “Get here as soon as you can.”
“I’m on my way.” There was a smile in Yana’s voice, and then immediately a bit of sadness. “And honey, I really am sorry about John. I know the two of you have grown closer over the past several weeks. I had hoped that he would beat the cancer.”
“Me too, but he’s taken a turn for the worse. That’s why time is of the essence.”
“I understand. I’ll be there soon.”
“Thanks, Ina.”
Lu held the phone against her chest after she hung up. What had she just done? She hoped she wasn’t making a grave mistake, leaving the inn in Yana’s hands. Her mother certainly had a mind of her own.