A Walk Along the Beach Read online

  Dr. Carroll led us to a private room and closed the door. His face was sad and somber. Lowering his eyes, he blinked and murmured, “I was hoping to see a rise in her white blood cells. This is the point I would expect her body to respond, which is why I said what I did about her participating in the wedding. The tests that came back this afternoon showed a rapid decline, worse than anything I anticipated.” He drew in a harsh breath. “It might be best if you considered holding the wedding sooner rather than wait.”

  A cry escaped my lips before I could hold it back.

  Lucas placed his hand on my shoulder.

  “We have to believe,” I insisted, stiffening. “We can’t give up hope. It might look bad now, but it could get better, right?” My eyes pleaded with Dr. Carroll.

  “That’s what we all want, Willa,” he assured me. “More than anything, I want Harper to recover.”

  “Is there something you’re not telling us?” Lucas asked.

  “Not at all. I’m simply being honest with you. Of course, my hope, the hope of the entire staff, is that there will be a turning point. All I’m saying is that it would be best to remain positive, but to prepare for the worst.”

  “You can prepare for the worst, but I am clinging to hope.” The hot fire that burned inside of me eased. I refused to allow anyone near my sister who didn’t believe she had the will and the mental fortitude to survive.

  CHAPTER 23

  Willa

  Chantelle was the first one to recover. “I believe we should follow Dr. Carroll’s advice. We’ll move up the wedding date,” she said.

  Lucas looked uncertain. “What about—”

  “I’ve got this,” she said with a certainty that left both Lucas and me speechless.

  “We’ll get married next Friday or Saturday…don’t worry, I’ll take care of the details. Leave it in my hands.”

  Dr. Carroll didn’t pull any punches, looking us all straight in the eye. “The sooner the wedding can be arranged, the better.”

  For my part, I remained stunned. As hard as I fought against it, I was left feeling as if there was no hope left. None of what was happening added up. Harper had been diagnosed only a few weeks ago. How was it possible that a girl who had been ready to climb Mount Rainier could be close to death a measly six weeks later? I clung to the memory that my sister had pulled through before and she could again. For one wild moment, I found it impossible to breathe. I was numb, lost in my thoughts. It felt as if I was fighting every step of this journey, slogging my way up an impossibly steep hill.

  “Where will we hold the wedding?” Lucas asked, shaking his head at Chantelle. “Only a few days ago you told me you’d searched every hotel and venue in the city. It would be impossible to pull off a proper wedding in a matter of a few days.”

  Chantelle placed her hands on both sides of my brother’s face, her gaze holding his. “Oh ye of little faith. Don’t you know where there’s a will there’s a way?”

  My thought exactly, especially when it came to Harper. We all needed to stop with the doom and gloom. We had to help Harper, stand with her. Fight with everything in us.

  Overwhelmed, Lucas shrugged. “All right, woman, you tell me where and I’ll be there in a tuxedo, ready to swear my love to you for the remainder of my life.”

  * * *

  —

  Two days later, I got a text from Chantelle asking me to phone her as soon as I could. Harper was resting. I let her sleep as long as she wanted to, believing her body needed as much rest as possible. I stepped out of the room and called my soon-to-be sister-in-law.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I said, fully prepared for Chantelle to admit defeat. A part of me wanted her to fail so that when the day came for the wedding set in Oceanside, I could believe Harper would be there, well on her way to recovery.

  Also, I thought Chantelle had taken on an impossible task. No way would she be able to put together a wedding on the spur of the moment, unless we all trudged over to the King County Courthouse and stood before a judge. It went without saying that wasn’t the kind of wedding Chantelle or my brother wanted. She’d worked far too hard creating her wedding dress and our bridesmaid gowns. A wedding before a judge would be a cheap imitation of what had been already set into place.

  “How’s Harper?”

  “She’s resting.”

  “Good. She’s going to need all the strength she can muster for Friday afternoon.”

  “You found a venue for the wedding?”

  “It’s the perfect place for Harper, and for Lucas and me, too.”

  “Where?” I gasped the question, shocked that Chantelle had managed to pull this off.

  “Have you ever sat in the courtyard outside the hospital cafeteria?”

  I had. Many times. The space was lovely, with greenery flowing over waist-high planter boxes. Picnic tables dotted the area. It was an oasis in the middle of the hospital. Fresh. Green. Thriving. Alive.

  “You and Lucas are going to be married…here?” Although I had asked the question, it was more of a statement. Just as Chantelle had promised, it was perfect for Harper. I’d fretted endlessly about her ability to dress and then be transported with her IV pole and wheelchair into town, or wherever Chantelle had found.

  “Pastor McDonald is driving your father with him into town for the ceremony. My parents and the rest of the wedding party are all on board. I’ve got all the details handled.”

  “How…I mean, what made you think of holding it here?” The suggestion was brilliant.

  She was quick to give credit where it was due. “John came up with the idea. I called him to ask about the risk of transporting Harper. As we were discussing what would need to be done, I realized how difficult it would be. He said it was too bad we couldn’t hold the wedding in her room. That got me thinking about an area in the hospital that would work.”

  “Chantelle, it’s perfect.”

  “It’s a great solution,” she agreed proudly.

  “Do you have a time set?”

  “Yes, well, that was the tricky part. As you know, the patio is a popular area at lunch and dinner. The best time we could arrange is three o’clock in the afternoon. The space will be cordoned off and decorated with streamers and balloons. The florist is supplying an archway for Lucas and me to stand under to exchange our vows. I’ve arranged for huge baskets of white roses on each side. It’ll be every bit as good as what I’d planned for the ceremony in Oceanside.”

  “What about—”

  Chantelle didn’t let me finish. “Lucas and I decided we won’t cancel the original date, seeing that the invitations have already been mailed. Instead of the wedding, it will be a dinner and reception.”

  It only made sense they would keep the original date. Making sense, however, was something that seemed to have been lost on me since our last meeting with Dr. Carroll. I was afraid, scared out of my wits that we would lose Harper. The thought was crippling me emotionally.

  We ended the conversation a few minutes later, after Chantelle had filled in a few more of the details.

  When I returned to Harper’s room, I found my sister awake. “Hey,” I said, “I’ve got great news. Lucas and Chantelle are going ahead with their wedding. It’s going to be here at the hospital on Friday.”

  Harper blinked and I assumed she hadn’t heard me. Then I realized she had, and understood, perhaps for the first time, the implication of why it was necessary.

  “That’s wonderful.” Tears filled her eyes.

  “Hey, hey. You’re going to kick this, Harper. You and I both know it, right?”

  “Right,” she agreed, without a lot of enthusiasm.

  “What’s important is that Lucas and Chantelle want us both to be part of their wedding.”

  She smiled then. “I only hope my dress still fits, seeing how much weight I’ve lost.” That wa
s something Chantelle had already taken into consideration. Briefly, before we ended the call, she told me she’d altered Harper’s dress so that it wouldn’t hang on her.

  * * *

  —

  We started getting ready for the wedding at about noon on Friday. Chantelle arranged for a hairdresser to come to the hospital. She even supplied a wig for Harper that was the same thick lilac/silver her own hair had been before she started chemo. With makeup and her wig, she looked almost as good as she did before the cancer and the weight loss.

  John stopped by in the middle of the preparations to check on Harper. The excitement and adrenaline gave her a boost of energy that she was going to need to get through this day.

  I noticed how gentle he was with my sister, how tender and kind. I wanted to hug him. Seeing him with Harper made me miss Sean with an intensity I’d never experienced. He’d been away long past the time he’d originally hoped. I hadn’t heard a word from him since his phone call. Not a text, an email, or a call. I understood how important this assignment was to his career, and at the same time I longed for him to be with me, especially today, for my brother’s wedding.

  It seemed wrong that he would be on the other side of the world. He had no way of knowing what was happening. I couldn’t blame him for not being with me, but that idea brought home what our lives would be like if we continued with this relationship. That gave me pause. I needed to rethink things. Not now, though. Later, when my head was clear and I wasn’t fighting this battle.

  Chantelle’s sister checked in with Harper and me just before the ceremony started.

  “Your dad is here. Is it all right if he comes in?”

  “Yes, please,” Harper answered before me.

  She left and the hospital room door creaked open before my father’s head appeared.

  “Come in, Daddy,” Harper whispered.

  Dad was dressed in the same suit he wore for Mom’s funeral. When he found Harper sitting upright in the wheelchair, he knelt on one knee on the floor next to her. I noticed his lips trembled with the effort to hold back tears.

  “Even now you’re so beautiful…Your mother would be so proud,” he whispered, and turned his head to look up at me. “Of both of you. I don’t know what I did to deserve such amazing children. I am blessed beyond anything I could ever have imagined.” Tears leaked down his face.

  Gently, Harper wiped them from his cheeks. “I love you, Daddy.”

  “Love you, too, baby girl, with all my heart.”

  A knock sounded against the door. It was time. To my surprise, John appeared, dressed in a suit and tie instead of his normal white lab coat. He went behind Harper’s wheelchair, and with one hand holding on to the wheelchair and the other on her IV pole, he rolled her out of the room. Dad and I followed behind.

  Once we were assembled in the cafeteria, the florist handed Harper and me floral bouquets tied in burgundy-colored ribbon. Looking onto the courtyard, I saw that the picnic tables had been removed and that two rows of chairs had been set angled before the flower-covered archway.

  Chantelle’s mother, along with her godmother and husband, were seated on one side. Dad and the wives of my brother’s two best friends sat in the opposite section. I was escorted down the aisle first by Ted, Lucas’s Army buddy, followed by Harper, pushed in the wheelchair by John. Harper stretched her arm over her shoulder so she could place her hand on his. Bill, another of my brother’s Army friends, walked next to her. Chantelle’s sister followed, and then, after a long pause, Chantelle walked down the aisle with her father.

  Her wedding dress was stunning, but no more so than the bride. She beamed with a beauty I found difficult to describe. The dress was a simple creation, and it fit her like a dream, floating out from the waist. She held the same white roses that made up my own bouquet, only hers trailed with lily of the valley. Seeing her and the look that came over my brother as he spied her stole my breath.

  His eyes filled with love, Lucas stepped forward to greet his bride. Chantelle kissed her father’s cheek and placed her hand in Lucas’s. Together they moved to stand before Pastor McDonald.

  I noticed that while there was only close family in attendance, a small crowd had gathered inside the cafeteria to watch the ceremony. They stood by the windows, looking onto the patio. Doctors. Nurses. Staff. Even patients and visitors.

  The day couldn’t have been more perfect, with the sun shining down on the bride and groom, God’s blessings from above. Birds circled overhead, while the subtle music swirled around, enveloping us all.

  Lucas and Chantelle had written their own vows. I listened as best I could, caught up in my own thoughts. Love. Honor. Respect. Cherish. Sickness and health. Those words took on an entirely new meaning.

  I glanced at Harper, who was looking up at John, their eyes connected. It was as if they were exchanging these words, as if they were the ones promising to love and cherish each other.

  My heart ached for Sean, wishing he was at my side to share this moment. I had no idea when I would see him again. I felt his absence more strongly than I had at any other time since his departure. Standing there, my brother with his bride, Harper with her doctor, and me alone. Rarely had I ever felt lonelier.

  Each person present was connected to someone else. Everyone but me. Closing my eyes, I refused to feel sorry for myself. If I was going to become involved with Sean, I would need to learn to accept his intermittent travels, and the dangers he put himself in to advance his career. It was part and parcel of the man I was falling for. Asking him to change wasn’t fair and might ruin the closeness we shared.

  As soon as they exchanged their vows, Lucas kissed his bride. I could see that Harper’s energy was quickly evaporating. Asking our father to hold my bouquet, I prepared to return her to her hospital room.

  John stopped me. “I’ll do it.”

  “But—”

  “Stay,” Harper insisted. “Let John escort me back.”

  I smiled and locked eyes with his. He winked and I nodded, letting my sister have her way. She was in good hands.

  Before she left, Chantelle and Lucas each gave Harper a gentle hug. The moment was touching, and I noticed a photographer snap a photo. Harper smiling, John standing tall and handsome in his suit behind her. Chantelle and my brother thanking her and loving on her. Seeing the smile on my sister’s face and the joy radiating from my brother and his bride was probably one of the most beautiful moments of my life

  “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Dad said, coming to stand at my side.

  Chantelle was stunning. My brother was a lucky man; I had no doubt that he was keenly aware of his good fortune. “Chantelle is beautiful inside and out. How she managed to put an entire wedding together in only a few days is a minor miracle.”

  “Indeed, she is,” Dad concurred, “but I was talking about Harper.”

  Wrapping my arm around my father’s elbow, I smiled over at him. “Yes, she is.”

  “And that doctor friend of hers?”

  “He’s a good man,” I assured him. “He’s doing everything he can, along with Dr. Carroll, to keep her alive.”

  My father hesitated and swallowed hard. “God bless him and give him success.”

  “Amen,” I whispered, believing with all my heart there was hope, a reason to believe.

  Lucas and Chantelle were surrounded by their guests and other well-wishers. The doors from the cafeteria opened and the group that had gathered to watch the ceremony spilled onto the patio.

  Chantelle cut the small, bakery-supplied cake to be shared and enjoyed by all. My plan to bake their wedding cake felt like a million lifetimes ago, but I was determined to bake the original cakes we had chosen for their reception.

  Dad and I sat next to each other, eating a thin slice of the rather boring cake, when my brother joined us.

  “It was a lovely ceremon
y,” Dad told Lucas.

  “Thanks, Dad. Glad you could be here.”

  “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Now, when are you going to give me grandchildren?”

  At the stricken look that shot across my brother’s face, I burst into giggles. It took me a moment to realize it had been a long time since I’d found a reason to laugh.

  CHAPTER 24

  Sean

  The assignment was complete, although it had taken longer than any of us had anticipated. All of us were eager to get back to the States, to our families and all that was familiar and comfortable. Now I would need to sort through the thousands of photos I’d taken, and get started writing the story to accompany them.

  I’d packed up our camp and was ready to head back home at last. To Oceanside. To Willa. Ever since our conversation, I’d been worried and distracted.

  Traveling to the Manila Ninoy Aquino airport had been a challenge, and we were fortunate to make the flight. There was only one direct flight to the States. The thought of missing that plane and spending an extra day trapped in an airport had the entire team on edge.

  Because of the traffic and the late start, we ended up racing to our gate and were the last passengers to board. Once on the plane, I collapsed into my seat, breathing heavily, thanking God we’d made it. I’d planned on connecting with Willa at the airport. That unfortunately wasn’t going to happen. I ground my teeth in frustration as I fastened my seatbelt and listened to the flight attendant review the safety instructions. Los Angeles would be my first opportunity to reach her.

  The flight was long, nearly sixteen hours. Logging on to my computer, I worked as best I could, hoping to get a head start on sorting through the thirty thousand photos I’d taken. Doug and I would collaborate on the article, but my work was just starting. It would take weeks to review all the pictures I’d taken.

  At some point in the flight, I fell asleep, waking only long enough to close my computer. Finally, the plane touched down in Los Angeles, bouncing against the runway and jolting me from a light sleep.