“My mother always said life was made up of the small moments and it was punctuated by the big ones.” ~Livie Conway in The House on Briar Hill Road
“Livie, I don’t wanna be the bridesmaid, I wanna be the bride this time.”
Livie Conway looked at her best friend, Delia Walker. Delia had just moved in three doors down, right next to Livie’s Nana’s house. They’d been playing Barbies all summer, but Delia still didn’t get the rules. “Delia, the wedding dress is mine, so I’m the bride.”
“My mom says you’ve gotta share when you play with friends.” Delia got that stubborn look on her face that Livie was starting to recognize.
“I share,” Livie insisted patiently. “I let you ride my bike, and I always let you go first on the tire swing, ‘cause you’re company and Mom says it’s polite, but Delia, it’s my wedding dress. Everyone knows you don’t share wedding dresses.” Her friend looked as if she was going to continue the argument, so Livie added, “But I’ll let you use my black sparkly dress if you like.”
“Really?” Delia didn’t look as if she quite believed Livie.
Livie sighed. It was hard to be a good friend. She didn’t want to share the black dress, either. Nana had bought it for her last year when she’d turned eight. It was long and sparkly and came with a matching cape. She only let her Barbie wear when it was a real, real special thing.
But keeping a friend was real special, she guessed.
“Sure, I mean it. She can even wear the cape.”
“Thanks, Livie.”
“You’re welcome. Let’s get them dressed and play.”
Sometimes when they played Barbies, they had a hard time figuring out the game. But playing wedding was always easy. There was nothing to figure out. Livie Conway knew just what she wanted for her Barbie’s wedding, and for her own someday in the far away future. “Malibu Ken’s wearing his bathing suit and a shirt, but when I get married, my husband will wear a tux, just like my daddy did when he married my mommy.”
Delia had heard this story before, so she said, “You’re so lucky. I didn’t go to my mom and dad’s wedding.”
“Yep, I was real lucky that Mommy and Daddy waited ‘till I got big to get married, that way I got to come and sit with Nana and watch it. Oh, Del, I wish you lived here then and you coulda come, too. It was so pretty. And my husband will wear a tux just like Daddy did. And I’ll have a dress just like my Barbie’s and Mommy’s. Big and white and froofy. I’ll get married at the biggest church in Pittsburgh, you can be my bridesmaid and everyone will be there. Even the Mayor.” Her daddy worked with the mayor, so Livie knew he was a very important man.
“Why would the Mayor come to your wedding?” Delia asked.
“’Cause I’m gonna be famous.” Livie finished snapping the wedding dress onto Malibu Barbie.
“Famous for what?” Delia finished putting on the black sparkly cape and Livie tried not to be annoyed.
“A famous singer.”
Delia snorted. It wasn’t a very friendly thing to do. To make it worse, she said, “Livie, I’ve heard you sing, and I don’t know—”
“Do you want me to take back my black dress?” Oh, yeah, Livie wanted to take the black dress back. People who snorted about her being a famous singer shouldn’t get to put it on their Barbies.
Delia looked at her Barbie in the beautiful sparkly dress and sighed. “No. You can be a famous singer.”
“Thanks. With a rock and roll band. You can be in it,” she offered.
“Can I be the drummer?”
“Sure.”
“Cool. I can’t wait for your wedding.” Delia looked longingly at Livie’s Barbie.
“Me, either.” Livie knew one day she’d get married to the most wonderful boy in the biggest church and everyone important would be there, even the mayor.
Ten Years Later
“Del, did you get in?” Livie waved her class schedule at her friend.
Delia grinned. “Yeah.”
Livie’s senior schedule was crammed. She had calculus, physics, anatomy, English lit, French four, senior humanities. All were guaranteed to keep her at her homework long after she’d like. But there was a silver lining. A big one. “I was so afraid we wouldn’t get into Marriage Encounter.”
“Me, too.”
Marriage Encounter was a one term class, open only to seniors. It taught things like budgets and shopping, there was even a section on having a family. But it was the final project for the class that Livie couldn’t wait for.
Planning a wedding.
She was going to plan a dream wedding, with everything from the menu to the flowers. Oh, she’d have to come up with a budget and there were other academic parts to the project, but Livie was finally going to plan her wedding.
“Go on, tell me again,” Del said in the manner of all good friends who’ve heard a particular story a thousand times, but realize their friend needs to tell it a thousand and one times.
“It’s still going to be in the St. Paul’s Cathedral—”
“The biggest church in Pittsburgh,” Del supplied. “How about the famous singer part?” She laughed as she asked.
Livie offered her a rueful grin. “I sort of gave up on that.”
Del laughed even harder. “And the world is glad.”
“But you’ll be there—”
“Dressed in a sparkly black bridesmaid’s dress?”
“In whatever kind of dress you want. I’ve decided my attendants should wear whatever they’re comfortable in. No one size fits all pastel dresses for me, well, for you. You pick whatever you want.”
“Thanks,” Del said, then prompted. “And your groom?”
“Will be wearing a tux, just like my dad did. He’ll be a quiet man who loves me more than anything. We’ll never argue or fight. He’ll bring me roses and jewelry. We’ll go on a fabulous honeymoon afterward. Somewhere exotic. Maybe Africa.”
“Good luck with your budget in Ms. Roger’s class.” Del snorted.
Livie had grown used to her friend’s snorts over the years and didn’t take offense. “I’ll make it work. I’ll eat macaroni and cheese for a year in order to get the wedding of my dreams.”
Del suddenly got serious. “When I told my mom I was taking this class, she said I should worry less about a wedding, and more about the marriage.”
Livie’s enthusiasm dimmed. “I know that it’s the marriage that matters most.” Livie knew it better than most. Last year, she’d been afraid her parents were going to divorce. They’d been through a bad time after… No, she wasn’t going to think about that. Her parents were fine now. Their marriage rock was solid again. She didn’t have to worry about them anymore, which meant all she had to do was concentrate on this class. She’d waited to take it since her freshman year. “The marriage matters most, but mine will be perfect, because my husband will never fight with me. He’ll be quiet and he’ll listen when I talk. He’ll think I’m the most beautiful woman ever.”
Del snorted. “Remember when I tried to talk you down from your singer aspirations? Well, Livie, you’re very pretty, I mean, boys like your red hair and all, but I’m not sure you’ll ever be the most beautiful woman ever.”
“It won’t matter that I’m not. I said he’ll think I am.” He’d think she was beautiful, and she’d think he was the nicest man in the whole world, next to her father.
Someday, Livie was going to have the most perfect wedding, the most perfect husband and the most perfect marriage.
She was sure of it.
Five Years Later
“What on earth did you do?” Livie Conway charged towards the big dark-haired man who looked more like a linebacker than a physician as he stood lounging near the nurse’s station flirting with Sharon, one of the sweetest nurses on staff. “I just came from Aubrey Kelly’s room. She said you turned off her IV fluids.”
The new intern looked annoyed, but his annoyance couldn’t even begin to touch Livie’s. She was known throughout the Philadelphia Children’s Hospital as a pitbull when it came to her patients. It was a reputation she was proud of, one that she didn’t hesitate to reinforce when the occasion warranted it. And this occasion definitely did.
Sharon, the object of his flirting, beat a hasty retreat.
“I’ll call you later,” Dr. Palmer called after her, before turning to Livie, superiority evident in his expression. “Nurse, I’m not in the habit of being spoken to in that manner. Either get yourself under control, or just leave.”
“Dr. Palmer,” she said in her calmest voice between gritted teeth.
“Yes, Nurse?” he asked with saccharine sweetness.
“You could at least learn our names. You’ve been on the floor two weeks. I could give you a list of all our names. Maybe that would help? For instance, the woman you were flirting with was Sharon. I’m Olivia. And while I’d be happy to help you learn our names so you’ll stop calling out nurse in that obnoxious fashion you so often use, first we need to discuss the fact that you just turned off Aubrey’s IV fluids. They were connected to her Picc Line, and you didn’t clamp it off.”
He nodded. “I knew she was Sharon, and it’s nice of you to introduce yourself, and yes I turned off Aubrey’s IV fluids. She didn’t need it any longer.”
“Did it ever occur to you to consult me first?”
“Nurse…” he paused and added, “Olivia, I don’t mean to be condescending, but I’m pretty sure it’s the other way around.”
“Listen, you—” she cut herself off, since the list of adjectives she’d like to use to describe him weren’t overly professional. “Doctor, I was flushing out Aubrey’s line. She’s just finished a round of chemo and you turned off the IV fluids before the flush finished.”
A Picc line was very much like an IV line. It was set in a patient’s shoulder and ran into a major vein. It allowed the doctors to deliver medicine, and even take blood, without sticking the patient. This was particularly important on a pediatric floor where needle sticks were just another medical trauma the kids had to go through. Shutting off the IV fluids that were connected to a Picc line wasn’t normally a problem, unless the line itself hadn’t been flushed properly and still had the medicine in it. Then the line was prone to clotting—especially if the IV machine had been turned off, and everything else was left connected—making the line useless for future procedures.
“She was eating and drinking. I didn’t think—”
“Yes, you did. You thought you knew what you were doing. But even though you’re an intern, this is your first rotation. I’ve been here two years. If you’d condescended to ask me, I’d have told you what the saline was for. I just spent the last two hours working on it, but the line’s occluded. Nothing’s moving through it.”
“Did you try TPA?” TPA was a drug that busted up clots. They used the medication on stroke victims to dissolve the clots that caused so much damage, and it could sometimes dissolve the clot that occluded a Picc line.
“Yes. Nothing worked. Aubrey will need a new line.”
“Then you’ll have to get it put in.” He took a step, as if he’d settled the matter in his mind and was ready to get on with his day.
Livie stepped in front of him, blocking his means of escape. “I don’t think so. You ruined this line, you put the new one in.”
“Nurse—”
“Aubrey’s only six,” she said softly. “She’s desperately afraid of needles. Desperately. Even my working on her line, which didn’t cause her any pain, has left her a wreck. I’m going to sit with her and hold her hand, and you can put the new line in. Maybe if you see what happens when you’re careless, you’ll think twice and ask questions next time.” She paused, then added, “And if you don’t think that’s going to happen, let me call your resident. Regan will set this to rights.”
From Dr. Palmer’s expression it was clear he’d already gotten a taste of Regan’s acid tongue. “Fine, we’ll do it your way.”
Livie should have felt victorious, but really all she could think of was her patient. She’d been there when they’d put the first line in and knew how hard this was going to be on the little girl. She looked at the big doctor. If he was going to be any kind of a physician at all, the experience was going to be hard on him as well.
Lou had only inserted a Picc line once before, but it had been on an adult. Working on Aubrey was harder, even with Olivia’s coaching. The little girl’s veins were much smaller. He could have coped with that. But her crying—that’s what ripped him apart, piece by piece.
Olivia had been right. If he’d only stopped to ask, Aubrey wouldn’t have spent ten minutes squeezing Olivia’s hand, while tears streamed down her little freckled face yesterday. The memory had weighed on him all last night, which is why he stopped in the little girl’s room as soon as he got on the floor. “Hey, Aubrey.”
She eyed him warily. “Hi, Dr. Lou.”
“I brought you something.” He handed her a doll he’d stopped and picked up on his way home from work last night. “I found her all alone. I asked where she belonged, but she said she hadn’t found her home yet. I was hoping maybe you’d look after her for me.”
“Dolls don’t talk,” the little girl said with certainty.
“This one does.” He pulled over a chair and sat right next to Aubrey’s bed. “If you’re very, very quiet and listen, maybe you can hear her. She’s a good listener. I was telling her how bad I felt about making you cry yesterday, and I felt better after I talked to her, but I’m still very sorry, Aubrey.”
She shook her head. “Livie says that the doctors and nurses only want to make me better, that it hurts them when I hurt.”
“Livie’s right. I’m so sorry for yesterday.”
“That’s okay.” She beckoned to him with her little hand. He leaned closer and she kissed his cheek. “Thank you for the doll. I know she doesn’t talk, but she does make me feel better.”
“I’m glad.”
He opened the door and found Olivia standing just outside it, blatantly eavesdropping. “That was nice.”
“I assume Livie’s short for Olivia?” he asked.
“My friends call me Livie, the rest of the world calls me Olivia.” She looked him and added, “You get to call me Olivia.”
“Then I’ll have to live in hope that someday you’ll allow me to call you Livie, Olivia.”
She snorted in a way that would have made Del proud. “I wouldn’t hold my breath.”
She started into the room, but he took her hand and pulled her back into the hall. He merely meant to tell her thank you. She’d taught him a very important lesson yesterday, one that would impact his career for the better.
That’s what he meant to do.
What he did instead was kiss her. It wasn’t a lingering sort of kiss, just a firm buss on the mouth. When he released her, he started, “How about dinner tonight so I can thank you properly—” but didn’t get any further.
“I’d rather eat with my brother, Doctor. Beck doesn’t chew his food, he inhales it. But his lack of table manners would be preferable to your lack of manners all together.” And with that she stormed into the room. He watched from the door as her entire demeanor changed. “Hi, Aubrey. Who do you have there?”
He gently shut the door.
Maybe he could convince Olivia to let him take her out for that thank-you dinner. He wasn’t sure what possessed him to kiss her like that, but he didn’t regret it at all. Maybe he’d be lucky enough to do it again.
And maybe if he was really lucky, she’d let him call her Livie.
Two Years Later
Livie had always known that there was something magic about the house on Briar Hill Road. Her grandmother had lived there years ago, and now her parents did. Of all the places in the world, it was the one that said home to her. She’d missed home enough that she’d only stayed in Philadelphia long enough to finish her graduate courses. As soon as she had her degree in hand, she started applying for jobs back in Pittsburgh. She didn’t mention it to her parents. She wanted to surprise them.
And because she hadn’t mentioned it made the fact she got the job at the same hospital her mother worked at even sweeter. She knew she’d gotten it on her own merit, that her mom hadn’t pulled any strings.
When she showed up on the doorstep of her parents' house four months ago, bags in hand, her surprise had been as perfect as she’d hoped.
She was working as the nurse practioner on St. Bartholomew’s pediatric cancer floor. When she was in school, she’d known she’d wanted to work with cancer patients. She’d planned on working with breast cancer patients, but she’d found herself drawn to pediatrics. For her, the kids were everything.
For four months, she’d looked for her own apartment, but her parents had told her again and again not to hurry. They loved having her back on Briar Hill Road, and truth be told, she loved being back in her old room that still had posters on the walls and her case of Barbies in the closet. She’d met Del for lunch more than once, and their friendship felt as if there had never been years they were apart.
Yes, everything was perfect in Olivia Kathleen-Rose Conway’s life. Everything but…
She eyed Dr. Lou Palmer down the hall, flirting with one of the nurses and was rewarded with a sense of deja vu.
Been here. Done that. Got the T-shirt.
She’d heard they were getting a new doctor on the floor to replace Dr. Squelia, but she hadn’t expected him.
She’d avoided him so far. Three days—well, really just one if you counted her days off. But that was one day of not having to deal with the arrogant, opinionated, annoying doctor who seemed to feel kissing nurses was an acceptable business relationship.
But her lucky streak was at an end. He wasn’t just orienting, he was working today, which meant she had to deal with him.
She knew it wasn’t Joannie’s fault that the most annoying doctor in the universe was working at St. Bart’s, so she pasted a smile on her face as she entered the seventeen-year-old’s room. “Hey, Joannie, what’s new?”
“Well, the last of my hair is gone. I’m liking the look, what about you?” She gave Livie a cheesy, supermodel smile.
“I’ve heard skin is in this year.”
“Me, too.” Joking aside Joannie added, “I thought about using a wig. There’s some organization that offered me one. But I said no.”
“Why?” Livie asked as she checked Joannie’s Picc line.
“Because I’m fighting a battle, and I’ll be darned if the leukemia’s going to win. When guys go into combat, they wear special clothes, uniforms that say, ‘I’m ready to fight.’ Well, I refuse to think of hospital gowns as my uniform. They’re too ugly. But my bald head…well, every time I look in the mirror, it reminds me I’m fighting a battle, and I’m going to win.”
Livie had been working as a nurse for three years and as a nurse practioner for the last four months. She knew every one of her patients was special. She tried to treat them as such. But every once in a while one came along who took up residence in her heart.
Joannie was one of those.
“You know I’m here, fighting right beside you.”
“You and Dr. Lou. He’s taking over my case and came in to introduce himself yesterday. I like him.”
Livie worked very hard to maintain her smile as she said, “I’m glad you like him.”
“Did I hear my name?” boomed a voice.
Abrasive, annoying, argumentative…and those were just the A’s. She could probably manage to use the whole alphabet to describe Dr. Lou Palmer if she had to.
She sighed. She knew she couldn’t avoid him forever, but a girl could hope. Yet there comes a time when reality must be faced, and reality was standing right behind her, so she turned and faced this particularly unpleasant reality head on. “Doctor,” she said, stretching her lips into the best imitation of a smile that she could muster.
“Nurse.” For a moment, she was just another nurse to him, but she could see the moment recognition set in. “You.”
“Me,” she assured him.
“Olivia,” he said, stressing her name, “I though you were in Philly.”
“Doctor, I could say the same about you. And I could express my sincerest regret that you’re not.”
He had the audacity to laugh. “Ah, so I see bygones are not necessarily bygones.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Doctor. I assume you want to check over Joannie?”
“I sure do. How’s my favorite patient today? Is the new medication helping with your nausea?”
“I ate two crackers and a banana this morning.” Joannie grinned, as if this was a huge accomplishment, and given her recent inability to keep anything down, it was.
“That’s my girl. I brought you something.” He pulled a book out of the shoulder satchel he carried. “Stephen King’s newest. It’s huge. I haven’t had time to read it yet, but my sister’s a big fan and she’s bugging me. I thought if you read it, you could give me enough of a hint about it that I can fib and tell her I read it.”
“I love his stuff.”
“I remember seeing a couple of his books on the nightstand, so I figured. You don’t mind being my crib sheet?”
Her whole face crinkled in delight. “I think I can manage.”
“And if I were to bring you a shake this afternoon, do you think you could manage that? You have to keep your weight up.”
“I’ll try for you, Dr. Lou.”
“What flavor?”
“Chocolate. Is there any other flavor?” He smiled. “I’ll be back after rounds with it.”
“Thanks. I’ll start on this right away.”
He walked out of the room and gave Livie a regal nod she recognized as a command to follow. “I’ll be back in just a bit, Joannie.”
“Take your time, I’ve got reading.” Joannie sank back in her pillow and opened the book.
Livie found him waiting in the hall.
“I guess there are cases when your impressive flirting abilities do have their uses,” she opened with.
He ignored her version of a salutation, and instead simply said, “I wasn’t really surprised to find you here. I’d heard you were working here.”
“Oh?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, I heard—”
“Dr. Palmer, 403. Stat.” He let the sentence drop and started running down the hall. He called back over his shoulder, “I’ll see you later.”
“Not if I see you first,” Livie muttered.
Yes, everything had seemed perfect since she moved home… Dr. Lou Palmer put an end to that.
“Livie, dinner,” she heard her mom call up the stairs.
She’d had the day off, but hadn’t spent any time relaxing. She’d run around the greater Pittsburgh area looking at apartments again. She thought she’d found the perfect one in Southside. It had an open floor plan for the living areas, but a separate bedroom. It was on the fourth floor and had a balcony that overlooked the city. But the selling feature, in her opinion, was the massive bathroom with an old-fashioned clawfoot tub. As a bonus, it was just a ten minute commute to work.
She’d miss seeing her parents every day, but she was close enough to be underfoot a lot. And though they’d made her feel welcome, she was starting to itch to be back on her own.
“Livie,” her mom called again, “come on. We’ve got company.”
“Coming, Mom.” Her mother never seemed to change, she thought as she followed her into the dining room. Her hair was still dark brown without a hint of gray. Livie wasn’t sure if that was nature or Clairol, and didn’t ask. Her father showed his age more readily. His hair used to be brown streaked with grey, but now it was grey streaked with brown. As she looked at both of them, she was struck again by how glad she was to be home with them. Even when she moved out of the house on Briar Hill Road, she knew it would always be home.
“Where’s Becker?” she asked as she walked into the dining room.
She’d been almost college age when her brother had been born. Other than the first few summers she’d been home, they’d never really shared a house. It seemed Beck was making up for lost time. He’d short-sheeted her bed, hidden her car keys, and insisted on eating the breakfast cereal he knew she liked. It should have driven her crazy, but instead, he amused her, which was not his intent. “Your brother’s spending the night at Keith’s.”
“When’s our guest arriving?”
“Right here,” said a voice from behind her.
A voice she recognized.
A voice attached to a man she’d tried to avoid at work, and never imagined she’d have to try and avoid at home.
“Livie,” her mom said. “I don’t know if you’ve met yet, but this is our new doctor, Lou Palmer. Lou, my daughter, Livie.”
She turned and said, “Doctor,” by way of a greeting.
“Olivia,” he countered.
Her parents seemed oblivious to the tension, which seemed odd to Livie, since she thought it was thick enough to cut with a knife.
“Let’s sit down everyone,” her father said. “Lou, do you want to open the wine?”
Her mom had set a casual table, the kind that said, ‘I just know we’re going to be great friends.’ But her mom didn’t know Lou Palmer the way Livie did. The month long rotation he’d spent on her floor in Philly had started bad and ended worse. He seemed to derive some twisted pleasure out of needling her.
Once her mom got to know how overbearing and power-tripping he was, she’d change her tune and Dr. Lou Palmer wouldn’t be invited back, Livie was sure.
“You two have met?” her mom asked.
“Yes.” Livie knew her mother would frown on her being rude to a guest, so she vowed to keep her responses as monosyllabic as possible for the evening.
“Actually, Olivia and I met in Philadelphia,” Lou said smoothly as he started pouring the wine in the four glasses her mom got out, “when I was on my pediatric rotation.”
“Livie, you never mentioned you knew Lou.”
“Just in passing.” She shot him eye daggers, daring him to disagree. “Hardly worth mentioning.”
Lou could see that Livie wasn’t happy about him coming to dinner. He’d tried to warn her yesterday, but he’d been called away. And after that, she’d done a great job avoiding him the rest of the shift. Then she was off today. So it wasn’t entirely his fault his arrival was a surprise. He’d hoped that spending a casual evening together would soften her attitude toward him, but given her expression, he wasn’t holding out much hope.
“Yes, I worked with Olivia for a few weeks. Your daughter made a huge impact on my career.”
“As her father, I might be biased, but she does tend to leave an impression.”
“Mom, can I have the salad over this way? I’m starved.”
Lou knew that Livie thought to deflect him from talking about Philly, but since he didn’t have anything to lose if she got annoyed, he planned on talking about it here, and hopefully later in private. Maybe, if he told her just how she’d affected him, she’d soften towards him. “Pediatrics was my first rotation. I’ll confess, I still had a lot to learn. Olivia taught me how important it was to treat patient care as a team effort. To consult the nurses about the patients. And I’ve learned to listen to the parents as well. After all, they know their children better than anyone.”
Livie—he though of her as Livie even though he would never call her that name until she invited him to—frowned in his direction.
Her mother, Hayden, smiled at him. “You know, all the nurses have been talking about how easy you are to work with. You seek them out and get their assessments and opinions on patient care. You’ve made an impression.”
“You can tell them that Olivia’s the reason.”
”Good for you, sweetie,” said Brian, wearing the look of a proud father.” Let’s have a toast, to new friends and my very smart daughter.”
Lou raised his glass along with Livie’s parents. With all three of them staring at her, she didn’t have a choice but to follow suit.
After the toasting was finished and the meal started in earnest, he changed the topic to golf.
“Do you golf?” Lou asked.
“I’m rather new to the sport,” Brian admitted.
“Which means, he’s not very good,” Hayden teased.
“Maybe we could play sometime? I could give you some pointers.”
“Dad, I’d take Dr. Palmer up on his offer. After all he’s rumored to be an expert at everything.”
“I know it seems that way, Olivia. It’s a curse I’ve learned to live with, but I’m not an expert on everything. However, golf I can help your dad out with. I went through college on a golf scholarship, so I may be able to give him a few pointers.”
“That would be great,” Brian said. “I’d really appreciate it. Name the day and time, and I’ll be there.”
“I’m off this weekend. What about Saturday morning?”
“Sounds great.”
He had a date with Livie’s father. And while that was all well and good, Brian Conway wasn’t who he hoped to date.
He watched Livie, and couldn’t figure out just why he was attracted to her. She was pretty, but had a temper that matched her red hair. And it was obvious that she held a grudge. But she was wonderful with the kids, knew her stuff, and as the meal progressed, every now and then she’d forget she didn’t like him and laugh. At those moments there was no doubt in his mind that she was the one.
After dinner he visited a little longer then glanced at his watch. “I’d better go. I’ve got to be at the hospital early.”
“I’m so glad you came,” Hayden said.
Brian nodded his agreement. “I’ll see you Saturday. Livie, why don’t you show our guest out while I help your mother with the dishes?”
She looked as if she’d like to argue, but it was clear she respected her parents too much to actually do it. “Fine,” was all she said. She walked silently next to him to the door. “Thanks for coming to dinner.”
He knew it was just good manners on her part, not a genuine pleasure over sharing a meal with him.
“Olivia, would it make any difference if I said I was sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize to me.”
“Maybe not. But I do have to thank you. I meant what I said at the table, meeting you and Aubrey changed me…for the better, I hope.”
“You remember her name.” She seemed to soften. “Really, I’m glad. Medicine shouldn’t be about a pecking order, about who’s the boss. It should be a team effort to serve the best needs of the patient. Sometimes everyone forgets that. I’m sorry if I’ve been a little…” she paused.
“Testy?” He smiled. “This is where I get to play the gallant and say I never even noticed.”
She offered him a reluctant smile. “That’s very kind of you.”
They stood a moment in silence. “I guess I should go.”
“You have to be at the hospital early. “
“Right.” He opened the door and started out, then stopped and turned around. “Listen, after I golf with your dad on Saturday, maybe we could go out to dinner.”
“I’m sure mom and dad would like that. Mom’s quite taken with you.”
“No, not them,” he clarified. “You and me.”
“I don’t think that would be wise.”
“No, but it could be fun. Say yes, Olivia. Let me show you I’m not the man you think I am.”
“Almost every other available woman at the hospital would jump at that invitation and more than a few of the unavailable ones as well. Why ask me?”
“Because, maybe I can convince you to let me call you Livie.”
She blushed. “You remember that, too?”
“I remember everything about you.”
“I’m sure you don’t.”
“Come out with me Saturday night and let me prove it.”
“Fine. Just to prove I don’t hold a grudge.”
“Great. Saturday then.”
“So, where are we going?” Livie asked.
Lou had never felt so nervous about a date. He wasn’t sure what it was about Olivia Conway. She was the prickliest woman he’d ever met. But there was another side of her, one that he’d only seen when she was with her patients. Kind, empathetic, sweet. When she smiled at her kids they smiled back, no matter what treatment they were going through.
He wanted her to smile like that at him.
He wanted her to invite him, after all this time, to call her Livie.
He wanted her.
“I thought about wining and dining you at one of Pittsburgh’s finest restaurants,” he said as he wound through the not-quite familiar streets.
Livie caught his wording. “You thought about it, but from the sound of it, that’s not what you decided on.”
“No. You see, I tried impressing you once with my masterful doctoring and ended up making a complete fool of myself. I figured I'd get to one of those fancy places and spill the wine on myself, or worse on you. So I came up with a safer, albeit simpler, plan.” “Which is?” she asked.
“I’m cooking for you.”
“Oh.” She paused, then asked, “Do you cook?”
“Wait and see for yourself. You tell me.”
“This isn’t some nefarious scheme to get me to your apartment?” She laughed.
Lou’s spirits rose at the sound. “No. If there’s a nefarious element at all, it’s that I’m hoping you’ll finally forgive me for being an ass back in Philadelphia and invite me to call you Livie.”
“You can—”
He cut her off. “No. I don’t want any charity, Livie. I want you to want me to call you Livie.”
As he glanced across the car, she was looking at him as if she were seeing him for the first time. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a very strange man?”
“A very strange man who’s going to make you dinner tonight.”
Livie looked around Lou’s apartment. Aesthetics weren’t his primary concern—that much was evident. His living room was Spartan to say the least. A couch, a coffee table and a television. They say you can tell a lot about a person by what they read, but all Lou had on his coffee table were medical journals. Some were dog-eared, some folded back to one article or another. But other than the journals, there was no other reading material. There was no clutter in the room whatsoever.
Lou came back out of his kitchen. “Come out to the balcony.”
She followed him out and found a small table with a lamp and table settings there. “I thought you might enjoy the view. Everything’s ready.”
The view from his Mount Washington apartment was every bit as stunning as her new apartment’s. He had a table set there, complete with spaghetti, salads, a bottle of wine and a loaf of Italian bread. “You went to a lot of trouble.”
“Not so much. My grandmother taught me to cook, and I’ll confess, I don’t do it often, but I do enjoy it.”
They ate dinner and talked. Not about anything big and monumental. They talked about their families, about the hospital, about patients who’d touched them. When they’d finished eating, she helped do the dishes, over his objections.
“I can’t cook to save my life. But I can dry a plate,” she argued.
“I could teach you to cook, at least a few simple recipes.”
She stopped drying, mid-dish. “That would mean we’d have to do this again.”
“I’m willing, if you are.”
“I guess I am, on one condition.”
“What?” he asked. “You call me Livie.”
“I thought you’d never ask.” He took the half-dried plate from her hand, leaned down and gently placed a kiss on her cheek. It was sweet, but suddenly Livie wanted more than sweet. She turned her head sharply, bringing her lips to his and kissed him back. Not some platonic little buss, but a full-out kiss.
“Wow,” he murmured when they broke apart.
“Wow, what?” She gave him the look her mother used to give her when she wanted her to remember her manners.
“Wow, Livie?”
She laughed. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because for the first time in a long time she’d met a man who gave her a sense of possibilities.
“Livie, I want to talk to you…” Lou stopped and looked at himself in his office’s bathroom mirror.
This was absolutely ridiculous. He was a grown man. It wasn’t as if he was asking Livie to marry him. Hell, he didn’t know what he was asking. He just knew he wanted more than their very casual dating.
If he were still in high school, he’d be asking her to go steady and handing her his class ring. If he were in a better mood, he’d have smiled at the thought. But he wasn’t. What he wanted was some clarification. They’d been dating for three months, and Livie seemed bound and determined to keep him at arm’s length.
“Livie, we have to talk…” he tried again. Pathetic. He was pathetic.
Furious with himself for being such a putz, he stormed out of the bathroom and almost ran Livie down.
She smiled. “I was looking for you. Are we still getting something to eat? I’m famished.”
“I don’t know what we’re doing, Livie. I guess that’s the problem.” He was pretty sure it didn’t take any form of ESP to see that he was angry. To be honest, he wasn’t sure if he was angry with Livie, or angry with himself.
Her happy smile faded. “Come on, Lou, not again.”
“Give me something, Livie. Something more than an occasional meal and haphazard phone calls. Let’s go away for a weekend. Just you and me.”
“If you want a weekend of wild sex, we can—”
“You think that’s what I want? Sex?” A nurse walked by and he forced himself to lower his voice. “Livie, sex is easy for us. What I want is for you to let me in.”
“I don’t understand why you can’t just keep this casual. I don’t fuss if you don’t call. I don’t complain if you run late. I don’t breathe down your neck and try to make us one of those couples who no longer have their own identities. I don’t want to be Livie-and-Lou. I like being Livie and Lou. Two separate people who like spending time together now and again. I don’t need grand gestures and baring of souls.”
“Maybe I do. Maybe I need some sort of indication that this relationship is going somewhere other than the bedroom and an occasional date.”
“What if I say I’m not sure I can promise you that?”
“Then maybe it’s time we both rethink what we’re doing.” He turned and stormed down the hall.
“Well, no problem, then. I’ll just starve,” Livie muttered to herself as she went back down the hall.
What was a problem was what to do about him. She enjoyed his company. He was fun and she was surprised to find that he was sweet…well, except when he wasn’t. Or maybe it was that she wasn’t sweet. Either way, they did tend to raise each other’s hackles from time to time. But not like this.
Their first major fight was over football. She of course, cheered for the Steelers and he was all about the Eagles. The Eagles? Livie found it hard to swallow that she could be dating, even casually, a man who liked the Eagles. What started off as some friendly kidding got a bit heated.
Then there was the now notorious door-incident. Livie claimed she didn’t need any man opening doors for her. She was more than capable. Lou claimed his mother brought him up right, and was she implying his mother didn’t?
Round and round. Theirs was not an easy—she searched for a word to describe what they had. Relationship? The word made her stomach clench. But whatever they had, it wasn’t easy. Maybe that’s why Livie held back. At least that’s what Lou kept saying she was doing. He claimed she only let him come so far then she pushed him back. That’s what today’s fight was about, she was sure.
She didn’t admit it out loud, but she realized he was probably right. Her parents had a great relationship now, but there was a time when she thought she’d be a child of divorce. A period when they’d all been broken. Her mother and father hadn’t had the loud rows she had with Lou, but rather they’d quietly shut each other out. And they’d shut her out in the process. In her head, she knew it was a stupid excuse for holding back from Lou. But her head didn’t carry much weight with her heart. She should probably go apologize and promise to try harder.
She didn’t want to lose him, but she wasn’t sure how much more she could give him.
“Hey, Sarah, have you seen Dr. Palmer?” she called to a coworker.
“I think he’s in with Joannie.”
Livie started down the hall towards Joannie’s room. The girl was between rounds of chemo, and should be home right now, not stuck in the hospital. She’d come in with a fever a week ago. But they seemed to have the infection under control. Her fever had finally come down to 98.6—right on the money. But Joannie hadn’t finished her course of antibiotics, so she was still here. Still stuck in the hospital instead of at her prom.
Livie wondered what she could do to make the night easier on Joannie. She was still pondering the question when she walked in the room. She didn’t see the girl, just her mom. “Hi, Sylvia,” she said to Joannie’s mom, who looked to be in uncharacteristic high spirits. “I was looking for Dr. Palmer. Is he with Joannie?”
The gray-haired woman pretty much radiated happiness. “Dr. Lou said he had to go to the doctor’s lounge for a surprise and Joannie’s in the bathroom changing.”
As if on cue, the bathroom door opened and Joannie came out wearing a beautiful dark blue prom dress. “Oh, Joannie, you look lovely. But how…?”
“Dr. Palmer’s discharging me, just for the night. Well, until my next dose of antibiotics at midnight.” She twirled around, sending the full-skirt billowing. Joannie was even more excited than her mom. “I’m just like Cinderella. I have to be back here by the stroke of midnight. But Livie, at least I’ll have gone to the ball.” Livie gave the girl a hug. “I’m so glad, Joannie. Really.”
In her excitement, Joannie kept talking, a mile a minute. “And, Dr. Lou’s coming to chaperone, just in case I get sick. Isn’t he the greatest? I have to wear a stupid mask, and Mom ran out to buy a wrap so I can cover where the Picc line is. Despite it all, I’m going to my prom. And I swear I’m graduating with my class. Dr. Palmer’s the greatest,” she said again.
At that moment, Livie realized he was. All her worries, all her nagging fears about drawing too close were stupid. Lou Palmer was the greatest, and she’d be a fool to let her fear stand in their way. Emotions she’d tethered for so long burst loose, and she managed to squeeze out the words, “Yes, the greatest.”
“Can you go find him?” Joannie asked. “Joey will be here soon.”
Joey was all Joannie talked about. The boy spent as much time as he could visiting her. He didn’t seem put off by Joannie’s lack of hair, or by her illness. He genuinely loved her. Maybe it was just a puppy love, or maybe, despite their ages, it was something deeper that would last. The quiet romantic in Livie hoped it would.
She realized Joannie was waiting for an answer. “Yes, let me go find Dr. Lou.”
She hurried down to the lounge and opened the door to find Lou hunched over one of the tables, a couple bottles next to him, and a blue square in front of him. He was muttering to himself.
“Problems?” she asked.
He turned and offered her a tentative smile as he saw her approach. “You know, I didn’t become a surgeon for a reason. I don’t have the hands for it. And it turns out I don’t have a hand for hot glue, ribbons and glitter either.”
And that’s when she saw what he was doing. Gluing ribbons and glitter onto the hospital mask. Something huge that she’d started to let go when she realized what Lou was doing for Joannie, welled up in her chest, growing even bigger. She just stood there looking at this man who looked more like a linebacker than a doctor. A man who felt she couldn’t open her own car door, a man who rooted for the wrong team. A man…she loved.
Looking at him, more glitter covering his lab coat than the mask, she wondered how she’d missed the fact that she was absolutely crazy about Lou Palmer. How had she thought she could keep him at arm’s length, when all she wanted to do was hug him?
“I know. It’s stupid,” he said. “I just thought she should have something beautiful to go with her dress.” He reached for the mask, as if he was going to crinkle it up.
Livie reached out and stopped him, her hand holding his lightly. “Don’t. It’s wonderful.”
“It is?”
“We can fix this,” she said. Years of scrapbooking made her an almost pro. With Lou’s help, they soon had a mask that looked better. “There. It’s still a mask, but it’s a pretty mask at least.”
“Thanks, I’d never have managed it without you. About the fight. I’m sorry. I try not to push. I promise myself over and over again I’ll give you time. It’s only been months. But Livie—”
“Stop, Lou. I came in here because I heard you were going to the prom?”
He looked unsure. “Yes. Joannie’s just getting over the infection and I want to keep an eye on her and I figure they can always use another chaperone.”
“Then, Dr. Palmer, since you stood me up for our dinner date, I was wondering if you’d go to the prom with me? Or rather, could I go to the prom with you, unless you’ve already asked some other girl?”
“I can’t think of anyone I’d rather go with.” He took her hand. “We’ve got a mask to deliver.”
“To our Cinderella?”
“Cinderella?” He looked confused. “Going to the ball, in by midnight for her dose of antibiotics, Cinderella.”
He smiled. “Yes, I guess she is.”
As they walked down the hall, Livie wondered if she was going to be able to manage not blurting out, I love you. The words practically begged to be said. But she wanted to wait until they were at the prom, dancing under a disco ball—oh, how she hoped there was a disco ball. She wanted to whisper the words in his ear and maybe kiss him.
She told him she didn’t need any grand gestures, but maybe Lou did. Maybe he needed something to show him that she really cared.
Yes, she’d hold on to them a bit longer, but a bit was all she could manage.
They got back to Joannie’s room and Lou stopped before going in. “Why don’t you give it to her?”
Livie could sense his embarrassment. “Your idea, you do it.”
He sighed the sigh of a man who was uncomfortable with the sweetness of the gesture, but he smiled when he saw Joannie, still prancing around in her dress.
“I feel like a princess,” she told them both.
“I know a mask isn’t going to be the look you were going for, but I…” Lou just shoved the mask toward her.
“Dr. Lou thought a prettier mask might make wearing it more bearable,” Livie added.
“Oh, man, it’s great. Well, as great as a hospital mask can be.” Joannie held it up to the deep blue of her gown, then snatched up the silk wrap her mother brought. “Look, it matches the wrap and really coordinates with the gown.”
“The glue’s still a little tacky, but it should be dry before Joey arrives,” Livie told her. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to clock out and run home and change.”
“Hot date tonight?” Joannie asked.
“It seems I’m going to the prom with Dr. Palmer.”
Joannie launched herself into Livie’s arms and hugged her. “You’re coming to watch out for me, too? You guys are the best.”
Livie hugged the girl. “No, sweetie, you are.”
She started out the door, still feeling uncharacteristically choked up.
“Livie?” Sylvia called.
“Yes.”
And Sylvia, who’d held together better than any parent with a sick child should, broke down, sobbing uncontrollably in Livie’s arms. “Thank you both for making this happen.”
“It’s Dr. Palmer. I wouldn’t have the authority to sign her out.”
“But you’re going along, too. I won’t have a thing to worry about.”
Livie looked at the big man, patiently letting Joannie bubble her excitement all over him. “It’s okay. You see, Dr. Palmer owes me a dance.”
And she had three little words to whisper in his ear.
Five Months Later, Halloween
“I have a present for you.” Lou handed Livie a Target bag.
Once upon a time she’d dreamt her perfect man would bring her roses and jewelry. Lou did bring her gifts, but nothing like that. She wondered what this gift would be.
“I love the wrap job this time,” she teased as she opened it. “Oh, Lou, they’re perfect.” She held the pair of orange scrubs with little white ghosts all over them and examined them. “Just perfect. I’m going to go change.”
Before she did, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. “I love Halloween, and I love you, too.”
“I noticed Halloween took first place.”
“Well, I have loved Halloween longer than you—” She kissed him again. “But not more.”
“I can’t fault your logic,” he said with a laugh. “Go change. Can you meet me in the lounge at two?”
“Sure. Coffee at two with Lou. I can remember that.” She started to leave but stopped, turned around, kissed him again, then hurried out of the room calling, “See you at two,” over her shoulder.
Lou smiled as he watched Livie run from the room. He had to change as well. And there was a whole host of other things to attend to.
Livie had told him so many of her family stories, sharing moments that meant so much to her parents and herself. There was a story about a Halloween in particular… Well, he was hoping today rivaled that one in her memory someday.
Right now, he had things to do.
Livie changed into her new scrubs. Given her red hair, orange wasn’t normally her best color. Some redheads complained about their hair color, but Livie never did. She’d inherited her hair color from her grandmother, and every time she looked in the mirror it was a reminder of Kathleen Conway. So she never wished it away, and today, she didn’t care if the orange scrubs clashed with her hair. They were a gift from Lou, and he’d think she looked beautiful in them. That was enough for her. She knew some women held out for the expensive gifts, but personally, a gift from the heart meant so much more to her and that’s just what this was.
She’d known she loved Lou Palmer the night of Joannie’s prom. It had been a big moment, a memorable one. But dating Lou wasn’t filled with those milestone moments, but rather little ones. A pair of hospital scrubs. A trip to the zoo.
Or, the day they drove up to Erie and he took her to Presque Isle. She’d told him about her family’s one very special vacation on the lakeshore in Southampton, Ontario, and since neither of them had enough time off to make that long trip, he thought the two-hour jaunt to Erie might be the next best thing. She’d whispered, "It’s even better," then she’d kissed him. And it was better, because he’d been with her.
No, she didn’t need grand gestures or big moments. For her, it was the little ones, a spaghetti dinner he cooked himself, the time he’d pulled over at the side of the road to pick her daisies in a field, just because she’d exclaimed that they looked beautiful.
Livie took one last look in the mirror. Yes, spaghetti, daisies and orange scrubs were the moments she treasured most.
Her mom was coming into work at noon. Maybe she’d ask her to stop and pick up some donuts. Lou had a sweet tooth, and glazed twists were his favorites. Oh, and apple cider. It was the perfect treat for Halloween. It wasn’t quite the same as ghostly scrubs, but she was pretty sure he’d be pleased.
She made the call, and after securing her mother’s promise, she started her rounds. It was going to be a great day.
She loved Halloween.
It was just before two when her mother found Livie coming out of Becky Watson’s room. “Hey, sweetie. Love the scrubs.”
Livie did an exaggerated pirouette. “They’re from Lou. The donuts are my thank you. Want to come in and join us?”
“I don’t mind if I do. Are you coming over tonight?”
“You couldn’t keep me away. Handing out the candy isn’t quite the same as trick-or-treating, but Lou’s coming with me, and with you and Dad there, well, it will be fun.” Handing out Halloween candy on Briar Hill Road—it was another sweet moment to savor.
The lounge’s door was shut. When Livie twisted the handle, she found it was also locked. “What the heck?” She knocked. Joannie opened the door. “Livie, you’re here.” Joannie’s blond hair had grown back. It was still short and baby-fuzzy, but the style gave her an elfish cuteness.
“Yes, I’m here. I work here. You’re not back…?” Her heart sank at the thought of Joannie’s cancer returning.
Joannie laughed. “No, I’m fine. Just visiting my favorite nurse and…” She threw the door open.
The lounge looked as if someone had bought out a Halloween supply store: jack-o'-lanterns, orange and black streamers with little ghosts dangling from them, and an assortment of witches and black cats filled the room. “What on earth…?”
That’s when she saw him. Lou. He looked as if he’d just left his outlaw biker gang. Black jeans and a black vest that was a bit too snug, over a black t-shirt. “Livie, come on in. We’re having a party.”
“I can see that. For what?” She spotted her father in the corner. He grinned and gave her a little wave. Her father? Joannie? “What’s going on?”
“Olivia Kathleen-Rose Conway—” Lou sank to one knee in front of her “—will you marry me?”
She flung herself at Lou, who, given his precarious position on one knee, toppled. She didn’t care. She just fell over with him, then kissed him hard and long.
“Is that a yes?” he asked as they broke apart and sat back up. “I mean, I didn’t even get a chance to show you the ring. You might hate it and not want to marry me after all.”
“It was a yes, and although I’d love to see the ring, nothing would make me change my mind.” She’d been wrong. This wasn’t another quiet little moment to store away. It was a big one, and though she didn’t need those all the time, she’d take this one.
Just in case he had any doubt, she said it again. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
She’d found her perfect man. When she was young, she’d thought she’d never fight with Mr. Perfect, but as an adult she realized how unrealistic that was. She and Lou did fight, but he listened to her side, and she tried to listen to his, so she did get that part right. They’d even come to terms with each of them rooting for the “wrong” team.
And he thought she was beautiful, which was good because she thought he was the most beautiful man she’d ever met, though if she were telling him that he’d probably take offense at the word beautiful. She’d have to substitute the word handsome, but it wouldn’t be enough. Lou was beautiful to her.
Suddenly it hit her…. Not only was she engaged to the most perfect man of her dreams, now she’d get to plan the most perfect wedding ever. The kind of perfect wedding she’d dreamed about as a little girl.
She couldn’t wait to start.
But first, she tried on her ring and kissed him again. The wedding planning could wait a while longer.
They planned a spring wedding.
Or rather Livie planned it.
Lou was content to let her have her way in everything.
Livie had dreamed of this day since she was a little girl playing Barbies with Del. Oh, she’d changed a lot of those childhood plans, but she was sure that this was absolutely the wedding of her dreams.
She glanced down at her dress and smiled. She’d wanted a dress just like her mom had worn. That had been the easiest part of the wedding to plan. She’d simply worn the same dress her mother had worn so many years ago. She remembered playing Barbies with Del and telling her that people didn’t share wedding dresses. Turns out, shared dresses were the best, at least in her case.
“Are you ready?” her father asked.
She kissed his cheek. “Yes.” Yes, she was ready to start her life with Lou.
Del, wearing a sparkly black bridesmaid’s dress was her only attendant. Her friend threw open the chapel door and walked down. Her father, in a tux so like the one he’d worn to his own wedding, took Livie’s arm in his as they walked into the chapel and down the aisle.
Just like she’d dreamed, the most important people in Pittsburgh were in attendance. Not the mayor, but the children she and Lou spent so much time with. Because rather than the big Cathedral in Pittsburgh, they’d held the wedding in the hospital chapel so their kids could attend. Rather than Sunday best, most of the guests were dressed in hospital gowns or scrubs. Some were wearing masks, some had no hair… and they all looked beautiful. She saw her mother standing in front of the first pew, with tears in her eyes. Beck stood next to her, looking uncomfortable in his suit.
Yes, the most important people were at her wedding, despite the fact she’d never become a famous rock star, just as Del had predicted, and she hadn’t even dreamed of inviting the mayor.
She reached Lou, and he took her hand in his, and the Reverend started. “Dearly beloved…”
Yes, this was the perfect wedding to the most perfect man ever.
After they’d been pronounced husband and wife, they went to the reception in the hospital cafeteria. Livie was pretty sure she’d hugged the Chief of Staff three times, but he didn’t seem to mind. She’d hugged everyone.
Joannie had brought her iPod and Joey had rigged them up to speakers, so there was even dancing.
As she tripped the light fantastic with her husband—she loved the sound of that—Lou whispered, “I love you, Mrs. Palmer.”
“I love you, too.”
And that’s when his beeper went off. “Stay, I’ll be back.”
Livie found a quiet corner but Del came and found her. “Where’s Lou?”
“He had a page, but he’ll be back.”
“This isn’t the wedding you planned,” her friend said, sympathetically. “Are you disappointed?”
“This is exactly the wedding I always planned,” Livie argued. “After all, you’re here, wearing a dress of your choosing. We’re surrounded by the most important people in Pittsburgh, our friends and family. I’ve even got the perfect dress. But most importantly, I’ve found the perfect groom.”
“I thought the perfect one would never argue with you?” Del, who’d witnessed more than one of her tiffs with Lou, teased. “I might have been wrong about that one little part, but otherwise, this is just how I planned it.”
Del laughed. “Yes, I guess you’re right. This is the wedding you always dreamed of. So, what about the honeymoon?”
Lou hurried back to the reception, which was winding down. “Are you ready?” he asked his wife.
Livie smiled at him and nodded. “Should we change?”
“No. Maybe we’ll change somewhere on the way, but let’s just enjoy being the bride and groom a bit longer. Rumor has it you’ve planned for the day for a very long time.”
“By rumor, I’m sure you mean Del.” She laughed. “But she was right, and I would like it to last a little longer. Are you going to tell me where we’re going now?”
Lou had let Livie plan the wedding, but asked to be allowed to surprise her by planning the honeymoon. He knew that when she was younger, she’d dreamed about a honeymoon at some exotic location, but after listening to her stories, and consulting with her parents, he thought he’d found the perfect surprise.
“I’ve rented us a cottage in Southampton for a week.” He knew the lakeside town in Ontario held a special place in her family’s hearts.
Tears glistened in her eyes and he was afraid he’d made a mistake. “Livie, if you’d rather, we can go somewhere else. I didn’t want—”
She threw herself into his arms. “You are the most perfect man. The most perfect groom and the most perfect husband.”
“No one’s perfect.”
“Okay, you’re almost perfect. After all, as an Eagle fan, there is no true perfection possible for you.”
After they got settled in the car and he started up I-79, Livie started planning their honeymoon. “You’ll love it there, Lou. I swear, you can almost hear the sun hit the water some nights. And every evening we’ll walk from the cottage into town. I’ll get a root beer at the store and you’ll get?”
“Last time I was in Canada, I had the most amazing cream soda. Think they’ll have it there?”
Livie melted all over again. “I’m sure they will.”
Livie’s mother used to say that life was punctuated by big moments, but made up of the smaller ones. Today had been a big one, but she was looking forward to the root beer and cream soda moments in Southampton. To waking up next to this man every morning for the rest of her life. To glittered masks and Halloween scrubs.
To a lifetime of moments…a lifetime of love.
The End