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“Your Adam doesn’t love you?”
Once upon a time she’d believed with her whole heart that Adam loved her. She’d been a naïve, trusting fool. “No, he doesn’t love me.”
“You’re sure?”
“Positive.”
An odd look passed over Nannie’s face and for a moment her smile slipped, then her expression brightened again. “Tell me about this man who has your heart.”
Tell her about Adam? She’d rather not talk about him. Not think about him.
“Tell me when you first knew you loved him,” the woman encouraged, a far-away look lighting her eyes. “There’s nothing more healing than new love.”
When had she first known she loved Adam?
She’d really like to just ignore Nannie’s request, feign tiredness, and get lost in her own thoughts. But the woman looked so wistful, so expectant, Liz didn’t have the heart.
“It’s nothing terribly romantic,” she warned, just in case Nannie was expecting something straight out of a romance novel.
“Love is always romantic when one looks through the eyes of the lover. Never forget that.”
Liz eyed the older lady with renewed wonder. Nannie’s face glowed with excitement. Talking with the cheery woman made something inside Liz not hurt quite so much, so she smiled in return.
“My grandfather was ill for a very long time,” she began. “I lived with him from the time I was a little girl, and after he got sick I provided his evening and night care. His doctor had told me only the day before that he wouldn’t live much longer and to be prepared.”
She’d not wanted to believe, had refused to believe she was going to lose him.
“Gramps had a particularly rough night, and I was too tense to sleep.” She’d sat vigil over his bed, praying, crying, assessing vitals, praying some more. “By morning, I was wound tighter than a spring.”
“Go on,” Nannie encouraged with a wink. “Get to the good stuff.”
Liz grinned at her impatience. “From the beginning of our relationship Adam understood that we couldn’t date like a normal couple. On this particular occasion we’d made plans to spend the day together for Adam’s birthday. I’d bought tickets to a show in Jackson. We were going to drive up and spend the day just being together.”
She’d wanted to give him one day of being a regular couple, a day where he took precedence in her life. Like so many things in their relationship, the day hadn’t gone according to plan.
“When Adam picked me up that morning, he took one look, drove me to his place instead, and insisted I take a nap before we headed out.”
He’d tucked her into his bed like she’d been a small child, complete with a kiss on the forehead. God, he’d been sweet, telling her he’d man her cellphone. If anything happened with her grandfather, he’d wake her.
“I slept for seven hours and we missed the show. I felt so bad, but he wasn’t upset. Instead, he ran me a bath and cooked dinner.” He’d made her spaghetti. Even now the delicious aroma drifted through her mind, making her mouth water. “While we were eating, I realized I’d been laughing, that I felt happy inside, light, like I could go home to Gramps and give him my love without shedding tears.”
Time with Adam had kept her spirits lifted during the darkest days. Her keeping a positive outlook had to have made a difference to Gramps, had to have helped ease his suffering.
She protectively placed her hand over her abdomen, allowing past emotions to wash over her afresh.
“I looked up to tell Adam how much I appreciated his ability to make me feel whole, warm, alive, and…” her throat tightened, her voice choked “…I saw the same warmth in his eyes.”
He’d looked at her as if she was his whole reason for existing.
“In that moment, the world seemed perfect, and I knew my heart belonged to him and always would.”
Nannie gave a heartfelt sigh.
Liz smiled sheepishly. “Not what you were expecting to hear, I imagine. Nothing flowery or overly romantic. Just him setting aside our plans for his special day to put my needs first.” Heat burned her cheeks. “He told me that being with me was the best birthday present he’d ever received.”
She’d thought his words the most romantic she’d ever heard.
For those few hours that evening it had just been her and Adam and life had felt perfect.
