Loving Lily Lavender (22 page)

After a few minutes, he pulled back to look at me, holding my
face in his hands. “I thought I’d lost you,” the look of wonder replacing
grief.

“I know, but I’m here.” I wiped his tears with my thumbs. All at
once, his lips crushed mine in the fiercest kiss I’ve ever felt. I didn’t care
that a crowd of spectators had gathered and were clapping around us. I didn’t
care that my lips hurt, or that a camera crew was filming. In that moment, my
only thought was on this moment—this kiss—this man. In the history of reunions
there has never been one so beautiful as this.

When we pulled from our embrace and looked at each other, his
lips were covered with blood—my blood.

“You’re hurt.” He looked sad as he traced his finger along the
outline of my bottom lip.

“So are you.”

Finally he smiled. “Let’s go to the hospital.”

“Yes,” I responded as we got up and walked arm in arm to the
ambulance, got in, and shut the door behind us.

Lucas had to have four stitches in is head and had a mild
concussion. The doctor wanted him to stay overnight, but we used our influence
to convince him that I could take care of him just as well at home. Since both
of our cars were still at the bank, we had to call a cab to drive us home.

When we arrived in the driveway, I recognized Cody’s car.

I gasped. “Lucas, I’ve been so wrapped up in you that I forgot
about Meagan. She still thinks I’m dead.”

“Yes, I saw her when I came out of the bank. When she embraced me
she quickly realized, by my expression, that you were dead.” He winced at the
memory, and I could tell that his emotions were still very raw.

“I’m glad Cody was with her. I’m afraid I wasn’t very good at
consoling her. They left right after I got into the ambulance.”

I helped Lucas out of the cab. He held onto me tightly, not even
releasing me as I reached in to pay the cab driver. I wrapped my arms around
him as we slowly made our way to the back door. It was unlocked. When we
entered, Meagan looked up in shock and then screamed at the sight of me.

“Lily? Is that you?”

“Yes, Meg, it’s me. I’m okay.”

She jumped up and ran to me. Lucas loosened his grip on my arm so
I could embrace her, but never released me fully.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. Never do that to me again! Do you hear
me?”

“I hear you. My days of near death experiences are over,” I
teased.

“How are you alive? We thought they killed you.”

I spent the next thirty minutes explaining in detail what
happened, it being the third time I had recounted the story. The first time was
to Lucas in the ambulance. The second was to the police, at the hospital.

Lucas explained all that happened after they took me into the
office. He said the negotiator called and told the robbers that their car was
out front. They then used hostages to shield themselves, pushing them out of
the way as they jumped into the car and sped away.

The police informed us that they pursued the robbers in a high-
speed chase, resulting in the robbers crashing their car. None of them were
seriously injured and were currently in police custody.

I don’t know why, but I was secretly glad that none of them were
killed. Although, I could tell that Lucas felt entirely different.

After I finished recounting my story to Meagan, she told us that
the media had covered every angle of the crisis, even interviewing Randall.
They were fascinated by the fact that Lucas had demanded entry into the bank
after realizing that I was in there and being held at gunpoint. They had made
it up to be a heroic story of a hero rescuing his love from danger, instead of
a stupid man committing suicide. It took me a while to get over that part.

“Guys, I would love to stay up and talk some more, but it’s been
a long night, and Lucas and I are physically and emotionally exhausted. Would
you be upset if we went to bed?”

“Of course not,” they both agreed.

“You’re both welcome to stay, of course, but in separate rooms,”
I teased as we all hugged goodnight.

By the time we made it up to our bedroom we could barley walk. We
stripped down and climbed into bed, not bothering to shower. I didn’t even wash
my makeup off, something I always did before bed. Once we were comfortable in
each other’s arms, we were fast asleep.

When I woke, it was close to ten. Lucas was still asleep, so I
carefully crept out of bed and tiptoed my way into the bathroom to shower.

When I cut the water off and pulled the curtain back, I screamed,
spotting Lucas sitting on the counter across from me.

“Oh my gosh, Luke! What are trying to do, give me a heart
attack?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Make some kind of noise next time.” I leaned over, trying to
catch my breath. “How long have you been sitting there?”

“I felt you get out of bed and came in right after you got in the
shower.”

I wrapped a towel around me as I stepped out. I approached him,
taking his face in my hands. “Lucas, I know last night scared you, but I
promise you, I’m not going anywhere.”

“You can’t promise that, Lily, none of us can. Last night I
thought I’d lost you. I can’t even explain to you how that felt. The idea of
never seeing you again, never touching you, never hearing you laugh, or
watching you dance; it was too much to bear. My soul died last night, Lily, and
now it’s been resurrected. That changes a man.  The fact is—I can’t do this
life without you. And yet, I know I’m holding you too tightly, and that I need
to learn to let go—to have faith, but it’s so hard.” His eyes filled with
tears. He pulled me into an embrace, burying his face in my chest. We stayed
like that for a while until finally he raised his head and looked up at me.
“Lily, will you help me wash my hair? You know, because of the stitches.” His
smile was big and beautiful, and I knew then he would be fine.

“Of course.” I laughed, taking off my towel and stepping back
into the shower.

“It’s about time you guys came down,” Meg said as we entered the
kitchen. “I was beginning to think I was going to have to come up and get you.”

“Meagan, why are you not at work?”

“I called out today. I thought you guys might need some help. You
know, someone to wait on you so you can rest.”

“Oh, Meg, that’s sweet, but you don’t have to do that. Go home
and get some rest.”

“No, I don’t need rest, besides I want to do it.” As I looked
into her eyes, I realized that not only did she want to do it, she needed to do
it. The events of the bank robbery had scared her too, and she needed to be
here with me. Lucas didn’t seem to mind. As long as I stayed close to him he
was happy.

“I know it’s almost lunch time, but would you guys like some
coffee?” Meagan asked cheerfully.

“Absolutely,” we both agreed in unison.

“Oh, guess what? Meagan started. “I was watching
Good Morning
America
this morning and they were talking about how youtube.com crashed
for a while last night from all the views of the footage of your reunion. A lot
of people have added music and stuff. I’m telling you these people are obsessed
over you guys. Come here let me show you. I went online a little while ago to
see, and some of them are awesome. This one’s my favorite.”

She hit a few buttons and a beautiful song began to play right
before the footage began, first me exiting the bank. It was like watching a
movie. Suddenly I was rushing through the crowd frantically searching until my
head disappeared. That must’ve been when I fell, and then I was back up and
running after the ambulance, and finally our embrace, all the way to when we
got into the ambulance and it drove away. Watching it was almost unbearable. I
felt as if I were there, experiencing it all over again. I couldn’t imagine
what it was doing to Luke.

“Wasn’t that awesome? I cried the first time I watched it.” She
stopped short as she noticed our tears. I looked at Lucas; his face was full of
emotion.

“Excuse me,” he said, quickly leaving the room.

“I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t even think.”

“It’s okay. It was a beautiful video. Thanks for showing it to
us. I’m sure someone will be inspired by it. Lucas is just a little raw still.
He’ll be okay, but I’m going to go back and check on him.”

“Are you going to be okay?” I asked, coming up from behind him.

“Lily, I’m so sorry.” He turned to gaze at me. “I’ve been so
consumed with my own emotions that I haven’t stopped to consider that you were
also in pain. Seeing you in that video, so scared and desperate, I realized
what it must have been like for you. I-I’m sorry.”

“Lucas, you don’t have to apologize. Last night was a hard night
for both of us. But it’s over now. Remember what you said to me the night of
the fire? The important thing is that we’re both okay, and we’re together.”

“You’re right,” he said, embracing me.

“Of course I am,” I teased. “Now let's go have that coffee.”

Later in the day, Marie and her mother came by to visit. She
brought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers to thank me for defending her during
the robbery.

We also had a visit from a local news station. They wanted to
interview us. They said there was a high demand from people who wanted to hear
our story. We politely declined. It would be the first of many interview
requests, including Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters.

“You know, Lucas, maybe we should consider the Barbara Walters
interview. I mean the simple fact that we were asked is an honor. It’s a once
in a lifetime opportunity.”

“You really think so?”

“Well, we could have her come here and interview us in our own
home. It would be fun, so yeah, I think we should. If people want to see us so
bad then let’s let them see us.”

“Okay, well let’s think about it a little longer before we
decide.”

“Oh, okay. By the way, I’m still mad at you for that stupid move
you made at the bank. What were you thinking barging in there like that?”

“Well, I was thinking that the love of my life was in danger and
I was going to save her.”

“That was stupid.”

“Yeah, about as stupid as slapping a robber in the face so he’ll
kill you instead of me.”

“Okay, point taken.”

“Well, I’m mad at you too,” he said. “What were you thinking
sacrificing yourself for that girl and almost giving me a heart attack?”

“Well, I was thinking that she was too young to die and that I
was ready and she probably wasn’t.”

“That was stupid.”

“Yeah, about as stupid as offering yourself up in place of me by
telling them you’re famous.”

“Okay, point taken. So since we’re both so mad at each other, how
do we fix it?” he teased, moving closer until his face was just inches from
mine. I could feel his warm breath on my face.

“I can think of a way.”

“Oh, really,” he said slowly, his eyes penetrating mine. “Maybe
we should continue this discussion upstairs.” He picked me up effortlessly and
carried me up to our room where we stayed for the rest of the day.

We did that interview with Barbara Walters and it was a great
experience. She was actually very kind and seemed to genuinely like us. She was
smitten with Lucas; he seems to have that effect on everything female.

The night it aired, we had a party and invited our friends over
so we could all watch it together. I called my mom and told her to be watching.
Lucas agreed it was a good decision. We were portrayed in a very positive
light. The only tricky question was when we were asked about our faith. Lucas
just answered simply, “Our faith is a part of who we are. It’s what keeps us
strong, especially during all the crisis we’ve been through lately.” I was so
proud of the way he handled that. He did so much better in this interview than
in interviews past. Although my hand almost lost feeling as a result of his
tight squeeze.

Lucas had relaxed some since the robbery, but was still keeping a
tight watch on me. He would only go to the studio on days when I was staying
home. It was a little weird, but I knew he would work it out.

I was working on another wedding scheduled for early May, but
this particular wedding was unlike all the others I’ve done. Nothing seemed to
be going right. It’s like it was cursed, if I believed in that sort of thing,
but like I’ve said before, I never turned my back on a challenge.

“Good morning,” I said as I entered the kitchen, leaning over to
kiss Lucas on the cheek as I passed. He was sitting at the bar with his coffee,
reading something.

“Good morning, Lilianna.”

“Uh oh, you never call me Lilianna. Are you okay?”

“I’m great,” he responded coolly.

“Well, you need to notify your face.” I teased, laughing.

“You got a fan letter today,” he said flatly, holding up the
opened letter in his hand.

“And you opened it because?”

“Because I’m your husband.”

“Well, I don’t read any of yours.”

“That’s because I don’t have them sent here.”

“Why not?”

“Because there are too many. Actually yours aren’t supposed to
come here either.”

“Well, I hope it’s a nice one.” I smiled widely.

“Oh, it’s nice.” The remark held a hint of sarcasm, catching me
by surprise. It’s not something I generally hear coming from him.

As I read it, I smiled. It was from a nineteen year-old boy who
said I was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He said he’d seen our
interview and thought I was a good wife and hoped to have a wife like me some
day.

“Oh, isn’t that sweet?”

“Yeah, real sweet,” he said under his breath.
Again with the
sarcasm
.

“Have you ever responded to any of your fan letters before?”

“Um no. My publicist encouraged me to let a service handle it,
but I believe they send back an autographed photo.”