Within These Walls (40 page)

It was a gift, and he enjoyed sharing it, especially with me.

Finding him in a pair of jeans and a ratty old T-shirt on the weekends still made my heart flip-flop, but I would trade a pair of scrubs for a suit any day.

That man was made for suits.

When he’d insisted on paying for my tuition, I’d fought him on it. It had been one epic battle. Eventually, he’d won out, arguing that I would never be able to work as a counselor without a degree. I’d finally decided my life calling was to help those out there like me—the people who felt cheated and hopeless because they were born different from the rest of the world. I’d had an amazing counselor when I was younger, and I hoped I could make that kind of impact on someone else’s life one day. It was a long ways off, but someday, I’d get there. I had originally planned on working to pay off my tuition. I could also have taken loans and found scholarships. Jude had given me a firm no to all of that.

“Go work at McDonald’s, for all I care, but do it only if that’s what you really want to do,” he’d said. “You’ve spent your entire life buried. Now, it’s your time to finally do whatever it is that makes you happy. Go to school, Lailah. Be whatever it is that you’re destined to be.”

I had nothing but time now, and what an amazing gift it was.

Time was not our friend this morning though, and I quickly made a decision, picking a pair of peep-toe pumps similar to the ones I had packed—or I thought I had packed.

We raced out the door and prayed traffic would be in our favor as we drove toward the sandy beach.

What a beautiful day for a wedding.

“See? Right on time,” I said as we pulled the rental car into a parking spot along the boardwalk.

Looking out at the water’s edge, Lailah’s eyes searched around until she spotted the small gathering of white chairs, and she smiled. “There it is,” she said.

“I really wish they had let us help set up last night,” I replied.

I jumped out of the car to grab her door. If I wasn’t quick about it, she always beat me to it. She’d roll her eyes when I did this, but I thought she secretly loved it. A faint blush would blot her cheeks as she exited, and that was exactly why I kept doing it.

“Might want to take those shoes off when we get to the sand,” I suggested as we walked arm in arm toward the stairs leading down to the sand below.

“Oh, good call.” She bent down and slipped them off, exposing her cotton-candy pink toes. “I wonder if I should go check on her.” She looked back at the hotel behind us.

“You’re here!” a bubbly voice cried, running up to steal a hug.

“Your belly!” Lailah exclaimed, looking down at the tiny round belly of her best friend.

“I’m finally showing!” she squealed, running her hands over her enlarged stomach.

Lailah laughed, placing her hands over Grace’s.

“I think you might be the only woman on the planet who was upset about not getting a belly right away.”

Grace’s eyes twinkled as Brian, her husband, came and joined us.

He wrapped his arm around her waist. “She wanted to go shopping for maternity clothes the second the stick turned pink.”

I watched as Lailah shook her head, laughing.

“That sounds like you,” Lailah said.

Grace was only four months along, and her little belly was on perfect display in her gauzy floral dress. I had no doubts she’d bought it three months ago just for the occasion. That woman was a planner.

After some long overdue catching up, we were told to take our seats.

Lailah and I excused ourselves and walked to the front as the minister joined us.

“I can’t believe this day is actually here,” Lailah said softly in my ear.

We all turned, Marcus came to join us.

I gave him a brief nod and grinned. “It’s about time.”

His gaze warmed, and I felt his hand cup mine. Looking down, I watched him drop a sleek white gold band into my palm.

“Can’t be the best man without that,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here without you, J-Man.”

“Maybe not today, but it would have happened eventually.”

My hand closed tightly around the cool metal band just as the music began to play softly in the background. I took once quick glance toward Lailah and caught her gaze. She smiled, clutching the small bouquet of sunflowers in her hand that Grace handed to her at the very last moment.

We both turned just in time to see Molly making her way down the sand. I heard Marcus’s breath catch as he first caught sight of his bride.

Her hair was braided beautifully down her back, and her simple ivory gown made her look sophisticated and regal. As she slowly moved forward to the front, she passed the intimate gathering of friends and family. Then, the entire world seemed to melt away as Marcus and Molly took each other’s hands.

All I could see was Lailah.

As the minister spoke words of love and eternal commitment, I saw Lailah’s eyes glisten as she watched her mother and Marcus exchange rings. My heart beat faster as the ceremony came to a close, and Marcus and Molly kissed each other for the first time as man and wife.

Everyone clapped and cheered, but all I could think about was Lailah and what I was about to say.

So much planning had come to this one moment.

Hugs and congratulations were shared as the few guests joined the couple under the arch.

I shook Marcus’s hand, and he grinned, knowing what was coming.

“Are you all packed?” Molly asked, holding Lailah in her arms.

“Packed?” she asked. “We aren’t leaving for a few more days.”

Molly smiled, turning to me.

“Actually,” I said, pulling the envelope from my pocket, “we’re leaving tonight.”

I handed it to Lailah, and she opened it. After pulling out the first-class tickets, her eyes skimmed the words written on them. Her lip began to tremble as her hands shook.

“We’re going to Ireland?” she asked.

“Yeah. No more placeholders, Lailah,” I said. “We’re really going.”

“But…” She hesitated, looking up to her newly married mother.

“We’ve known for weeks. Now, get your butts out of here!”

Molly laughed, and Lailah engulfed her in a huge hug.

“Don’t forget me,” Marcus said.

Lailah pulled him into their family hug. “I’d never forget you…
Dad
.”

Marcus’s hand tightened around her before letting go. “Get going, you two,” he choked out, his eyes blinking several times, as he tried to compose himself.

I took her hand, and we made our way to the car.

She stopped us just as I opened her door.

“I can’t believe this. You’re just full of crazy surprises,” she said, her expression joyous.

“Oh, you just wait,” I said, grinning, as I helped her into the car.

We made our way to the airport to make yet another one of Lailah’s dreams come true.

Two days later, among wildflowers and castle ruins as the sun peeked through the clouds on our perfect Irish day, I got down on one knee and made all my dreams come true with a single question.

And she said, “Yes.”

1. Fall in love

2. Earn a college degree

3. Learn more about my mom

4. Get a job

5. Stand in line for something

6. Go to a carnival

7. Take a vacation

8. Go a day without medication

9. Watch a high school football game

10. Go on a roller coaster

11. Apply to college

12. Watch fireworks

13. Sing at a karaoke bar

14. Put my toes in the ocean

15. Mow grass

16. Be a best friend

17. Live on my own

18. Dye my hair pink

19. Get hit on

20. Go to a baseball game

21. Help a friend move

22. Go skinny-dipping

23. Go grocery shopping

24. Buy a car

25. Be kissed until I’m breathless

26. Spend a day at the farmer’s market

27. Visit a foreign country

28. Get my ears pierced

29. Ride a bike

30. Go to the library

31. Adopt a dog

32. Paddle boat around a lake

33. Order a ridiculously expensive cup of coffee

34. TP a house

35. Play miniature golf

36. Eat cotton candy

37. Go to the drive-in and make out the entire time

38. Go to prom

39. Experience a hangover

40. Pay bills

41. Buy my mom a birthday present

42. Go to a roller-skating rink

43. Dance in the rain

44. Get a bad haircut

45. Jump in a bouncy house

46. Have a sleepover

47. Get a bikini wax

48. Make love

49. Dance in my living room

50. Go caroling during Christmastime

51. Have an entire conversation in only text messages

52. Go furniture shopping

53. Babysit a child

54. Buy lingerie

55. Visit an art museum

56. Make snow angels

57. Eat dinner by candlelight

58. Do a Lemon Drop

59. Try sushi

60. Go to an ice cream parlor

61. Learn to ice-skate

62. Make a meal from start to finish

63. Go to a bachelorette party

64. Get a pedicure

65. Spend an afternoon fishing

66. Spend an entire day outside

67. Go on a hayride

68. Take salsa lessons

69. Try on wedding gowns with my mother

70. Make an apple pie

71. Go to a movie theater

72. Have my heart broken

73. Learn to use a hammer

74. Have a makeover

75. Eat fast food

76. Ride a Ferris wheel all the way up to the top

77. Get married

78. Catch lightening bugs

79. Go camping and sleep under the stars

80. Get a massage

81. Learn to stand up for myself

82. Have a picnic

83. Change a diaper

84. Take a hike

85. Fail a test

86. Run errands on my own

87. Fly on a plane

88. Adopt a child

89. Have someone to miss

90. Plant a garden

91. Make a sand castle

92. Celebrate an anniversary

93. Take a yoga class

94. Go boogie boarding

95. Go someplace humid

96. Go on a hike

97. Get a speeding ticket

98. Hail a taxi

99. Go to an adult store

100. Go trick or treating

101. Volunteer at a children’s hospital

102. Ride a horse

103. Go to a gym

104. Learn to eat with chopsticks

105. Take the subway

106. Burn an entire batch of cookies

107. Get a Facebook profile

108. Walk a mile start to finish

109. Read a “dirty” book

110. Go to a birthday party

111. Have a girl’s night out

112. Go on a date

113. Go to a strip club

114. Get a tattoo

115. Go apple picking

116. Drive a car

117. Get a tan

118. Go swimming

119. Rake leaves

120. Fly a kite

121. Ride in the back of a cop car

122. Vote in an election

123. Take a writing class

124. Sleep through the night

125. Eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner

126. Go bungee jumping

127. Be a organ donor

128. Watch the sunrise from a mountain top

129. See a waterfall

130. Go kayaking

131. Save someone’s life

132. Paint the walls of my own house

133. Go to Disneyland

134. Scuba dive

135. Go hot tubbing

136. Go skiing

137. Spend an entire day on the beach

138. Visit someone in the hospital

139. Learn to shoot a gun

140. Go on a road trip

141. Serve jury duty

142. Make a new friend

143. Live until I’ve seen it all

Dear Reader,

Congenital heart defects (CHD) affect nearly 1% of the population. In the United States, roughly 40,000 babies are born with CHD a year. While Lailah’s plight was fictional, the disease is not. Many children suffer their entire lives while others don’t make it past infancy.