Page 87 of Loving Lizzy

She opened the door to find the two women standing by the bed covered with pale pink boxes and wrapped with darker pink ribbon. At least her friends realized how much the day meant to her.

“What’s this?” she asked as she walked closer to the bed.

Kassie picked up a package. “This is from Edie, Maddie and Carol.”

Lizzy walked over to the recliner and began to carefully unwrap the gift. She opened the lid and pushed away the tissue. Nestled inside, the box contained her favorite bra and the matching panties which she wore the last night her and Michael made love.

“They constructed it into a special bra for you. Since this was your favorite, they thought you might want it today. It holds forms inside the pockets sewn inside,” Kassie told her. The thoughtful gift made her tear up as she smiled and pulled them from the box.

Samantha took it from her and handed her the next one. She pulled the ribbon from the large box and pulled out a white dress covered in pink cherry blossoms. If she glanced closely, the branches intertwined into the breast cancer ribbon. It held a satin underskirt, and the chiffon material made the dress appear delicate.

“It’s beyond gorgeous. Where did you find it?” Lizzy asked, completely mesmerized by the dress design and knew it instantly became one of her new favorite outfits.

“Victoria found the material and I borrowed one of your dresses from the closet. Maddie, Carol, and Edie sewed it. It’s a Serenity Mountain original,” Kassie boasted.

“It’s still a bit chilly, Catherine sent this along.” Samantha held out another package while Kassie hung the dress on the door.

A darker pink cashmere sweater with tiny pearl buttons, matching the outline of the blossoms on the dress sat in the box. “Oh my gosh, it matches perfectly,” she gushed.

Samantha and Kassie smiled as they handed her another box containing a pair of pink heels matching the sweater.

Lizzy laughed. “You thought of everything.”

“We found one more item,” Kassie told her as she held out a delicate jewelry box.

Lizzy untied the pink satin bow and lifted the lid. A bracelet with pink ribbons joined together. A pearl nestled inside each loop of the ribbons. She removed the delicate bracelet and held it up in awe.

“Each ribbon on this bracelet represents each one of your friends here on the mountain. We picked the individual pearls and whispered a blessing to you in each one. Although we convinced you to move here and you’re part of our family, we wanted something to convey that you’re never alone in this fight.” Samantha took the bracelet and clasped it on her wrist. Lizzy embraced the two women together as they cried tears of joy over the outcome of her journey.

Lizzy slipped into the undergarments, dress, and sweater. Samantha curled and fussed over her hair and did her make up. When she walked out of the bedroom, Kassie knelt and helped her put on the pink high heels.

“I can’t thank you enough, I feel like a walking billboard for cancer survivors,” she sniffed. “It’s beautiful.”

“Let’s drive you to your last appointment and ring that bell like never before,” Samantha gathered her purse and Kassie started the truck. The women happily chatted as they made their way into Seattle.

* * *

An hour later,she stood in the dressing room and redressed. The smile spread across her face as her body recognized it had won the battle. She buttoned a couple of the buttons on the sweater, fixed her hair, and added a touch of lipstick before opening the door and heading to the waiting room where Kassie and Samantha waited to cheer her on as she rang the bell. She walked down the hall and stopped short at the entrance.

The team, their wives, Barb, Diana, Debbie, and the kids, and lastly Michael stepped out from behind the group. Fresh tears clouded her vision as she took in her friends… no, her family, as she slowly walked over to the bell. The nurse, Candi, who came to support her, stood smiling and motioning her forward.

Lizzy grasped the metal ball at the end of the rope and rang the bell loud and clear. The room erupted into clapping and cheering, moving her to the core. She turned to search for the one person who mattered most. Her breath caught in her throat as her hand flew to her mouth.

Michael knelt on one knee. He held a box in his other hand as he took hers. “Once long ago, I gave you my heart and promised forever. It didn’t work because we forgot to share our lives with each other. I hope this past year has taught us to share the journey no matter what it brings. If we ever find ourselves in a storm again, our love will always be bright enough to resemble the lighthouse that leads us home. Lizzy, will you take my heart and keep it forever?” Michael took out the ring. A diamond-shaped heart sat in the middle, with pink sapphires surrounding it. He slipped it onto the finger of her right hand. Knowing she couldn’t wear jewelry on her left hand due to the mastectomy. “I made this ring to remind you I’ll love you through anything. This battle brought us back together and you’ll always have my heart.”

She wrapped her arms around him. “Yes, I’ll marry you. I love you for making something to remind me to count on your love to get us through anything.”

CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

Lizzy crossed the street to Diana’s house and knocked on the door. Two weeks had passed since Michael’s proposal, and Lizzy started visiting the hospital in preparation for returning to work. Instead, Kassie and Catherine gave her a different project. They found a traveling mammogram truck and scheduled it to arrive in two weeks, wanting to offer free mammograms to everyone in town.

Lizzy immediately started making flyers, posters, scheduling a free barbecue next to the screening truck, a fundraiser, and an information booth. Michael picked up Barb and brought her to Serenity to help pass out posters. After she assigned each group a section of town, she realized Diana and her mom never arrived.

Debbie answered the door and ushered Lizzy in. “We ran a bit slow this morning. I’m putting Caleb’s shoes on and Diana’s getting Faith dressed.”

Lizzy smiled as she walked into Faith’s room to find Diana digging through outfits until she pulled out a pink and white flouncy dress with a big pink head bow. “Will you dress her?”

Lizzy changed Faith and blew bubbles on her tummy making the baby squeal and laugh. She lifted her from the changing table and raised her high in the air. “You make beautiful babies, Diana.”

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