Page 116 of The Scars I Bare
Cora bent down, and Lizzie gave her a huge hug. The sight of it made me smile and even more so when Lizzie let go, ran over, and affixed herself to my leg.
“Now, you know it’s Tuesday, so—”
“So, she goes to the tutor at school at one,” I said, finishing Cora’s sentence. “I got it.”
“Okay, just checking,” she said, stepping forward. “Would it be totally unprofessional to kiss you in front of all these kids staring at us right now?”
I looked over, and indeed, my class of spring-breakers—handicapped kids from all over the country who’d come to learn about water safety and fun—were completely absorbed in our conversation.
I met her the rest of the way. “I think it would be rude not to,” I said, placing a tender kiss on her lips.
As expected, it was met with a chorus of, “Gross,” and surprisingly, a few, “Aw,” from the girls.
“I’ll see you later,” she said.
“When later?” I asked. “Lunch?”
Her face scrunched in disappointment. “We’re pretty busy. Spring break and all. But don’t worry,” she said, pulling out a familiar notebook out of her bag. “I’ll be with you in spirit! It’s the last one in the pile, by the way. What does that mean?”
I tried to keep my face as neutral as possible. “It means, you’re nearly caught up. I guess you’ll have to find something else to read during your lunch breaks from now on.”
“Hmm,” she said, looking at the notebook with a bit of sadness before she shrugged it off. “I guess so. I do have a giant stack of books gathering dust in my bedroom. But, there will be more of your notebooks. Eventually I mean.”
I smiled as Lizzie squeezed my leg. “Yep.”
“Okay, well, I’m off. See you later.”
Both of us watched her cross the street once more, hop into her beat-up SUV, and drive away before I dared to move.
Lizzie’s jump caused my heart to nearly bolt out of my own skin.
“Operation Notebook? It’s a go?”
I looked down at her, a grin forming across my face, one that stretched from ear to ear. “Operation Notebook is a go,” I confirmed.
Cora
The clinic was almost empty. With only one patient left in the room with Jake, I took advantage of the few minutes of peace and grabbed my bagged lunch. I headed for the front desk, hoping to catch a few bites before Mrs. Joyner needed to check out.
Taking out the peanut butter sandwich Lizzie had insisted on making me and a bag of chips, I sat back in the comfy old leather chair and pulled out the black-and-white composition notebook I’d borrowed from Dean the other day.
Since beginning the first one many months ago, I hadn’t been able to stop. I felt like I was getting to know the man I loved all over again.
His hopes, his fears, and everything in between.
He’d warned me, there would be parts about me, and he’d joked they might be embarrassing, but I couldn’t disagree more. Realizing someone had seen me as something special and worthy of love during a time of my life when I felt anything but, it was comforting, especially knowing everything I knew now.
That I’d eventually find my way back to him.
And something so amazing would blossom from it.
Sometimes, reading his entries was difficult. Especially the early days when he’d grieved and lashed out in pain and anger. Even the later years were hard, knowing he was surrounded by so much love but felt so alone at the same time.
This notebook was by far my favorite. Every entry was like a single ray of sunshine from the heavens. He spoke of perseverance and even his renewed faith. He wrote of Lizzie and me and how much we meant to him. He even wrote of Blake and how, at night, he prayed for the man he could not forgive. He prayed Blake would find peace with himself, for the sake of Lizzie.
I prayed for that, too.
We hadn’t seen Blake since the accident that nearly took both men from my life. But he wrote a lot. Mostly to Lizzie, which was exactly how it should be. He was taking his time in rehab, and yes, it was the kind with the fancy cucumber water and the beautiful beachfront location. I wouldn’t expect any less for Blake.
