Page 70 of Fragile Love (Fragile 3)
“Gee, thanks.” She rolled her eyes and then turned serious. Andrew was like a brother. He had a right to know about her dream. “I had a really, really vivid dream last night about Amelia.”
His face solidified. “Really?”
“She was in my house, talking with me. It felt like for hours.”
“What about?”
“It’s a long story. I need to go work on the guest house. But it was mostly about a lot of negativity I have inside me. A lot about the family.”
He frowned. “Lillian, you have no reason to feel negative about all of that.”
“You say that, but when I think about disconnecting from you all for so long, taking you for granted...” she sighed. “It’s harder to get past all that than I thought.”
“You know what Amelia would have wanted?” he asked.
“What?”
“She would have wanted you to do whatever you have to do to make your life amazing.”
The words were simple, but hit Lillian right in the heart. “I guess she would have.”
He nodded. “Yeah. She wanted that for all of us. So, what you should do is whatever it takes to make your life as incredible as Amelia wanted it to be for you.”
She knew he was right.
“And you know what else? She had faith in you, and she knew how much you loved her and me and our parents. Of course, we knew how hard it was for you when she passed. She would have always known you would come back. We knew it, too. She would have understood why you went away for so long.”
Lillian felt the sting of tears touch her eyes. “You think so?”
“You knew her as well as any of us did. You were part of the family from day one when we were little, just as much as you’re family now. Nothing has changed except that Amelia just isn’t physically here with us anymore.”
“Oh!” Lillian exclaimed, pulling her phone out of her bag. “Andrew, I have to show you what Cayden did.”
“Uh, okay.”
“It’s related to Amelia. That’s what reminded me.” She opened her photos and found the one she had taken earlier this morning of Cayden’s gift. Holding her phone up to his face, she commanded, “Look at this.”
It took him a second to realize what it was. “I don’t remember taking this,” he started, and suddenly saw that it was edited. “Cayden did this?”
“I know.”
“How?”
“He wouldn’t tell me. He just said he has his ways.”
“This is amazing. Can you print me a copy, too? And my parents?”
“Absolutely.” She took her phone back and sniffed, trying to hold the tears back. “I miss her so much, Andrew. Sometimes it’s just unbearable.”
“I know.”
“She must still be with us somehow. I’m sure of it.”
“Yeah. She must be.”
Letting their conversation sink in, Lillian finally took a breath and stood up. “Well, I suppose it’s time for me to go do my job.”
“I’ll come see you down there later. Going to try to contact my parents and answer some emails.”
