Heather Burch - One Lavender Ribbon

As Sara glided across the room, dread crept into Adrienne’s being. Had the bride-to-be just stumbled a bit? Sara reached a table and leaned there for a few moments before continuing on. Something was wrong. This woman had outwalked all of them at both the zoo and the Air Force celebration.

On top of that, Sara looked pale. Understandably—Adrienne herself was exhausted, and Sara had kept up a steady pace with her through the work and decorating. But Sara was in her late seventies.

Again, Adrienne watched her lean against a table. By the time the rehearsal was over, Adrienne decided to insist Sara go straight home with her to rest.

But it was too late. As Adrienne began to move to the entrance door where the happy couple were standing and talking, Sara’s eyes fell on her across the room. A moment later they were rolling back as she collapsed to the ground.

First, Sara’s weight slumped against Pops, who took a steady hold on her despite the confusion registering on his face.

Adrienne broke into a run and dropped beside her. Sara lay unconscious in a pool of soft white silk. Her skin had paled to a disturbing deathly white. Pops had lowered her to the ground and knelt beside her. “Sara? Sara!” He choked on the name. Will dropped too, and there they all were, surrounding the bride. Pops ran his hand over Sara’s still arm, mumbling incoherent words. The man who’d cheated death for over eighty years was crumbling.

Somewhere behind her, Adrienne heard someone say an ambulance was on the way. Various hotel personnel bustled in and out, but none were able to help. Sara lay quietly.

Peg screamed as she entered the room. She and Charles had gone to check the hotel room arrangements for Pops and to make sure he and Sara were booked into the honeymoon suite.

Charles dropped beside them all on the floor. “Is she breathing?”

Will removed his suit jacket and placed it under her head as Adrienne held Sara’s hand. It felt cold. Thin and cold like tree branches in winter. Vaguely aware of what was happening around her, Adrienne caught tiny snatches of conversation. People talking, gasping, wishing they could hurry an ambulance that would move on its own schedule, and no amount of looking at one’s watch would change it. But the only thing Adrienne heard clearly—and each word sliced into her heart—was Pops’s choked sobs as he cried, “No, please God, no. Not again.”

What must it be like to lose a spouse? Pops had already suffered that tragedy once; it seemed unthinkable that he might have to again. Adrienne sat in the small, brown chapel of the Naples Hospital, finally understanding Will’s fierce desire to protect his grandfather. For it was in the moment of Sara’s collapse that she’d looked into Pops’s eyes and seen the horror of death. Living beyond your friends, your parents, outliving so many who’d died too young. As Pops slumped to the floor holding Sara, Adrienne understood loss on a profound level, a level that transcended her years. And the pain of it was unbearable as she watched the gentle man with the soft, blue eyes falter as his world tumbled down around him like leaves on an autumn day.

And it was all her fault. It truly was. Unforgivable.

At the hospital, they were notified it would be at least an hour before they knew anything. From across the room, she had watched as Charles and Will stood on each side of Pops, shoring him up. When Will’s accusing eyes met hers, she left the room. By the time she found the chapel at the far end of the building, she was nearly running. Trying to outrun the pain she’d caused. He’d been right all along. What a bitter, bitter way to find out.

The chapel was a narrow room with cushioned pews. She couldn’t remember ever being in a church inside a hospital. She sat and tried to draw peace, but her heart only filled with accusation. Softly glowing bulbs above lit the space, showering the walls and floor with gentle soothing light. It helped, if only slightly. Yet this felt like a safe place.

Adrienne turned as a mother and small child entered and moved to the front. They sat across from her, and she could see the weight of uncertainty upon them. The child, who’d been clutching a teddy bear, dropped to her knees, set the bear aside, and with eyes squeezed shut began to pray. Adrienne watched. Did children’s prayers work better? All that hope, all that faith in those little innocent bodies. Could their heartfelt prayer reach deeper into heaven? Probably. When they were finished, the mother and child silently slipped out of the room. Adrienne was alone once again, as questions assailed her.

Why hadn’t she insisted Sara go to the doctor this morning? She’d seen how pale Sara was, saw her struggling to maintain her strength. If Adrienne had spoken up, maybe things would be different. She looked at her watch, a gift from Pops and Sara for all the help on the wedding. Her fingers toyed with the gold band as tears blurred the numbers.

If it weren’t for the deep love she felt for this family, especially Sara, she’d leave. Leave right now before Will got a chance to shred her with his words. They were right—they were all right, including Eric: All she did was cause trouble. Sure, she had good intentions. The very kind that paved the road to hell. Now she understood why.

But she didn’t leave. Wouldn’t run. Maybe she was a coward, but she wasn’t heartless. Alone in the chapel as the family huddled in the waiting room. She was an outsider who had forced her way into lives already recovering from one tragedy. Now she’d brought another.

Adrienne closed her eyes when she heard the chapel door close behind her. It was him. She steeled herself. She could hear his footsteps on the soft carpet as he made his way to her.

She was in the first pew, and instead of towering over her, he knelt.

When he gently cradled her hands in his, she slowly looked up to meet his gaze.

She’s gone , she knew he was going to say. Sara’s dead . The words rolled through her before he could speak. Scenes flashed through her mind of a funeral, Pops sitting by a grave, alone once again. Grief and regret flooded every inch of her body.

He gently squeezed her hands. “Adrienne?” he questioned, soft as a whisper.

She must be gone, why else would he not be screaming at her? Adrienne began to tremble. It started in her chest, her heart, the center of her being, and rippled outward. “Tell me,” she finally managed through gritted teeth.

He flashed a moment of puzzlement, then answered. “We . . . we don’t know anything yet.”

Relief engulfed her as the tension in her muscles released.

His eyes were green velvet, tender as a petal on a flower. “But you need to know something.”

She blinked, causing her vision to clear. Such softness from Will she couldn’t fathom. Maybe she was losing her mind.

He made tiny circles on her hands with his thumbs. “I wanted to find you to make sure you’re not somehow blaming yourself for this.”

Confusion spread through her system. “What do you mean?”

One hand slipped up to cup her face. “Listen to me. No matter what happens to Sara, you gave her and Pops a beautiful gift by bringing them together.”

When she tried to look away, his hand held her face steadfast.

“No matter how long or short that time might be.”

She stared at him, uncertain if he was really the Will Bryant she knew. He couldn’t be.

“Adrienne, no one is guaranteed a tomorrow. Life is a precious and delicate thing. At the very best, it’s a vapor. Pops spent a lifetime with the woman he loved. Now he’s had a chance to love a woman from a lifetime ago.” He moved from in front of her to the seat beside her and turned her to look at him. “Adrienne, you did the right thing.”