Laura and Audrey were sitting in the waiting room of the bridal shop waiting for Elizabeth to emerge wearing the dress she was trying on. Audrey had insisted on buying Elizabeth's wedding dress for her. She sighed and shook her head. "Laura, I still can't believe all this, it's like a dream!"
Laura nodded, smiling. "I know. But if it is, I hope I never wake up from it..
Just then Elizabeth walked out. She turned slowly in a circle in front of the two women. "What do you think?" The dress was a combination of old-fashioned and modern. It had a tight bodice and a very full skirt, but instead of sleeves it had little off-the-shoulder straps, and the neckline and hem was bordered with tiny pearls.
"Oh, Elizabeth, it's beautiful," breathed Laura.
"It is," agreed Audrey, "but remember, it's February, I hope you won't be cold."
Elizabeth smiled. She had been feeling so warm inside for the last few days, she didn't think it would be a problem. "I won't be cold, Gram."
Elizabeth went back to the dressing room to change, and Audrey sighed. "She's come so far since she fist came to me. I can't help feeling shame for Jeff that he isn't interested in walking his own daughter down the aisle. You would think..." She broke off as Elizabeth emerged from the dressing room.
"They said the dress will be ready in two days, Gram." Liz hugged her grandmother spontaneously. "Thank you so much!"
"It's my pleasure, dear. Now, we better get busy shopping for your accessories. Thank goodness Lucky will be able to make the invitations on the computer, because we would never have time to get them in such a short time." The three women gathered up their things and left the shop.
At that moment, Luke and Lucky were sitting in Kelly's having lunch together. Lucky nodded at yet another person who walked by their table and looked at him curiously. The story had come out in the paper that morning about his kidnapping, and it seemed that everyone in town had read it. "I'll be glad when people get used to me being back," he said in a low voice.
Luke chuckled. "I'll let you know when I get used to it. It still blows my mind every time I look over at you and see you sitting there."
Lucky nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Everytime I wake up in the morning, I expect to see that little room. This morning...." his voice trailed off and he smiled, remembering looking up into Elizabeth's eyes first thing that morning.
Luke saw the look in Lucky's eyes and he scratched the back of his head nervously. He had promised Laura he would talk to Lucky about his and Elizabeth's sleeping arrangements, and this seemed like the best opportunity he was going to get. "Uh, yeah...this morning...um, Cowboy..." Luke had never felt so awkward talking to his son. Sure, they'd had the big talk when Lucky was younger, but then it hadn't seemed so...so real. "Son, your mom isn't really into you being...uh..."
Lucky realized where his dad was going with this, and his face heated up as he blushed a firey red. "Dad, we haven't....I mean we don't...man, I just sleep on the floor!"
Luke felt weak with relief. He had never had the kind of relationship with Lucky where he told him what to do too much, and now that Lucky was officially an adult, he really had felt uncomfortable at the prospect of starting now. He didn't suppose he would have made a big deal out of it if it was just him, but it was Laura's house and her wishes had to be respected. "Well, your mom can probably handle that." Luke was glad to end this subject, but Lucky wasn't quite ready to.
He could still feel the warmth on his face as he struggled to voice the worries he had been having lately. "Um, Dad....I have a confession to make." Luke patiently waited for his son to go on as Lucky suddenly found it necessary to arrange his silverware neatly next to his plate. Finally, he looked up, his eyes troubled. "I'm a little nervous about...I mean, I've never...What if I don't...oh, man, forget it. Never mind." He looked back down at his plate in embarassment.
Luke smiled at the top of Lucky's head. "Don't worry, Cowboy. When you love someone, it all comes natural. You'll see.
Lucky looked up, his eyes full of hope. "Really?"
"Really." Luke saw the relief on Lucky's face and suppressed another grin. How long had it been since he was so young? He guessed it was about a hundred years.
Late that night something woke Lucky up. He was sleeping in his place next to Elizabeth's bed and when he heard her cry out he jumped up and was at her side in a second. Her head was tossing from side to side and she was murmuring, "No, it can't be him. No, Please, God...No..." Then she screamed, "LUCKYYYYYYYYYYYY!"
"Elizabeth!" Lucky pulled her up into a sitting position and wrapped her in his arms, rocking her. She was shaking violently, and she slowly awoke and calmed down at the sound of his soft voice in her ear, "Shhh, it's alright. I'm here." He gently wiped away the tears that were slipping down her cheeks. "Do you want to tell me about it?"
She took a shuddering breath. "It's one of the dreams I've had ever since the fire. In this one I relive the night that it happened, when I was dreaming that we were dancing, and I wake up, feeling like something's wrong...I try to call you but I get a recording that the line is out of service, then I go to the garage, and I see...I see the flames, and I know that you...that you...." tears gathered in her eyes again as he pulled her to him.
"Shhh. It's okay. I wasn't there." He stroked her hair and kissed her gently, helping her to lay back down on the pillow. "I'll sit with you until you go back to sleep," he whispered. He ran his hand gently up and down her back, and started singing softly:
"As you kneel beside your bed tonight
Keep a little prayer for me in sight
Know that I will be there when you call
Know that I will catch you if you might fall
Elizabeth, Go to sleep
I wanna watch you breathe
I wanna feel God's peace
All I want is this
Elizabeth"