Elizabeth awoke early the next morning. In fact, she had barely slept during the night, thoughts of her idyllic day at Wyndemere with Lucky and Lulu filling her head, making sleep impossible. She had never met anyone quite like Lucky Spencer. He was not at all like any of the other boys who always seemed interested in her at first, but who had soon made it clear they really only wanted one thing. She never understood that, why that…thing… seemed more important to them than getting to know her, even though she knew if they had gotten to know her and her secret, they would no longer have been interested. But Lucky was different. He was kind and seemed to really care about her and her feelings. She could tell he was sincere when he looked at her with incredible eyes that never lied.
Did she dare hope that she could actually have a relationship with him? Did she dare hope that she could trust herself enough to trust him? Would she be able to leave her past behind so that it no longer haunted her? During the night her thoughts had wandered, as they always did, to her past, to the things that had been done to her that no child should have to endure. She knew intellectually that those things had not been her fault, so why did she feel so guilty about them, so ashamed, and so unwilling to share them with another person? She had never told anyone of the times her Uncle Joe had visited them and come to her room at night. How could she ever tell Lucky? If she did, she knew his eyes would not be so kind and he would look at her with disgust and disappointment. Why couldn't she just make the past go away? Why did it always have to prevent her from being happy?
Well, it didn't matter, she thought, because no matter how Lucky had treated her the day before, no matter that he had said he would call her, she knew she would not be hearing from him today, or ever again. Things like this just didn't happen to her. Good things like Lucky Spencer coming into her life and staying just didn't happen to her.
By mid-afternoon, when she hadn't heard from Lucky, she decided that the only thing to take her mind off him, was to paint. She was always able to forget her problems by painting, just as Lucky had said. She was concentrating on her painting so deeply that she nearly missed the doorbell ringing. She was in the back of the house, in the kitchen and it took her a few moments to answer the door. When she opened it and saw Lucky, she felt her heart begin to race. He had one hand behind his back as he said, "I'm sorry I didn't call sooner. I had to help my Dad with some things at the club and I thought I would stop by on my way home. I hope it's okay."
"Of course it's okay."
"And I wanted to bring you these." He produced a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. "Just to say thank you for yesterday. I had a really good time and I'm glad you went with me."
"Lucky, they're beautiful…no one…." She was so overcome with emotion that she could not speak.
"What is it, Elizabeth?"
"No one has ever given me flowers before."
"Now, that's hard for me to believe. You deserve them, you know." "Well, thank you. They're beautiful."
"They are beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as you are, especially with paint all over you. I have to admit, I like that look."
She laughed then, and took the flowers from him. "Come on in and I'll put these in some water, and wash some of this paint off."
"You don't have to do that for me. I told you, I like it."
She led him into the kitchen where she found a vase and began filling it with water. Lucky walked over by the window and looked at the canvas on her easel. She was painting a man sitting on the grass, a small girl asleep with her head in his lap. "Elizabeth? This is me and Lulu, isn't it?"
She nodded as she felt herself blush and looked down at her feet. Sometimes the way he looked at her was almost too intense, like he was looking into her soul. "I sketched it yesterday while Lulu was asleep. You both looked so peaceful and content, and it was such a beautiful image I just knew I had to paint it. I'd like to give it to Lulu when it's done. Do you think she would like it? I mean, she seems to really adore her big brother."
His eyes seemed to fill with tears and she could see that he was very moved as he walked over to her. "She'll love it. In fact, next week is her birthday party and she asked me to give you this invitation. Can I tell her you'll be there?"
"She wants me at her birthday party?"
"You made quite an impression on her. She really loves you."
"Then I wouldn't miss it for the world. Tell her I'll be there."
He looked at her in a way that no one had ever looked at her before and said softly, "Thank you, Elizabeth." He put his hand on her arm and leaned in as if he were going to kiss her on the cheek. She felt her body tense and she pulled away a little from him. She wanted him to touch her, wanted him to kiss her, but she was so afraid of the feelings she was having, feelings she had never felt before. She hated herself for her weakness, for her inability to give that side of herself to Lucky
Lucky smiled, a little sadly she thought, and backed away from her and sat down at the table, just as if nothing had happened. "You live here with your grandmother, right? Audrey Hardy?"
Elizabeth was cleaning the paint from her hands and arms. "Yes, how did you know?"
"I know her a little from my parents."
"Oh. She's away visiting relatives. She should be home in a few days."
"Good. I don't like the idea of you being here alone."
"Lucky, I'm fine. I've stayed here many times by myself."
"I still worry about you being alone. I always worry about the people I care about. I don't know if I can change that about myself."
"I guess I'm just not used to people worrying about me."
There was a long silence as she fixed them something to drink. Finally Lucky spoke again. "So, tell me, are you planning to make a career of your art?"
"I'd like to. My dream is to have my own art gallery someday, where I can display and sell my own work and that of other young artists. I'd like to teach art to kids, too. That goal is probably more attainable actually. The other is just a silly dream. I'd never be good enough to have my own gallery." As she spoke, Lucky saw something in her, something he couldn't define. Although she wasn't optimistic about her dream coming true, something in her changed when she spoke of it. She was more animated, and there was a light in her eyes that he had not seen before, except as he had watched her paint a few nights earlier.
"Elizabeth, you are good enough, and you should never give up on your dreams. If it's what you really want, then you should have it. Painting is your passion. That much is so obvious. You just need to believe in yourself the way I do."
No one had ever believed in her before and it was at that moment that she knew she was in love with Lucky Spencer, that she had been for a long time and always would be. But to hope that he would ever feel the same about her, well, that was just another dream. But for now, she would enjoy the time they had together, until he moved on, just like all the others had.
"What about you? Music is your passion."
"Yea, it is. I mostly like to write songs. I do a little singing, though I'm not that good."
"I'll bet you're have a beautiful voice. Will you sing for me sometime?"
He laughed. "I don't know. I'm kind of shy about that. Maybe I will sometime when I have my guitar. It's kind of a security thing, you know, something to hide behind."
"I'd really like to hear you sometime."
He smiled. "We'll see." He did not tell her that she had been the inspiration for most of the songs he had written in the past year or two. They talked awhile longer and were interrupted by the doorbell ringing again.
"I'll go see who it is. Help yourself to something else to drink."
Elizabeth opened the door and her legs started to buckle beneath her and her head began to swim. She had not seen her Uncle Joe for nearly three years. They had never spoken of the things he had done to her from the time she was five until she was nine and he had moved away. In fact he acted as if nothing had ever happened the few times she had seen him since. Her voice was a whisper when she finally spoke. "Uncle Joe."
"Hey, Lizzie, how's my favorite girl?"
"What are you doing here?"
"What's wrong? Aren't you glad to see your favorite uncle?"
"It's not that….it's just…."
Lucky, who had heard the exchange from the other room, came in the room then and asked, "Everything okay in here, Elizabeth?"
"Um, yes, fine. Everything's fine."
Uncle Joe looked at Lucky, then at Elizabeth. "And who is this?"
"This is my friend Lucky. Lucky this is my Uncle Joe."
"Lucky? What the hell kind of name is Lucky? Course I guess you are pretty lucky to be friends with my favorite little niece here."
"I consider myself very lucky to be Elizabeth's friend."
"Well, I'm just passing through town and thought I would stop by and say hello." He moved to Elizabeth and put his arm around her shoulders. "I've missed you, Lizzie girl."
Lucky saw her tense and try to pull away from him as he touched her. He saw the look of apprehension, maybe fear in her eyes as she looked at her Uncle and then at him. It was the same look he had seen when he had approached her in the art department classroom that first night and he had thought for a moment that she feared he would attack her.
Lucky knew he wanted to get her away from her uncle so he looked at his watch and said, "You know, Elizabeth, I didn't realize how late it was getting. That movie starts in twenty minutes so if we want to make it on time, we'd better get going."
He saw the look of relief in Elizabeth's eyes as she looked at him and mouthed the words, "Thank you," then said to her Uncle. "I'm sorry, but I already had plans with Lucky tonight."
"Okay, I need to get going anyway. But one of these days I'm going to come back and we can get caught up and spend some time together."
She nodded, and Lucky saw her flinch again as her uncle kissed her on the cheek and hugged her. After he left, Lucky spoke. "Are you okay?"
"Yea."
"You don't like your uncle?"
"Not really. He just gives me the creeps. I just don't like to be alone with him, that's all. But I'm okay." Lucky observed her. She was putting on a good act pretending to be nonchalant, but as she picked up her purse he saw that her hands were shaking. "Lucky, I know we aren't really going to a movie. I mean, you can go on home if you want. I just need to get out of here for awhile."
"I'm not going home just yet. I know just the place we can go that will make you feel a lot better." Lucky knew that Luke's would be quiet tonight and they could get a quiet table in the corner and listen to some blues and have something to eat if she wanted. Besides, he wanted his father to meet Elizabeth.
"Where?"
"My dad's club. Sunday nights are really slow and you'll love it there. It's like going to a whole other planet."
"Okay, anything to get out of here."
They walked in his father's club found Luke standing behind the bar. "Hey, Cowboy…." He looked at Elizabeth and then back at Lucky. "You been holdin' out on me, Son? Who is this beautiful creature?"
Lucky laughed. "Always, Dad. This is Elizabeth Webber. Elizabeth, this is my Dad, Luke Spencer."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Spencer."
"Oh, Lord. Please call me Luke. You must be the wonderful girl who made my little girl so happy yesterday. She's been talking about you non-stop since she got back. I'd like to thank you for being so nice to her."
"It was easy, Mr. Spencer…I mean, Luke. She's such a sweet girl."
"Yes, she is. Thank God she and Lucky take after their mother. Well, Lucky does have a bit of a dangerous side to him. He gets that from me, so you watch out for that okay?"
"Dad…"
"Oh, you know I'm just kidding, Son. What can I get you two?"
Lucky turned to Elizabeth. "Are you hungry? They make a mean burger here."
"Sure. That sounds good."
"Two burgers, comin' up. On the house."
Lucky and Elizabeth sat at a table in the corner. Elizabeth was smiling. "Your dad is very…um….."
"Eccentric? Crazy? A lunatic?"
"Well, I woudn't say that."
"He's indescribable. Unique, a one of a kind."
"You're very close."
"Yes we are."
"Your whole family is very close. I can tell."
He nodded. "We've been through a lot together."
"I envy you that closeness, you know. You may take it for granted, but it's the most precious thing. It's the one thing I've always wanted in my life but have never had."
Lucky saw the pain in her eyes. He was beginning to get a sense of what may have happened to her, why she was so sad and seemed unapproachable at times. As they ate their dinner he began to put some of the pieces together and decided what he needed to do the next day. It would be his first step in helping her to face whatever had happened to her and to help rid her of the demons from her past.