Part 2:
I Wish You Buckets
Of Gold
Kevin
arrived home to the plantation on cloud nine, ready to set the plans in motion
that he had been preparing for months.
The
florist had already been to the house earlier in the day, placing one hundred crystal
vases of long stemmed peach roses all over the house, the soft fragrance
carrying clear up to the master suite where a carpet of fresh petals awaited
Lily’s return.
Digging
through his dresser drawer Kevin came up with the tiny black velvet box, which
he flipped, open. Inside was the gleaming Marquis diamond offset by diamond and
ruby baguettes two of Lily’s favorite stones. Snapping the box shut Kevin
placed it in he center of the king sized bed with a smile.
Tomorrow
was the day he would ask Lily to be his bride and then all of the pieces of the
puzzle would finally be in place.
Tomorrow
was the day.
*
* *
He’d
fallen asleep on the chaise lounge on the deck, the warm St. Thomas wind
whipping through his hair, the ocean lapping on the shore reminding him of
Florida.
The
phone rang once, stopped and then began ringing again shaking Kevin from a most
beautiful dream.
Rubbing
his eyes he sat up and made his way slowly inside to he nightstand, the clock
read 3:00 a.m.
"Hello."
Sitting down on the bed Kevin dropped his head, his free hand running through
his short spiky hair as he waited for the voice on the other end.
"Mr.
Richardson?"
"Yes."
"This
is Dr. Emery, Kayden’s doctor." Kevin’s head raised slightly. "I’m
afraid that something has happened to Kayden-" Throwing down the phone
Kevin grabbed for his jeans and car keys, running down the stairs he left the
front door wide open as he raced towards his Jeep and climbed inside.
He
didn’t remember how he had gotten to the hospital, visions of Lily and his
newborn son slamming around in his head as he jumped out of the car, which he
left running at the curb.
Taking
the stairs two at a time he made his way down the hall to the nursery wing
where he was greeted by a sad faced nurse and Dr. Emery.
"Kevin,"
Dr. Emery placed a hand on Kevin’s shoulder, stopping him in his tracks before
he could advance any further down the hall.
"Kevin."
Dr. Emery said he young man’s name again until Kevin finally looked at him,
unblinking.
"Kayden
stopped breathing in the middle of the night, we tried everything we could to
resuscitate him……there was nothing we could do."
*
* *
There
was no funeral, only a small graveside dedication attended by Lily, Kevin and a
pastor from the local church where they worshiped.
Time
seemed to move in slow motion, the pastor speaking of everlasting love and
angels as the tiny casket, a peach colored rose on top, was lowered into to the
ground…..their son inside.
In
the weeks following Kayden’s death the days were long and the nights even
longer as Lily spiraled into a deep depression that consumed her whole.
Her
family sent over the most well respected therapists in St. Thomas who counseled
her, putting her on the best medications available but nothing seemed to help.
Her
heart was broken.
After
nearly two month of silence between them Kevin became desperate, begging Lily
to talk to him, to let him share in the grief of losing their beloved son. She
told him to go away, to go to Florida for awhile and give her some space.
And
so that is what he had done.
A.J.
met him at the airport, pulling Kevin into a warm hug that spoke of friendship,
understanding and love. He had never seen Kevin so defeated and it broke his
heart.
*
* *
For
a month Kevin laid around A.J.’s Florida home, twirling the small black velvet
box in his hands. There had been no proposal and now it looked like there never
would be. He’d made hundreds of calls to St. Thomas, pleading with Lily’s
family to let him talk to her but they turned him away.
One
afternoon, after being harassed by A.J. into getting out and getting some fresh
air and something to eat, Kevin ran into Kris.
She
looked beautiful and happy as she approached his table a smile on her face. She
had learned only a few months before that Kevin and his new girlfriend had a
baby on the way but she was completely unaware that the child had been born and
had since passed away.
"How
is Lily?" She asked, surprising Kevin that she even knew Lily’s name. But
he guessed it wasn’t that odd considering that they still shared some mutual
friends in the year or so since their official breakup.
"She’s,…..she’s
okay." As Kevin said the words tears welled up in his eyes.
"Obviously
things aren’t okay Kevin." Kris pulled up a chair, sitting and talking
with Kevin listening as he spilled his heart out to her about Lily and Kayden
and the death that had rocked them both to their cores.
And
then, somewhere between the tears and pain of a life lost Kevin found himself
falling into the old familiar pattern with Kris that had bound them so close in
the past.
Leaving
they coffee shop drained and dried of tears Kris wrapped her long arms around
Kevin’s neck and whispered in his ear "I wish you buckets of gold at the
end of your rainbows Kevin."
Watching
her get in her car and drive away Kevin was as confused as he had always been
when Kris said something completely goofy that didn’t make any sense to anybody
but herself.
"I
wish you buckets of gold at the end of your rainbows Kevin…………."
Looking
up he saw Kris tossing him a wave out her car window before turning out of
sight and for the first time since Kayden’s death Kevin found himself smiling.
*
* *
Three
few weeks later Kevin traveled back to St. Thomas, determined to see Lily and
find out if there was anything left of their relationship to salvage. He knew
she was staying with her parents so he stopped at their home, pounding on the
front door until her father finally opened it, an annoyed look on his face.
After
a lot of back and forth Lily’s father finally went upstairs to talk to her,
returning to tell Kevin that she had agreed to meet him that evening at the
plantation house to talk.
Kevin
walked away from the house with some hope in his heart that everything would
end up the way it should.
*
* *
That
night a terrible storm swept through St. Thomas, rain streaming down in sheets
as the wind whipped the ocean into frenzy. Kevin sat in the study window
waiting for Lily’s arrival wondering what he would say to her as a car pulled
up the drive.
Through
the rain Kevin could make out Lily’s petite figure stepping from the driver’s
side of the car. He waited for her to walk up the front drive but instead she
just stood beside her car, letting the rain engulf her.
Standing
he walked to the front door and outside, the wind pushing him from behind as he
made his way down the front lawn to the driveway where Lily stood staring up at
the black stormy sky.
"Lily
what are you doing, come inside." Kevin had to shout to be heard over the
wind.
"You’ve
been seeing her again haven’t you?" She asked, still looking up her eyes
never blinking as the rain pounded down.
"Seeing
who?" Kevin had never been good at playing dumb.
"Kristin."
Kevin
paused for a split second before answering.
"Yes."
In
fact the truth was he had been more then seeing Kris. Three days after their
chance meeting at the coffee shop Kris called Kevin, asking him to come to her
house for dinner and a movie. After an evening of too many drinks and not
enough caution he and Kris wound up in bed together. And they had been together
almost every second since, until he had made the decision to fly back to St.
Thomas to try and repair what was left of his relationship with Lily.
"You
slept with her?"
"Yes."
"More
then once?"
"Yes."
"Do
you love her Kevin?"
"I
don’t know?" He answered truthfully wiping the rain from his eyes.
"I
want you to go Kevin, I want you to leave St. Thomas and don’t ever come
back." Lowering her head Lily leveled her gaze at Kevin. "What we had
we can never have again."
The
tears began to flow freely as Kevin’s heart pounded in his chest. He thought of
his precious baby son and the love that he and Lily had shared and he couldn’t
help thinking what if?
"It’s
fate Bri….."
The
words he had spoken to Brian so many months before rang through his head as the
wind howled all around him.
"Lily
I’m so sorry." He took two steps forward reaching out a hand to her.
"Please, please forgive me." But she only turned and walked back
towards her car, stopping for an instant before climbing inside, her voice
barely audible over the wind and rain as she said the words
"Don’t
worry Kevin……..all is forgiven."
***
