couldn’t breathe.
“I’m a commercial architect here in Fort Myers. I moved down fromMississippi after I finished school.”
“You like it here?”
“Love it. Oh, turn around, you’ve got to see the size of the sun now.”
“It’s blinding. Hey, I better go. The concert is starting.”
“Would you like to have a drink with me after the concert? There’s a piano bar just across the street.”
“Thanks, but I’m a bit under the weather right now. Lack of sleep.”
“Well, maybe we’ll meet again.” He shook her hand lightly.
“Maybe.”
Vicki sang along with the words being sung on stage as she walked back over to the blanket, “Life has had its hard times when I felt the chill of winter—can’t forget the night when my sweet Jesus slipped away.”
The man next to her kneeled in the grass and videotaped the stage. The woman with the sign swayed back and forth.
“Here, do us a favor, will you? Bring these flowers up to him now, on this song. I love this song,” the woman, who looked about her mother’s age, whispered in her ear. She handed Vicki a bouquet of lilies, but Vicki handed them back. “Gosh, no. I can’t walk up there in front of all these people.”
“Go on. You’re a young woman, full of life—go for it.”
“They’re your flowers. You bring them up.”
“I can’t. I have bad knees and don’t want to fall on the way. Please! It would mean so much to me. My husband’s busy with his camera, and I just want B. J. to get the flowers. I don’t care if they come directly from me. I can live vicariously through you for a moment.”
“Okay. I’ll do it, I guess.”
“You’ll be glad you did. Why is it we always regret the things we didn’t do in life more than the things we did? You won’t regret this.”
As Vicki walked up to the stage, she could feel her heart dancing in rhythm with the music, and she feared that walking too close to the speakers might trigger the pain. She didn’t want to die, not now, not tomorrow, not ever. And especially not with the beautiful man on his bike watching her from across the street. As she carefully walked around the blankets spread across the grass, so as not to step on any fingers, she glanced at thelilies in her hand. They wore natural purple, blue, and white suits with ruffled blouses underneath. Somehow the lilies, once alive in the fields, reminded her not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. She was also reminded that tulips belong to the lily family.
“Thank you,” B. J. Thomas said softly into the microphone, and his voice echoed through all of downtown Fort Myers. His song had ended, and he bent down, hugged her, and took the flowers.
The crowd screamed, the woman cried, her husband kept videotaping, and Ben sat on his bike watching from the road. Later, Ben showed up at her blanket and handed her his phone number. “It’s too loud to talk now, but I’d love to go out. Call me if you’d like, if you’re not dating B. J Thomas, that is.” He laughed.
Vicki watched Ben take off on his bike. He was the sort of man she was attracted to, but she didn’t want to meet Mr. Right too soon in life. Admittedly, she viewed men as obstacles to all the things she wanted to do in life, before settling down. Then again, Ben was the type of man who would look quite sexy, even eating a Buffalo wing.
They spent every day together for the next several weeks. Their favorite thing was to walk the beach, and they did this for hours, always starting at the Sanibel Lighthouse. Sometimes they walked knee-deep in the water and sometimes on the white, crunchy shoreline, shuffling their feet as they went, forewarning stingrays to swim away. It was the same beach evening after evening, but each time it looked different, just as a painting on the wall looked different with the lights turned off and the shades shut, compared to when the lights were on or the sun was striking it from the window.
As they walked and
“I’m a commercial architect here in Fort Myers. I moved down fromMississippi after I finished school.”
“You like it here?”
“Love it. Oh, turn around, you’ve got to see the size of the sun now.”
“It’s blinding. Hey, I better go. The concert is starting.”
“Would you like to have a drink with me after the concert? There’s a piano bar just across the street.”
“Thanks, but I’m a bit under the weather right now. Lack of sleep.”
“Well, maybe we’ll meet again.” He shook her hand lightly.
“Maybe.”
Vicki sang along with the words being sung on stage as she walked back over to the blanket, “Life has had its hard times when I felt the chill of winter—can’t forget the night when my sweet Jesus slipped away.”
The man next to her kneeled in the grass and videotaped the stage. The woman with the sign swayed back and forth.
“Here, do us a favor, will you? Bring these flowers up to him now, on this song. I love this song,” the woman, who looked about her mother’s age, whispered in her ear. She handed Vicki a bouquet of lilies, but Vicki handed them back. “Gosh, no. I can’t walk up there in front of all these people.”
“Go on. You’re a young woman, full of life—go for it.”
“They’re your flowers. You bring them up.”
“I can’t. I have bad knees and don’t want to fall on the way. Please! It would mean so much to me. My husband’s busy with his camera, and I just want B. J. to get the flowers. I don’t care if they come directly from me. I can live vicariously through you for a moment.”
“Okay. I’ll do it, I guess.”
“You’ll be glad you did. Why is it we always regret the things we didn’t do in life more than the things we did? You won’t regret this.”
As Vicki walked up to the stage, she could feel her heart dancing in rhythm with the music, and she feared that walking too close to the speakers might trigger the pain. She didn’t want to die, not now, not tomorrow, not ever. And especially not with the beautiful man on his bike watching her from across the street. As she carefully walked around the blankets spread across the grass, so as not to step on any fingers, she glanced at thelilies in her hand. They wore natural purple, blue, and white suits with ruffled blouses underneath. Somehow the lilies, once alive in the fields, reminded her not to worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. She was also reminded that tulips belong to the lily family.
“Thank you,” B. J. Thomas said softly into the microphone, and his voice echoed through all of downtown Fort Myers. His song had ended, and he bent down, hugged her, and took the flowers.
The crowd screamed, the woman cried, her husband kept videotaping, and Ben sat on his bike watching from the road. Later, Ben showed up at her blanket and handed her his phone number. “It’s too loud to talk now, but I’d love to go out. Call me if you’d like, if you’re not dating B. J Thomas, that is.” He laughed.
Vicki watched Ben take off on his bike. He was the sort of man she was attracted to, but she didn’t want to meet Mr. Right too soon in life. Admittedly, she viewed men as obstacles to all the things she wanted to do in life, before settling down. Then again, Ben was the type of man who would look quite sexy, even eating a Buffalo wing.
They spent every day together for the next several weeks. Their favorite thing was to walk the beach, and they did this for hours, always starting at the Sanibel Lighthouse. Sometimes they walked knee-deep in the water and sometimes on the white, crunchy shoreline, shuffling their feet as they went, forewarning stingrays to swim away. It was the same beach evening after evening, but each time it looked different, just as a painting on the wall looked different with the lights turned off and the shades shut, compared to when the lights were on or the sun was striking it from the window.
As they walked and
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