Bridget stepped out of her flower shop on Valentine’s Day. It was the busiest time of the year and she needed a pick-me-up to get through this hectic today.
Valentine’s Day was usually crazy, with last-minute shoppers…mostly men.
Bridgette hadn’t had a coffee in a few hours. She could feel an intense headache coming on. She saw the cafe up ahead and decided to put an end to her agony. As she pushed open the door she could smell the aroma of roasted coffee.
Immediately she felt the tension in her shoulders dissipate. She ordered a tall latte with coconut milk and sat down to enjoy a few minutes of quiet. As she looked up she noticed an elderly lady sitting by herself at a table.
Bridgette knew the lady from somewhere??? Then it dawned on her. The woman had come into her flower shop a few weeks earlier. She had ordered flowers for her husband’s funeral. Lily was her name. She remembered Lily because she had very distinct blue eyes and was the sweetest woman.
Bridgette grabbed her coffee and walked over to her table.
‘”Hi Lily!”
As Lily looked up her eyes brightened and a smile appeared.
“Bridgette, how are you doing?”
“Pretty good, now that I have a coffee!”
Lily laughed and invited Bridgette to sit down with her. Bridgette flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder as she sat down.
The two women fell into an easy conversation.
Finally, Bridgette asked Lily how she was doing since her husband died. Lily’s eyes watered as she talked about Richard.
Memories flooded her thoughts and she told Bridgette how her and Richard had met sixty years before.
Lily had been a waitress in the small town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia. She lost her parents when she was eighteen when they had died in a car accident. Lily had been an only child with no remaining family.
Lily had dreamed of becoming a nurse but had no financial means to support herself through school. She had been a waitress at the diner for two years when she met Richard.
The day he walked into the diner, Lily’s breath was taken away. Richard was strikingly handsome and had on a navy suit and long coat. He came in with a briefcase in his hand.
Lily reluctantly walked over to take his order. She carried the coffee pot with her and offered him a mug. He accepted with a big grin that lit up his whole face. Lily’s hand shook as she poured him a cup of coffee.
What was wrong with her???
She tried not to look into his intense green eyes as he ordered a steak with onions, mashed potatoes, and gravy.
Lily came back fifteen minutes later with his hot food.
As she walked towards him, she hadn’t seen Lucas, the owner’s cat, walking in front of her. Lily tripped over Lucas, stumbling forward, she lost her grip on the plate and it landed against Richard’s chest. Hot gravy and potatoes were dripping down his expensive suit.
Lily was mortified!
She ran to get some wet cloths. Lily came back and started wiping the remains off Richard’s shirt. By now he was standing, towering over her small frame. She apologized profusely. Richard stood grinning down at her. Then he started laughing. He had a deep, rich laugh, one that warmed her belly.
Lily snapped at him. “This isn’t funny, I’ve ruined your expensive suit!”
“You can ruin my suit anytime you want.”
Lily wasn’t used to handsome men flirting with her. In their small town there weren’t too many single men, let alone ones who were handsome enough to look like they stepped out of a magazine.
Richard laughed again as he looked at her.
“Why are you laughing???” Lily asked with her brows in a scowl.
He gently took her chin in his hand, and grabbed the cloth from Lily and wiped gravy from her nose and forehead. She looked up at him with her pretty, blue eyes. Richard kept staring at her and her face began to flood with embarrassment.
Her pale skin gave her feelings away every time, making her even more flustered.
Lily grabbed the cloth before she did anything else she would regret, and headed back into the kitchen. She leaned against the wall and breathed deeply. She had never felt so attracted to a man before.
A few days later Lily was sitting in church waiting for the service to begin. She had bought a new pink floral dress and had felt very pretty when she looked in the mirror that morning.
The loneliness she had felt the past couple of years had been overwhelming. She had prayed many times that God would one day give her a family to call her own.
That morning she had prayed again, “Lord bless me with a wonderful husband. Help me to wait until you’ve brought me the one you have chosen for me.”
As she sat deep in thought in her pew. A baritone voice asked her a question.
“Huh?” She said shaking her head.
“Is anyone sitting here?”
Lily looked up to see the man from the diner. She stared at him with her mouth opened.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Um, ya, sorry. Please sit down.” Lily moved over to make room for the tall man. Her face was crimson red.
Why does this man turn me into a blubbering mess every time I see him?
He had just sat down when a family of six asked to sit beside them. Everyone squeezed into the pew. They had barely fit, and it was hard to breathe. Lily had the man’s muscular arm squeezed against hers. He lifted his arm and wrapped it behind her. She inhaled his cologne; he smelled so good that it was making her lightheaded. Her heart was beating out of control. She hoped the man couldn’t hear it.
This was the first Sunday she had attended the church since moving to Wolfville two years earlier. She had meant to come every Sunday but was too afraid to go alone. This morning she had finally got up the
The Pastor started the service with a greeting. He then looked over at the man sitting snuggled up to Lily.
“We want to welcome Dr. Richard Schar and his wife to Wolfville. We have not had a doctor in many years. You’re an answer to our prayers!”
The congregations clapped.
Then people around them started shaking Richard and Lily’s hands and welcoming them. Lily realized they thought Richard was her husband. Richard didn’t correct them. Lily was flabberghasted!
She sat in her pew fuming, ”How dare he!’
After the service was over, Lily followed Richard outside. When they got around the corner she smacked his chest with her clutch purse…t
“How could you do that to me? Everyone thinks we’re married now!!!”
“Yes, it does appear that way.”
“I’m single. You’re going to ruin my chance of getting married!”
She went to hit him a third time with her purse. He grabbed her wrists and grinned down at her. “We could change that.”
“Change what???”
“You could go out to dinner with me and maybe it will lead to something more than you bouncing things off my chest.”
Lily mouth fell open…again. Her face flushed.
Richard held out his hand, “Hi I’m Richard, and you are…”
She was tempted to kick his shins while she had the chance. But decided to let her anger go.
“Lily…I’m Lily Sanders.” She put her small hand in his and he enveloped it with his large hand. Richard brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.
“So, Lily Sanders will you go to dinner with me and you can find out if you’re interested in marrying me?”
Lily told Bridgette about their wonderful year of dating before they were engaged. Richard had been a perfect gentleman and had treated Lily like a princess.
Richard paid for Lily’s two years of nursing school. After she was done school they married in the church Richard had originally proposed at.
Lily became Richard’s nurse in his new clinic. They had four children, and twelve grandchildren and had lived a long and happy life together. They had had a beautiful romance and marriage.
Bridgette sat across from Lily with tears in her eyes. “Lily I’ve been praying God would give me a husband. It
“Keep praying my dear, and keep waiting. God has someone special just for you. Trust him to bring you together.”
Lily and Bridgette made a date to meet back at the cafe in two weeks. Bridgette left and walked down one block to her flower shop. Today was Valentines Day. For her, it felt like one of the loneliest days of the year, even though her shop was at it’s busiest.
She was bent down behind the counter when suddenly she heard a deep voice. “Hello, I’d like to buy a dozen roses. ”
Bridgette was startled and banged her head on the counter as she stood. She felt a bit dizzy. The man came around behind the counter and grabbed her by the shoulders before she stumbled. He looked down at Bridgette with his deep green eyes.
“Are you okay?”
Bridgette’s heart fluttered. He was one of the most handsome men she had ever seen.
“Um, ah, yes…I think I am.”
He grinned at her and let her go.
“How can I help you?” Bridgette asked nervously.
“I’d like to buy a dozen roses.”
“Are these for your wife?” Bridgette asked, peaking up at him beneath her eyelashes.
“No, I’m single,” he said chuckling. “These are for my grandmother, Lily Schar.”
Bridgette gasped and looked up at him. He grinned, his eyes sparkling.
“It’s her first Valentine’s Day without my grandfather. He bought her a dozen roses every year. “
Bridgette just stared at him, her face flushing.
He stepped forward, “This may sound bold, but would you want to grab a cup of coffee on your break?”
“Yes… um… yes… I would.”
Two weeks later, Bridgette couldn’t walk fast enough to the cafe where Lily was waiting.
As soon as she sat down, she thanked Lily for sending her grandson to the flower shop. Lily looked confused. “I didn’t send him to your shop after our coffee.”
Bridget sat stunned, “Well how did he know where to find me?”
Lily pointed upward and reached over and squeezed her future granddaughter’s hand.
“God has a way of working these things out on his own, Dear”
If you’d like to read another of Cindy’s fictional stories click here: Teachers Who Spread Sparkle.
