Forever Yours

Seeing Lacey Off [12]

12. Seeing Lacey Off

Ryan

Four days... Four days since I'd seen Maureen and I was about one hundred percent convinced that by this point, I was a shoe-in at the unemployment office.

I grimaced, thinking about it. How could I have taken it that far? She was my employer, for crying out loud. I'd be lucky if she didn't write me up and put in a complaint at the agency.

She didn't try to contact me after that, confirming my suspicions. In all reality though, I couldn't really imagine Maureen just calling me up for a chat. She was too shy for that sort of thing. But she hadn't asked me back to work, so maybe she was firing me.

I groaned to myself. It was no use; it had been the same crap for the past four days.

The limousine pulled up and I saw Carl climb out the front. Guess I'm being replaced after all. The thought filled me with regret for some reason. I watched as he went around back and opened the door.

One black heel emerged, followed by a long leg, and my eyes trailed up her navy pantsuit, stopping at her face. She looked beautiful, as always, and every male worker from the pilot to ground control, stopped what they were doing to look at her. The sun shone down on her dark hair, bringing out the red strands in it, and I sucked in a breath. Stop staring, I ordered myself and turned to Lacey. She was lying on a stretcher next to me, her bald head pale against the harsh glare of the sunlight. I leaned farther over her, blocking the rays. She grinned up at me, blinking sleepily.

"Mary's here!" she said happily. I smiled.

"I noticed."

She sighed contentedly.

I touched her face, rubbing my thumb across her paper thin skin. "You like Mary a lot, don't you?"

"She's my best friend... aside from you and Mom, I mean," she said quickly.

I feigned shock. "Best friend? Why is this the first I've heard of this, young lady?"

She giggled.

"Next you'll be telling me you love her more than me. How could you, Lacey? You're breaking my heart," I said, covering my face.

She giggled again. "I love you most of all."

"You better," I said with a grin, leaning down to kiss her forehead. Her small fingers brushed my cheek and her eyes had already fluttered closed by the time I pulled back.

As I stared down at her, it seemed to hit me for the first time.

This was real. She was leaving to China. If the treatment failed... the doctors said she had three weeks, max. I might never see her again. The thought brought a lump to my throat and I closed my eyes, breathing deeply.

"Lacey, listen..." I started, licking my lips uselessly as I struggled for the right words. Her eyes opened and she stared up at me, solemn. "I love you. You're the best little sister anyone could ever ask for... But you have to realize... I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know if this is gonna make you better. But no matter what, I want you to know that I love you so much... and I'm sorry I couldn't make you better myself. I tried... that's why I started working for Maureen. So I could pay for you to get better. But... it wasn't enough, it wasn't soon enough... and now you're going to China and I can only hope that this will work and you'll come back, alive and healthy. I hope you will because- because I trust Maureen and I trust what she says. But...but..."

"But," Lacey said in a small voice and I looked up. "But I am gonna get better. I'm not gonna die. Mary told me so... And I prayed that Jesus wouldn't let me die, so I know He won't let me."