12) Promise Me

"Rise and shine!" Ella exclaimed, Jon and Kate clambering behind her.  April stirred, and squinted from the sunlight that shimmered down through the bare trees, resting upon her.  She roused herself into a sitting position, her eyes passing over the shining faces, slowly reaching Drew's.  Her brow rose in question.  His eyes merely twinkled in response.

"We made you breakfast," Ella declared proudly.

"Oh, did you?" April queried, her face aglow in her amusement.

Their heads all bobbed in agreement, and then Ella turned, her arms motioning towards the kitchen.  Jon followed, but Kate hesitated.  She reached out a hand towards April, so as to urge her forward.

April, a soft smile passing over her face, let her fingers be enclosed in the small ones, and allowed herself to be led into the kitchen.

There, at the end of the table, was a plate piled in a generous heap of pancakes, and, sitting close by, was April's favorite mug, steaming with fresh coffee.

They all encouraged her to sit down, watching her expectantly.

April could tell that there had been more than just a spoonful of sugar that had found its way into her coffee cup as she took her first sip, though she was careful not to reveal her inward grimace.  The pancakes had also been on the pan a little longer than needed, she noted, as she crunched into one.  Though, for everything the meal lacked, it was the best breakfast she ever had, for it was not the food, but their simple gesture of love that had touched her heart.

April welcomed them all into a warm embrace.

"It was the best breakfast ever."

They grinned delightedly.  "Really?"

She nodded.  "And you know why?"  She tweaked their noses.

They shook their heads.

"Because you made it."

They giggled, impish grins lighting their faces, as April glanced up at Drew.  She didn't miss the loving smile pass over his gaze.

~*~

"April," came Drew's soft, yet urgent voice.  "April, wake up."

April's eyes fluttered open.  Drew was bent over her, a worried frown creasing his brow.  Immediately, she knew something was terribly wrong.  She bolted upright in bed.

"Drew, what is it?" she asked, her feet immediately slipping into her bedroom slippers.  "Is it the children?"

He shook his head, his throat too tight for him to respond.

She hesitated then, fear constricting her heart.  "Drew," she whispered, meeting his gaze, "something's wrong, isn't there?"

"It's Lillian," he said in a half-whisper.  "Doc says we don't have much time."

A look of total disbelief crossed April's face.  "But... that can't be," she whispered, her voice growing hoarse.  "I visited her just a few days ago."  She had been in a perfect state of health.  There had to be a mistake.  "Nothing can be that serious..."  Her voice had faltered, and she purposefully stepped back, distancing herself from her husband, her eyes glancing up in horror at his face.

There was something about the soft gentleness in his eyes that confirmed the uncertainty and gripping fear in her heart.  She could scream at what she saw in his gaze.

"No," she whispered in almost a sob, covering her mouth with both hands, blocking out reality that had to be a nightmare.

~*~

Drew was hurrying Leila onward, and out into the brisk darkness, April stiff and withdrawn beside him.  The children had been bundled closely in the back of the sleigh, something of which they always enjoyed.  But, instead of hearing their usual shouts of glee and laughter, there was a dreadful silence.

Lord, no, April's heart cried for the tenth time.  It can't be.  It just can't be.  Please, Lord.  Please.  She wanted to pour out her heart to Him in utter denial; in a fervent plea, but she could not get her mind to scarcely think.  

She blinked back her tears, plastered to her face by the whipping wind.  She felt a shiver pass through her-- not from the cold.  Somehow, with each step closer, she felt she was losing someone very dear and special to her.  Someone she had lost and regained, and was now losing all over again.

~*~

With tendrils of hair falling about her stricken face, April's eyes searched Lillian's.  Everything in her was trying to be brave for her.

All the others had quietly left the room, as Lillian had asked to speak with her privately.

"Now, now," Lillian gently scolded, her hand reaching up and wiping away a tear on her face, "don't waste your tears over me, April.  We'll meet again someday.  Don't you remember what you told me?  No tears."  Even as she said it, tears came to her own eyes.  "No pain," she whispered, squeezing her hand with a surprising strength, as though to show her that the old Lillian with fire was still within her, even now.  "Eternity with my Savior.  I'm going to a better place now."

April nodded softly.

Lillian still clung to her hand.  "I only have one thing I must ask you-- before I go away."

It sounded as though Lillian was just going on a short trip and would be seeing her soon.  

April merely nodded again.  "Anything," she whispered.

She took a deep breath.  "When I'm gone, the children will have no one to look after them," Lillian began, her voice soft and seeming a million miles away.  "I just couldn't bear seeing them sent to an orphanage.  They'd never be able to really grow there-- to have a real family."  She paused, turning her eyes to April.  "You and Drew-- you're their family.  From the moment you had taken them in, I knew it-- saw it in your eyes.  There's no other place I could imagine them-- but with you.  Promise me, April.  Promise me you'll take care of them-- love them.  Won't you?"

April's heart was too overwhelmed to speak.  She sat there, her ears unable to comprehend what they had just heard.  It was everything she had dreamed of-- everything she had thought she was going to lose.

Lillian's eyes locked onto hers.  "Please, April.  Promise me."

Eyes shining with tears, April could only nod.

"I promise," she whispered.

And with a smile of gratefulness illuminating her face, April watched in a mixture of heartache and joy as her dear friend departed from her broken world, entering the pearly gates of a new and perfect place-- heaven.

Author's Note

There was a mixture of emotions in this chapter. I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.

Your thoughts?

Reviews

[Missy Moooooo]

Awh Nooo:/

[~Lizzy♬]

So moving! I laughed, cried, and even smiled throughout the chapter. You've got a way with words. I can't wait to see a book in the stores with your name on it soon!!

~Lizzy~

[Karli]

This was such a sad, yet moving chapter. And the breakfast part was so cute:)

[~ Stefanie ~]

This was a great chapter! I laughed during the part of breakfast being made... I could just picture her taking a bite into those crunchy pancakes :/ Yuck! and overly sweet coffee! Haha that was a fun moment to read about.
I'm sad to see that Lillian passes away :( That is so sad! At least the children will be in good hands though with Drew and April... they will have 4 kids soon with April's baby on the way!

A few corrections for ya to think about... but nothing bad!

"Nothing can be that serious..." Her voice had faltered, and she stepped back, her eyes glancing up in horror at his face."
Earlier in this section you said that Drew was waking April up, which means she would have been lying in bed, but in this sentence you said she took a step back, so that means she would have been standing. So I may just re-word it a little bit so the reader know exactly what April is doing.

"Drew was hurrying Leila onward, and out into the brisk darkness, April stiff and silent beside him. "
I would probably re-word this sentence to make the structure of it a little more clear and understandable. Something maybe like this... "Drew was hurrying Leila onward, into the brisk darkness; April, who was stiff with pure silence, hovered beside him."

"No tears. No pain. Eternity with God. I'm going to a better place, now."
You do not need the comma after 'place' because you sentence is one complete thought and you do not need a break telling about the 'now' IThe comma just messes with the flow of her thought in this sentence.

I believe that was all my corrections/suggestions for you :) Remeber they are merely opinions of mine in some of the suggestions so you don't have to take them :) It is your story and you can write it however you want to. I just thought it would help with your flow a little more. Anyway, this was a great chapter and i am looking forward to more when you get the cahnce to write and post it :)