Just The Way You Are Part 34

"I don't want you to make the same mistake," Phoebe said gently.

"You don't think I see Sam the way he is today?"

"Do you?"

"I know we've changed."

"Do you think Sam knows the real you?" Phoebe paused, feeling weary from the exertion of so many sentences. "If he does, Tessa, if Sam knows you and loves for who you are, and you can say the same, then perhaps you were meant to be together. That's up to the two of you. I won't interfere."

Tessa stood up and walked over to the window, then turned back. "Do you think I could be happy living here again?"

"Oh, Tessa, how would I know that?" Phoebe looked up as William re-entered the room, this time followed by the rest of the family: Alli, Sam, and little Megan, who skipped over to the bed with all the energy Phoebe wished she still had.

"You'll never guess, Grams," Megan said.

"Then I won't even try."

"Did you tell her?" Alli asked Tessa.

"No, I was waiting for you."

"We found it, Grams. Tessa and me. We found the last pearl." Alli felt the words burst out of her, excitement bubbling up inside of her like champagne. She saw the light come on in Phoebe's eyes, the hope, the joy.

Alli's hands were shaking so much she could barely pull the pearls out of the bag. She'd had them strung that morning. "Here is your necklace, Grams. It's done." Alli walked over to the bed and slipped the pearls over her grandmother's head. "They're beautiful," she said.

Phoebe's blue eyes blurred with tears. "My pearls," she whispered. "I finally have them." She looked up at Alli and Tessa. "Thank you. Thank you both." She held out her arms to them. Alli leaned down on one side, Tessa on the other, and they hugged together, the way they'd done so many years ago.

When Alli and Tessa pulled away they were both crying.

"Now, none of that," Phoebe said with a sniff. "It will make your eyes red."

"I love you, Grams," Alli said.

"I love you, too," added Tessa.

"And I love you both. I knew you would find the pearl together."

"You won't believe how we found it," Alli said with a laugh.

"Mommy and Aunt Tessa had a food fight," Megan interrupted. "You should have seen your kitchen, Grams. I told Mommy she was in big trouble."

Phoebe smiled down at Megan. "I think they've learned their lesson." She paused, glancing over at the man who meant so much to all of them. "Sam, come here, won't you?"

Sam moved over to the bed. "You look beautiful in those pearls, Phoebe."

"There's a mirror in the top drawer. Would you hand it to me?"

Sam handed her the small pocket mirror. "What do you think?"

"I think they're perfect." She touched the pearls with a reverent gesture.

And they were perfect, Alli thought, but as mismatched as any strand could be, all different sizes, all different shades of white and ivory, and yet still perfect because of what they symbolized, a lifetime of love. How she wanted that kind of love. The thought of never knowing it almost broke her in two. But this wasn't about her. This was about Grams. They'd found the missing pearl. They'd finished the strand. Now things would be better. Grams would come home, and ... well, that was a start.

Phoebe handed the mirror back to Sam. Then she pulled the pearls over her head. After looking at them for a long minute, she kissed one and then held them up to Sam. "I want you to have the necklace."

"What?" he asked, stunned. "I couldn't."

"Both my granddaughters have loved you. And I've loved you, too. You're part of our family."

"Still, I couldn't-"

"I won't take no for an answer."

Sam looked over at Alli. She didn't know what to say to him. She was as surprised as he was. Tessa, too, appeared startled by the request. But what could either of them say? The pearls belonged to their grandmother. They were hers to give as she pleased.

"Sam," Phoebe said, drawing his attention back to her. "I want you one day to give these pearls to the woman you truly love. You'll know when it's right. And you'll know who." She held his gaze with hers for a long minute, then said, "I'm tired now. I think I'd like to rest."

Sam leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you soon." He turned to Megan. "Say good-bye to Grams."

"'Bye, Grams, see you tomorrow."

"'Bye, honey."

Alli smiled down at her grandmother. "I'm not going to ask you why you did that."

"Nor am I, Grams," Tessa said.

"Good." Phoebe looked at them both. "Remember always that you're sisters above all else. Whatever you have now, don't lose it. Promise me that."

"We promise," Alli and Tessa said together.

"Rest now," Alli added. "We're going to finish our kite for the festival today, and on Monday you'll be able to sit on your deck and watch it soar higher than all the rest."

"Not so fast," Tessa interrupted. "I found the kite you and Grandpa used to fly. Would you mind if I entered it in the contest?"

"I would love it," Phoebe said softly. "My darling girls. You mean so much to me and to each other. Just like the pearls, you are so much better together than you are apart. That's what I wanted you to know."

Alli followed Tessa to the doorway, feeling a strange uneasiness. She didn't like all the goodbyes. They felt too final. "I'll be back tonight, Grams. You'll be all right, won't you?"

"Of course I'll be all right." Phoebe paused, sending her a tender look. "I can't die yet, honey. I haven't finished counting the stars, and don't you know that you will never be alone, because there is always love, and love lives forever."

Alli looked at Tessa and saw the instant recognition in her eyes.

"Everything will be all right," Tessa said softly.

"Yes," Alli agreed. "Everything will be fine."

William sat down next to Phoebe's bed and didn't say anything for several long minutes. He'd been so quiet earlier, she'd hardly noticed he was there. Now she wondered if she'd hurt him yet again.

"The pearls were beautiful on you, Phoebe. I only wish John could have seen them," he said heavily.

"Do you mean that?"

"Yes." He let the silence fall again. "I think I'll go back to Philadelphia next week, after you come home from the hospital."

"I'm sorry," she said softly.

"It's not your fault. You've been telling me all along that I couldn't see what was beneath my nose. I finally saw it today. When you looked in the mirror, when you saw the pearls-did you see John in the reflection?"

She saw the pain in his eyes but could only be truthful. "Yes."

"I always thought that our love was the true one. But it wasn't."

"Our love was young. We weren't fully grown. You were different. I was different. Only you never realized that I changed or even that you changed."

"I thought once John had pa.s.sed, once time had pa.s.sed, that you might see your way back to me. But I think I've worn out my welcome."

"Never. You are my dearest friend. And I do love you in a way that has always belonged only to you."

He tipped his head, his voice turning gruff, as he said, "I'll always love you, Phoebe. Do you mind if I sit with you for a while?"

"I would like that. I hate to be alone here."

"And when you fall asleep, I'll go." He looked deep into her eyes. "Because you'll be with him then, won't you?"

"Yes," she said softly. "I'll be with him."

They were beautiful, Sam thought, watching as Alli and Megan ran with the wind, trying unsuccessfully to get their kite into the air. He would have helped, but it was far more fun to watch them, their hair blowing in the breeze, Alli's a s.h.i.+ny copper penny, Megan's a glorious blond. Their faces were flushed, their voices pitched with excitement, their efforts broken up with laughter.

Every so often they looked to him. But Alli wouldn't ask him for help. She'd stopped asking him for anything. He felt a deep hungry ache in his soul for the way it used to be. Alli wanted a divorce because he couldn't let go of the past. But now he had a feeling that he couldn't let go of her.

"Sam, do you think you could help me with this?" Tessa asked, walking across the thick gra.s.s toward him. Jimmy had stopped to photograph Alli and Megan, obviously as caught up in the appeal of the scene as Sam had been.

He smiled at Tessa. At least someone needed his help. Then he looked down at the twenty-year-old kite in her hand and laughed. "Where did you dig that up?"

"Grams's attic. Do you think it will still fly?"

He took the kite out of her hand and examined the edges for tears, but everything appeared intact. "A little ragged, but it should still fly."

"Some things don't change, do they, Sam?"

He saw the seriousness in her eyes and knew there was more behind the question than the subject of kites. "Some things," he agreed.

"Do you like what you see in me now? I don't mean my physical appearance, but me-do you like the woman I've become?"

Her eyes were worried, as if she were afraid of his answer. And how could he answer-there were so many facets to this grown-up Tessa he didn't begin to understand. "I like what I see. But isn't it more important if you like what you've become?"

"You'd think so, wouldn't you? But I've wanted to ask you that question for a long time. In fact, way back when we first split up, I used to fantasize about calling you and telling you I'd just gotten back from a photo shoot in Australia or that my face would be on the cover of some magazine. I thought how impressed you would be. How bad you would feel for having let me go." She sent him a rueful smile. "Pretty sad, huh?"

"I am impressed by all you've accomplished. I'm proud, too. Proud I knew you when."

Her eyes watered. "Really? You're proud of me?"

"Very much."

"That means more than you know." She paused. "I think you grew up into a fine man. I always knew you had potential, but watching you this past week, I realized you would have never been happy following me around the world. You're part of this place," she said with a sweep of her hand. "This beautiful place where roots grow deep and the sea nourishes the soul. My grandfather once told me that's why he loved Tucker's Landing. And I think you love it, too."

"I do, Tessa. It's a part of me that I've only just recently come to accept."

"I feel like I want to settle down, too."

He felt his stomach lurch. "Settle down here?"

"What do you think?" She looked into his eyes with a pleading expression that told him she really needed an answer. But what was the right answer?

"Tucker's Landing is a long way from New York or even L.A.," he prevaricated.

"I could make it my home base, the best of both worlds."

"I'm sure your grandmother would be happy to have you here. And you and Alli seem to be getting along better."

"We've declared a truce. I wonder if you and I could do the same thing. And you could stop being angry at me."

"I'm not angry at you, Tessa."

"But that's the problem, Sam. I don't know how you feel about me."

There was a challenge in her words, a call to speak the truth. He thought about the pearl necklace Phoebe had given him, and her instructions to give it to the woman he truly loved. Was that Tessa-his first love? His gaze drifted over to Alli and Megan. Or was it Alli-his wife, the woman who shared his life?

"It's taking you a long time to answer," Tessa said lightly, but there was a pain in her voice that told him she knew the truth as well as he did. "There's a time and a season, isn't there?"

"I think so," he said slowly.

"And this isn't our time. Well." She took a deep breath. "I suspect I already knew that. I just didn't want to admit it, not even to myself."

"Hey. Tessa, babe, are we ever going to launch that thing?" Jimmy called out.

Sam cleared his throat and handed Tessa back the kite. "Jimmy is waiting for you."

She hesitated, then took the kite out of his hands. "I'm going to beat you in the kite festival, you know."

"Give it your best shot."

"Oh, I will, don't worry."