In Three Years (A Mulberry Lane Novel, #3)

Prologue

Prologue

Louise Delaney“I think it’s time to plan my funeral,” Louise said as she looked up from her notebook.

They say a lot can happen in three years. For Louise Delaney, that was most certainly the truth.

In the three years just passed, her life had irrevocably changed. She’d met two women—three, if you counted her stepdaughter, Abby—who would later be her lifeline, her best friends, and her one true family. It was also in those three years that she’d been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. What the next three years would bring remained to be seen.

Louise turned her attention back to the blank notebook in front of her. In her hand, she held an expensive pen. It was one she’d bought in Portland while on vacation with her late husband, Warren. The pen was his idea. You see, by that time, their marriage of twenty or so years was well and truly on the brink; but neither one of them had been brave enough to say anything. After all, they’d made their vows to each other—vows which were not to be taken lightly as they had been made before God. I promise to love and care for you, and I will try in every way to be worthy of your love. Those were Louise’s words. She couldn’t quite remember what Warren had said; probably something like, until death do us part.

Marriage was funny like that. It always starts with two people making lifetime promises to each other that neither one knew for certain they could truly keep. Of course, those promises were always made with the best of intentions. But life...well, life is a funny ol’ thing, isn’t it? Didn’t Alanis Morissette sing something to that effect? Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you when you think everything’s okay. Yes. It was a very good song. Louise liked it. Ironic—that was the title of the song. Because life is, well...ironic.

In the end, it was death that had parted them. Warren had died in a car accident—on his way to see his daughter; the one they didn’t share together. He had been on his way to see the daughter he shared with another woman. Ironic.

But really, truth be told, it was an earlier death that had cracked the foundation of their marriage. The expensive pen was merely another attempt at chipping at the wall that had grown between them. Ironic.

Amari’s death had marked the beginning of the end of their marriage. She was their miracle baby; the one they thought would never come. But she came—fourteen years after the birth of their first child. As such, she was, in every sense of the word, a miracle of God. An Amari.

Unbeknownst to either of them, God’s miracle was on borrowed time. And on the thirtieth day, their miracle was taken away. It was, as Alanis said, ironic.

Did she really like that song? She couldn’t remember now. Maybe. Maybe not so much. But Louise knew all the lyrics. So maybe she did after all.

Louise and Warren later learned that Amari had died from SIDS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, they were told. The words were stab wounds, pushed deep into their very hearts, never to heal again.

In Louise’s deep grief for her lost baby, she’d overlooked her other blessing—Madison, her eldest daughter.

It wasn’t until years later that Louise put the puzzle pieces together. When Madison moved to New Zealand at the age of thirty and immediately after Warren’s death, Louise realized just how much she’d messed up. By then, it was too late. The apron strings had been well and truly snipped. Guilt had plagued her for many years. As it would any parent. Louise felt she’d failed her daughter. She knew she had.

Louise held the pen in her hand and wrote some words down: RECIPES FOR ABBY. She traced her fingers along the words. Her lips curved into a small smile. Maybe dying wasn’t such a bad thing, she thought. Maybe it would force her to be braver and finally do the things she’d always wanted to do.

“Louise...”

Louise snapped out of her reverie at the sound of Kate’s voice.

“It’s Sarah’s wedding today. Maybe we can talk about the funeral later on?” Kate’s voice was soft; careful not to offend. Everyone was cautious not to offend her. It was both sweet and annoying.

Louise frowned and took her eyes off the page. She raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Your wedding?” It was as much a statement as it was a question. She’d been forgetting a lot of things as of late. That was what happened to one with Alzheimer’s.

She looked up to find Sarah standing in front of the mirror. Her brown, wavy hair fell gently over her shoulders. “Oh, Sarah,” she said with a sigh.

Louise eyed her friend. Sarah was beautiful. Timeless. “That dress...” The off-shoulder dress had a traditional sweetheart neckline that highlighted Sarah’s face—and oh, how she glowed.

“I’m sorry, Sarah.” Louise shook her head and stood up. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” She put her hands on Sarah’s shoulders. “You look stunning, darling. He’s—uh—” She couldn’t remember her soon-to-be husband’s name. What was his name? “Caleb—he’s a very lucky man,” Louise said.

Things didn’t come as easily as they used to. Names, faces, places, things...they all seemed to disappear in a gray mist that muddied her brain. There were days when mist turned into a heavy fog that took hours to clear. On other days, it was as if there was nothing at all wrong with her.

Sarah smiled. “It’s alright,” she said. “I’m just glad that you’re here.” She looked at both Louise and Kate. “I’m happy that you both are here.”

Sarah Delaney“MOM!” THE BEDROOM DOOR burst open with Noah flying in. “I don’t want to wear this stupid ribbon! Caleb said I have to wear it.”

“Come here,” she said to Noah. Sarah moved to the bed and sat down on the edge, taking the bowtie that Noah scrunched up in his hand. “Can’t you wear it just for the ceremony, Noah? Both Caleb and Liam will be wearing the same ones too.”

Noah violently shook his seven-year-old head. “But it’s pink! And it’s stupid!”

Sarah pressed her lips together and took a deep breath. For the most part, Noah’s ADHD was in hand. He responded well to his treatment, and there had been a significant improvement since he’d started taking the right medication. But—there were days when his emotions were just too big for him, which in turn resulted in senseless outbursts that were then too much for Sarah. It didn’t help either that Noah’s playground swear words had increased and made their way into his daily vocabulary. “It’s not pink, honey. It’s rose,” she said in a low, well-modulated tone that the doctor had suggested she use during such outbursts.

“Rose?” Noah scrunched his face up; his cheeks, flushed. “What kind of color is that?”

Sarah didn’t know why she even said it was rose and not pink. She should have known the small difference would not have mattered to her seven-year-old. “Noah, honey,”—Sarah took both his hands in hers—“do you think you can do this for Mommy?”

“No.”

“You’ll only have to wear it for a very a short time. And after that—after the wedding—I promise I will take it off for you myself.”

Noah’s shoulders slumped. “Fine,” he said as he turned to walk away.

Sarah reached for his shoulders and pulled him into an embrace. “Thank you, sweetheart.” She kissed the top of his head. “I love you.”

“I love you, too,” Noah said before racing out the door.

Sarah sighed and met Kate’s eyes.

“You’re a great mom,” Kate said encouragingly.

Sarah sat back down on the edge of the bed with her hands on her lap. “It sure doesn’t feel like it sometimes.”

“I think I need to buy some laundry detergent,” Louise piped up.

Sarah turned to face Louise, who was busily scribbling things into her notebook. She looked at Kate and chuckled. “We’ll make sure to get some laundry detergent after the wedding.”

Louise stopped writing. “What wedding?”

They say that when God takes something away; he gives another in return. God was taking her friend away. Sarah could feel it—she could see it more and more every day. But she couldn’t imagine what God could possibly give in return; for nothing could ever replace her dearest friend.

“It’s Sarah’s wedding day,” Kate said once again for the eighth or ninth time that day. “Let’s touch up your lippy, okay?”

Louise looked over at the bride. “Oh, Sarah, darling! You look just beautiful.” Louise put a hand to her chest as if it was the first time she’d seen Sarah in her wedding dress that day. “Absolutely stunning.”

“Thanks Louise,” Sarah beamed.

“Are you ready?” Kate asked Sarah.

Sarah took a deep breath in. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied with a smile. It had been a tough year for Sarah and Caleb. But in the end, they’d found their way back to each other and were stronger than ever as a couple.

They’d decided to hold the wedding at the White Willow Bed & Breakfast in the neighboring town of Willow Oaks.

The White Willow belonged to the best friends of Sarah’s cousin, Charlotte. Actually, Charlotte was Adam’s cousin. Adam—her late husband. But to Sarah, they were pretty much family. Charlotte was the one who’d done the catering at Adam’s funeral. And the one who had temporarily taken the children when Sarah’s grief left her unable to function and care for anyone, not even her own self. Charlotte was also the one who had introduced Caleb to Sarah. In some way—minus the death, the funeral, and depression—it was all a very romantic tale. One that she would tell in the years to come.

Kate MorganTHE DOOR CRACKED OPEN and Evan, Kate’s ex-husband, poked his head in. “Ten minutes, ladies,” he said.

“Thanks.” Kate nodded and looked over at Sarah. “Here we go,” she said, grinning.

“I’ll see you downstairs,” Evan said with a wink to Kate.

“Where are we going?” Louise asked Kate.

“It’s Sarah and Caleb’s wedding,” Kate said. It broke Kate’s heart to see her friend disappearing more and more each day. The fog stayed around much longer than it did during the early days of Louise’s diagnosis three years ago. To Kate, Louise was more than just a friend. Louise was like a mother to her and it pained her to know that one day, she would lose her.

But today was about Sarah, and Kate was determined to make it special for her. Kate helped Louise up from where she sat and guided her out of the room and down the stairs of the White Willow Bed & Breakfast.

Delight glowed in Louise’s face. “Is Sarah getting married?”

“Yes,” Kate said. “And you’re a bridesmaid.”

“Me?” Louise asked in surprise. “Really?” She looked down at her dress. “Oh, how wonderful! Is this my dress?”

“It sure is.” Kate helped her down the last step. She smoothed the front of Louise’s dress. “Are you ready?”

Louise grinned from ear to ear. “Yes, I am.” She turned around to look at Sarah, who stood smiling behind her. “You look stunning, darling.”

“Not quite as stunning as you,” Sarah said.

“Oh, stop it!” Louise laughed. “No one can ever upstage a beauty like you.” And just like that, Louise was back to her old self—witty, bright, and beautiful.

As the music began to play, Kate and Louise stepped out on to the back porch. White lanterns hung across the White Willow Garden. Everything was beautiful, and the owners had done a wonderful job of decorating the place. It was all very different from her own wedding to Evan.

Theirs had been rushed—a quick trip to the city hall had sealed the deal. And it didn’t take long for their marriage to fail. The end had come around about as quickly as they’d exchanged marital vows that afternoon at the city hall.

Despite all that, however, Kate and Evan had somehow managed to become friends. It was a slow transition—drunken ex-husband to reliable co-parent to friends. Co-parenting had given them a platform to put the past and their differences aside.

Kate followed as Louise walked down the aisle, which was lined with jars of fresh snowdrop flowers. She glanced around and spotted Evan, who grinned widely at her and gave her two thumbs up. Evan had taken a spot at the front row in case he needed to coax their son along as he marched ahead of the flower girl. But as it turned out, Adam was the perfect ring-bearer.

Kate took her place next to Louise. She looked on as Sarah walked down the aisle and soft gasps rippled through the air. Kate held her tears back—her friend looked absolutely beautiful.