The Greatest Gift (2)
"Glenn, please, will you just take care of my granddaughter for me? She's hurting and I can't bear to see her this way." "Of course, of course." They finally managed to get Dani off of Lisa. She lay down on the examination table and Glenn checked her out. "Her arm looks broken but I'll have to send her for an x-ray to assess the situation." "Dani, you have to get a picture taken of your arm," Lisa explained to her. "Will you come with me, Grandma?" she said in a small voice. "I don't want to be away from you." She looked at Glenn and he nodded. "You'll have to stay outside when the x-ray is taken though." "Okay." Dani was quickly taken to radiology and an x-ray was done on her arm. She did have a break and needed a cast. Lisa was grateful for Glenn for insisting on getting the hospital's best orthopedic to look at Dani. They didn't have to wait for anything. Glenn made sure of that. He was trying so hard to be professional and regain his composure at the same time. Seeing Lisa again was a big shock to him. She still took his breath away. She was a grandmother and yet, she looked to be about 25 herself. She had aged wonderfully. He couldn't get over how beautiful she still was. Her face was still dewy and soft and her figure slender and perfect. And he had a granddaughter. Danielle was an absolute angel but what right did he have to consider her his granddaughter? He had walked out on Lisa when she was pregnant with his child. He had no right to think of Dani in that way. He didn't deserve to. And yet, when Lisa had referred to Dani as his granddaughter, it had caused his heart to soar in his chest. He had a daughter and a granddaughter. It was too much to take. Glenn watched as Dr. Sanders began the process of casting Dani's arm. By now, the little girl was so excited about getting a cast that she had forgotten about the pain she was in. He looked at Lisa who was clinging to Dani's other hand. He motioned for her to come outside with him for a moment. "Grandma will be right back, okay?" she said to Dani. "Okay, Grandma. Hurry up. I want you to be the first to sign my cast." Lisa kissed her granddaughter and left her in the care of the doctor and his two nurses. Glenn led her to an empty examination room. He looked at her and smiled. "How have you been, Lisa?" She returned his smile. "Just fine. The family keeps me busy. I have my own business too. I work out of my house." "Interior decorating?" he guessed. She smiled. "You remember." "I never forgot anything about you. How many children do you have?" "Nicole is my only child." "I'm surprised. I figured you'd have a house full of kids." "I never married, Glenn." He stared at her. "Never?" She shook her head. "No, never. What about you?" "I'm a bachelor. Never been married either." "Really?" She wasn't surprised at the relief she felt over that piece of news. He nodded. "I never got over you, Lisa. Oh, I dated a lot of women but it never lasted. None of them could ever compare to you." She looked away from him. It was all too much to take. "I've spent the last 25 years of my life hiding in my work. I'm the top doctor in this hospital, Lisa. I'm proud of what I accomplished but I did it at the expense of what we had together. I've lived with the regret for 25 years." "You were scared," she said softly. "You must have been too and yet, all I could think about was myself. I never thought about it from your end. You would have if I was the one who had been pregnant. I mean, well, you know what I mean. You always put me before yourself and all I could see was my damn ambition getting the best of me." "I'm sure you must be a wonderful doctor. You're wonderful with Dani and I know it isn't just because of me." "Tell me about Nicole. What's she like?" Lisa beamed proudly. "She's a beautiful, lovely young woman. She just graduated college last year and she works with me now. She's a wonderful mother and she has a nice husband named Dave. He's a great guy and is such a good father and husband to them." "So she's happy?" She nodded. "Very happy. She has a good life and now she's pregnant again. It's such an exciting time for us." "I'm sure it must be. I can't believe you never married. Did you ever go to college like you wanted to?" She nodded. "I went when I was in my thirties. I raised Nicole first and then I went." "You must have had a hard time, I mean, being a single mother." "My folks helped out when they could but for the most part, it was a big sacrifice. It was worth it though. Nicole is a wonderful girl and I'm so proud of her." "I can tell that you are." "How come you never married, Glenn?" He looked at her. "I never stopped loving you, Lisa, never. It was so wrong what I did to you. I left you high and dry when you were pregnant with my child. I should have stayed and been a man. Instead, I ran away with my tail tucked between my legs. Will you ever forgive me for what I did?" "I was never angry at you," she assured him. "Never?" The disbelief he felt was evident in his voice. She shook her head. "There's nothing to forgive. I'm not mad at you. I feel sorry for you because you missed so much. You missed watching your daughter grow up. You missed when she took her first steps. You missed when she graduated high school at the top of her class. You missed when she got married. You couldn't even walk her down the aisle because you weren't there. That's why I feel sorry for you. You missed out on so much with her." "I'm a jerk," he said as tears filled his eyes again. "I was so ambitious, so hell-bent on going to college and sticking to my life's plan." "We were young. Things just happened." He smiled at her. "You haven't changed. You're still the same optimist you always were." "I have a good life. I never married but you gave me my child and for that I will always be grateful." "Why didn't you ever marry, Lisa?" "Because there wasn't anybody that could compare to you." Her voice was soft, sincere. He shook his head. "How can you say that after what I did to you?" "I never stopped loving you. Just the other day I was in the attic reading some of the love letters you wrote me." "You still have them? I have every letter you ever wrote me too. They're the only happiness I have left. I have nothing, Lisa, except for my work. I practically live at this hospital because I'm so lonely when I'm not working. Every Christmas is spent here working because I have nobody to share it with." "Will you come and have Christmas with us this year?" He looked at her in surprise. "Do you mean that?" She nodded and smiled. "I don't want you to be alone anymore. Come meet your daughter and get to know her." "What about us? Could we, I mean, can I take you out to dinner one night?" "Why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night?" she offered. "We can talk then." "I'd love to." The smile on his face was brighter than any star in the sky. "I'd love to do that." She returned his smile. "I'd better get back to Dani. Will I see you again? I know you're busy." He nodded. "I'll come in and check up on her." Later on, Dani was showing off her brand new cast to anyone who happened to be near. "Grandma, you have to sign my cast," she reminded her. "I promise I will when we get home, angel." She smiled at Glenn. "Thank you for everything. I'm glad that you were here for her." "She's my granddaughter," he said softly. Lisa smiled. "Yes, she is. Dani, say goodbye now and thank you." She waved at Glenn with her good hand. "Goodbye, Mr. doctor and thank you!" He couldn't help but laugh. He had so much catching up to do. He had never felt more happier than he did at that moment. Seeing Lisa was the greatest gift he had ever been given. He hoped it wasn't too late to get to know his family. -------------------- "Absolutely not!" Nicole said to her later on that evening. "I do not want to come to meet this man tomorrow night!" Lisa sighed. "This man happens to be your father." "I have no father! He relinquished that right the minute he walked out on you." "Nicole, I expected more from you." "Mom." She shook her head as she poured them hot cocoa. "I love you and want you to be happy but how could you even think about inviting him over for dinner after what he did to you?" "I told you my reasons. He's a good, decent man. We were young. He made a terrible mistake. He wants to make up for it. He was crying about it at the hospital." "He is not a good, decent man! He left you all alone pregnant to raise a child by yourself. He's a coward and a jerk!" "Nicole Andrews, I will not have you speak about him like that! It's Christmas! Can't you even give him a chance for the Lord's sake?" Nicole burst into tears. "I am not meeting him, Mom and that's that. If you invite him for Christmas I won't come and I mean that." She ran out of the kitchen. Lisa looked at Dave and sighed. "I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean for this to happen." Dave shook his head. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Ma. It's a lot for Nicole to take but you're still her mother and she should respect your wishes." "No." Lisa shook her head sadly. "She has every right to feel the way she does. I can't expect her to forgive Glenn for what he did. She grew up without a father. I can't imagine what must go on in her head sometimes because of that. She has every right to feel this way. I'm sorry I brought it up with her. I don't know what I was thinking." Lisa began to cry. "Oh, come on, Mom." Dave put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't cry. You're still her mother and you raised her by yourself. That alone should be enough of a reason for her to respect the way you feel. You're right. You guys were young and he was scared. I'm sure he must regret what he did. Nic should give him the chance to make up for it." "No." She shook her head again. "I can't force her to do anything she doesn't want to do. But I'm still going to see him whether she likes it or not. And I'm still inviting him over for Christmas. If she doesn't want to come than that's her choice. She's a big girl and can do what she wants. I have to think about myself for once. I still love Glenn and I want to be with him. I deserve to be happy too." "Yes, you do," Dave said. "I agree with you." She smiled at him and kissed his cheek. "You're a good son-in-law." "You're a great mother-in-law. You've been so good to me. You did a fantastic job raising Nic. You do deserve to be happy and if you want to try and make things work between him then by all means, go for it." Lisa knew that she would. She had been given a great gift when her and Glenn were reunited. She had never stopped loving him and they were going to make it work no matter who liked it and who didn't. --------------------- Glenn was completely blown away by Lisa's house. There was Christmas in every inch of the place. Everything was so cheerful and neat. There was a roaring blaze in the fireplace and her tree was lit up and beautiful. She looked gorgeous in a soft red dress and her hair pinned up. He had dressed in a dark suit and had even left his beeper home. He had told the hospital "absolutely no calls" and he meant it. This night was for Lisa and no one else. He had brought a bottle of good wine and a large bouquet of Christmas flowers for her. She made roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn, biscuits and a salad. She had even remembered what his favorite meal consisted of. She had baked an apple pie for dessert too. They ate dinner by candlelight and Lisa told him about Nicole's feelings pertaining to meeting him. It was obvious that she was upset and he was upset too but Glenn could understand why Nicole felt the way she did. "She has every right to hate me," Glenn told her. "I was never there for her. I'm a complete stranger to her." "It still hurts me that she won't even attempt to meet you." "Don't worry about it. Prehaps she'll change her mind eventually. For now, I'm happy being with you. I love you, Lisa. I hope that Nicole knows that much. I just want to make up for what I did to you. I want to make you happy again." "You made me happy by coming tonight," she assured him. They finished their dinner. After, he helped her clean up and they sat on the sofa in front of the fire. "Remember my uncle Mike's cabin?" he asked her. "Remember that summer you and I stayed there for a week and we got bit up by mosquitoes so bad that we were practically drinking the calamine lotion?" She smiled at the memory. "The screen was ripped on the bedroom window and we never knew it." "And the squirrel got in the cabin and we had to smoke him out?" "I felt so bad for him. He was so scared. I wanted to keep him but you said I was crazy." He laughed. "Remember your sweet sixteen birthday party when your Aunt Dotty got so drunk she passed out in the middle of the dance floor?" Lisa laughed too. "We still never let her live that down. She's never touched a drink since. Remember that one Christmas eve when we all went caroling and Mr. Roberts threatened to call the cops on us because he said we were disturbing the peace?" "He was such a Scrooge. Remember that time Sandy's cat ran up the tree and Joe climbed up to get it and he fell flat on his butt?" Lisa laughed again. "He was sore for weeks after that." "Remember that night on the boat when we made love under the stars? That was the most perfect night of my life." She looked up at him. "Mine too. That was the night I became pregnant with our daughter." "Lisa." He cupped her face in his hands. "I love you. Let me make love to you again. I've missed you so much." "I've missed you too, Glenn." She allowed him to pull her close into his arms. Their lips touched and it was magic again. They held each other close, touching and kissing each other just like old times. The magic hadn't died. It was still there, stronger than ever. His lips touched her everywhere and he was about to unzip her dress when there someone at the front door. "Mom?" Nicole opened the door and came into the house. Lisa and Glenn pulled away from each other, embarrassed at their age to be "caught in the act". "Did you ever hear of knocking?" Lisa chided her. "Sorry." She looked at Glenn, struck by how handsome he was. "Hello," she said softly. "Hi." He stood up, a gentleman and went to her. He offered her his hand. He stared at her, at how beautiful she was. He couldn't get over how much she looked like her mother. This was his daughter standing in front of him. A lump formed in his throat. He had missed out on so much. Nicole looked at him and then at her mother. "I'm sorry to interrupt. Mom, I'm so sorry for what I said yesterday. I love you and I just want you to be happy." "I am happy, Nicole. Please believe that." She stood up too. "Nicole, this is your father, Glenn Hanlon. Glenn, this is your daughter, Nicole Andrews." They stared each other down and again, Glenn held his hand out to her. "I'm happy to meet you." And because she loved her mother so much, because all she wanted was for her to be happy, Nicole began to cry. She threw her arms around Glenn's neck and wept against him. "Is it okay if I call you Dad?" Glenn wept too. He was so overcome with emotion now that he was finally holding his daughter in his arms. "Yes," he whispered, "please." Lisa watched them through her own tears as they held each other for the longest time. Finally, Nicole pulled away from him. As she wiped her tears away, she told him, "My mom explained to me a long time ago why you left her alone when she was pregnant with me. I hated you for the longest time and resented what you did. But she loves you so much and believes that she was given a second chance with you. I want her to be happy. Can you make her happy?" He nodded. "I promise you that I can make her happy." "And you'll never leave her again?" "No, never. I should have done this a long time ago when I first had the chance." He went to Lisa and took her hand in his. He got down on one knee in front of her. "Will you marry me, Lisa? Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" She smiled through her tears and threw her arms around his neck. "Yes. Yes." He held her close to him again. Nicole put her arms around the both of them. Glenn looked at her. "I don't expect you to forgive me for what I did or even understand why I did it. Looking back, I don't even understand why I did what I did. But please understand that I regret it deeply and I love you with all my heart. I want to be a father to you now, if you'll let me. I love your mother so much and will do everything I can to make her happy." He looked at Lisa. "I've worked so hard all these years. Now I want my life to be about us. I'm going to semi-retire, Lisa, so that we can spend time together and rediscover each other. I have a daughter and a granddaughter that I want to get to know too. I love you both so much." "That's all I care about," Nicole told him. "I want Mom to be happy. She sacrificed so much for me. It's time that someone took care of her." "And I will. I promise you that I will." "Oh Dad." Nicole threw her arms around him again. "Welcome home." Glenn held his daughter close to him, grateful for the second chance he had been given. What a great gift he had received this Christmas. He would cherish it always, forever and ever. He looked at Lisa and smiled at the best thing that had ever happened to him. Thank you, Lord, he prayed silently and continued to hold his daughter by the lights of the Christmas tree.
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