I look around and then back towards her.
“Camillia, ever since I have been back here I have this strange feeling that someone is watching me.”
She pulls herself back away from me.
“Dear, we all have that feeling at times. I wouldn’t put too much thought into it.” She looks down at Lucy again. “Let’s go pick out all kinds of cute girly stuff for someone’s bedroom, shall we?”
“Yes, Grandma! I want all kinds of pink stuff.”
Lucy reaches over and grabs my hand and the three of us spend the next two hours buying everything Lucy wants and needs for her room. However, during those two hours I continue to look around the store. I can’t shake the feeling that someone has been watching me the whole time.
After shopping, Camillia wants to take both of us to lunch, so Lucy and I follow her to the restaurant she has chosen. As we are walking inside, Lucy notices Jen and Bubba sitting at a table out on the small patio. We approach the hostess stand and ask her if we can have a table outside as well. Grabbing a few menus, she guides us to a table close to Jen and Bubba.
“Well, if it isn’t some of my favorite ladies,” Bubba says as he stands up and hugs the three of us, giving me a little extra squeeze. “How have you been, girl?”
“I couldn’t be better, actually.”
He pulls away from me and pulls out a chair, sitting Lucy down in it.
“We went shopping for things for my new room at Daddy’s house today,” Lucy informs him. Lifting an eyebrow, he turns and looks at me then turns back to Lucy.
“Wow, Lucy. That is so awesome.”
The waitress comes and takes our drink order and I turn to Jen.
“Where is Zoe?”
“My parents have her for the day. They like to take her once a week so it gives the two of us time together.
“Oh, that is such a great idea,” exclaims Camillia, turning to me. “I would love to have Lucy once a week like that.”
“I think that would be a great idea. Let me talk to Luke and see what day this week works for him.”
She places her hand over the top of mine.
“Thank you, Shayne. That would mean the world to me.”
“You’re welcome, Camillia.”
The waitress brings back our drinks and both Camillia and I order Caesar salads. I order a child’s plate of fries and a hot dog for Lucy. The five of us enjoy our lunch as we sit and listen to Lucy tell Bubba and Jen all about the things she bought today. When the waitress comes back with our bills, Bubba snatches mine from my hand.
“I got this, girl.”
Knowing I can’t argue with him, I thank him. We all stand up to leave and as we are starting to walk towards the door, Bubba catches me by my elbow, holding me back from the rest of the group for a moment.
“I am very happy for you,” he says gravely, “But you have been through so much, so please be careful. If you don’t have plans on Thursday, I will be working the lunch shift. Why don’t you come in? I will save you a spot at the bar so we can talk and catch up.”
“That sounds great, Bubba. I would love that.”
We meet back up with the others who are just getting to the door and we all say our goodbyes. Lucy and I get into the car and as I start it up, I ask her if she would like to go walk the pier. She gets excited by this suggestion, so we pull out of the drive and head towards the beach. After driving around for about ten minutes, we finally find a parking spot and make our way along the sidewalk towards the pier. I pull my phone out of my purse and tell Lucy we need to take a picture and send it to her Daddy. We stop and take one and send it off to Luke telling him we miss him and we will see him soon.
I take hold of Lucy’s hand as we walk along the pier. The view is beautiful. The beach is covered with people sunbathing and swimming and there are boats coasting in and out of the channel taking them either back to dock or out to cruise around the beautiful lake. Looking down at my beautiful little girl, I stop and turn toward her.
“Isn’t this beautiful, Lucy?”
“It is, Mommy! Look at all the big boats!” Looking up at me she asks, “Do you think Daddy would like it here?”
Keeping my eyes on her cute little face I tell her, “I know he would love it here.”
Looking out at the beauty of Lake Michigan and then back down at my daughter, I sigh and tilt my head back, taking in the warmth of the Michigan sun. I turn to Lucy and ask her if she is ready to go. She nods her head yes and we stroll along hand in hand back to the car.
As we approach the car, I hit the key fob for the car to start. Just as I am about to open the back door for Lucy, I am startled by a voice behind me.
“Well hello, Shayne.”