Shelagh & Julienne: Garden

She saw fabric the colour of a summer sky first, a swirl of A-line skirt that flared around Shelagh's knees as the bride turned the corner on the garden path.

"Mrs Turner," Sister Julienne said warmly, and extended a hand. Shelagh took it instantly, settling on the stone bench beside her.

"Please, Sister," she said shyly, and there Julienne heard the dear voice that hadn't changed at all. "You of all people ought to call me Shelagh."

"Perhaps," Julienne agreed, trying and failing to hide her smile, "but Mrs Turner suits you so well."

Shelagh blushed, glancing at the gravel path. "It's such a thrill," she admitted quietly. "Oh, Sister Julienne!"

"You're glowing," Julienne observed. "I see I don't need to ask if you're happy."

Shelagh smiled radiantly, looking at Julienne with shining eyes. "I am," she said with a trembling voice. "Oh, I am so happy!"

Julienne smiled then, covering both of Shelagh's hands with hers. "And I am overjoyed for you, Shelagh." The young bride's voice was not the only one trembling. "After all those months… to see you like this is a blessing indeed."

Shelagh bowed her head, then glanced upward through veiled lashes, and Julienne's breath caught hard in her throat. The new confidence and joy in Shelagh's eyes lit up her face with a glow that defied the pale winter sunlight, and if Julienne had ever regretted letting Sister Bernadette go, she found she couldn't any longer, not with Shelagh Turner shining like a sunbeam beside her.

"Come," Julienne said on impulse, rising from the bench. "Let us walk?"

Shelagh smiled and rose, her hands still in Julienne's, and Julienne looked up at the cloudless sky, then around at the stark beauty of the blossomless woody stems. Against the brown and white Shelagh looked like a blossom out of high summer, blue suit and creamy skin and golden hair alight. She remembered with a shudder of horror the last time she had walked in a garden with Shelagh. The plants had been in full bloom, but the young woman who meant so much had been dying before her eyes. Now, months later, the garden they walked in lay dormant, but Shelagh herself was blooming, more alive than Julienne had ever seen her.

"I had such a wonderful time," Shelagh blurted, turning to face Julienne. "But oh, Sister, I am so glad to be home!"

"And I am glad to have you home," Julienne admitted, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Oh, Shelagh, I am so very glad!"