A/N: See Chapter 1 for Disclaimer.
Chapter 7: The Greatest Gift
Over the next two months, Elizabeth's condition improved slowly but steadily. Her husband and her daughter spent as much time with her as they could, but they eventually had to get back to work and school. But while their departure was a very sad thing for Elizabeth, she almost always had Emmet, Hyacinth, and Richard by her side at the hospital, which was a great source of comfort to her. Another thing that really comforted Elizabeth and helped her emotional state was the fact that the doctors' replantation efforts of her left arm were successful. For a time, everyone was very concerned about the possibility that Elizabeth wouldn't be able to keep her arm, but mercifully, her arm was salvaged. Unfortunately, Elizabeth's left arm would never have as much feeling or function as it once did, but at the end of the day, Liz and everyone else was simply grateful that she'd been able to keep her arm at all. And although it was common for people with replanted arms to suffer great pain due to nerve damage, miraculously, the nerve damage Elizabeth suffered was quite minimal in comparison to what many other people suffered. Thankfully, she only suffered numbness and occasional tingling in her left arm and not severe pain or discomfort. And she worked incredibly hard in her physical therapy sessions, which in turn played a big role in how much motion and function she was able to recover in her left arm.
And as Elizabeth slowly recovered from the injuries to her arm, the broken ribs she'd suffered from the crash, and all her other physical injuries, Emmet also finally began to recover from all the psychological damage his ex-wife had done to him inside. The more time Emmet and Gracie spent together, the more they came to learn just how much they had in common. Although Gracie was a registered nurse who was greatly fascinated by human biology and the sciences, she also shared in Emmet's deep love of music and the piano and the theatre, and Emmet also shared in many of Gracie's interests. Over the past two years since his divorce, Emmet had harbored a rather deep distrust of women because of everything his ex-wife had put him through, but spending time with a genuinely God-fearing, warm, gentle, kindhearted woman like Gracie was the perfect balm his wounded heart needed. Not only was she very sweet and selfless and conscientious; she was also full of life and energy and laughter and fun, and above all else, she was a wonderful mother to her son Gabriel. And Emmet quickly came to love Gabriel just as much as he did Gracie. As Elizabeth's condition continued to improve, Emmet found himself spending more and more time with Gracie and Gabe, and the condition of his broken heart continued to improve as well.
Two months and one week after Elizabeth's wreck, to the very day, was Hyacinth's birthday. After Richard gave Hyacinth her birthday gift and took her out for lunch at a very posh new restaurant that had recently opened up in town, they returned home, and then Daisy, Onslow, and Rose came by the house to give Hyacinth their gifts and celebrate her birthday as well. (Violet had also planned on coming, but she had to cancel at the last minute because she and her husband Bruce had gotten into yet another one of their shouting matches, which in turn had made her sick with a splitting headache.) And right after Hyacinth opened (what appeared to be) the last of her birthday presents, the doorbell rang, and Richard got up to answer the door.
As soon as he came back into the lounge, he was grinning ear to ear, and he said, "Hyacinth, you've got another birthday present waiting for you out in the hall. And I'm quite certain this gift will be your most favorite of them all."
"How exciting!" Hyacinth said happily with a big smile, and then she got up from the settee.
"Close your eyes, Hyacinth, and I'll guide you," Richard told her.
"Alright," she said with a happy chuckle, and then she closed her eyes, and Richard put his hands on her shoulders and sort of "steered" her out into the hallway.
"And…now! Open your eyes now, Hyacinth," said Richard.
And in that instant, Hyacinth opened her eyes…and saw Elizabeth standing there with Emmet right behind her. Naturally, Hyacinth immediately wrapped her arms around her and just broke down into sobs.
"Oh, Elizabeth," Hyacinth gasped through all her tears, still clinging to Liz. "My dear, sweet, darling Elizabeth. You will never know how badly I've missed you. You have no idea just how good it feels to see you standing here in this house once again. How I've missed you, my sweet girl. How, how I've missed you!"
"I've missed you too, Hyacinth," Liz said kindly as their long embrace continued.
In the next moment, the embrace finally ended, and Hyacinth put her arm around Elizabeth's shoulders and began walking with her into the lounge. And as they walked together, Hyacinth asked her, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming home today, Elizabeth? I could have helped. I could've had some food and some tea waiting for you at home. And I could have helped you pack your things."
Elizabeth laughed and replied, "That's so sweet of you, Hyacinth, but you've done so much for us over the past couple of months, and with your birthday coming up, I really wanted to surprise you."
"And surprise me you did!" Hyacinth said aloud in a joyful voice as she entered the lounge with her arm still protectively wrapped around Elizabeth's shoulders. "This is, beyond a doubt, the most wonderful birthday surprise I have ever gotten."
"The doctor started talking about letting Liz come home a few days ago," said Emmet as he and Richard followed behind the ladies into the lounge.
"We just didn't say anything because we really wanted to surprise you today," Elizabeth explained.
"Oh Elizabeth, you are such a dear. You are so very, very thoughtful," said Hyacinth in the kindest tone. "Now you just sit down right here on the settee and get off your feet and rest and relax. With this being your first day back, we need to take everything nice and slow and easy. We mustn't let you overexert yourself."
Elizabeth chuckled at that, and after sitting down on the settee, she told Hyacinth, "I've been taking it nice and slow and easy, lying in that hospital bed, for over two months now. Today, I'm more than ready to start getting back to normal."
"Do you want to take your shoes off and put your feet up on the settee, Elizabeth? I can bring you a pillow and a blanket so you can lie back and be more comfortable," said Hyacinth. And again, Elizabeth chuckled.
"Oh no, Hyacinth. I'm fine; I'm just fine. I assure you. As a matter of fact, I'm happier today than I've been in quite a while. It feels so wonderful to finally be out of that hospital room."
"I'm sure it does, Liz," said Daisy with a smile.
"And it feels just as wonderful for us to see you doing so much better," said Onslow.
"It sure does," Rose agreed.
"Emmet, why don't you come around and sit here on the settee by your sister," Hyacinth suggested.
"Thank you, Hyacinth," he told her, and then he came and took his seat next to Liz, and Hyacinth sat down on the other side of Elizabeth, and Richard sat down in the one chair off to the side that was still vacant.
"Did you get a chance to eat lunch today before you left the hospital, Elizabeth? Because if you didn't, there's plenty of food still in the kitchen. And of course, we have cake. You must have some cake before you leave today."
"Thank you very much, Hyacinth, but I really am alright. Emmet and I both had a good lunch before we left the hospital."
"That's good. I'll serve you some of my birthday cake and a nice cup of tea in the kitchen a little later on."
"That's very kind, Hyacinth. Thank you. And speaking of your birthday, I have a little something for you," Elizabeth told Hyacinth. She then opened up her black leather purse, reached inside, and pulled out a small box wrapped in silver wrapping paper with a white bow. "I spotted this in the little gift shop in the hospital, and I just had to get it for you."
"Oh, this is so very thoughtful, Elizabeth, darling. Thank you," said Hyacinth, and in the next moment, she tore off the wrapping paper and opened the small white box. "Oh, what a lovely pin," Hyacinth said with a warm smile as she took the pin out of the box. It was a beautiful pin of a purple flower.
"It's a hyacinth flower," Elizabeth explained. "The second I spotted it in the hospital gift shop today, I knew I just had to get it for you."
"It's beautiful, Elizabeth. It's positively beautiful. I love it," Hyacinth told her in the kindest voice. And she meant it. She was greatly touched by Elizabeth's birthday present.
"I'm very glad I was able to get you something you like, Hyacinth."
"Oh yes, I do like this lovely pin. I like it very much, Elizabeth. It's a wonderful birthday gift. But nothing, absolutely nothing on this earth, could compare to the much greater birthday gift you've already given me today."
"What birthday gift, Hyacinth?"
"You. Having you back in this house again means more to me than anything else ever could, Elizabeth," Hyacinth said sincerely, and in the next moment, she just couldn't resist putting her arms around Elizabeth once again and giving her the biggest, longest hug. And with fresh tears glistening in her eyes, Hyacinth whispered, "Thank you so much for getting better and coming back to us, Elizabeth. Thank you so much for coming back to me."
"You're more than welcome, Hyacinth," Elizabeth said sweetly as the embrace continued.
"Now that I've finally got you back, I am going to take such good care of you," Hyacinth said in an emotional whisper, and a couple of moments later, the embrace ended.
"You already have taken good care of me, Hyacinth. And I want you to know how much I appreciate it. If it hadn't been for you, Emmet, and Richard, being by my side every single day in the hospital, day after day after day, for the past two months, I don't know what I would have done. If you hadn't constantly been there, pouring so much love into me, believing in me and not letting me doubt for a single moment that I would get better, I might not have made it."
As soon as Elizabeth said that, Hyacinth got very choked up, and she took Elizabeth's hand and kissed it while visibly fighting off tears. And that was how it remained during the rest of the birthday party that afternoon. Hyacinth frequently kept getting choked up and emotional at having Elizabeth under her roof once again, and she just couldn't stop hugging her and telling her how very grateful she was to have her back again. And it was absolutely true. While Hyacinth certainly appreciated Elizabeth's lovely birthday gift, to her, having Elizabeth's presence there with her that day was the greatest gift of all. A gift she just couldn't thank Jesus for enough.