Vanishing Rain (Blue Spectrum Chronicles Book 2) (24 page)

We entered the vet’s office.  “Woo, woo, woo,” Lily announced one last time.

We waited our turn, willing them to take their time and also just wanting to get it over with.  We were raw as we stroked her, loved her, patted her head.  She had no idea we were going to kill her.  There’s no other way to put it, but we were killing her.

The vet tech, who I can’t even remember now, called for Lily.  I wanted to take her leash and run. 

But I didn’t.  That would only cause more suffering for Lily, and that didn’t seem fair.  The only fair thing about it was that we had taken off Lily’s cone for the past couple days.  She enjoyed that, the freedom of having that dreadful cone off.

Lily’s last breath was taken with tears of love splashing onto her humungous head.  Mine.  Natalie’s.  Nicole’s.  Eric was somewhere in the background, giving us our moment.  Nathan said he couldn’t deal with her death.  He didn’t come, and I was mad at him.  But I understood.  Later I would find out his life was changing so quickly that he had his own set of problems.  He, like Lily, carried them with grace and style. 

By then we had bought a house on six acres, right down the road from our old house where Lily swam endless hours in the pond.  We hadn’t moved in yet, but the house was ours.

The kids had been digging a grave at the new property.  Lily was coming home with us.  She had been abandoned enough.

As we watched Lily’s soul leave, Dr. Valeneti hugged us, and we all cried some more.  I had already told them that we were taking Lily home with us.  So, the four of us wrapped Lily in one of the girls’ blankets from their childhood.  It was pink with little yellow flowers on it. 

We carried Lily out to the 4Runner.  One hundred pounds of life is heavy.  One hundred pounds of death is heavier.  Dr. Valeneti herself took an edge of the blanket, helping us lift Lily into the car.  I didn’t know if she did this for every dog or just for Lily. I like to think that it was just for Lily.

Lily would have one last car ride. 

Nicole rode home with me, with Lily. Eric and Natalie went somewhere. She would leave for college the following day. It was quiet.  Too quiet in the back seat.  We cried all the way home.

Nicole and I lifted Lily into the grave that had been waiting for her.  We settled her in like we were tucking her in for a bedtime story.  We got shovels and dug, tossing dirt over her body until she was covered.  We hugged each other and cried, dust on our shoes and death on our hearts.

Lily has a grave with a marker on our hill.  She is home.  Another dog, Teddy passed away after eighteen years of life, and she rests beside Lily, a much smaller grave.  We expected her death, and she was kind to us, dying peacefully in the middle of the night.  We didn’t get to tell her good-bye.  Or as Rain would say, bad-bye.  Teddy has a marker as well, only smaller. 

But, there’s something about Lily.  I still smile when I think of her.  I still cry when I think about how we lost her. 

I don’t go to her grave very often.  I like to think of her life, not her death.

That is why I think that Rain needed Lily.  Lily lives on in this book series.  I wondered when Rain chose Orion over Troll, who Lily would go with.  Who would keep her?  It was the same decision my own family had to make so many years ago when we moved.  Who would take Lily? 

In
Vanishing Rain
, it only seemed right that Troll should keep Lily. He needed her more.  Because Lily then and Lily now goes where she is needed.

All of my kids have flown the coop, two at college, one with children of his own.  Every now and then I blast the speakers and play Awolnation singing, “All I need, all, all, I need is you…smiling.” I think of Lily and I feel her smile.

Lily, sunning herself the day after her last surgery, complete with a brand new cone
.

I hope that you enjoyed
Vanishing Rain
and that you’ll help me spread the word by leaving reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.  Reviews are the best way for those of us who are Indie authors to help readers like you discover our books. Like Lily, we are up against a lot.  I try to carry it with grace, but darn, it’s hard sometimes!

You can get in touch with me at any time by emailing me at
[email protected]
.  I love to hear from readers!  I would also love to give you any of my books in exchange for a review.  Just email me at
[email protected]
, and tell me which book you would like, and I will get it to you.

It’s a great time to be a writer!  We have so many opportunities.  But it’s also difficult because of the rules we have to play by.  Reviews only take a minute to do, and they help us so much! 

With a loving heart,

Lisa