Lily stood up to give him a hug. "Thank you for coming out on such short notice."
Will looked down at her. "I wish it were for a different reason, but I'm glad you've told us now. Is it okay if I share this with Amy?"
"Certainly. I expected each of you would share it with your spouses or significant others."
Will's expression tensed. "Do you plan to tell Nate?"
CHAPTER FIVE
Lily glanced around at her siblings, each with expectant expressions on their faces. "No. I mean, I'm not trying to keep it a secret. But I'm not going to have a conversation with him about it. Our relationship is over, and from what I've heard, he's moved on."
"He brought you home last night," Will pointed out.
"Yes. And I appreciated that, but there was no talk of taking up where we left off."
"I still think you should tell him. He's probably wondered about you leaving, just like we have."
Lily crossed her arms. "I'll think about it. Right now, it seems like maybe he has a lot on his plate already. Do you really think he needs to deal with all of this from me?"
Will tilted his head. "I suppose not, but you coming back is probably giving him something to deal with if he never really had closure before. Sorry, just coming from a guy's perspective. I'd want to know."
"I'll think about it," Lily said. "If you feel he should know about the MS, you're welcome to tell him. I just don't want todredge up all the old relationship stuff which is inevitable if I sit down to talk to him about it."
"It might be easier coming from me," Will admitted. "If you're sure you're okay with that."
Lily shrugged. "If you think it would be best that he know then hearing it from you is probably better than me."
"He's a good guy who's had a bad turn of events in the past few years. I feel for the guy."
"You don't have to tell me he's a good guy," Lily reminded him. "I was with him for seven years. I didn't leave him because he was a bad guy. I left him because I felt he deserved better."
Will looked like he was going to say something more, but Cami laid her hand on his arm. "Will, I know you see things in the light of your relationship with Amy, but Lily might have a different path to take."
Lily watched as Will frowned at Cami but then he nodded. He let out a long sigh. "Fine. No more talking about Nate."
"Thank you," Lily said. "I appreciate you wanting to look out for him—he probably needs that more than ever—but getting involved with me again is not in his best interests."
Will gave her another quick hug before leaving the room. Once he was gone, there was silence in the room. Lily looked around. "Do you guys think he's right?"
"Well, until I ended up on bed rest, I would have agreed with him. But after being confined here and having to have people wait on me hand and foot, I understand what it’s like to feel as if you're a burden. Lance never complains, but I know that it's added to his stress to have to deal with my needs on top of all his other responsibilities." Jessa ran a hand over her burgeoning stomach. "I will be glad to get back to being able to pull my own weight. So I do understand why you wouldn't want to place that kind of responsibility on Nate, even if it is years from now."
"But Jessa, you know Lance does what he does for you outof love and would never view it as a burden," Laurel said. "None of us who have helped out these past several weeks have viewed it that way. And maybe Nate wouldn't view it that way either because he loves Lily."
"Loved." Her heart clenched as she corrected her sister.
Laurel glanced at her and shrugged. "Back when you first got the news he loved you. He didn't get to have a say."
"Do you really think—knowing Nate and the type of guy he is—that he would have agreed to end things because of my diagnosis? Would he have stayed with me out of a sense of obligation since we were already engaged, or would he have stayed with me out of love? I would never have known for sure, and I couldn't live with that."
"I think we're coming at this from many different perspectives," Jessa said. "In the end, it is Lily's decision because it's her life. She is the one that has to live with this disease and all that encompasses. I don't know what I would have done in her position. None of us do."
"You're right," Violet agreed. She came to where Lily stood and wrapped her arms around her. "Just know that we love you and are here for you for the long haul. Never hesitate to tell us what you need."
Laurel joined the embrace followed by Cami. Lily felt tears prick her eyes once again, but blinked to keep them at bay. Because of the six to ten year age gap between her and them, at one time she had felt on the outside of things when it came to her sisters. However, after these past few years on her own, Lily knew she had matured, and now the age difference didn't seem as significant. She was truly thankful for their presence in her life.
"Hey, no fair," Jessa protested. "I can't get in on the group hug."
Laughing, the four women joined Jessa on the bed to include her in another embrace. It was wonderful to have such a normal sisterly moment after the heaviness of herrevelation. Lily knew, more than ever, that her decision to come home had been the right one.
