35
Luke
As I hopped on my bike and sped out of the parking lot, I couldn’t stop thinking about Lily’s behavior and her attitude towards me. She was being irrational, and I was disturbed by the fact that she called me her father. We’d had a long discussion about how many hours I’d be working at the bar the first few months, and she told me that she understood and that she’d be with me and support me through it all. As I pulled into the parking lot at the bar, I parked my bike on the side of the building and walked through the doors. I sighed as I stepped behind the bar and poured myself a cold beer.
“Where’d you run off to?” Maddie asked as she was making drinks.
“Lily’s apartment.”
“You didn’t bring her back with you?”
“No, we got into a fight.”
Maddie stopped what she was doing and looked at me. “About what?”
“The bar, and how she’s sick of not seeing me, and spending time with her,” I said as I slammed the glass down on the counter and looked at her. “See, this is what I don’t get: we spend time together, and we see each other every day. She comes here, and when I leave, I go home to her place, and I spend every night with her.”
“You have to realize that things for Lily have significantly changed over the past couple of weeks. She lost her teaching job, and her boyfriend, who spent every waking minute with her, became the owner of a bar, so she barely sees him anymore. That’s a lot to take in at the same time.”
“She called me ‘Johnny,’” I said.
“What? Why did she do that?” Maddie asked in confusion.
“I don’t know. All she said was that this will consume me because it’s my passion and dream.”
As I looked down, Maddie walked closer to me and put her hand on mine. “It sounds like she’s having flashbacks of her father and how he was never around. Didn’t she say that her ex-fiancé was never around either and started spending less time with her?”
I nodded my head and clenched my jaw. “You’re right. Now things are starting to make sense.”
“You need to talk to her, Luke. I love you both, and I don’t want to see your relationship go in the toilet because of a misunderstanding. “
“I’m going to talk to her, don’t worry. I’ll be leaving after I finish the budget. I want to give her time to cool down.”
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I swiped the screen and saw that I had a text message Sam.
“I just left Lily’s, and she’s a mess, man. I know it’s none of my business, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a girl like that. She’s pretty messed up, and if you love her, you’ll get your ass back there.”
“Thanks for being there for her. I’m heading over there now.”
I looked at my watch and walked to my office. I shut down the computer and stacked the paperwork into a neat pile for tomorrow. I walked over to Maddie before leaving the bar.
“Starting tomorrow, I want you out of here by 5:00 p.m. You’ve been here late, and I appreciate it, but it’s not fair to Charley. I know it’s only temporary, but things are going back to normal. We need to sit down tomorrow and have a meeting, so head here right after dropping Charley off at school tomorrow,” I said as I kissed her on the cheek.
***
When I opened the door to Lily’s apartment and stepped inside, I didn’t see her. I walked down the hall, stopped in the doorway of her bedroom, and stared at her lying on the bed all curled up. My heart broke seeing her like that. She must have heard me, because she rolled over and tried to open her swollen eyes. As I walked over to her and sat on the edge of the bed, I pushed her hair behind her ear and leaned over, kissing her teary eye and moist cheek. She raised her arm up and looped it around my neck, bringing me closer as I buried my face deep into her.
“I’m so sorry for everything I said.” She began to cry.
“I’m sorry for not being here for you when you needed me, Lily.”
We lay there for a few moments in silence before I pulled back and looked at her. Her eyes were swollen and red. As I got up from the bed, she grabbed my hand, and I told her that I’d be right back. I walked to the bathroom and grabbed a wash-cloth from under the sink. I ran the cloth under the warm water and folded it as I walked back to the bedroom. Gently wiping her face, the corners of her mouth turned up, forming a small smile.
“That’s what I like to see.” I smiled back.
She sat up with her back against the headboard. I put the washcloth on the night stand, and I took both of her hands in mine, interlacing our fingers. “We need to talk, babe. You need to tell me what you’re feeling, where that last argument came from, and why you called me your father’s name. Because if we don’t, it’s going to happen again, and that’s not good for our relationship.”
“I know we do,” she replied.
“Are you hungry?” I asked her as I was starving.
“Yeah. I haven’t eaten all day.”
“How about Chinese food? I’ll call and have it delivered, and we can sit on the couch, eat it, and talk.”
“I love that idea.” She smiled as she put her soft hand on my cheek.
I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed her palm before picking up my phone and calling in our dinner order. Lily got up from the bed and grabbed a pair of yoga pants and a tank top from her drawer. She changed her clothes and put her hair up in a ponytail.
“Ugh, look at my face!” she exclaimed as she wiped her eyes.
Wrapping my arms around her, I said, “You have a beautiful face, tear-stained and all.”
She smiled and crinkled her nose as she turned around and kissed me on the lips. We both left the bedroom and walked to the kitchen. While I grabbed the bottle of wine and a couple of glasses, Lily took down two plates from the cabinet and got out the silverware. She walked them over to the coffee table and set them down. Not too long after calling in the order, there was a knock at the door. As the delivery boy handed me the brown bag, I reached into my pocket and took out some cash. Lily walked over and took the bag from my hands and sat down on the couch.
“I’m going to call a therapist tomorrow morning and schedule an appointment,” Lily said as she took the cartons of Chinese food out of the bag.
“Do you really think you need to?” I asked as I sat down next to her.
“Yeah, it’s something I should’ve done a long time ago. When I was yelling at you earlier, I felt like I was reliving my childhood and watching my mom and dad having the same argument. Mary would scream at him because he was never around, and he kept telling her that it was part of the business and that things would get better. But instead of getting better, they got worse. He would be gone for months at a time on tour, which was understandable, but then when he’d get back to Seattle, he wouldn’t come home for a few days.”
I set my plate down on the table, and I reached over and hugged her. “I’m sorry you had to grow up like that.”
“I felt abandoned, Luke, and then I felt it again after the church incident with Brynn and Hunter. All those emotions and feelings were coming back to me these past two weeks when you were so busy at the bar, and we weren’t spending as much time together. That’s an issue that needs to be addressed, and I think a therapist can help me.”
“I love you, Lily. I don’t know how to make that any clearer to you.”
“I know you do, baby, and believe me, it’s not you. I’m the one who has these issues, compliments of Johnny and Mary Gilmore, and I’m the one who needs to take care of them. I know you love me; I really do. It’s just this change the past couple of weeks has really messed with my head.”
“Then you go do what you have to do in order to free yourself of your past. I’ll be here for you every step of the way.” I smiled as I brushed my hand over her cheek and leaned in to kiss her.