Four
Fortunately, Unfortunately
Lunch went surprising well. I was able to loosen up a bit more and I wasn’t as uncomfortable around Cooper, although, that may have something to do with the second mimosa I ordered. When we got up to leave he asked me for my number, saying that this way he wouldn’t have to go through his grandmother the next time he wanted to see how I was doing. Then of course he flashed his mischievous smile at me. It was kind of hard to say no to that. I typed my number into his cell phone and he waited with me for the attendant to bring my car around.
I felt good about my afternoon with Cooper. I couldn’t help wondering, though, if Ms. Sophie had set the whole thing up. I was going to have to ask her about that the next time we talked. She’d never had to leave in such a rush before.
I hadn’t been home long when I got a text message on my phone.
Making sure you made it home safely. ~ Cooper
Yes, I’m home all safe and sound. ~ Lily
Good. By the way, thank you for staying ~ Cooper
Thank you for wanting me to stay. ~Lily
Oh I definitely wanted you. To stay of course. ~ Cooper
Of course. I can also picture that grin of yours through the phone. ~ Lily
What grin? ~ Cooper
You know what grin. ~ Lily
No, I don’t. Tell me. ~ Cooper
Just then I heard a knock at the door. Still smiling, I put my phone down a minute to answer it.
“So, what grin?”
“Cooper?” A smile escaped me and even though I had just left him, I was happy to see him standing at my front door.
“What grin? You have me curious.”
“That one right there. The one you’re wearing…and…”
He stepped inside the door and moved toward me. “And, what?”
“And it drives me crazy.” Feeling embarrassed, I looked away. And although I have already noticed how tall he is, I am just now noticing how small I feel next to him.
“Really? My grin drives you crazy? I’ll have to keep that in mind.” He lingered over me for a few more seconds, minutes, hours, days— I don’t know really— and finally he moved past me. “Is it okay that I stopped by? I mean, I didn’t have anywhere I needed to be today and I thought maybe we could get to know each other better. Is it okay?”
“Um, yeah, I mean, yes. That would be…” I glanced around the room to avoid eye contact. “That would be fine, I mean good.” Sighing and looking down at my feet I breathed out. “I would like that.”
Whatever progress I had made during lunch was gone. It must have just been the alcohol. My stomach was back to summersaults.
“Listen, would you mind if I change clothes? I’m more comfortable in jeans, and I was about to change when you knocked on the door.”
“No problem. Take your time.”
“Okay, I will only be a minute. Make yourself comfortable.”
As soon as I stepped inside my bedroom and closed the door I tried breathing exercises. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. My heart rate slowed to a normal rhythm and could feel myself relax a bit. I chose an old, faded, worn pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt. Feeling more like myself, maybe I could walk into my own living room and not feel like I was going to have a heart attack.
“Cooper, would you like a beer?”
“Sure. Thank you.” He followed me into the kitchen and sat down at the table.
“What did you do out in Colorado before moving back here?”
“I was a Project Manager for a website design company.”
“Did you like doing that? Are you sad you’re not there anymore?”
“I liked it a lot at first. I liked having the creative edge to my work and I liked that I could make my clients happy with what I helped create for them and their businesses. But, no, I’m not sad I’m not there anymore. I do miss Maggie, though. She’s my best friend and we shared an apartment together. When I got the news about my daddy I pretty much dropped everything and came running back. I realized, I guess, that life is short and the things that seemed important then no longer seem all that important. I hate that I left in such a rush and no time really to say goodbye, but Maggie and I talk all the time. She came in for the funeral, though, and we’ll visit each other as often as we can and things will work out.” I felt like I was rambling, so I took a sip of my beer and waited for the awkwardness to settle in.
“I’m really sorry about your dad. My grandmother tells me he had a lot of friends and I’m sure he knew how much you loved him.” I could see the compassion in his eyes. It was definitely genuine.
“Thank you. I appreciate that.” I felt that lump trying to take its place again in my throat. “It’s still really hard to talk about him without crying. If you don’t mind, can we change the subject? I don’t want my mascara to run in front of you.” I tried forcing a brave smile, not really sure I was successful.
“Of course.”
“So what about you? What is it that you do?”
“I’m a software consultant. I took over for my grandfather after he died. He had started Hudson Corp several years ago and it was his wish that I run his company someday.” He looked down, choking back a memory. “It’s why I moved here. Like you, the death of a loved one brought me to this place.”
Noticing the emotion in his face and the change in his mood, I wanted to reach out and hug him, but I merely laid my hand over his and said softly, “I’m sorry about your grandfather. I know how it feels to lose a loved one.”
Looking down at me with warm eyes he replied, “I know you do, Lily.” He took his other hand and laid it across mine and we remained silent for a while. For the first time it didn’t feel awkward being so close to him, although his scent was intoxicating and that didn’t go unnoticed. God, he smelled good.
Breaking the silence, I said, “Let’s play a game.”
“What kind of game?” he said, raising one eyebrow and looking intrigued.
“Fortunately , Unfortunately. It’s a game my daddy and I used to play. Someone starts a sentence and then the next person adds to the sentence but it has to start with either ‘fortunately’ or ‘unfortunately’” alternating each time.”
“Okay, you start.”
“Alright. Fortunately, it was a hot summer day.”
“Unfortunately, it was because we were in a desert.”
“Fortunately, we had a pet camel named Lucille to take us out of the desert.”
“Unfortunately, he ran away because he was embarrassed to have a girl’s name.”
“Fortunately, he came back.”
“Unfortunately, he died.”
“Fortunately, we found a way out of the desert anyway.”
“Unfortunately, it was still hot.”
“Fortunately, we found some water.”
“Unfortunately, you spilled yours.”
“Fortunately, you shared your water with me.”
“Unfortunately, you drank it all and didn’t leave me any.”
“Fortunately, I found you some more water.”
“Unfortunately, you spilled it again.”
“Fortunately, you forgave me.”
“Unfortunately, you’re still clumsy.”
“Fortunately, you don’t mind.”
“Unfortunately, I’m still thirsty.”
“Fortunately, I find more water and I don’t spill it this time.”
“Unfortunately, you trip and fall.”
“Fortunately, you caught the water and managed to drink it all.”
“Unfortunately, you scraped your knee and I have to take care of it.”
“Fortunately, you’re good at taking care of scraped knees.”
He paused, looked at me for a moment, and said, “Unfortunately, it hurts me to see you hurt.”
It was getting hard to breathe again. The room seemed to have had all the air sucked out of it and I felt dizzy. I stood up and walked over to the fridge without saying anything, my head spinning like a record. I could feel his eyes on me. I opened the fridge and stared into it as if it held a secret or an answer to an unasked question. Keeping my back to him, I took a breath and tried to get a check on my emotions.
“Lily? Turn around and look at me. Please.”
“Maybe this game wasn’t such a good idea.”
“Please. I need to look at you.”
A tear escaped and I didn’t want him to see how affected I was. I wasn’t even sure why I was feeling that way. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” I said to myself, but it came out louder than I expected.
Cooper placed his hands on my shoulders and gently turned me around to face him. I couldn’t look up so I stared directly into his chest.
“Lily, I didn’t mean to upset you.” He brushed the tear away with his thumb and gently pulled my face up to meet his gaze. “Is it all right if I tell you how beautiful you are? Because you are. Do you even realize it?” He paused, probably waiting for me to answer him. I think I was still trying to process his words. “Anyway, I … I would like to get to know you, and I would like to be your friend, and maybe take things slow, see how things go.” He shrugged his shoulders. “And who knows? You might even decide you can’t live without me.”
I tried not to laugh, but failed. “You think so?”
He offered me a sideways grin. “It’s possible.”
I knew he was teasing, but I already knew there was an element of truth to that statement. That was easy enough to realize. The hard part was figuring out how I already knew that. I looked back down and stared into his chest. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“The compliment.”
Without looking up I knew he was smiling because I could hear it in his voice. “You’re welcome, but you should probably get used to it. I’m just getting started.”