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AS WE HEADED BACK UP to the hospital, I could tell she was a little worried.
I couldn’t blame her. She was likely concerned about the state her mother was going to be in when we got there. No matter how many times I tried to tell her she had nothing to worry about, that I was sure they were going to let her out and get her back on her feet as soon as they could, Lily had been antsy since we had left the motel this morning.
Last night had been a lot of fun, but she didn’t seem able to hang on to any of that feeling. I wished she would give herself a little more of a break from all of this, but I knew she wasn’t going to be able to relax until she had her mom home and where she belonged.
“Can you take Silver out for a walk?” she asked me as we climbed out of the car. “I don’t know if she’s going to be out yet.”
“Of course,” I replied, and she headed inside the hospital. I didn’t like being apart from her, especially not when I knew she was already struggling with a hard time, but I wasn’t going to try and push myself into the middle of what was going on with her and her mother. They had their own dynamic, and they didn’t need me stepping in and making it all about me.
But a few moments later, she and Diane emerged from the hospital—Diane in a wheelchairs, and Lily by her side, wheeling her slowly as though worried she might tip her mother out by accident.
“Lily, I’m fine,” her mother told her impatiently, shaking her head and smiling.
“They said you have to be careful,” Lily reminded her. “You can’t have another accident...”
“And if I do, I’m in the right place,” she shot back, and she turned just in time to see Silver bolting over to her. She laughed as the dog reached her, snuffling into her hand happily.
“I missed you too, honey,” she cooed, and Lily and I exchanged a look. I could see the relief written all over her face, and it meant a lot to me to see how much calmer she seemed now she had her mom where she wanted her. She might have preferred for this to happen the night before, but all that she really cared about was having her mother out and on her feet again.
“Now can we stop somewhere on the way back for food?” Diane asked as she slipped into the car.
“We should really get you home, Mom,” Lily replied, frowning. Diane pulled a face.
“I’ve been eating hospital food for way too long,” she complained. “I need something real. I heard one of the nurses talking about a Thai place near here, how about that?”
Lily’s face lit up before she could stop it.
“That’s your favorite, isn’t it, Lily?” her mother continued. “I could take you out for your birthday! And get rid of the taste of all that rotten hospital food in the process.”
“Sure,” Lily sighed, probably figuring there was no way to talk her mother out of this. “Let’s try it out. Did you get the name of the place...?”
She managed to dig it up pretty quickly, and we drove the few miles down the road to a nearby town with the Thai restaurant. It was very quiet there, being so early in the day, and we were seated at once, menus whisked in front of us in a matter of moments.
“Oh, it all looks so good,” Diane groaned as she cast her eye over the menu. I reached out to give Lily’s hand a squeeze under the table. I had plans for her birthday when we got home, but right now, I just wanted her to have the best time she could. I knew this could hardly have been how she was expecting to spend her special day, but that didn’t mean it had to be a write-off.
“I want a little of everything,” Diane announced confidently. “You want to share some plates with me, Lily?”
“Sounds good,” Lily replied, and I could hear her stomach grumbling beneath the table. We hadn’t eaten much last night beyond the snacks I’d grabbed from the machine, and we had been plenty active enough to burn off that energy since then. No wonder she was so hungry. I smirked to myself, hoping her mom didn’t notice.
The waiter came back and took Diane’s incredibly long order, and, a few minutes later, the table was piled with pretty much every kind of food this place had to offer. Diane tucked in happily, and Lily began eating too. Silver was in the car outside, but I was sure she was watching all of us eat with a sad, hopeful expression on her face, wondering if we were going to bring back any for her.
“Oh, this stuff is so good,” Diane remarked as she sighed and leaned back from the table to take a brief break from her eating. “What do you think, Lily?”
“It’s really good,” she agreed. “Thanks for this, Mom. I really need it.”
“Not at all, honey,” she replied, reaching over to give her hand a squeeze. “Thank you so much for picking me up. I’m sorry you had to come out here on your birthday, but I...oh, can I give you your present now? I’ve been holding on to it for so long, I just want to give it to you already...”
“Sure,” Lily replied. “You brought it with you to the hospital?”
“Just in case,” she replied. “I didn’t want to have to miss out on giving you your birthday present.”
Lily’s face softened as her mother spoke, and I could see how much it meant to her, to have her mother care for her like this. She had been away for so long, cut off from this kind of maternal warmth, and she clearly never wanted it to happen like that again.
From a small bag hooked over the back of her chair, Diane pulled out a little box wrapped in gold paper. She handed it to Lily, who tore off the wrapping, popped it open—and gazed in shock at what was inside.
“Mom, this is...” she murmured, gently lifting the pendant out of the velvet box it had been sitting in.
“It’s an opal,” she explained. “Isn’t it beautiful? I saw it and thought of you right away, it’ll look so beautiful on you.”
Lily tried to clip the necklace on to herself, but she fumbled with the clasp. I got to my feet and brushed her hair out of the way so I could do it for her.
“I’ve got it,” I murmured, and she let her hands fall down to her lap as I secured the chain around her neck. My fingers brushed against her neck slightly, and I had to push down the thoughts of desire that rose up inside of me the moment we touched.
“There,” I remarked, stepping back from her. Diane clasped her hands in front of herself happily.
“Oh, it looks just as lovely as I thought it would,” she told her. “Do you like it, Lily?”
“I love it,” she replied. “Thank you, Mom.”
She got up to give her mom a hug, and I smiled as I watched them. I had my own present waiting for Lily at home, and I was so looking forward to giving it to her.
And soon enough, we were back on the road once more. Well, once Diane was satisfied—she practically licked the plates clean and insisted on getting a coffee for the road. She sat in the back with Silver, who hung her head out the window in the cool breeze, panting as we headed back home once more.
“I’ll take Silver in and get her fed,” Lily told us when we pulled up outside her mom’s place. That left Diane and me with the car—I offered her an arm to help her out, but she shook her head and straightened up herself.
She was doing better than I had expected her to be. I could still remember how bad things had been in the aftermath of the accident, but she seemed to be handling herself well. She was tough, tougher than I had given her credit for.
“You’re doing great,” I told Diane, as I followed her to the front steps of the house.
“I’m not that old,” she protested, laughing and shaking her head. “Still some life in the old girl yet!”
“I know, but you’ve been through a lot,” I told her. “You should be proud of yourself. Not everyone has this much resilience. Trust me, I saw plenty of guys who would have struggled more than you in the service.”
“You telling me I missed my calling as a Marine?” she joked as she gripped tight to the railing and made her way up the steps.
“Something like that,” I laughed, and I opened the door for her to see Lily coming toward us.
“I’ll get your stuff from the car, Mom,” she told her, rushing past us to make sure she had everything. The hospital had sent her away with some pain medication, and Lily was reading the packet when she came back into the house.
“How much of that stuff do I have to take?” Diane asked, sinking down into her favorite armchair, with Silver nudging her feet below.
“Just as much as it takes to make the pain ease,” Lily replied.
“Well, I’m feeling fine now,” she remarked. “Just a little tired...”
“It says you should have one in another hour,” Lily replied. “I’ll go get us some tea, you can take it with that.”
“I’ll help,” I offered, and I followed her into the kitchen where she started to fill the kettle with water and then planted it on the stove.
“How are you doing?” I asked, slipping my hands to her waist. She smiled and closed her eyes.
“I’m glad Mom’s back,” she told me. “And glad that we don’t have to go out to the hospital again.”
“The motel was pretty fun though, right?” I remarked, and she laughed.
“Oh, yeah, it was pretty fun,” she agreed. I leaned down to kiss her, but before our lips could touch, there was a loud knock at the door.
I immediately pulled back. Looking down at Lily, I frowned. “Are you expecting anyone?”
She shook her head, eyes wide.
“I’ll get it,” I told her. “You stay here.”
I headed over to the door, my mind racing. If this was trouble starting again when we had just gotten back, I was going to be seriously pissed. I didn’t want Lily or her mom to have to deal with that so soon after she had arrived back from the hospital. She deserved a break, and I would deal with anyone who tried to get in the way of that.
I pulled the door opened—and stared for a moment at the man on the other side.
“Hello,” he greeted me, slightly nervously. He was a good few decades older than me, with slightly thinning gray hair and a warm smile.
“Hi,” I replied, cautious. Just because he looked harmless didn’t mean that I could let my guard down. I wasn’t about to let anyone cause any trouble, not today of all days, not on Lily’s birthday.
“I’m here to see Diane?” he asked, sounding unsure. “I saw that there was a car in the driveway again...”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Barry,” the man replied, extending his hand to me. “Diane and I met at the hardware store. She told me about her operation, and I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to help now that she’s back.”
I glanced over my shoulder. Lily was standing at the other end of the corridor. She chewed her lip, but then shrugged—if he really did know Diane, what harm was there in letting him in?
“Is that Barry?” Diane called from the living room. Oh, so she did know him—I stepped aside and gestured for the man to come in.
“Thanks,” Barry told me, and I could see a slight flush to his cheeks, as though he was excited about seeing her. He headed in to the living room, where Diane beamed at the sight of him.
Lily and I exchanged another look as Silver sprang to her feet to greet the new man too—she seemed to know him well, and Barry crouched down to say hello as he spoke to Diane.
“So how are you feeling?” he asked her.
“Oh, not doing too badly,” Diane replied. “You didn’t need to come out of your way here, though...”
“It’s on the way to the store,” he assured her. “And besides, you think I would just leave my favorite customer here with no help?”
Favorite customer? What did he say he did again? Ran the hardware store? I couldn’t imagine what would have had Diane going in there all the time, but clearly, these two knew each other pretty well. My mind was racing as I tried to put the pieces together, but, as they began to chat, I figured it was only fair to give them some privacy.
“I’ll make an extra cup of tea for Barry,” Lily suggested. “Back in a minute.”
Diane hardly seemed to notice her daughter as the two of us backed off to the kitchen, trying to work out just what was going on there.
“Have you ever met that guy before?” I asked Lily, and she shook her head.
“I don’t think I’ve so much as set foot in his hardware store,” she replied. “And I have no idea why my mom would have been, either. I don’t think she was even any good with the toy tools I had growing up, let alone doing anything around the house...”
She raised her eyebrows at me and turned to make the teas.
“Do you think something’s going on there?” she asked. It had crossed my mind. Barry had certainly made a point to come down here the first chance he got, and they seemed very friendly for just a customer and a store owner.
Lily finished making the tea and bought it out to Barry and Diane, who were laughing about something together in the living room. Diane glanced up as we came in, and I could see that her eyes were lit up with excitement. She looked so young, like a teenager with her first crush.
“Sorry to keep your mother from you,” Barry told Lily as he took the tea she handed him. “I know you must have missed her, what with her being away in the hospital recently...”
“Miss her?” Lily exclaimed. “I couldn’t wait to get rid of her. The more you can take her off my hands, the better!”
We all laughed. I loved seeing Lily like this, so bright and full of life. Cracking jokes like things were completely back to normal. We sipped on our tea together, and Lily got her mother her medication, insisting she take it.
“Oh, I really don’t feel that bad,” she told her daughter, trying to brush it off.
“Come on, Diane,” Barry chided her gently. “You know she just wants the best for you.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Diane sighed, and she dutifully took her meds. She glanced out the window, where the sun was shining down outside.
“I could use some fresh air,” she remarked suddenly.
“Maybe I could take you out on a little walk?” Barry suggested.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Lily protested, but Diane waved her hand.
“I’ve been cooped up in a hospital for the last few days,” she reminded her. “It’ll do me good to stretch my legs. We won’t go far. And we’ll bring Silver.”
Lily paused for a moment, considering it, but she seemed to figure that there was no point arguing with her mother on this.
“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” she replied. “Barry, are you okay to help her?”
“Of course!” Barry replied brightly, hardly able to keep the grin off his face. It was clear he really liked Diane, and, judging by the way she was looking at him right now, the feeling was mutual.
They headed out with Diane’s crutches, Silver trotting along beside them, and Lily leaned in the window to watch them.
“I feel like she’s a teenager and I’m her mom,” she muttered, shaking her head and smiling to herself.
“Hey, she’s acting like a teenager around him,” I pointed out. “I can’t say I blame you.”
“She really is,” she agreed, watching the two of them as they headed down the path and away from the house. “She really likes him.”
“And what do you think of him?”
“It’s obvious he likes her, too,” she replied. “And I think he could be a good match for her. He seems to have her sense of humor. And he’s got a business, so he’s at least a little sensible. Though I’m not sure how sensible a man could be when he’s trying to get with my mother...”
She smiled fondly and took a sip of her tea. “We’ll see how it goes, I guess,” she remarked, and she took a seat on the couch opposite me.
“You still didn’t tell me how that meeting with the other women went,” I reminded her. She blinked, as though she had almost forgotten about it.
“You’re right,” she replied. “Sorry, it’s just been so crazy, with everything that’s been going on...”
“It’s all right,” I assured her. “You don’t have to apologize to me, you know that.”
She managed a small smile, though I could tell she was having a hard time with all of this.
“I...I think it went well,” she replied, nodding. “Two of them are willing to testify against Tony in court, and I think the third one will come around with time too.”
“That’s great news,” I told her. “The more people we have on our side with this, the easier it’s going to be.”
“You’re right,” she agreed. “It’s just...”
She trailed off again and stared out of the window for a moment, gathering herself.
“Just what?” I prompted her.
“Just that it brought up so many memories,” she admitted. “About what he did to me. And I felt guilty, you know, because I didn’t stop him sooner.”
“You know you couldn’t have done that, even if you tried,” I reminded her.
“That’s what all of them said,” she agreed. “And I believe them, I do. But I just wonder...how many other women are there out there who’ve been through what we have? How can we help them? Is there any way for us to help them?”
“Well, we know there’s at least one other woman who dealt with all of that,” I reminded her. “The woman who got the restraining order.”
“Yeah, her,” she sighed. “She’s been on my mind a lot, too. I mean, I don’t even know who she is, but I can’t stop wondering...what did she go through? What happened to her that was so bad it was enough for her to do that?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted. “But she’s someone else who you know is willing to take this through a court system. That has to count for something.”
“It does,” she agreed. “I just hope she’s doing okay. I don’t even want to think how he would have responded, you know, when he found out she was going to the cops about his behavior...”
She trailed off again. I knew this was hard for her to talk about, but talking about it was the only way we were going to be able to put it all behind us.
But before she could say another word, there was an explosion of noise outside—a shrill scream, a yell, and then Silver’s wild barking. Without saying a word, Lily and I jumped to our feet and took off in the direction of the noise.
Just when I thought things were calming down again.
