Lily Fields (Garden of Love 1)

by Melanie Wilber

  Josie gave her the raised eyebrow look as they put on their seat-belts and Mark started the car. Lily smiled and shrugged, hardly believing the night had turned out this way. And Josie only knew a quarter of what her week had been like.

  Lily didn’t know what to expect when they arrived back at Josie’s apartment. As it happened, Mark offered to walk Josie up to her door, giving Lily a few moments alone with Peter once again. He walked with her across the street to where she had left her car. She took out her keys from her purse and unlocked the door but looked up at Peter before opening it.

  “I had a nice time,” she said. “Maybe I’ll see you when you come back to Portland again.”

  “Maybe you will,” he replied. “Whenever that might be.”

  “Maybe at the wedding,” she said with a smile.

  “Wedding?”

  “For those two,” she said pointing to Josie’s building.

  “Oh,” he smiled. “I think that’s a definite possibility.”

  “Well, good night, Peter. Have a nice flight home tomorrow.”

  “Good night, Lily,” he said and surprised her by bending down to kiss her on the cheek. The intimate exchange made her heart surge a bit.

  She didn’t know what it was, but something about Peter she found incredibly attractive. Not so much his appearance, although he was plenty easy on the eyes, but something beyond that. Something about the way he looked at her, maybe.

  “Promise me something?” he asked, keeping her in place for a moment longer.

  She looked into his eyes and smiled. “What?”

  “Don’t ever color your hair. It’s perfect just the way it is.”

  She found herself smiling at him once again. He reminded her of Marty in a way. Always walking that fine line between teasing and sincerity.

  “Thank you,” she said, slowly lowering her eyes and opening the car door. She looked back once again and rested her hand on the door frame. “Good night, Peter. It was nice meeting you.”

  “Good night, Lily,” he replied. “It was very nice meeting you.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Lily stepped into her apartment with Peter still on her mind. She went upstairs and changed into her pajamas, wondering if Peter would have asked her out again if he wasn’t from out of town.

  And if she would have agreed.

  Although her mind had been on Marty all week, and occasionally Devin, she saw Peter as someone she could be interested in as well. She felt a bit uneasy at the thought of having to choose between them, until she faced the reality that it wasn’t likely to happen. She hadn’t heard from Marty yet and was beginning to lose hope of him ever calling, let alone him being interested in rekindling anything between them.

  Peter, of course, was leaving town tomorrow, and who knew if she would ever see him again? And even though she had a date with Devin tomorrow, she wasn’t getting her hopes up it would go beyond that. Gazing at herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, she came to grips with reality. She was, after all, still Lily Sullivan.

  The following day Max was absent from school. She had noticed him sneezing and coughing several times yesterday and supposed his cold had kept him home. She had plenty to keep her busy. Mrs. Stewart had two other students who weren’t eligible for an aide like Max but had some learning difficulties and benefited from some one-on-one help, so she gave them her attention today.

  She saw Devin at lunch but didn’t have a chance to talk to him other than a brief conversation in the hall to confirm their plans. He said he would pick her up at six, and she felt her nerves creeping in as the afternoon progressed. She hadn’t had a chance to be nervous about Marty or Peter beforehand, but with Devin she knew tonight had the potential for disaster.

  What if they had nothing to talk about? What if Devin found her to be a complete bore? The thought of feeling awkward around him outside of school, which she fully expected, made her feel like making up some excuse and canceling before leaving for the day. But she knew she had to do this. For better or for worse, she had to face her fears and take a chance with him. She would never forgive herself if she didn’t.

  On her way home she decided to stop by her parents’ house and see if her younger sister was there. She and Rose wore the same size, and Lily wanted to see if she had anything she could borrow to wear tonight. Since she usually dressed nicely for school, there was nothing in her wardrobe that Devin hadn’t already seen, and most of her clothes were more appropriate for work than a date. She felt like being a little daring tonight.

  “Isn’t Devin the one you’ve been in love with for two years?”

  “Not in love with,” she corrected her sister, scanning her closet for something to catch her eye. “Infatuated with. I’m probably setting myself up for major disappointment, but I figure I might as well enjoy the fantasy as long as possible.”

  “Here, try this one,” Rose said, pulling a simple, dark green dress from its hanger. “I wore this on my first date with Geoffrey. It will look even better on you with your red hair.”

  Lily took the dress from her and stripped down to her underclothes to try it on. Rose’s comment about her hair made her think of Peter once again. She had thought of him often throughout the day.

  The dress fit her well and did go nicely with her hair and eyes. She decided she couldn’t do any better and thanked Rose, changing back into her white blouse and black slacks and hanging the dress on its hanger.

  “Mom told me you saw Marty again,” Rose said. “I can’t believe she sprang that on you. I’d be so mad if she ever did something like that to me.”

  Lily laughed. “For once I was glad for one of Mom’s surprises. I think I would have been too nervous if I had known about it beforehand.”

  “Did you have a nice time?”

  “I did,” she said, unable to hold back a smile. “He still holds a special place in my heart. It was nice to hear about what he’s been doing.”

  “Do you want to see him again?”

  Lily smiled at her sister’s curiosity. Rose was definitely the romantic one of the family. She always enjoyed a good love story.

  “Maybe,” she said, not wanting to let her hopes out too much. She had been trying to keep the reins tight on that one since Marty hadn’t called her yet. “But right now I have a date with a very cute schoolteacher. I’ve gotta run, Rosie. Thanks for the dress.”

  Arriving at her apartment, Lily prepared for her date in the same way she had done for the Christmas party last Saturday. She kept expecting her phone to ring and have Devin cancel on her, since he hadn’t shown up like he’d said, but it remained silent.

  With ten minutes to spare before his arrival time, she watered her house plants in the kitchen and living room while she waited. For some reason she always found the chore soothing, and she managed to keep her butterflies under control. He arrived on time, greeting her at the door with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. She thanked him and invited him inside while she went to put them in a vase. Setting the arrangement of peach and yellow lilies on the kitchen table, she went to grab her coat from the rack and heard the landline phone ring.

  “Sorry. I’ll be right back.”

  Devin had made his way to the living room, and she left him to take a look around while she went to answer it. “Not a problem,” he said, picking up a leather bound classic book from an antique table by the couch. “Take your time.”

  She was prepared to not answer if it was a sales call, but she froze when she saw the name on the Caller I.D. Could this week get any crazier?

  “Hello?”

  “I finally caught you home,” Marty said.

  “I gave you my cell number too, didn’t I?”

  “Yes, but I prefer to catch people at home when they’re not busy.”

  “Yeah, this has been kind of a crazy week,” she said, feeling secretly thrilled he had been trying to call her. “But actually, I was on my way out. Can I call you back later?”

  “This will only take a minute
. Are you busy tomorrow?”

  “Tomorrow? Umm, no,” she said peering over her shoulder to see if Devin had wandered her way.

  “I thought maybe we could go get some pizza or something. I feel like we have some more catching up to do.”

  She saw Devin stroll toward the kitchen and tried to sound casual. “I could do that,” she said. “What time?”

  “Five-thirty?”

  “Sure. Do you want to meet me somewhere?”

  “No. I’ll come to your place.”

  “Okay. See you then.”

  Replacing the handset, she held in a sigh and turned back to Devin, hoping he wouldn’t inquire about the plans she had made for tomorrow night.

  He didn’t and they left, driving down to the waterfront where Devin found a parking garage close to the restaurant. Having Marty call as Devin arrived helped her nerves to subside significantly. She found this whole week rather comical. She hadn’t been on a date in--forever, other than dinner at her mother’s, and now she had four dates in one week plus lunch with Devin last Saturday. Unreal.

  Her evening with Devin turned out to be rather pleasant. She didn’t know him well and enjoyed hearing about his family, hobbies and interests, and why he had decided to become a second grade teacher.

  “I just love the age,” he said. “They’re old enough to read and do a lot of things on their own, but not too old to have an attitude yet. Second graders are very moldable and eager to learn. I can’t see myself doing anything else.”

  “Don’t you teach Sunday school too?” she asked, having heard him mention something about it before.

  “I lead the primary grades department at my church,” he said. “They were having a hard time finding someone to do it a few years ago, so I volunteered. I lead the singing and do Bible verses with the kids before they go to their classes, where I, of course, teach the second graders. I think it’s a blast,” he laughed, exposing his dimples. “Most people think I’m crazy. My mom is very proud, of course.”

  She found herself smiling. She’d always had this impression of Devin being a ladies’ man and carefree bachelor away from school, but she realized he probably wasn’t much different than the responsible and caring teacher she saw every day. She noticed he remained focused on her the entire time they were at the restaurant, rather than letting his eyes wander to the many other beautiful women who passed by their table. He seemed rather oblivious to anyone or anything besides her. Another surprise.

  At eight-thirty they left the restaurant and walked back to Devin’s car. She didn’t know if he planned to take her anywhere else or not. When he appeared to be heading back to her apartment, she felt a little disappointed, but she supposed the date had gone as well as she could have hoped for.

  “I’m sorry to have to cut this evening short,” he said outside her door. “I have to get home and pack. I’m meeting my family at the airport right after school tomorrow.”

  “I had a nice time,” she said, turning the key and pushing the door open a few inches, wondering if this would be the only time Devin Taylor would be telling her good-night at her door. “Thanks for dinner. I hope you have a nice Christmas with your family and everything.”

  “It should be a good time, aside from the long flight.”

  She stepped inside and picked up Meow so he wouldn’t run out the open door. Turning back to Devin, she was about to say good night when he closed the distance between them, leaned slowly toward her, and kissed her softly.

  The scent of his pleasing cologne invaded her senses along with the gentle brush of his lips. It was a brief kiss that ended as quickly as it began. Meow tapped Devin’s chin with his paw when he pulled away.

  Devin smiled and stroked Meow’s extended limb. “I had a nice time, Lily. Good night.”

  “Good night,” she said, returning his warm smile.

  He turned away and she closed the door, feeling like she was living another person’s life. It had been three years since she had been kissed. Had this entire week been one long dream? This was too bizarre.

  Seeing she had a message waiting on her phone, Lily listened to it and heard Josie’s voice. Deciding it wasn’t too late to return the call, Lily waited for her friend to pick up. Josie hadn’t mentioned any specific reason for calling. Lily supposed she either needed her to watch Tommy sometime or just wanted to chat.

  She was a bit surprised when Josie seemed anxious to hear about whether or not she’d had a good time with Peter at the concert.

  “I had a nice time,” she said. “I think that was one of my best blind dates ever. But guess what?”

  “What?”

  “I had another great date tonight.”

  “Two good dates in one week?”

  “Yes, and you’ll never guess who this time.”

  “That guy? The one who works at your school?”

  “Yes, and you were right about him. He’s not shallow and in love with himself like I thought. He’s sweet and down-to-earth. And I think he actually likes me.”

  “Of course he does, Lil. What guy in his right mind wouldn’t enjoy being with you?”

  Lily almost said, ‘plenty,’ but then she realized that wasn’t true. She had never actually gone out with a guy who didn’t ask her out again, except for situations like Peter where he couldn’t because of leaving town the next day. She didn’t consider all of those dinners her mother set up to be real dates, because the men never knew she was going to be there in advance.

  “Can I ask you something?” Josie asked after a slight pause in their conversation.

  “Sure.”

  “If Peter would have asked you out again, would you have said yes?”

  She stated the obvious. “He lives in California.”

  “I know, but if he didn’t?”

  “Probably,” she replied. “He was nice, and I had a good time. Why?”

  “Maybe I shouldn’t tell you this, but don’t be surprised if Peter calls you or something.”

  “Calls me? From California?”

  “He asked Mark to get your number for him.”

  “He did?”

  “Mark was very surprised. He says Peter’s only had one serious girlfriend since high school that he knows of and that he’s definitely not the type to be wooing every girl he meets. To see him holding a girl’s hand in public, especially one he just met is well...pretty rare.”

  “Ohh,” Lily moaned. “I hope I didn’t give him the wrong impression. I was only trying to be friendly and make the best of it.”

  “So, you would prefer if he didn’t call you?”

  Lily knew she should say yes. Why would she want Peter to call her? He lived in another state. Devin was right here. And there was also Marty to consider. She definitely had enough on her hands right now.

  “That might make things a bit complicated.”

  “Okay. I’ll let Mark know. Don’t worry about it. I’m sure it’s no big deal. Long distance relationships aren’t usually ideal anyway.”

  After hanging up the phone, Lily got an uneasy feeling. If Peter wasn’t the type to hold hands with a girl he had just met or tell her not to color her hair, then why had he? Having more than one guy interested in her at a time, if that was the case, was not something she was used to dealing with. What was she supposed to tell Peter if he ended up calling her? Should she tell him she wasn’t interested? It wasn’t like she and Devin were officially a couple, and who knew what Marty had in mind with their pizza date tomorrow night?

  What should I do? Take the one who lets his intentions be known first?

  She wondered whom that might be. And which of the three she wanted it to be.

  CHAPTER SIX

  Friday’s schedule didn’t follow its normal routine, resulting in a difficult morning with Max. Lily felt bad for him. She knew he didn’t understand why they had to go to an assembly in the gym for the first half-hour of the day instead of having their usual rug time. She knew he liked things to take place at the same time every day,
not have workshops twenty minutes later than usual.

  She tried to be patient with him, explain when and what they would be doing as best she could, and tolerate a few more arguments from him than usual, but she was glad when lunch came. Max never argued about going to lunch and recess, no matter what the clock said.

  Max did seem to enjoy the party that afternoon. Lily had helped him make some simple cards for everyone in his class. She’d done it as an exercise to work on his penmanship, one of the things he had difficulty with due to his lack of fine motor skills, but she had no idea how much Max would enjoy actually giving the cards to his classmates.

  His excitement made all the difficult moments of the day disappear from her memory. Max often wasn’t able to express himself with the right words, but everyone always knew when he was happy. Several of the children gave Max a hug and thanked him for his simple gift, bringing tears to Lily’s eyes. His classmates hadn’t labeled Max as “different” or “strange.” And they always went out of their way to help him whenever they could. Lily hoped these children would continue to see Max and other peers with special needs as people they could love and help, rather than ridiculing them and treating them badly in the future.

  Max’s mom had come for the party, and Lily saw tears in her eyes. Stepping across the room to say hello, Lily smiled and said she had missed seeing her. At the beginning of the school year, Cathy Harris had brought Max to school every day and picked him up in the afternoon, but since her husband’s job hours had changed, he had been able to do it. Lily knew Cathy was glad for the new arrangement. She had two other young children at home, and picking up Max with them in tow wasn’t an easy task.

  “I’ve missed hearing the daily report from you,” Cathy said. “But I have to admit Tim’s schedule change has been a Godsend.”

  “I can imagine,” Lily replied, having witnessed some difficult mornings and afternoons when Max didn’t want to be obedient. There were some days that for no apparent reason, Max gave the term strong-willed a whole new meaning.