He Loves Lucy

by Susan Donovan

  “I need to keep my job for five more months. Then I’m gone.”

  Gia crossed and recrossed her legs, shaking her head. “Look, Lucy. I don’t know this man, but he sounds like he hates your guts or something. He’s the one playing you, not Theo.”

  Lucy nodded. Of course Gia was right. “And there’s one other little thing.”

  “Shoot.”

  “The last time I tried this whole sleeping-with-a-man thing, it didn’t end so well.”

  “I hear you, girlie.” Gia took a sip of her iced tea and nodded.

  “Which was ten years ago.”

  Gia slapped a hand to her mouth in a vain attempt to prevent the iced tea from exploding from her lips. She used a napkin to blot it from her chest, her tank top, the tablecloth. When a waiter arrived to fuss over her, she shooed him away. “I’m sorry, but for a second I thought for sure you said ten years.”

  Lucy sighed. “That’s what I said.”

  “Oh my God!” Gia grabbed her hand. “No wonder you look so stunned! You were practically a virgin! Are you all right?”

  “I’m sure as hell better now,” Lucy said.

  They both broke out into peals of laughter.

  He watched her walk down the path from the parking lot, gym bag swinging in her hand, and felt that little jolt in his heart he got every time he saw Lucy after a weekend apart.

  “Here’s Lucy!” Buddy shouted. “Here she comes!”

  “Hi, boys!” Lucy tossed her bag down on the grass and went over to give Buddy a big hug. Then she kissed Theo on the cheek and grinned. “Morning, coach.”

  “Morning, Cunningham.”

  This was a first. Lucy was wearing spandex bike shorts to her workout today. Maybe she’d finally gotten it through her head that yoga pants were a bit hot for summer in Miami, even at 5:00 a.m. Maybe she’d finally gotten it through her head that she looked great in spandex shorts.

  “I like it,” Theo said, letting his eyes travel down Lucy’s shapely legs. She didn’t fidget with the shorts. She stood tall and straight, and on her face was a smile of great satisfaction.

  “Thanks,” she said simply.

  “You’re quite welcome.”

  Then she turned away and began stretching with Buddy.

  Theo stared at her, half-listening to the sound of their chatter and noticing once again how well Buddy and Lucy got along. Since the Summer Games, the three of them had trained together a couple times a week. Lucy seemed inspired by Buddy’s company and was kicking some serious ass around the track lately.

  “Hey, Lucy? How do you know if a girl likes you?” Buddy asked this as all three continued to stretch.

  Theo watched Lucy smile and think about that question for a moment, grabbing her foot and bending to loosen her hamstring. “Well, it depends on the girl, but I’d say if she finds ways to be near you, and smiles a lot, and asks you for your opinion about stuff, then she likes you.”

  Buddy nodded. “What if she grabs your face and kisses you on the lips?”

  Lucy sputtered, then said, “Uhh…” and shot a glance toward Theo for help. He couldn’t give any, because this was all news to him.

  “Somebody been kissing you, stud? How come you didn’t mention that to your old brother?”

  Buddy shrugged and did toe curls to stretch his calves. “Never came up, I guess, and I was really asking Lucy.”

  “Well, pardon me.” Theo jogged in place a moment until everyone was ready to start off. They began at a slow, steady pace.

  “Besides,” Buddy said, clearly amused at what he was about to say, because he was already snickering. “You’re the last person I’d ask for advice about girls.”

  Theo laughed. Lucy laughed harder.

  During the first two miles, Theo hung back and listened as Lucy and his brother talked about Buddy’s upcoming senior year of high school. If Theo wasn’t mistaken, Buddy went into greater detail when he talked to Lucy, especially about anything having to do with his social life. It was in the first two miles that Theo learned the name of the face grabber-Nancy-and that she was a recent transfer into the Miami Springs special education program.

  “She doesn’t have Down syndrome. She’s just slow,” Buddy said. “But she’s nice and she likes me and I love her smile.”

  Theo watched Lucy ruffle Buddy’s short hair. “She sounds great, Bud,” Lucy told him.

  The exchange reminded Theo of the way his mom used to deal with Buddy-with love but respect for his independence. She’d always worked hard to find the right balance of freedom and supervision he needed at every stage of his life. Theo could only hope that his mom would approve of how he’d taken care of Buddy in the last three years and wished like hell she was there to advise him through what was coming.

  The obvious big questions were just around the corner for them: Could Buddy deal with Theo going back to med school? Would Buddy want his own place someday soon, and could he handle the responsibility? What kind of work would he enjoy that was within his ability? And what if-as this turn of events with Nancy made Theo wonder-Buddy decided he’d fallen in love? How much of it was even Theo’s business?

  “Yeah, and she’s a good kisser, too,” Buddy said. “I’ll catch you two later.” He kicked up the pace just as Lucy neared the end of her jog.

  Lucy tried to suppress her smile, but Theo figured that was like the clouds trying to keep the sun from rising. Why bother? Lucy’s face was designed for that smile. It was who she was. And as she looked over at him to gauge his reaction to what Buddy had said, Theo had the strangest thought.

  He realized that the woman at his side-the one with the sweaty red face and the sweet smile-had pried open his heart, one day at a time.

  Lucy’s smile grew, and it spread to her beautiful deep gray eyes and her adorable cheeks and Theo realized that maybe Jenna had been Tight with that comment about love. Maybe it just happens when it happens. Maybe the real thing shows up and doesn’t give a damn what your calendar looks like for the next decade.

  “Somebody is figuring out life,” Lucy said, catching her breath.

  “Yeah. No kidding.”

  Theo put them all through a round of calisthenics and stretching in the infield afterward, including push-ups- even Lucy had to do the boy kind-crunches, leg lifts, and some power yoga moves.

  “We’re renting tuxedos for your party,” Buddy said. “Theo’s taking me. He said he was allowed to take a date, but he’d rather take me.”

  “Oh really?” She grinned at Theo, then moved to a spread-eagle position on the grass, reaching out toward her right toe. Theo watched her easily rest her forehead on her kneecap. He swallowed hard. Yes, he’d known from the start that she was flexible, but his interest was way beyond clinical at this point.

  “Didn’t want to bring a date, coach?”

  She then stretched toward the center, and Theo watched her touch her nose to the grass. An overtly sexual image flashed through his brain, and it involved Lucy’s limbs arranged in a similar fashion in her bed four nights ago, and he forgot the question.

  “Huh?”

  “I said…”

  Lucy then turned to face the other leg, and Theo had to close his eyes.

  “… how come you’re not bringing a date?”

  “I’m not allowed to date my clients, remember? Who are you taking?”

  Lucy slowly raised her face from her left shin and smiled at him. “I’m not allowed to date my trainer, so I asked Tyson, who turned me down in the nicest-but strangest-way imaginable. Any insight into that, Theo?”

  “Nope.” Ha! He’d told Tyson that if he showed up with Lucy on his arm it would be the last night he’d be able to move that arm.

  “So Gia’s coming with me instead She’s helped me pick out my dress.”

  “I bet you’re going to look real pretty,” Buddy said. “I think you’re real pretty all the time.”

  Lucy hopped up and stretched her arms up into the air, then pulled from side to side. “Thanks, Bud.” She
grabbed for her gym bag and put the strap over her shoulder, then briefly turned to look at Theo. “Thanks for the workout. See you tomorrow at the gym, right?”

  Theo had to think for a moment, because he was mesmerized by this sure, strong, beautiful woman who stood in front of him. She was carrying herself differently these days, with a dramatically different kind of confidence. And she was behaving so casual about it all. It felt like she was distancing herself from him a little, forcing herself to be nonchalant and flirty with him.

  It almost felt like she’d grown cynical, of all things.

  Fine. He’d admit it-he didn’t want casual from Lucy. He didn’t want flirty or fucking cynical! He wanted it real and deep and true. He wanted the love thing. He wanted all of it.

  He swallowed hard.

  “The gym? Tomorrow? Theo?”

  “Right.”

  She kissed his cheek again, and in a breeze of Paradise Awaits, she was gone.

  Buddy moved to Theo’s side and put a hand on his shoulder. “See why I don’t ask you stuff about girls?”

  Theo arranged to drive Lucy to the studio for their

  WakeUp Miami appearance, explaining that he wanted to take her to breakfast afterward to celebrate. And there was plenty to celebrate, as Lucy had lost another eight pounds and four inches that month. After the show, Lucy was mobbed by autograph seekers outside the station, and Theo found himself working crowd control with fans he could only describe as rabid.

  At least fifty people wearing or holding WE LOVE LUCY T-shirts waited on the sidewalks. Most brought their own laundry markers and pressed them into Lucy’s hand and asked her to sign. She signed her name over people’s chests or their bellies or the shirt backs. One man, who introduced himself as a bakery truck driver from Homestead, wanted Lucy to sign his pants. She politely declined.

  Theo couldn’t help but laugh at the spectacle. Lucy was a star.

  He drove her up to Miami Springs and watched the curious look on her face as he turned down into the residential area. When he pulled into his driveway, she frowned at him.

  “Norton has been on my case. He wants you to autograph his fur.” Theo was relieved to hear her laugh, because she still seemed distant to him. They’d kept up their usual five-day routine and met for at least one lunch or dinner a week, but he’d spent most weekend nights at Flawless and was up to his eyeballs in practice tests. Lucy had said she understood his time constraints, but since that day at the track with Buddy she’d never warmed all the way to Theo again. She’d never again relaxed into that sweet and open and sexy woman he first encountered in the guest suite in Tampa.

  Maybe the lust had left him overly optimistic. Maybe Lucy couldn’t handle a sexual relationship on top of everything else they were doing. Maybe he’d been an ass to even expect her to.

  As they walked toward the front door, Theo watched her scan the outside of his home. It was a normal enough place, he supposed. A four-bedroom single-story stucco house in a brick color with white trim, a kind of home that screamed middle-class South Florida. They walked inside and he tried to see it through her eyes. He knew that most everything in the house had belonged to his parents, picked out by his mother, whose style was understated but nice.

  Lucy looked around. “You boys live lush.”

  He smiled at that. “It’s my mom’s doing. She was into design.”

  “She knew what she was doing.”

  Lucy’s eyes wandered to the fuzzy orange blob now sitting on the tile floor in front of them. Theo heard her giggle.

  “This must be Beelzebub boy.”

  Theo waited for the hissing to begin. And waited some more. But Norton just sat there and blinked at Lucy, his whiskers twitching, as if he was making up his mind whether to reveal his true personality or keep pretending he was something less than bad-to-the-bone.

  Lucy crouched down and held out her hand. “Hello, pretty kitty.”

  Theo figured that would do it. Norton hated anyone commenting on his appearance. But the damn cat just sat there-no hissing, no spitting, no skittering away like he was running from the fires of hell. Lucy moved to pet him and he rose, flipped his tail, and wandered off.

  Lucy stood up. “Affectionate little bugger.”

  “That was a veritable wet sloppy kiss coming from him, let me assure you. Come on back to the kitchen.”

  Theo made a pot of decaf, started the oatmeal, and set the table out on the back porch. It had yet to get blistering hot, and he had to admit he wanted Lucy to admire his handiwork in the backyard. He took her on a tour of the rhododendrons and the firebush and the beautyberry, holding her hand in his.

  “Jeez, Theo. When do you find time to work in the yard?”

  He shrugged. “One thing I’ve learned since moving back with Buddy is that a person can do what needs to be done with the time he has. It’s a universal law I never really appreciated before, not even in med school.”

  Lucy nodded. “Do you ever take time to have fun?”

  “I had fun in Tampa. I have fun whenever I’m with you, and I’m having fun again right now.”

  He watched her blush, and he swore he’d never seen anything more attractive in his life. There was something so tender about Lucy. She tried to show the world she was tough, with that humor and determination, but the inner core of her was tender and easily bruised, and he felt privileged that she’d let him see that part of her. It was the part that connected with his heart, yanked on it, whispered impossible things to it.

  He must have been staring at her oddly, because she asked, “You OK, Theo?”

  “Fine. Just thinking about mulch.”

  “Ah.” She nodded, as if that made perfect sense to her. “Is Buddy home?”

  “Sleeping in. He’s got a swim meet tonight. Want to come with us?”

  Lucy shrugged. “Don’t think I can, but thanks.”

  Theo gave her a sideways glance, noting the pleasant but cool smile she offered him. He admired the pretty cotton dress Lucy had worn that morning, something a little on the funky side that showed off her figure. She’d developed a real sense of what looked good on her, and Theo wondered if it was something Gia had helped her with or something that came to her instinctively.

  He leaned in to kiss her, and she offered him her cheek. If that wasn’t an indication that something was amiss, he didn’t know what was.

  “What’s up, Lucy?”

  “Nothing. Just tired, I guess.”

  “Let’s have it, Cunningham. Why have you frosted over so much in the last couple weeks?”

  “Frosted over?” Lucy put her hands on her hips. “What are you talking about, Theo? You’re the one who’s too occupied to hang out with me.”

  So that was it.

  Theo watched Lucy stroll back to the porch and sit in a chair at the small breakfast table, where she stared out at the yard.

  “Can I help with breakfast?” she asked absently.

  “I got it.”

  As Theo served the oatmeal, yogurt, and a freshly made citrus salad, he wondered how he could smooth things over with her. In the throes of lust, like in the pool in Tampa, everything seemed fairly simple: Go for it, and worry about the consequences later. Well this was later, and the disappointed woman sitting across the table was the consequence.

  This was what he thought might happen.

  “I bet you anything that when I’m not around you make sausage patties and Belgian waffles.” Lucy leaned in and gave him her first real smile of the day. “And don’t you try to lie to me, Theo Redmond. I know you too well at this point.”

  He grinned, realizing that entire statement was true. She did know him well by now, better than any woman since Jenna. And the truth was he did occasionally snarf down waffles and sausage.

  “I hope my secrets are safe with you,” he said.

  “Of course they are.” She patted his hand. “Just like my secrets are safe with you-if I was allowed to have any, that is. Which I’m not.”

  “Sure you are
, Luce. You’ve managed to keep a few secrets from me just fine.”

  She frowned a little and took a sip of her decaf. “Like what?”

  “Like what happened to you back when you were nineteen, back when you started putting on all the extra weight. I keep thinking of that, and it’s like a line was drawn in your life that year. One day you were active and the next day you weren’t.”

  Lucy’s face went tight.

  “You’ve never answered my questions about it. You just shrug it off like it was nothing.”

  She did it again right then, gave a little shrug and avoided his eyes. It had been nearly seven months since they’d started this adventure, but they still had a long way to go, and his gut told him there was something big that Lucy wasn’t dealing with and if she didn’t, she wouldn’t make it.

  They wouldn’t make it.

  “It’s an old story, really,” she said with a sigh. “Girl meets boy, boy humiliates girl, girl checks into the Pepperidge Farm hotel.”

  “Who was this jerk?” Theo was stunned by the intensity of the anger that just welled up inside him.

  “He is no one that matters, Theo.”

  “He matters to me.” What kind of loser would do that to her? “Let’s track him down and make him suffer.”

  Lucy’s laugh was soft and sad. “I’d really rather not.”

  Theo knew they were heading somewhere, but he also knew Lucy was at the wheel. It appeared she was done with her story.

  Tears began to form in Lucy’s eyes, a development that Theo was not prepared for. He started to get up out of his chair and head to the kitchen for extra napkins, but she stopped him with a gentle hand on his arm.

  “No mental breakdown today, I swear. It’s Friday, and you know I only have craptacular meltdowns on Tuesdays.”

  “Of course.” He stayed standing, aware that her tears didn’t care what day it was.

  “It’s just that sometimes this whole thing seems like a fantasy to me. Do you know how long it’s been since I was this thin and felt this good?”

  “A long time.”

  “Right after I was weaned and started on solid food, I think.”