Autumn Getaway (Seasons of Love) (35 page)

“Amen to that,” Melanie remarked. “Lyddie, you’re officially divorced. I know it probably hasn't completely sunken in yet, but you really can do whatever you want.”

“And as for worrying about Andy,” Kathryn said, “while we understand your concerns, your son will be a happy boy if he has a happy mommy.”

“Very true,” Donna agreed. “He doesn’t need to know exactly
why
you’re happy, he’ll just pick up on your better vibe and respond to that. If you and Sam end up actually working something out, you don’t have to tell Andy about him until you’re ready.”

“You guys have all the answers,” Lydia quipped. “I should’ve gone to you instead of running back to my room to freak out.”

“Yes, you should have,” Donna mock scolded, only half kidding.

“Well, I’m glad Sam found you and convinced you to come down here,” Kathryn said. “We were ready to go looking for you ourselves.”

“If Sam hadn't come down when he did, we were giving you about ten more minutes before we started a search,” Donna told her.

“I was curled up in my bed, avoiding,” Lydia admitted. “The damn phone wouldn't stop ringing. Safe to assume that was you?”

“Of course it was,” Donna said.

Lydia nodded. “Although, honestly, I didn’t hear at least one of your calls because I took a very long shower. I’d just finished getting dressed when Sam came up. And we had a long talk. And…ugh, I had a bit of a meltdown on him. I felt psychotic. He said something that just floored me—he was so totally opposite of everything Matt had ever been, so
supportive
—and I completely lost it on him. Dissolved into stupid, uncontrollable tears. And he understood. And he stayed anyway. And then he sat there and watched me put on my makeup! Can you believe?”

“I
like
this guy,” Donna enthused. “He is unafraid.”

“Either that, or as messed up as I am,” Lydia murmured. “Maybe both.”

“Who cares if it’s both?” Kathryn said. “Whatever it is, it’s working. You guys work.”

“Did you two clear up some things?” Melanie asked. “Did you tell him the truth about why you took off?”

“I did,” Lydia nodded. “I think we cleared things up, and then took it the next step further. It really was a good talk, all in all. Truthfully, I feel a lot better… about everything. Not just Sam, but Matt too, the divorce,
everything
. It was one of those moments of clarity, you know? I actually feel physically lighter.”

“That's wonderful,” Kathryn cooed. “And you know what? If you come away from this with nothing but that, it was all worth it.”

“Are you going to see each other again?” Donna asked, unusual caution in her tone.

Lydia grinned sheepishly. “Yeah. He’s coming to New York on business in two weeks, so he’s going to make a weekend out of it so we can spend some time together. He wants to take me out to dinner or something.”

“Squeeeee!!” Melanie practically bounced in her chair. “That’s so great!”

“If I could jump up and down right now, I would.” Kathryn smiled brightly. “But I won't with him and his family sitting across the room.”

“You go, girl,” Donna said, nodding in approval. “You
go
.”

Lydia grabbed her mimosa, raised it in salute, and finished it in two gulps. “I love you guys. Still my infallible support network, after all this time. God, it’s such a relief to feel like myself, completely understood, and loved anyway. Thanks. Sincerely. Wow, did I need this weekend. Thank you all.”

“You're stuck with us, Psycho Girl,” Melanie joked, even as she grasped Lydia's hand.

“We're all stuck with each other,” Kathryn said. “We're supposed to support each other, that's what friends
do
. I'm just glad you're finally really letting us do that, Lyddie.”

“Ain’t no friends like old friends,” Donna smiled.

* * *

As the brunch ended, everyone in the room began rounds of farewells and prepared to go their separate ways. Lydia had warm, extended goodbyes with her three college friends. It had felt so good to just be in their presence, to reconnect and restore their bonds so easily, to spend quality time with them and bask in their love and support, that tears sprung to her eyes as she hugged each of them. And each of them, separately, whispered in her ear as she hugged them, “You’re going to be fine,” or “You’re going to be okay”. This last bit of extra assurance made Lydia feel solid enough to leave them there, go back to her room to pack her things, and then, eventually, to go home. Being with them had been precisely what she’d needed, without even knowing how much she’d needed it. She felt like the time with them had been a gift.

Lydia went to bid adieus to Ryan and to Melanie’s parents, then picked up her bag and headed for the door. She glanced over her shoulder to see where Sam was as she strode slowly towards the exit. He was crouched down, talking to his younger niece. She stood by the doorway, waiting; when he looked up and caught her stare, she gestured to him that she was going upstairs. He nodded and gestured back that he’d call her.

Lydia ascended the main staircase slowly, looking around at the magnificently elegant lobby, the bold autumn foliage visible outside the windows, trying to take in the beauty all around her and commit it to memory.
What a wonderful weekend
, she thought to herself with a sigh of contentment. She wished she didn’t have to leave. But she’d promised Matt she’d be home by dinner time, and she had to keep her word. She mulled it over as she walked down the long hallway to her room; she had to be out of the hotel at two-thirty, three at the latest, which would give her a cushion of extra time in case of traffic, and it was already almost noon. She went back to her room, got her suitcase out of the closet, and opened it on her bed. When she was almost finished emptying the contents of her dresser drawers into it, her hotel phone rang. She answered it on the second ring.

“Hey you,” said Sam, warm and friendly.

“Hey yourself.” Lydia smiled into the receiver.

“What are you doing?”

“Packing.” She sat on her bed to chat. “I have to leave here at two-thirty if I want to get to Matt’s on time to pick up Andy for dinner.”

“Okay. I just got back to my room, I’m going to pack now too. A limo is coming for my whole family at three to take us to JFK Airport. We’re all flying back to Chicago together, we have a five o’clock flight.”

“All of you in one car?” Lydia chuckled. “That should be some ride.”

“Yeah, right.” Sam snorted. “So we have, what, a little more than two hours? Where do you want to meet, what would you like to do?”

Lydia’s insides stirred as she thought of some interesting, extremely physical ways to pass the time. Instead she said, “How about that walk you suggested?”

“Okay. So… meet me in the lobby in, what—fifteen minutes?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Great. I’ll see you down there.”

Lydia hated packing, and found that doing it quickly was the best way to get through it. She scooped her last few items of clothing from the dresser and threw them into her suitcase, then swept through everything she’d brought into the bathroom, then went through the closet to retrieve whatever she’d put in there. At the sight of her beautiful dress that she’d worn to the wedding, crumpled up in a pile in the corner, she experienced mixed feelings: she was reminded of both the euphoria she’d felt when Sam seductively helped her take it off, and the mortification she’d felt when Alec had seen her in it the following morning. She picked the dress up, rolled it up tightly into a ball, and shoved it into her suitcase. All the dress needed was a good dry cleaning, and she'd fall in love with it all over again.

She did a once over and looked around the room, making sure she’d packed everything she’d arrived with. The bathroom, closet, and all drawers were empty. But across the room, on the couch under the window, she spotted her book, the one she’d been reading for pleasure when she’d spent time with Sam in the garden, their first real conversation. The book she and Sam had chatted about at length during the cocktail hour. She wanted to hug that book. She crossed the room to the couch, and when she picked it up, something fell out of it—a huge yellow leaf slowly fluttered to the carpet, and landed silently.

She bent to pick it up, sank down on the couch, and stared the leaf. She rolled the stem carefully between her fingers, spinning it in slow circles. She vividly recalled when Sam had reached out into the air, catching the leaf as it floated down towards them, and the playful smile on his face as he held it out to her. That had been only forty-eight hours before; how much could change in such a short time. She remembered their exchange with total clarity.

“Good catch,” she marveled.

He smiled and held it out to her. “Would you like it?”

“Sure, I’ll take it,” she said. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure,” he said, grinning at her.

She laughed lightly as she reached out, grasped the leaf by its stem, and placed it between the last page and back cover of her book. She looked back up at him with a quizzical expression.

“What?” he asked, still grinning.

“You’re… interesting,” she said.

“In a good way, or a peculiar way?”

“I’m not sure yet.”

“Ha! Well, maybe over the weekend, you’ll figure it out one way or the other. You’ll have to let me know before you leave.”

Something strange happened to her at that moment; a warm flood of emotion rushed through her, and took her in its undertow completely. She couldn’t even put a name to exactly what she was feeling—she just knew with a sudden, overwhelming urgency that she had to see Sam, had to be with him, right then, at that second. She had to let him know… that she'd figured it out.

She placed the leaf back in the book with great care, stood to stride across to the bed and stuff the book into her suitcase, grabbed her card key, and hurried from the room.

She started down the hallway in a brisk walk, but by the time she hit the stairs, she was practically running. She flew along the third floor corridor until she got to his room, and pounded on his door.

Sam opened the door quickly, a look of puzzled concern on his face. “Hey, Lydia. You okay? I thought we were—”

She pounced on him, kissing him forcefully. One of his arms went around her without delay, pulling her into his room, while the other one reached out to slam the door closed behind her. She kissed him deeply, without holding back, devouring him. He used his free hand to grasp her hair and hold her against him, kissing her back with matching fervor. They stood that way for a long minute, melding together, kissing passionately. Finally he broke away, both of them close to gasping for air, and pulled back to look down into her face.

His expression was one of enchanted surprise as he said in a husky voice, “
Wow
. What was that for?”

“Because you’re interesting in a really good way,” she said, breathless. “And I needed to see you, to tell you that. To tell you now that I know, that I figured it out.”

His head cocked sideways, obviously trying to grasp what she meant.

“The garden?” Lydia prompted. “I said you were interesting, and you asked if I meant in a good way, or a peculiar way…”

His mouth curved into a smile. “And I said that if by the end of the weekend you figured it out, to let me know what you’d decided.”

“What I’ve decided,” she said quietly, “is that you’re really great, and I'm so glad I met you, and I'm going to miss you after we leave this place. I had to let you know that. I had to let you know that even though I'm a little scattered right now, I think you're fantastic. I can't even believe how good you were to me this weekend, how much I enjoyed you, and I don't think I showed you that enough, or told you that.” She cupped his cheek and added, “No matter what happens, I didn't want you to leave here without your knowing that.”

His eyes rounded as he smiled down at her. The look on his face was warm and radiant, like sunshine. “Well, thanks. It's good to know.” His finger trailed down her cheek slowly, then he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as he continued to gaze at her.

“I don’t want to go for that walk,” she told him. “I… well, I'm not here to sleep with you. I want to, don’t get me wrong, but I still can't, and I have to put that out there upfront.”

He nodded, waiting for her to finish.

“But I’d love for us to stay here, curl up on your bed, and talk, and laugh, and just spend some time together,” she said. “We can find ten other ways to torture each other until we have to leave the hotel, if you want. And I'm sure we can think up some fabulous ways. But really, I just want to be alone with you, locked in here, away from the world for a little while longer. How does that sound?”

His eyes widened, shock and delight mixed in his expression. “It sounds wonderful.” He kissed her forehead. “Actually, I think
you
are wonderful.”

“Thanks. I think you are too.”

“Awesome, we’re a mutual admiration society. We rock. So… ten other ways, huh?” He slid his arms around her waist slowly and smiled down at her again. “Sweet. I'm in.”

“Great. Kiss me.”

“Don’t have to ask me twice,” he said in a sultry growl, and pinned her back against the wall to kiss her hungrily.

* * *

Cool winds had blown away most of the clouds, and the sun shone gloriously as it changed position. It bathed the entire estate in warm golden light as Sam escorted Lydia down the staircase at the main entrance to the hotel, holding her hand as he motioned to the valet to come over. She gave the young man the ticket for her car as Sam placed her suitcase on the ground with his other hand. The valet moved away to retrieve her car, and Sam turned her to face him. He wrapped both arms around her snugly. She looked up into his face and smiled. He lowered his head and kissed her with sweetness and gentle longing. He held her close, as if he was savoring the feel of her, and she embraced him back with the same warmth.

“I’m going to text you when I land in Chicago tonight,” he said into her ear, not releasing her, “and I’m going to call you tomorrow, after you get home from work, in the evening. Alright?”