Loving Lily Lavender (6 page)

“Yeah, I was homesick my first time too, but don’t worry, we’ll
have a great time together.”

I peered up at her then, and she was wearing the biggest smile I
had ever seen, and I couldn’t help but smile back. We were inseparable from
that moment on.

Her name was Laura, and I would later find out the she had an
auto-immune disease called Alopecia, which simply meant she couldn’t grow hair.
Her personality was larger-than-life, and everyone who met her loved her at
once. I was no different.

One day we were sitting by the peer with our feet dangling in the
water when she complemented me on my long curls.

“I hate them,” I said before thinking, grabbing a handful in
disgust. The kids in school teased me, calling me Goldilocks. It drove me crazy
and made me yearn for straight, plain hair.

For the first time since I met her she looked sullen. “I use to
have hair like yours when I was very little, before it started falling out. I
would do anything to have that hair back again.”

I was horrified. How could I have been so stupid? From that
moment on I looked at my hair as a gift. And every time I felt like
complaining, I thought of Laura, who seemed to have the world at her feet, even
without hair. I respected her more than anybody I had ever met and would ever
meet. We write letters, or e-mails to each other to this very day.

I snapped back to reality, smiling as I ran my fingers down one
of the long curls I once hated. Sighing, I stood, appraised myself in the
mirror one last time, and then darted back downstairs to the kitchen.

I had leftover fixings for a salad so I tossed it together in a
big bowl, covered it, and put it back in the fridge. I then made some homemade
dressing and set it aside.

Deciding I had enough time to make a dessert, I quickly read
through my recipes and chose a peach cobbler since I had all the ingredients. I
had recently bought fresh peaches from Sam, our regular vendor who sells out of
the back of his pickup truck on the side of the road near town.

Once I had it in the oven and the timer set, I went into the den
to tidy up. I sat down to rest for a minute and fell fast asleep.

I woke to the timer on the oven sounding. I went into the kitchen
and took the cobbler out to cool. I heard a knock at the back door and had to
make myself walk slowly to answer it, all the while counting to ten. My breath
caught as I opened the door and saw Lucas standing there smiling at me. He was
gorgeous as always, but he looked off somehow. “Please come in.”

“You look beautiful,” he remarked as he entered the room. He
leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

He smelled funny too, but I couldn’t put my finger on the
familiarity of the scent.

“Wow, something smells delicious.”

“Thank you.”

“I saw Randall tonight. He said to tell you hello.” He had an odd
look on his face, and again I was puzzled.

“Oh, okay.” I said the words slowly, and then it clicked. “Lucas,
are you stoned?” My eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“What?” He chuckled nervously.

“You are, aren’t you?” I couldn’t believe it, and then I became
angry.

“Umm, well maybe a little. Randall came by tonight and brought
something, but I don’t see the problem.”

“Of course you don’t. Lucas, I would like for you to leave—now.”
My voice was composed as I turned and opened the door again.

“What?” he asked, wide-eyed.

“You heard me. I want you to leave.”

He slowly sulked past me, stepped out the door, and turned to say
something right before I shut the door.

Well, that’s that
, I thought as I stalked into the
kitchen, slapping my hand on the bar. “How could he come here like that? Who
does he think he is? I deserve better than that,” I rambled to myself,
something I found myself doing quite frequently when stressed. Then I began to
cry. I don’t know why I was crying. I guess I just felt so humiliated and
disrespected. I also felt disappointed in him. How could he not know that that
was a bad idea?

I was so frustrated at the situation that I decided to eat some
peach cobbler right out of the pan, using the biggest spoon I had and taking
ginormous bites from the center. It made me feel better, though just a little.

It was ten o’clock, and I was about to get ready for bed when I
heard a knock at the door. My heart sank as I opened the door and there stood
Lucas again. This time he looked a little clearer at least.

“Lily.” He reached for the door quickly before I could shut it
again. “Please, can I just speak to you for a minute? Please.”

I paused momentarily, deciding what to do. “I suppose, but just
for a minute.”

He stepped through the door and walked a little ways before
turning to study me. “I really blew it with you tonight, huh?”

I folded my arms across my chest and glared at him with raised
brows.

“I guess I didn’t think about how coming here like that would
upset you, as it should, of course. I just didn’t expect you to bust me like
that. I deserved it though, and if you could find a way to forgive me, Lily. I
am
truly sorry.” His tone seemed sincere enough.

I unfolded my arms and let out a sigh. “I forgive you, Lucas, of
course I forgive you. It’s just that I know you live a different lifestyle than
I do, and I’m totally fine with that. I’ll never force my lifestyle on you, and
I want the same from you. Coming here like that was disrespectful, and I won’t
allow you to treat me that way. If you want to get high, then that’s your
choice. I accept that—I accept you, but just don’t come here afterwards. I mean
I like you, Lucas, and I want to spend time with you—you and not an altered
state of you. If you can accept that then we can still spend time together.”

He peered at me for a moment.

What was he thinking? Did he think I was an awful person?

 
Then a smile stretched widely across his face. He scaled
the distance between us in just a few short strides, picking me up, his arms
engulfing me, and whispering in my ear, “Thank you—I won’t disappoint you
again.”

Sometimes he was like a little lost boy, yearning for acceptance
and love. Once again it warmed my heart and made me feel like somehow he needed
me, and that feeling was amazing.

I let him stay and fed him supper, even allowing him to have some
peach cobbler, explaining why there was a huge chunk missing from the center.
He just laughed at me. So, I guess I had totally forgiven him. I mean he seemed
sincerely sorry. I could tell he still had some of the effects of the pot in
his system though. Meagan’s brothers use to get high sometimes and I recognized
the symptoms, along with the smell.

He seemed to be talking more openly than usual when suddenly, and
out of the blue, he asked, “Have you ever had a hamster?”

I laughed, not sure where he was going with the odd question.
“Um, no, but Meagan had one once. It didn’t live very long. Her brothers used
it in a game of Badminton. Why do you ask?”

He looked horrified. “Did they really do that?”

“Well, they were young at the time, but yeah they did. That’s why
she spent most of her childhood here with me. Why do you ask about the
hamster?”

“Well, you know how they get on those wheels and go as fast as
they can and then when they finally get off they look around as if realizing
they haven’t actually gone anywhere. So what do they do? They get back on and
go again. That’s sort of the way I feel. I feel like I’m going and going and
never really getting anywhere. Does that make any sense to you?”

“Yes it does, but it doesn’t have to be that way, you know. You
can change it. It’s your life. There’s no script that says it has to play out a
certain way. You always have a choice. If you don’t like it, change it.”

He peered at me then with a look of amazement. “You make it sound
so easy.”

“Well, actually it is. Remember what I told you about college? I
just changed the course I was on and went in another direction. Making the
choice was the hardest part, but once the decision was made it was easy. You
just need to decide what you want and then pursue it with all your heart. It
might be continuing on the course you’re on, or it might be changing the course
all together.”

“You just continue to amaze me.”

“Thanks. I think. You know, I’m a little sleepy, so I’m going to
make some coffee. Would you like some?”

“Oh, well I’ll go and let you get some sleep.” He started to get
up.

“No, you don’t have to go, but I’m going to make a pot. Do you
want some?”

“Sure, that would be great.” He smiled as he sat back down and
made himself comfortable.

“I’ll be right back.”

In about ten minutes I was back with two cups of coffee in hand.
I sat them down on the table and turned to face him. He was sitting up with his
head leaning all the way back, his mouth open, and he was sound asleep. He
looked so peaceful and adorable. I didn’t have the heart to wake him. I went to
the hall closet, pulled out a blanket, and came back with it. I picked up his
feet and slid off his shoes. I then picked up his legs, bringing them up onto
the sofa and leaning his head over on the arm. I got a pillow, put it under his
head, and then covered him with the blanket. He continued to sleep.

As I peered down at him I thought about how nice it felt to take
care of him. Although alarms were sounding in my head, I knew it was a feeling
I could definitely get use to.

I took the cups of coffee and emptied them into the sink. I
locked the door, turned out the lights, and headed up to bed. Just as a
precaution, I put a chair against my door.

My alarm woke me at seven a.m. After my body was good and
stretched, my mind became aware of the dream I’d had, and I smiled at the
memory. Lucas had taken me to an elegant restaurant where he proclaimed his
undying love for me. It was a really sweet dream and one I had a feeling would
stay with me for the rest of the day.

After I came out of the bathroom and was fully dressed in jeans
and a t-shirt, I went to my door, removed the chair, and headed downstairs to
check on my sleeping guest.

He was lying on his stomach still sound asleep. The blanket was
on the floor, so I picked it up and gently covered him with it. I then went
into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and decide on what to cook for
breakfast.

“Umm, it smells delicious in here.”

I quickly turned to see Lucas standing in the doorway looking
adorable with his messy hair, sleepy eyes, and both hands stuffed in his front
pockets. I wondered if he realized just how ridiculously handsome he was.

“Oh, I hope I didn’t wake you. I was trying to be quiet.”

“No, you weren’t being loud, but a delicious smell woke me. I
thought for a minute that I was back at my home in London.”

“Well, I didn’t know what you might like for breakfast, so I made
a few things. Here are pancakes,” I said as I pointed to the plates spread
about the bar, “I just finished the bacon, these are vegetable omelets, and I
made vanilla cream syrup for the pancakes. Can I get you some coffee?”

“Um, wow. You didn’t have to go to all this trouble just for me.”

I smiled. “Well, I didn’t do it
just
for you, I’m hungry
too, and it was no trouble at all. Actually, I enjoy it. It’s been a while
since I’ve had anyone here to cook breakfast for.” I handed him a plate. “Help
yourself to whatever you want.”

“You know, in L.A., most of the time I go without eating
breakfast. I don’t know how to cook, and I have to deal with the paparazzi
every time I go out. Actually, I go without a lot of meals for that very
reason. I’ve discovered microwave food though. It’s interesting, although not
very tasty. We don’t have a microwave back home.”

He was too adorable as he piled his plate full of food
.
I
couldn’t seem to take my eyes off him.

“That’s probably because you guys are smarter than we are and
have most likely discovered how bad they are for you. I rarely use mine.”

“Really?” He sounded a little surprised.

“It’s good for heating coffee though.”

“By the way, I’m sorry I fell asleep here. I know that was rude.
I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“No need to apologize. You were sleepy, so was I. I’m just glad
you didn’t murder me in my sleep,” I teased, handing him his steaming cup of
hot liquid.

“Dang, I should’ve thought of that.” He winked.

“Actually, I did sleep with a chair against my door,” I admitted,
smirking. He looked at me with a surprised look. “What? I’ve known you for
three days. What do you expect?”

“Truthfully I probably would’ve advised my sisters to do the
same.”

“Well, it’s not like I thought anything would happen, but I was
just leaning on the side of precaution.”

“Of course,” he said with his mouth partly full. “You know, this
omelet is delicious. What’s in it?”

“Well let's see, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese, salt and
pepper, and of course eggs. I purposely left out the onions.”

“It’s delicious. You’re a very good cook. I’m beginning to feel
spoiled.”

“To be honest I find the idea of spoiling you quite appealing,” I
teased. He looked at me with an odd look. “What?”

“You really shouldn’t say that to me. You might find me over here
every night.”

I smirked. “Well, I could think of worse ways to spend my
evenings. But all joking aside, you’re welcome here anytime you want. Most of
my nights are spent cooking for one and watching episodes of
Whose Wedding
Is It Anyway?
I’m always looking for new ideas. Did you know they now make
M&M’S with the bride and groom’s faces on them? I’ve got to find out how to
do that,” I rambled.

“Um, no I didn’t know that.” He chuckled.

Soon breakfast was over, the kitchen was clean, and we were at the
door saying our goodbyes. He thanked me for taking care of him, hugged and
kissed me, and then he was gone.