Lily in Exile

“So what does this mean?” Lily asked her mother.  Her mother’s explanation was all very garbled.  The main actor in her father’s criminal drama had “fallen to his death.”  Allegedly, a suicide, but her mother said no one believed that.  So the case was finally moving on.  Her father was about to appear in Federal court and plead guilty.  The sentencing hearing wouldn’t be for months.  But when it came, her mother hoped that both Lily and Sloan would make an appearance before the judge and serve as character witnesses on their father’s behalf.  There would be so many people speaking against him.

What could Lily say?  Her father had always been a kind but distant man.  Mostly he worked and their mother reared them.  He supported them and put them through college, was never brutal physically or mentally.  She didn’t think that was much to offset the balance of all those who had lost so much money, some their life savings.  However, she supposed she had no choice but to be there.  Would Sloan bother to show up?  They really hadn’t discussed it.

She texted her brother more often now that she was living in Sandy Springs, Georgia.  Her life plan, she guessed she could call it, was very tentative.  The apartment was a one-bedroom overlooking I-285.  That’s why she got it on a month-to-month basis, on the understanding that she would sign a lease if another apartment with a better view became available. This suited her fine because she was basically—a coward.  She didn’t want to sign a lease.  She wanted to live with Frank in their beautiful house.  And he wanted that too.  So what was stopping her?

She was so lonely in Sandy Springs.  Oh, people were friendly everywhere, kind and welcoming.  But, it wasn’t like having Frank to look forward to on the weekends.  All she had in her life was her job—remote—her daily walks, and her evening television.

She knew she could make a life here if she tried.  But she wasn’t trying.  No, of course she hadn’t changed her mobile.  How could Frank reach her if she had?  And they talked.  He was miserable.  She was miserable.  What was she doing?

“You have nothing to fear.  Come back.  Come home!  Eden knows you decorated the house.  Eden knows we were living together, and she’s the reason we’re not anymore.  Eden’s involved in her own life now.  Not mine.  Not yours.  She’s not going to live anywhere near us.”

“And your mother?” Lily wondered.

“Oh, hell, she’s so upset with Eden, why not be disappointed in another child?”

“What does that mean?”

So Frank had to confess that ages ago, when he first ran into Lily, he told his mother about it, and she warned him to stay away from the Stantons.  “But obviously, I didn’t.”

“And yet, you never took me to see her. All that time we were living together,” Lily almost whined.

“Yes. I was a coward.  My mother.  She’s being impossible about Eden’s wedding plans.  So now really is the best time to introduce you into the family.  She’s too involved with the Eden drama to pay much attention to us.”
Lily laughed.  Sort of.  “What did Eden say when she found out about me?”

“She reminded me of how much older I am than you.”

“Five years?”

“Almost six.  And she asked how you were.  I was perhaps too enthusiastic, singing your praises.  But she has Steve keeping her in line.  He’s—sort of weird, not the kind of guy I would expect from Eden.  But he tolerates her.  That’s what she needs.  Someone who can deal with her because she’s not an easy creature.  He’s not doing a prenup.  I asked.”

“How very romantic of you,” Lily said wryly.

Sighing, Frank said, “Please come home.  You know I hate being a lawyer.  I only do it for the money.  You gave my life some meaning.  You made me happy.  Don’t rob me of that.”

“So it’s all about your happiness,” Lily made him realize what he was saying.

“You weren’t happy?”

Of course she was.  So happy.  The house, Frank, their life together.

What was she doing?  Lily didn’t know.  What should she do?  She didn’t know that either.

Her phone buzzed.  It didn’t say spam, but it didn’t identify the caller either.  Could it be someone from work?   Oh well, whatever, she could always hang up.  Putting on her business voice, she said, “Hello.”

“Lily, this is Eden.  What is this crap you’re pulling with Frank?”