Picking Up the Pieces (27 page)

Chapter 29: Adam

Ever since Valentine’s Day, Lily and I had spent as much time together as possible. It was like we were finally back to where we had been last year, and it was incredible. I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to love her with the same completeness as I had before, but my doubts about that were slowly slipping away.

             
I also knew that I owed it to her and our relationship to begin fully incorporating her into my life. So, when Frank called and said that Claire was
dying
to meet Lily, I accepted his invitation to dinner and drinks with them and a few of our other friends.

             
“Claire’s literally salivating to get her hands on your girl. And she started clapping like a seal when she realized that now you'd get to be included in our couples’ nights. It’d almost be cute if it weren’t so annoying,” Frank chuckled. He could call Claire annoying all he wanted, but we all knew that she was the best thing to ever happen to him. And he knew it too.

             
“Well, would you try to reel her in a little. I don’t want her coming on too strong and scaring Lily away.”

             
“Ah, so you’ve got yourself a shy one, huh?” Frank asked.

             
I hesitated before replying.
Was Lily shy?
I hadn’t interacted with her much around other people. She didn’t seem shy; she certainly hadn’t come off that way when I had met her. The Lily I knew was outgoing and friendly, but would she be that way with a table full of strangers? It seemed odd that I didn’t know, even though the answer didn’t really matter. I couldn’t blame her if she were reserved when she first met my friends.

             
“Nah, she’ll be fine,” I finally answered, hoping it was the truth.

***

I pulled up in front of Lily’s apartment at five minutes to seven. We were meeting the rest of the crew at 7:30, and while the restaurant was only ten minutes away, I thought it would be easier if we were the first ones there so that Lily got to meet everyone gradually as they arrived. I pulled out my phone and called her. “Hey, I’m downstairs,” I said when she answered.

             
“Okay, be right down,” she quickly replied and hung up.

             
I watched her exit her building and walk toward me. She looked beautiful, as always. Her hair flowed over her shoulders and down her light blue top that accentuated her slim figure, even though it was partially obscured by a khaki jacket. Her dark rinsed jeans and black heels made her legs look incredible, and I quickly wondered if I had time to take her upstairs before dinner.

             
“Hey,” she breathed as she sat down beside me and turned to pull her seatbelt around herself.

             
“Hey, gorgeous.” I leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the lips. “You look great.”

             
She smiled warmly at me, her eyes sparkling. “You too.”

             
I ran a hand down my green cashmere sweater. “Glad you approve.”

             
“Always.” She gently brushed her hand along my cheek.

             
We just sat there and stared at one another for a moment, letting our adoration for each other fill the car. Finally I shook my head. “We better get going before I make us very late.”

             
“You know, there is something to be said for being fashionably late.”

             
I smiled. “All good things come to those who wait.”

             
She giggled. “Well when you put it like that, let’s get this show on the road.”

             
I laughed as I pulled the car onto the road and drove to the restaurant, holding Lily’s hand in mine the entire ride.

             
We talked about trivial things: how Lily was sad that February was almost over and she hadn’t gotten another snow day, what Eva had done recently to show me what an inconvenience it was to have me for a father, Amanda losing her mind over her upcoming wedding.

             
“Why the rush?” I asked her. “Why didn’t they just pick a date a year from now so they could’ve taken their time planning?”

             
“I think Shane’s worried that Amanda will change her mind if he gives her too much time to think about it,” Lily said laughing.

             
I didn’t see the humor. “Should they really be getting married then?”

             
Lily’s face sobered and confusion seemed to set in as she silently asked me to explain what I meant.

             
“I mean, if she’s that likely to change her mind, are they sure this is the right move for them?”

             
“Well, first of all, I was kidding about her changing her mind. Mostly.” When I eyed her skeptically, she continued. “Amanda’s skittish and when left to think too much, she’s prone to over-analyze everything. She could poke holes in the sturdiest foundation. But I don’t think that’s really why they’re rushing.” She sighed. “I just think that they’re ready, ya know? They know what they want and can’t see a reason to wait for it.”

             
I thought for a moment. “So you don’t think they’re making a mistake?”

             
Her head whipped toward me. “Why would their marriage be a mistake?”

             
I let out a breath.
Why did I have to bring this up?
“Lily, come on. They’ve only been dating a few months. That would’ve been like me proposing to you last spring. We both know what a disaster that would’ve been. We barely knew each other.”

             
She sat still, facing forward, her eyes unwavering from the windshield. After a few silent, tense moments, she turned her head toward me. “I think,” she stopped and cleared her throat, causing her voice to be stronger, surer. “I think that when you meet the person you’re meant to be with, your heart just knows, even if it takes your brain a while to catch up. You can deny it and fight it all you want. God knows Amanda did. But it’s ultimately no use. There is no living without that person, Adam.” She turned her head to face the passenger window. “Shane is the air Amanda breathes. To walk away from him would be like never taking a deep breath again. And she damn well knows it. Anyone looking at them does.”

I glanced over at her, wishing I could read her mind.
I reached over and grabbed her hand that I had just realized I must’ve let go of at some point. “I know what it’s like to feel like you’ll never take a deep breath again. Believe me.” I gave her hand a squeeze and she turned to face me, a shy smile on her face. She squeezed back before looking out her window again.

“Me too,” she whispered.

I pulled into the parking lot, wishing I could’ve been convinced that she was referring to me.

***

When I told the hostess Frank’s name for the reservation, I was surprised when she told me that the rest of our party had already arrived.
Is anything going to go the way I’d planned tonight?
I put my hand on the small of Lily’s back as we followed the hostess through the restaurant toward our table.

“There he is,” I heard Frank bellow.

We approached six smiling faces and I felt Lily tense slightly. But her face was all smiles as we walked up to the table.

“Hi, guys,” I said.
“Lily, this is Frank and his wife Claire, Troy and his wife Kelly, and Doug and his wife Shannon. Everyone, this is Lily.”

Lily reached around and shook everyone’s hand before I pulled out her chair and she sat down.

“So how is everyone?” I asked, trying to delay the impending inquisition I knew was coming. Everyone nodded and murmured that they were good, fine and so on.

Claire was the first to strike, as I knew she would be.
“Lily, that’s such a pretty name. Where did you get it?”

“From my parents,” Lily deadpanned.
Quickly, her eyes widened as she realized she’d replied before considering her answer.

I covered my mouth with my hand to hide my smirk.

Claire looked momentarily flustered. “Oh, no, I meant is it like a family name or anything?”

Lily smiled
. “No, I know. Sorry, I have kind of a sarcastic sense of humor. I apologize. Uh, yes, it was my paternal grandmother’s name.”

Claire smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.

This is going well.
Lily had her head practically buried in her menu. I swung my knee under the table to bump hers. When she looked up, I shot her a reassuring smile, which she returned as she visibly relaxed.

“What’s everybody having?” I asked in an attempt to get a conversation flowing again.

Once we discussed our dinner choices, the waiter came over to take our drink orders.

“We’re ready to order
our dinner too,” Kelly said impatiently.

Of all my buddies’ wives, Kelly was my least favorite.
She was snobby and cold. I wasn’t sure what Troy saw in her. Other than her obvious physical appeal, she was a bitch.

“Yes, ma’am.
Would you like to start?” the waiter kindly asked her.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to start at one end of the table and work your way around?
I don’t want my order getting messed up.”

And here we go.

“You can start with me,” I heard a soft voice next to me say. I turned to see Lily smile at the waiter before giving him a wink. “I’ll have the—”

“He really should start with Frank or Doug.
They keep the order straight if they start at an end.” The look on Kelly’s face showed that this was no longer about our order. It was about the
new girl
learning her place in the female hierarchy.

“Oh, I don’t know.
” Lily leaned slightly toward the waiter to read his name tag. “Kevin here looks pretty intelligent. I think he can take eight orders without too much difficulty. Right, Kevin?” She directed her question toward the waiter, but her eyes remained locked on Kelly.

“Yes, ma’am,” Kevin replied, discomfort lacing his voice.

“Great.” Lily snapped her attention back to him. “Then I’ll have the tortellini alfredo.”

“Would you like a soup or salad with that?”

“Salad. With Italian dressing, please.” Lily handed him her menu, smiling brightly at him.

Kevin smiled gratefully at her.
“Sure thing, ma’am.”

The waiter moved on to Claire and as I watched Lily’s victory sink in around the table, I hoped that her need to defend our server was worth potentially ruining our evening.

***

The women decided to abandon their questioning of Lily after her pissing match with Kelly. I talked sports with the guys, and eventually the mood at the table warmed and we all fell into our usual bantering. Well, all of us except Lily. She seemed to be content to listen, rather than participate.

“So, Lily, Adam told us you’re a teacher?” Shannon, probably the sweetest of them all asked.

“Yes, seventh grade English.”

“Wow, that sounds
difficult. We have two boys who are three and five, and they’re tough enough. I can’t imagine a room full of teenagers,” Shannon said sincerely.

“It’s interesting, that’s for sure,” Lily replied.

“Lily’s great at it though. She’s even a mentor to a new teacher this year.” I knew that Lily didn’t want to be the center of the conversation, but I couldn’t resist. If she wasn’t going to willingly interact with my friends, then I'd have to prompt her to.

Lily shot me
a tight smile before speaking. “It’s really not that big of a deal. They hired someone at the last minute, so the principal asked if I would help her get her feet wet.”

“Where do you teach?” Doug asked.

“Swift."

“Oh, isn’t that where Eva goes, Adam?” Claire asked, even though I knew she was already aware of the answer.
Claire and Frank lived in the same school district.

“Yeah, Lily taught Eva last year.
That’s how we met actually.” I leaned in and wrapped my arm around her, knowing this was about to get awkward and wanting to physically show her my support.

“Is that allowed?
” Kelly bit out.

“Is what allowed?” Lily asked evenly.

“Dating the parents of your students. That seems like a breach of some ethical code of conduct.” Troy fidgeted uncomfortably as he listened to Kelly.

“Eva isn’t currently one of my students, so I don’t really see an issue with it.”

I couldn’t help but be thankful none of them knew we’d dated last year.

“Of course you don’t,” Kelly scoffed.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Lily tensed and I knew that this was about to get ugly. It was like watching a pit bull circle a pretentious poodle.