Page 27 of Fragile Love (Fragile 3)
“It’ll happen soon,” she corrected. “See you later, Andrew. Do you want the door shut?”
“Sure. Thanks, Lillian,” he replied as she shut the door. She stood there for a minute, listening to him making himself comfortable by the bookcase again. There was the sound of pages turning and books sliding in between other books on the shelves until it grew mostly quiet, the only noise the occasional flip of a page.
He’s here, she told herself. It’s real; this isn’t a dream. He’s here in my house and out of the hospital.
It was too good to be true. Happiness was one thing, but the immense sensation of relief was another. She could easily remember being happy because little things, even if she didn’t show it all the time, gave her joy. Waking up next to Cayden in her hotel in Los Angeles was one time, and they hadn’t even officially gotten back together yet. She was happy when Andrew had suddenly been in town for business right after she and Cayden had their argument in her kitchen.
But relief? She couldn’t recall a time she felt relieved—not like this, anyhow. Perhaps, for all this time, she had wanted so badly to have had the chance to be relieved when Amelia was in her accident. Relieved when Amelia woke up, when the doctors said she was stable, when she was regaining her appetite and figuring out her wheelchair, then her crutches, then walking with no help anymore...
But none of that had happened. Lillian had been hanging on to the anticipated feeling of relief since her phone rang that Amelia was in the emergency room. She had been waiting for her best friend to wake up, see her face, and smile. But she never did. And those feelings she’d bottled up inside for so long were finally getting the chance to come out and relieve her mind of the immense stress that had been hurling her into an emotional whirlwind.
Amelia must have been looking out for them. Lillian could feel it. She never got to feel that ear to ear grin when Amelia’s eyes opened up, but she did with Andrew. He’s alive. She had to remind herself every now and then, because it did still feel too good to be true. Using the word alive felt morbid sometimes, but when she gave it a little thought it was the most beautiful word in the world.
She sat down at her desk, listening to the quiet of the house. All right, she told herself, playtime is over now, Lillian. It’s time to focus for a little bit. Opening her laptop, she began to read and reply to emails, clean out her files, and update her schedule. After such a drastic change from her usual routine for the last couple of weeks, being at her desk in her home environment felt like a breath of fresh air. She could think clearly and get done what needed to be done.
When she looked up next, the sky was beginning to turn a warm orange. Clouds were smeared across the sky as far as she could see in
either direction from this window. The whole scene looked like a painting.
This is so much better than looking out a hospital window at streets and buildings, she thought.
Stretching her arms, she stood up and went to check on the cats. At first, they pretended not to notice her until she wouldn’t leave them alone, and then their playful energy kicked in. For a few minutes Lillian gave them her undivided attention; typically, they wouldn’t have played with her for this long, and she was thrilled that they did today.
Eventually they ran off and Lillian, feeling chipper as ever, took another peek at the sky. Purple hues were beginning to make their way along the edges of the clouds.
I bet it will be perfect for a photo when I get out of the shower. Flipping a lamp on, she went to her room, started up some music on a little speaker, and hopped into the shower. The soapsuds slid down her body along the curve of her waist; it felt like Cayden tracing his finger on her skin as he loved to do. She giggled to herself, remembering how he had joined her in the shower a couple of times before. That was fun, she thought with a smile, wishing he would surprise her now by sneaking into the bathroom.
She wasn’t really expecting him to, but as she dried off she began to devise a plan for surprising him next time he was showering. Poking her head out the bedroom door, she listened for any sign that Cayden had come back, but there was none.
Where is he? she wondered, standing on her tiptoes to look out the bathroom window. It looked out directly at Cayden’s house. He sure has been looking for that bag for a long time, she noted, peering between the blinds. His house, as far as she could tell, was completely dark; through the blinds in the living room window, she noticed the faint glow of the tiny lamp he kept on when he was away. Thick curtains covered all his other windows.
Strange. She knew he was a grown man and she wasn’t his schedule keeper—although those jokes back in the day had been pretty funny—but he had been gone for a while. How closed his house looked to be was a little worrying to her. He wouldn’t have left already, would he? she thought. He’s supposed to leave the day after tomorrow. But he would have said goodbye, right?
Of course, he would have said goodbye, but based on how distracted he had been by his Los Angeles work life last night and today, she wouldn’t have put it past him to forget to say goodbye. When he focused he had tunnel vision, but he didn’t disappear into whatever was taking his attention. It had never happened before, at least. Not since she had known him. Even when he was deliberating whether to go to Los Angeles in the first place, he had seemed far from this level of stressed.
But he wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye, right? The question repeated itself in her mind and she found herself staring into the mirror, wrapped in her towel, not sure what to do with herself until she knew for sure.
All at once a faint humming noise reached her ears. She didn’t even notice it at first, but after it kept going for a whole minute she realized it wasn’t a typical noise in her house. “What the heck?” she started, tuning into the noise that seemed to be not far from the bathroom window. Suddenly she realized what it was, and a breath caught in her throat.
It was the lawnmower.
Without thinking twice, she bolted out of the bathroom and through the house, following the noise. The lawnmower seemed to be in her backyard now, and sure enough, when she flung open the door, she saw Cayden pushing it just beside her back steps.
“Hey!” she called, feeling her lips forming into a wide smile.
Cayden looked up and his eyes glimmered. “Well, hey there,” he whistled, his eyes lingering on her towel.
Oh, crap. She looked down, mildly embarrassed that she had run out there in only her towel. “Whoops.”
“Au contraire,” he replied, raising his eyebrows at her.
“I thought you left,” she said, walking gingerly down the steps. “Your house looks like no one has lived there in months.”
“Actually,” he said, reaching out for her as she walked over to him, “One of my other clients changed the ticket. They need me back in Los Angeles early.” Cayden put his arms around her, playing with the edge of her towel.
“When are you leaving?”
“Nine tonight.”
