Last night, I even slept almost seven hours straight.Which hasn’t happened since probably before Tom was arrested. I was so disoriented this morning when I woke up and saw what time it was. The first night she was staying with me, I convinced myself that it was just my body finally giving in to the years of exhaustion. But as the days have gone on, the timing for my continued restful sleep in years is certainly telling.
Stepping inside my condo, I’m greeted by music playing over my surround sound system and Lily’s mock-stern voice coming from my kitchen. I stop walking and just listen, since she clearly doesn’t realize I came home.
“Hankie, I swear to goodness, stop meowing at me. I’m not giving you another treat. You’ve had too many already.”
Meow.
“Fine, one more. But no more. And don’t tell your dad. I don’t need you getting me in trouble.”
I stifle my laugh as I take the last few steps down the entry hall, emerging into the open layout. “Too late.”
The scream she lets out scares Hank so much that he bolts from the room. My laugh can no longer be stifled. I laugh for a few minutes as Lily scolds me for “scaring the shit out of her.”
After a few minutes, Hank returns, and my laughter dies down. Lily’s watching me with a perplexed look on her face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask as I walk around the counter and join her in the kitchen.
She leans back against the counter and tilts her head to the side. “I’ve just never heard you laugh like that. It was…really nice.”
I get somewhat self-conscious about her observation, probably because it’s a spotlight on how miserable I’ve been. Not that she’d have any way of knowing that. But it’ssomething I’ve become a master at deflecting every time Mandi has broached the subject.
Turning away, I open the cabinet, getting a glass. I need something to take the edge off. I move to fill it with a heavy pour of bourbon. “What’s for dinner tonight?”
Lily steps up to my side, pulling the oven door open to check on whatever is inside. The savory scent hits my nose, and my stomach growls, reminding me that I didn’t eat lunch today.
“Uh, I probably should’ve asked if you liked this, but I made a simple chicken pot pie.”
I turn and lean against the counter, taking a sip of bourbon with a ghost of a smile. “My mom used to make that all the time growing up. It was one of my favorites.”
Lily’s beautiful face is a mix of relief and happiness. “Oh, thank goodness. Halfway through baking, I started to get a little nervous. Should be ready in about fifteen minutes.”
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I pull it out.
Connor’s calling. Without answering, I already know why.
I look up, and my eyes find Lily, who has knelt down and is petting Hank, telling him how much she loves him and how cute he is. She says he only has to wait fifteen minutes for his dinner, too. I look back at my phone, thinking it might be good for my headspace to get out.
The call goes to voicemail before it immediately starts ringing again. Lily and Hank both stare up at me in question, and I connect the call.
“Connor.”
“Hey, man. You coming to poker tonight?”
“I’m not going to make it tonight. Maybe next time.”
He starts to argue, and I disconnect the call, not reallywanting to hear him because it’d just be a waste of both our time.
Lily stands and brushes cat hair off her pants. “It’s okay if you want to go out. Me and Hank will be fine if you have something you need to do.”
I shake my head as I turn off my phone and toss it on the counter. There’s nothing so important that people need to contact me tonight. “It’s not a big deal. It’s just a poker game I go to sometimes with a bunch of lawyers.”
“You sure? That sounds like fun.” She tilts her head and furrows her brow. “Well, probably fun. I don’t really know because I’ve never played poker.”
“What? You’ve never played poker?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. I’ll be honest, my life with Blake didn’t involve a lot of games.”
I scoff. “Well, I hope you didn’t plan on working tonight, because I know exactly what we’re doing after dinner.”
