I haven’t seen so much as a passing glimpse of him since things had ended as badly as they did at Zoe’s party. It’s also proving impossible to pick up much from the guys at the job site.
Sure, I hear the odd snippet when I’m stripping yet another layer of paint off those vintage cabinets, but that’s it.
Of course, I could ring Tyler, but I’m not sure what sort of response I’d get after I’d treated him and Zoe as coldly as I did the day of her party. My heart having been in pieces, I hadn’t been thinking straight.
Rather, I’d wanted them gone so I could lick my wounds and berate the universe yet again, for giving me a body that didn’t work.
A moment later, and Katie puts a cup of freshly brewed coffee and a slice of pie on the table. “Here you go, Sugar. Enjoy.”
“Thank you. Ah, Katie…”
She stops and turns; her face alight with a readiness to help me, no matter what. Only I can’t ask, the words jamming in my throat as that piece of pie never will. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”
I’d love to ask her if she’s seen Tyler. A brief description of him and his tattoos and she’d know exactly who I was talking about. But I can’t. Every time we’d been together, part of me couldn’t believe a guy that gorgeous would actually choose a curvy girl.
The idea of me asking and her laughing at my delusion chills me to the bone. Not that she’s been anything other than friendly. This irrational fear is my issue, not hers. Instead, I concentrate on my pie and coffee, making notes on my phone about things I need to organize for the house.
It’s something that’ll result in another visit to the hardware store, and I’m dreading it, with the place holding too many memories by far.
And as expected, it’s every bit as awful as I’d thought it would be, with memories of Tyler and that little boy hitting me from every angle. While Zoe has her heart set on a little sister, Tyler would be a wonderful dad to a little boy
The only plus to the visit is when I get chatting to an old man in the aisle devoted to cabinet pulls. Apparently, if I cook the existing paint-laden handles in a crock pot with laundry detergent for a few hours, the paint will come right off.
It’s a hack that has me leaving with a budget model tucked under one arm.
Even with a lot for me to do back at the house, I don’t head straight home. That was never my plan, with me having grabbed some pastries before I’d left the bakery. It’s been too long since I visited Alice, mostly down to my still coming to terms with her adoption bombshell.
I still think my nanna should have said something, rather than leave it to a virtual stranger to break the news. Hearing that Alice knew more of my history than I did had hurt.
Despite my ranting and raving, she’d stressed how much Dot loved me. According to her, my nanna never once let the small matter of us not being blood relations impede that. However, it was finding the scrap book amongst the last of my nana’s belongings that really brought this home for me.
Newspaper clippings of every event in my life, no matter how inconsequential. Photos of me in school plays and sitting in the ‘big chair’ at her place, reading yet another of the gorgeous books she’d bought for me.
It was only on flipping over to the last page I’d found the newspaper article that detailed my parent’s car accident. It wasn’t one I’d ever seen before and I hadn’t thought to go looking for it, preferring to bury my past with my family.
Reading it had me sobbing my heart out, with no lessening the grief now that I knew we weren’t blood relations. Instead, the loss had been as fresh and strong as ever. Despite our DNA not matching up, they’d been my family in every sense of the word.
My being adopted hadn’t mattered one bit. My love for my sister was all-consuming from the moment I’d laid eyes on her at the hospital.
Would Zoe really care if it was the same for the little sister she wants so much? I don’t think she would, not if she’s like me. I’m parking at the Rose Haven when I realize it wasn’t something I could have raised, anyway. Not so early in our relationship. If I’d done that, Tyler would have thought I was some sort of crazy bunny boiler.
“Hey, I know we’ve only been an item for a little over a month, but I was wondering how you feel about us adopting?”
Even saying it to myself in the car has me snorting in disbelief at this ludicrous proposal. If I’d come out with something like that, the man would have run a mile, and kept going.
This thought clouds my mind on the drive home from the Rose Haven after what had been a late lunch. Distracted as I am, it takes a moment to see that amid a group of moms and kids, there’s a man walking along with a little girl. It’s Tyler.
The large backpack that dwarves Zoe’s small frame says he’s walking her home from school, the pair deep in conversation to the exclusion of all else. Even after everything that’s happened, I’d give anything to be holding her other hand.
I’m looking in the rear-view mirror when I spot one mom approaching Tyler, her hand coming to rest on his arm possessively. Unable to take my eyes off the scene, next thing I know, I’ve mounted the curb and blown my front right tire.
I’m still sitting there in shock when Tyler wrenches open my door before crouching down next to me. Meanwhile, Zoe hovers right behind him. “Lily, Lily! Are you okay?”
“I’m, I’m fine.” Although having Tyler this close has my heart hammering away and me fighting the impulse to throw myself into his arms. If it weren’t for Zoe’s presence, I might even surrender.
Then I decide to hell with it, and throw myself into his arms, mortified when I burst into loud sobs. These far outweigh the gravity of my minor accident, although Tyler says nothing other than hugging me back and shushing me.
It’s when I feel a small hand hold tight to mine that I really lose it. Some things are worth fighting for, and that includes family in whatever form it takes.
