“She’s been clean for two and a half years. And they’re together, stronger than ever.”
“I’m really happy to hear that.”
“My point, Lily, is no one gave up on her. And I won’t give up on you.”
I relax my shoulders and let the weight of the entire conversation fall over me. “Thank you,” I say as I stand and take the tickets. “I’m sure I’ll be able to take Shayne with me. She’ll love it.”
“You’re welcome.” Peter goes back behind his desk, sits and continues with his work.
I leave his office, and go sit at my desk, sliding the envelope into my bag in the bottom drawer of my desk. I take my phone out and message Shayne:
Keep the 27th of Feb free. I have a surprise. Lx
Right away she replies:
Tell me now, I hate/love surprises.
I message back:
I’ll tell you tonight.
Her response:
Girl, it better be good.
I say:
Oh, it is.
Just as I hit send, Max calls me. “Hello,” I answer.
“Hi Lily. I know you’re at work, and I don’t start until late today. Do you want to have lunch?”
“I’d love that. I go to lunch at twelve-thirty.”
“I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“Okay, bye.”
We hang up and I get to work, pushing the excitement of today to the side and concentrating on what I need to do.
I grab my coat and walk downstairs. The cold has started to ease, and we’re not getting as much snow now as we have been. It’s still cold and we still have snow, just not as much.
I can see Max standing near the checkouts waiting for me. The moment he sees me, his eyes light up and he comes toward me. “Hello, Snowflake,” he says, as he leans down and gives me a quick kiss on the lips. “How’s work?” he asks.
“Today’s been surreal,” I say as we begin to walk toward the café we go to.
“How so?” He moves his hand to link our fingers together, and it momentarily startles me. “Is this okay, may I hold your hand?” he asks, as we slow our walk and he looks to me.
Why does it not bother me? Is it because I’m comfortable around Max and just know he’ll never hurt me? “It’s okay,” I say as he tightens his grip around my fingers. “You’re not working until late?”
“No, I’m only on from four until nine tonight.” We walk to the café, and he opens the door for me. I step through and he then ushers us to the table we’ve pretty much claimed as our own. Max pulls the chair out for me, then once I’m seated, he sits opposite me. “So, I have something to tell you.”
“Hi Lily, hi Max,” Katie, the regular waitress says as she comes to stand in front of the table. “Hot chocolate and a coffee?” She knows our beverage order.
“Yes please,” both Max and I answer in unison. Then I add, “I’ll have the chicken, mayonnaise and lettuce on a white roll.”
“And I’ll have a burger and fries,” Max says.
“Be back in a few,” Katie says and walks away.
“What is it you have to tell me?”
Max reaches for my hands, and plays with my fingers. “One of the apartments downstairs opened up. It’s not yet vacant, but it will be in a couple of weeks. It’s yours when you’re ready to move.”
“Oh, wow.” I look away.
“You don’t look happy. I already told you I’m not going to interfere. Not once.”
“It’s not that.” Gosh, I feel so dumb even worrying about it, and even stupider at the fact I have to tell him.
“What is it then? Because I can assure you, it’s the safest building in town.”
“No, it’s not that.” Yep, I feel really stupid. “I don’t have furniture yet. And I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford a fridge, let alone everything else for probably another month or so. I’ve got a few editing jobs lined up, but until I get paid from them, I doubt I’ll be able to move in.” I take a deep breath. Although I really want to move in, because it is so safe, I’m going to have to do the right thing. “Just rent it out, it’s not fair for you to have to wait for me to have the money to furnish it.”
“No need to worry about that. All the apartments come with a fridge, a washing machine and dryer, bar stools for the kitchen, and a TV and DVD player. The kitchen is fully equipped with plates and everything, and all you need is a sofa and your bedroom furniture.”
“The kitchen is equipped with everything? How does that work?”
“When a tenant moves in, it’s part of the contract they sign. I provide a certain amount of cutlery, plates glasses, things like that. When they move out, we donate them to different charities and replace them with new. It’s part of the fees they pay.”