I rolled my eyes and turned away from her. She was throwing my own advice back in my face. Wrapping her arms around my waist, she asked me to please stay calm for her. I sighed, turned around, and kissed her forehead. I grabbed her hand, and I led her to the table where Maddie and Adam were sitting.
“Hi, Adam, I’m Lily Gilmore, Luke’s girlfriend. It’s nice to meet you,” she said as she extended her hand to him.
“Hi, Lily. It’s nice to meet you too.” Adam smiled as he took her hand and shook it.
Seeing him touch Lily made me sick, and I wanted to fucking punch him right then and there. But, I promised I would stay calm for Lily’s sake.
“Would you like to explain why you just showed up here without calling?” I asked as I folded my arms and leaned back in the chair.
“Before I answer that, I just want to congratulate you on the bar. I was very surprised when I walked up and saw the sign.”
I didn’t say a word to him. I just sat there and stared him down as he continued to speak.
“I’m a changed man—”
“The fuck you are!” I exclaimed.
Lily looked over at me and gave me a dirty look. “Watch your mouth,” she said with a serious tone.
“I’m clean, and I have been for over a year. I don’t drink, I don’t do drugs, and I’ve quit smoking cigarettes. If you don’t believe me, then I can do a drug test for you.”
“Why this sudden change of character?” I asked.
“Because I hit rock bottom and almost died. I guess you could say I had an epiphany, because when I woke up in that hospital bed, alone and scared, I knew I couldn’t live my life like that anymore. So, I checked myself into one of the best rehab programs in the country and they helped me.”
“Then why the hell didn’t you come see your daughter like you promised her you would? Do you have any idea how you broke that little girl’s heart?”
Adam sighed and looked at Maddie. “The reason I couldn’t visit was because I’m a sponsor, and the person I’m sponsoring, who had been clean for six months, decided to shoot himself up with heroine the night before I was supposed to leave. I had an obligation to be there for him and help him.”
I got out of my seat and slammed my fists on the table. “You have an obligation to your daughter!” I yelled.
Lily grabbed my arm. “Luke, that’s enough!”
As I took in a deep breath, I sat down. I was angry that he would put a drug addict before his daughter, and I wanted to kill him.
“I understand you being angry, Luke; trust me, I do. After waking up in that hospital and realizing that I had almost died, the only two people I could think about were Maddie and Charley, and how I was given a second chance.”
“Wow,” Lily said.
I looked at her and rolled my eyes as she smacked me on the arm. “Stop it!” she spat.
“You’re full of shit, Adam, and I don’t believe one word of what you’re saying. You’ve done way too much damage, and you left a trail of tears and scars with Maddie and Charley, and I will not let you walk back into their normal lives and fuck everything up!”
Suddenly, I heard a small voice from across the bar. “Daddy?” Charley said as she stood a few feet away from Adam.
“There’s my baby girl.” He smiled as he got out of his chair and held his arms out to her.
Charley ran to him and threw her arms around him as he picked her up and swung her around.
“Let me look at you,” he said as he put her down. “You’re beautiful, and you’re so grown up,” he said as he hugged her.
“Daddy, what are you doing here?” she asked.
“I came to see you and Mommy.”
I looked over at Maddie as she took in the moment between her daughter and her daughter’s father. I shook my head because I knew by the look on her face that she believed him, and she was going to let him back into their lives.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, Maddie?” I asked as I took a hold of her arm and led her to the back room.
“I know what you’re going to say, Luke, but there’s a part of me that believes him.”
“Damn it, Maddie! I knew this was going to happen.”
Maddie pointed her finger in my face. “Listen to me. I owe it to Charley to give her father a chance.”
“You can’t relate, Luke, because you grew up with a mother and father who loved each other and were there for you and Maddie,” Lily said as she walked up behind me. “Let’s go out to dinner tonight and have some general conversation; maybe you’ll be able to see things differently.”
“That’s a great idea, Lily.” Maddie smiled.
“What do you say, Luke?” Lily asked me as she wrapped her arms around my waist.
“Whatever. I have to go. I have work to do,” I said as I stormed off and went to my office.
38
Lily
I could see the anger in his eyes as he stormed off into his office. Maddie looked over at me with tears in her eyes.
“He’s so angry, and he has so much hatred for Adam that I don’t think he’ll ever accept him.”
As I gave her a hug, I told her that I would talk to him. We walked back to the table where Adam was talking to Charley. Maddie excused herself as she pulled out her phone to make a phone call. When she came back to the table, she told Charley to get her things ready, because Mrs. Clements was coming to pick her up, take her to dance class, and then home with her so she could play with Allie for a while. Charley whined, and she said that she didn’t want to go.
“You have to go to dance class if you’re going to dance for me,” Adam said to her.
“But I want to stay with you,” she whined.
“I want you to stay too, but dance class is a little more important. So, I’ll tell you what, you go to dance class, and tomorrow, when you get home from school, I’ll take you and your mom out somewhere really fun.”
Charley’s eyes lit up as she looked over at Maddie. “Can we, Mom?”
Maddie smiled and patted her head. “Yeah, that sounds great,” she said as she looked at Adam.
Charley gave Adam a hug and a kiss goodbye as Maddie took her outside to wait for Mrs. Clements. I looked Adam over as he watched Maddie and Charley walk out of the bar. As much as I hated to admit it, he was hot. He stood over six feet tall with a nice build, and he wore his light brown hair short. I saw a lot of him in Charley, especially in their bluish-green eyes.
Adam turned and looked at me. “Regardless of what everyone tells you, I love that little girl more than anything in this world, and I came back here to make things right with her.”
“Listen, Adam, I don’t know you, and I’m not judging you. But, you have a track record and a history. I came from a father that was somewhat like you, and he fucked me up, and now I’m in therapy because of him. So, I just want to let you know that I love that little girl too, and I won’t stand by and let you ruin her if you decide to go back to your old life.”
Luke came walking up behind me just as I finished my sentence. “Are you ready to go?” he asked me.
“Yes, I am. Adam, we’ll see you later for dinner. Maddie will fill you in on the details.”
He looked down and nodded his head. “Thanks, Lily, Luke; I’ll see you both later.”
Luke just shot him a look and put his arm around me as we walked out of the bar. “I heard what you said to him,” he said.
“Ok, and?”
“Nothing, I just thought you were pretty bad ass.” He smiled as he brushed his lips against mine.
As I climbed into the Explorer, Luke got on his bike, and we headed home.
“You better be nice at dinner,” I said to Luke as he was in the shower, and I was touching up my makeup.