“Seattle.”
“Is your family still there?”
“I don’t have any family. They’re dead.”
I removed the washcloth and took a cotton ball from the edge of the counter. “This is going to sting, but I know that you’re a big boy, and you can handle it.” I dabbed his cut on the side of his hand with the antiseptic soaked cotton ball.
“Fuck!” he screamed and tried to pull his hand away.
“Do you always use that kind of language?” I asked.
“Only when someone’s hurting me!” he exclaimed.
“Stop being a baby and man up.”
“Don’t tell me to man up!”
“Fine,” I said.
I put the Band-Aid on his hand. “There, all better. Now get back to fixing my shower.”
He looked at me and got up from the toilet. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said as I walked out of the bathroom.
I took a teabag from the cupboard and made some tea. I took my cup and sat down at the table. About thirty minutes later, Luke emerged from the bathroom.
“You’re all set,” he said.
“Great. Thank you. Can I offer you a beer?” I asked, not sure why those words escaped my lips.
“No, I need to go. Enjoy the rest of your evening,” he said as he walked out of my apartment.
5
Luke
I opened the door to my apartment and set my tool box by the closet. I looked at my watch, and it was almost time for Mrs. Clements to bring Charley home. I walked outside to wait for her. Charley takes a dance class after school with her best friend, Allie. Allie’s mom picks the girls up from school, takes them to dance class, and then drops Charley off at my place. When Maddie works the day shift at the bar, she usually doesn’t get off work until 6:00 p.m. She doesn’t work many nights, but when she does, Charley spends the night at my place.
“Hey, peanut, how was your first day of school?” I asked her as I carried her backpack inside.
“It was great, but I’m hungry,” she pouted.
“What do you want to eat?” I asked.
“Grilled cheese,” she smiled.
“One grilled cheese sandwich coming right up,” I said as I got out the pan. “Tell me about your day.”
“I love my new teacher. She’s so nice and super pretty.”
“Is that so?” I asked. “What’s her name?”
“Miss Gilmore.”
I made Charley her grilled cheese sandwich and listened to her as she told me all about her day.
“Uncle Luke, what happened to your hand?” she asked as she looked at the Band-Aid.
“Yeah, Uncle Luke, what happened to your hand?” Sam asked as he walked through the door smiling.
“It’s just a cut from fixing the shower next door. It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Do you have homework, Charley?” I asked.
“Nope. Miss Gilmore said we would all be too tired from our first day to concentrate on homework, so she didn’t give us any.”
“She sounds like a cool teacher,” I smiled.
“She’s really cool, and you would like her.”
I walked out of the kitchen as she said that and sat down on the couch. Sam opened a beer, handed it to me, and sat on the chair across from me.
“How did it go at Lily’s?”
“It went fine, except I cut myself,” I said.
“I invited Gretchen to go with us to the beach this weekend, and I think you should invite Lily.”
I looked at Sam and sighed. “Your hang up with me and Lily is getting old. I’m not interested. If you want her to join us at the beach this weekend, ask her yourself.”
“Fine, I will,” he said as he pulled out his phone.
Charley came over and sat next to me. “Can I watch SpongeBob Squarepants?”
I put my arm around her, and she snuggled up against me. I turned on her show, and looked over at Sam as he started laughing.
“What is so funny?” I asked.
“Lily asked if you were going to the beach, and when I told her yes, she said no. You two are going to kill me.”
I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t stop thinking about how Lily told me that her family was dead. I couldn’t imagine not having my family. I haven’t seen any guys coming around, so I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Not that it matters, I’m just surprised that someone as beautiful as her doesn’t have one.
The door opened, and Maddie walked in.
“Mommy!” Charley exclaimed as she jumped up from the couch.
“Baby, how was school?” she asked as Charley jumped in her arms.
“Hey, Maddie,” I said as I kissed her on the cheek. “How was work?”
“It was the same as every other day. I got hit on a few times. A couple of drunken guys grabbed my ass. You know; the usual.”
“Yeah, well I better never see them grabbing your ass, otherwise I’ll kick theirs,” I said.
“Tell Uncle Luke and Uncle Sammy goodbye, Charley.”
“Bye, Charley,” Sam smiled from the couch.
“Bye, peanut,” I said as I held out my fist to hers.
“Later gator,” we both said at the same time.
I walked over and sat back down on the couch. “Do you know anything about Lily’s past?”
Sam shot me a look. “No, but why are you asking?”
“I don’t know. It’s just something she said earlier.”
“What did she say?” Sam asked.
“I asked her where she’s from and she said Seattle. I asked if her family lived there, but she said that she doesn’t have any family and that they’re dead.”
Sam looked at me, and his mouth dropped. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously, dude.”
“Wow, poor Lily, to be all alone with no family. That’s awful.”
Sam got up from the chair to take a shower. He was taking Gretchen out on a date.
I grabbed an ice-cold beer from the fridge and sat back down on the couch. My phone beeped, and there was a text message from Lucky.
“Dude, come to the bar tonight; there’s some really hot chicks here, and I scored us a gig for Saturday night.”
I wasn’t in the mood for the bar tonight. I replied back.
“Sorry, Lucky, not tonight, and thanks for the gig on Saturday.”
I got up from the couch and grabbed my guitar. I sat back down, and as I was going to begin to play, I heard music coming from the other side of the wall. Lily was playing her guitar. The song she was playing sounded familiar. As I strummed a few chords, the music from the other side of the wall stopped. I played a short tune and waited. Lily played it right back. I strummed another tune, something a little more difficult, and then I waited. A few seconds later, she played it back. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Is that a smile I just saw on your face, Luke?” Sam said as he walked by.
“No, and where are you taking Gretchen?” I asked to change the subject.
“I’m taking her to a new restaurant for dinner and then maybe a movie after.”
“Have a good time,” I said as Sam headed out the door.
I strummed a few more chords and waited for Lily to strum back, but she never did. I decided to try and write a new song. It’s been a year since I’ve written anything. Ever since…
6
Lily
“Hello,” I said as I answered Gretchen’s call.
“Guess what I’m doing tonight,” she said.
“I don’t know, taking a bubble bath and shaving your legs?”
“No, Lily, stop it! I’m going on a date with Sam!”
“Ah, so he finally called you. That’s great, Gretchen; I’m happy for you.”