Page 46 of Clever Deceit

“I’ve been eating hospital food for way too long,” she complained. “I need something real. I heard one of the nurses talking about a Thai place near here, how about that?”

Lily’s face lit up before she could stop it.

“That’s your favorite, isn’t it, Lily?” her mother continued. “I could take you out for your birthday! And get rid of the taste of all that rotten hospital food in the process.”

“Sure,” Lily sighed, probably figuring there was no way to talk her mother out of this. “Let’s try it out. Did you get the name of the place...?”

She managed to dig it up pretty quickly, and we drove the few miles down the road to a nearby town with the Thai restaurant. It was very quiet there, being so early in the day, and we were seated at once, menus whisked in front of us in a matter of moments.

“Oh, it all looks so good,” Diane groaned as she cast her eye over the menu. I reached out to give Lily’s hand a squeeze under the table. I had plans for her birthday when we got home, but right now, I just wanted her to have the best time she could. I knew this could hardly have been how she was expecting to spend her special day, but that didn’t mean it had to be a write-off.

“I want a little of everything,” Diane announced confidently. “You want to share some plates with me, Lily?”

“Sounds good,” Lily replied, and I could hear her stomach grumbling beneath the table. We hadn’t eaten much last night beyond the snacks I’d grabbed from the machine, and we had been plenty active enough to burn off that energy since then. No wonder she was so hungry. I smirked to myself, hoping her mom didn’t notice.

The waiter came back and took Diane’s incredibly long order, and, a few minutes later, the table was piled with pretty much every kind of food this place had to offer. Diane tucked in happily, and Lily began eating too. Silver was in the car outside, but I was sure she was watching all of us eat with a sad, hopeful expression on her face, wondering if we were going to bring back any for her.

“Oh, this stuff is so good,” Diane remarked as she sighed and leaned back from the table to take a brief break from her eating. “What do you think, Lily?”

“It’s really good,” she agreed. “Thanks for this, Mom. I really need it.”

“Not at all, honey,” she replied, reaching over to give her hand a squeeze. “Thank you so much for picking me up. I’m sorry you had to come out here on your birthday, but I...oh, can I give you your present now? I’ve been holding on to it for so long, I just want to give it to you already...”

“Sure,” Lily replied. “You brought it with you to the hospital?”

“Just in case,” she replied. “I didn’t want to have to miss out on giving you your birthday present.”

Lily’s face softened as her mother spoke, and I could see how much it meant to her, to have her mother care for her like this. She had been away for so long, cut off from this kind of maternal warmth, and she clearly never wanted it to happen like that again.

From a small bag hooked over the back of her chair, Diane pulled out a little box wrapped in gold paper. She handed it to Lily, who tore off the wrapping, popped it open—and gazed in shock at what was inside.

“Mom, this is...” she murmured, gently lifting the pendant out of the velvet box it had been sitting in.

“It’s an opal,” she explained. “Isn’t it beautiful? I saw it and thought of you right away, it’ll look so beautiful on you.”

Lily tried to clip the necklace on to herself, but she fumbled with the clasp. I got to my feet and brushed her hair out of the way so I could do it for her.

“I’ve got it,” I murmured, and she let her hands fall down to her lap as I secured the chain around her neck. My fingers brushed against her neck slightly, and I had to push down the thoughts of desire that rose up inside of me the moment we touched.

“There,” I remarked, stepping back from her. Diane clasped her hands in front of herself happily.

“Oh, it looks just as lovely as I thought it would,” she told her. “Do you like it, Lily?”

“I love it,” she replied. “Thank you, Mom.”

She got up to give her mom a hug, and I smiled as I watched them. I had my own present waiting for Lily at home, and I was so looking forward to giving it to her.

And soon enough, we were back on the road once more. Well, once Diane was satisfied—she practically licked the plates clean and insisted on getting a coffee for the road. She sat in the back with Silver, who hung her head out the window in the cool breeze, panting as we headed back home once more.

“I’ll take Silver in and get her fed,” Lily told us when we pulled up outside her mom’s place. That left Diane and me with the car—I offered her an arm to help her out, but she shook her head and straightened up herself.

She was doing better than I had expected her to be. I could still remember how bad things had been in the aftermath of the accident, but she seemed to be handling herself well. She was tough, tougher than I had given her credit for.

“You’re doing great,” I told Diane, as I followed her to the front steps of the house.

“I’m not that old,” she protested, laughing and shaking her head. “Still some life in the old girl yet!”

“I know, but you’ve been through a lot,” I told her. “You should be proud of yourself. Not everyone has this much resilience. Trust me, I saw plenty of guys who would have struggled more than you in the service.”