Page 48 of Clever Deceit

“I’ll make an extra cup of tea for Barry,” Lily suggested. “Back in a minute.”

Diane hardly seemed to notice her daughter as the two of us backed off to the kitchen, trying to work out just what was going on there.

“Have you ever met that guy before?” I asked Lily, and she shook her head.

“I don’t think I’ve so much as set foot in his hardware store,” she replied. “And I have no idea why my mom would have been, either. I don’t think she was even any good with the toy tools I had growing up, let alone doing anything around the house...”

She raised her eyebrows at me and turned to make the teas.

“Do you think something’s going on there?” she asked. It had crossed my mind. Barry had certainly made a point to come down here the first chance he got, and they seemed very friendly for just a customer and a store owner.

Lily finished making the tea and bought it out to Barry and Diane, who were laughing about something together in the living room. Diane glanced up as we came in, and I could see that her eyes were lit up with excitement. She looked so young, like a teenager with her first crush.

“Sorry to keep your mother from you,” Barry told Lily as he took the tea she handed him. “I know you must have missed her, what with her being away in the hospital recently...”

“Miss her?” Lily exclaimed. “I couldn’t wait to get rid of her. The more you can take her off my hands, the better!”

We all laughed. I loved seeing Lily like this, so bright and full of life. Cracking jokes like things were completely back to normal. We sipped on our tea together, and Lily got her mother her medication, insisting she take it.

“Oh, I really don’t feel that bad,” she told her daughter, trying to brush it off.

“Come on, Diane,” Barry chided her gently. “You know she just wants the best for you.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Diane sighed, and she dutifully took her meds. She glanced out the window, where the sun was shining down outside.

“I could use some fresh air,” she remarked suddenly.

“Maybe I could take you out on a little walk?” Barry suggested.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Lily protested, but Diane waved her hand.

“I’ve been cooped up in a hospital for the last few days,” she reminded her. “It’ll do me good to stretch my legs. We won’t go far. And we’ll bring Silver.”

Lily paused for a moment, considering it, but she seemed to figure that there was no point arguing with her mother on this.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt,” she replied. “Barry, are you okay to help her?”

“Of course!” Barry replied brightly, hardly able to keep the grin off his face. It was clear he really liked Diane, and, judging by the way she was looking at him right now, the feeling was mutual.

They headed out with Diane’s crutches, Silver trotting along beside them, and Lily leaned in the window to watch them.

“I feel like she’s a teenager and I’m her mom,” she muttered, shaking her head and smiling to herself.

“Hey, she’s acting like a teenager around him,” I pointed out. “I can’t say I blame you.”

“She really is,” she agreed, watching the two of them as they headed down the path and away from the house. “She really likes him.”

“And what do you think of him?”

“It’s obvious he likes her, too,” she replied. “And I think he could be a good match for her. He seems to have her sense of humor. And he’s got a business, so he’s at least a little sensible. Though I’m not sure how sensible a man could be when he’s trying to get with my mother...”

She smiled fondly and took a sip of her tea. “We’ll see how it goes, I guess,” she remarked, and she took a seat on the couch opposite me.

“You still didn’t tell me how that meeting with the other women went,” I reminded her. She blinked, as though she had almost forgotten about it.

“You’re right,” she replied. “Sorry, it’s just been so crazy, with everything that’s been going on...”

“It’s all right,” I assured her. “You don’t have to apologize to me, you know that.”