AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You just drank a bottle last night,” Scott said, confused.
“I can drink on the weekends,” Maria said, her nose in the air.
“That’s right, it’s like Lent, giving up something to prepare for the birth,” Poppy said. “I gave up chocolate. Fortunately, there’s no chocolate in baklava.” She leaned forward and took a piece, popping the entire thing in her mouth.
“I’ll head out now,” Jason said, getting up and stretching. “Tell Dad I’ll be at the garage in the morning. My electric bill needs to be paid. Only six more months of poverty and I’ll start collecting a paycheck.”
“Jesus, buddy, your abs are awesome,” Scott said, looking down at his paunch.
Poppy reached over and tickled Jason’s bare stomach where his shirt and sweater had crept up.
“What are you going to do if you don’t get a match in Detroit?” Ted asked, not looking forward to saying goodbye to his brother.
“I’ll move to Philadelphia,” he said. “You can visit me there.”
Ted was a frequent visitor to Jason’s Greektown apartment. He’d seriously considered moving there himself.
John was still snoring, so Jason said goodbye to Maria’s children and left quietly. The realization that Lily would soon be living at his apartment made him happy. There were a few things he needed to do—paying for her parking space the most important. A bus stopped in front of his building that would take them right to school once it started again, and her car would rarely move unless she wanted to visit her parents.
Not allowing himself to think too far in advance, he kept the desire to move to Philadelphia from his family. He’d already visited there twice, going home during breaks with a classmate of his who lived in Germantown. Jason loved it, immediately drawn to everything that he loved about Detroit: the history, architecture, and proximity to the water, without the blight. There were areas in Philly where wise men didn’t venture out alone after dark, but not like Motor City. His friend took him to a Greek restaurant that was so wonderful. If he got a residency in Philly, he’d take his parents to dinner there.
Lily was already parked on the street, waiting for him. He pulled up alongside her. “Follow me down,” he called out, pointing to the parking garage.
Starting her car again, Lily smiled to herself; just seeing Jason thrilled her. She might be in love with him, too. Not a romantic by a long shot, she could feel her old misconceptions being slowly chiseled away. Not every decision needed Herbert’s approval. She’d spent the weekend with Jason, and Herbert didn’t have a heart attack. Moving her things out to her tiny car with her mother’s help didn’t bring on the end of the world. While they carried the last load out, Herbert stood in the doorway and Lily swore he was crying.
“Oh great, is Dad crying?” she’d asked.
Suzette turned around to look at him. “Just ignore it. He’ll be fine.”
“I’d better say goodbye to him,” Lily said, frowning. “That’s all I need is for him to die tonight and I left without hugging him.”
Suzette bit her tongue to keep from laughing, but she did give her daughter a little push toward the house. “He’ll be fine. But it’s a nice gesture. We’ll have Christmas, and I hope you’ll come and bring Jason.”
“Mother, of course,” she said, leading the way up the path. Herbert opened the door for them. “Goodbye, Dad, I’ll see you tomorrow. I have to come back for another carload.”
“I could have taken a load for you,” he said, sniffing while he hugged his daughter.
“No, that’s okay. I know you’re not happy about this, so let’s not get crazy about it.”
Hugging him back, Lily was glad she had approached her dad, and now that she was in the underground garage with Jason, she knew that it was the right thing, the timing was perfect. If they’d waited until after Christmas, it would have been twice as painful.
“Here she is,” Jason said, opening Lily’s door.
“Ready or not,” she replied, standing on her toes to kiss him. “Thank you for letting me move in.”
He ducked down and looked in the backseat. “What do you have here? Looks like a dress shop.”
“Ha! It’s just my winter clothes. I didn’t think you’d appreciate everything at once. My dad even offered to bring a load.”
Carrying armloads of clothes up three flights of stairs precluded an explanation about it until they got everything inside and stacked on his bed.
“You can have the closet in here. I’ll move my stuff into the spare room. So tell me about your dad.”
“It’s no biggie, but I decided to say goodbye to him because you know he’s old and just in case…and he said he would have helped. I told him not to get crazy.”
He helped her hang things up next to his. “I’ll buy you a dresser tomorrow.”
“I can keep my things right in the laundry baskets,” she said. “Let’s just clear the bed off so we can get in to watch TV. My favorite programs are on Sunday night.”
