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On the first day of his new life, as his family expected, Jason was a big hit with the females, but he wasn’t interested. He could only think of one thing, and that was getting through one day without breaking down thinking about Lily Fairchild.
Lily Fairchild, on the other hand, also got a job, not ideal, but acceptable, clerking for a judge who had been a friend of Herbert’s. Not exactly criminal defense, as she wanted, but a step in the right direction while she waited to take the bar exam at the end of July.
After work on a Friday afternoon in mid July, Lily stopped by her favorite discount department store, not thinking that the few times she went there with Jason would make a difference. But it was disastrous. The same song she and Jason had danced to in Greektown was playing on the canned music, the words from “Unchained Melody” echoing through her brain, and without missing a beat, tears came to the surface and poured down her cheeks, blinding her so that she ran into another shopping cart.
“Mrs. Karas!”
Poppy Karas turned, shocked, and then when it sank in whom she was looking at, she couldn’t help herself. Turning up her nose, she shoved her cart away from Lily’s and rushed off.
“Mrs. Karas, I’m sorry,” Lily cried. “It was an accident.”
Turning back, Poppy pulled her cart alongside Lily’s. “An accident? You broke my son’s heart. That was no accident.”
“I had to move back with my mother,” she cried. “My father blamed me for his heart attack. I left home to live with Jason, and the only way I could get over leaving him was by shutting him out. I’m sorry I hurt him. I still love Jason.”
Shocked hearing the words spoken, Lily burst into tears again. She loved Jason, had never stopped loving him.
“Don’t tell me that,” Poppy said, determined. “Tell Jason before it’s too late.”
“Why would it be too late?” Lily asked urgently. “Does he have someone else?”
“He’s in Philadelphia now, and let me tell you, he’s taking that place by storm. Every girl we passed turned to stare at my son. His heart is broken now, but it won’t take long for him to move on. If you’re smart, you won’t let a man like my son get away.”
Nose in the air again, Poppy Karas pushed off with her cart, a dignified mother who’d had enough of the snobs in their town, and Lily Fairchild was the daughter of the head of the snobs, even if he was dead. Then it occurred to her that she hadn’t said anything about Herbert to Lily, so she turned around again.
“And also, I’m so sorry about your father. I sent flowers to the funeral home, but chances are they were thrown away before your mother got to see them. I’m sure your father would be very proud of the way you treated my son.”
That did it, and Lily bowed her head and bawled uncontrollably. Poppy watched her, a little guilty, but hoping her words made an impact. She wanted to shake the girl up, not destroy her. Putting her arm around Lily, she led her out of the throng of shoppers.
“Let’s go to the back of the store to the coffee kiosk, okay? We both need to regroup.”
“I’m sorry they turned Jason away from the funeral,” Lily said. “My friends told me what had happened, and there just didn’t seem like any way I could make it up to him. I had to finish school and help my mother through her grief.”
“How’s Suzette doing?” Poppy asked.
“Better than I am,” Lily answered. “My father made her life complicated, and now that’s no longer an issue. She actually seems happy.”
Poppy let her talk, and the more she said, the clearer it became that Lily was operating on guilt and fear.
“Are you happy?” Poppy asked.
“No, actually, I’m miserable. I miss Jason,” she said, now frankly ugly crying, and she blew her nose on a paper napkin. “But I always felt like he was too good for me, and that hasn’t changed.”
Poppy shook her head. “Lily, why don’t you let Jason decide what’s good enough for him? He loves you. You are the only woman he’s ever loved. He told us and we were all in tears, it was so beautiful. He said that he knew you were the girl for him the minute he laid eyes on you stuck in the snow. If he ends up with someone else, she won’t be the love of his life.
“No offense, dear, but you’re acting like you did in high school. My girl noticed it. She said, ‘Lily’s making decisions like she’s still in high school, only doing what her father would approve of.’ But he’s gone now, and you’re still operating the same way.”
Lowering her head in her hands, Lily sobbed. She knew breaking up with Jason was giving in to fear. Moving home with Suzette was a safety net of not feeling or having to interact. Being alone was just easier, pretending she didn’t care, stuffing her feelings down.
“Here’s his address,” Poppy whispered. “What you do with it is up to you. I won’t tell anyone we talked.”
Pushing her chair back, Poppy felt bad about upsetting Lily, but someone had to be straight with her, and she had shopping to do.
“Goodbye, Mrs. Karas,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Thank you.”
Losing the desire to shop, Lily abandoned the shopping cart and quickly left the air-conditioned store. Heat shimmered off the pavement as she rushed to her car. Getting home was her driving motive, thoughts swirling through her head.
Back in March, Jason had learned he was going to Philadelphia for his residency and never let her know. She’d made it clear to him to leave her alone, but she still thought it was a little odd that he didn’t say goodbye to her.
