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Dad asks, “What brings you by?”
“It’s nice to see you, Geoffrey,” Cormac begins and stops my heart. Just hearing his voice is enough to make me off-kilter. “I’d like to apologize for how I handled things the night I had dinner here. You were a gracious host, and I acted like I knew more about your business than you do. I was an asshole. And I’m sorry for that.”
“Has it been bothering you this whole time, or are you trying to butter me up to make things better with Lily?”
I almost hiss, “Dad!” but I keep my mouth shut.
Cormac laughs, and I have missed that sound. “It’s been bothering me this whole time, and I know Lily well enough to know that no matter how you feel about me, she will always make her own choices about her life, so making nice with you won’t do me any favors with her.”
Mom whispers, “He’s very smart.”
I stifle a smile.
“Well, that is true. She has a mind of her own when it comes to everything. Always has. I accept your apology, but now you owe me one for lying.”
“Lying?”
“I was not a gracious host that night, and I’m sorry for that, Cormac.”
“Forgiven,” Cormac says. “I think we might be a pair of stubborn old goats.”
Dad laughs. “That seems likely.”
“Would it be possible to see Lily?”
“I’m afraid not. She’s not here, and even if she were, she told us she doesn’t want to see you.” All the while Dad tells Cormac this, he is pointing down the hallway. At this point, I’m pretty sure he has no idea we’re watching him. He continues, “It’s a shame, too. I think she’d like to hear an apology or two out of you. I heard about your last dinner date, and it sounds like you have some explaining to do.”
“I’d love the chance to explain everything to her. When will she be back?”
Quietly, Dad says, “Son, I’m trying to tell you she’s here right now. She told us she didn’t want to see you, but that’s just because she’s stubborn like me. Shewantsto talk you. I know my daughter well enough to know that.”
Just as quietly, Cormac tells him, “I figured that out. But I thought I should stall. She probably knows I’m here, right?”
“Seems likely.”
“So, I thought it might be better to give her a chance to call or text if she’s not up to seeing me yet.”
“You’re a good kid. I’ll be right back.” Dad turns, so me and Mom dart back into my room.
Mom says, “You know you have to hear him out, right?”
My heart and head feel fuzzy. “Yeah, I guess.”
Dad pops in. “Hey, kiddo. Not sure if you heard—
“We heard everything, Dad.”
“Well, are you going to talk to him?”
But then Cormac calls out, “Lily, it’s okay if you don’t want to talk. But if you could text me when you get to Manhattan—
“I just…wait a minute.” Throwing looks at both my parents, I spit, “I’m going, I’m going.”
When I come down the hallway and find him at their door, it’s like the world stops spinning. Or it’s spinning too fast.
He’s too pretty, too well groomed, too handsome, too much. God, it’s all too much. But I can’t stop myself from longing for him. I have ever since everything had gone wrong. There’s just so much to say and so much to fix, and I don’t know if I have it in me to say and fix all of that. So many words come to mind all at once, and I blurt the first thing that comes to mind.
“Hi.”
