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She nodded. “Yup. And there was a time when I would have been thrilled by them doing that, but…I had zero interest in him.” Then she smiled. “And that’s because you’re the one I’m interested in, Noah.”
“Lily…”
“I’m just saying…I love my friends, but there’s kind of a disconnect there that I don’t know what to do with. I left to pursue my dreams and I created a life that I wanted. They did the same. It just feels like maybe we’ve drifted apart.” She shrugged. “Or maybe I was just in a mood because I didn’t get my way.”
He could honestly see it going either way. “And what about your sisters? Have you talked to them since you came home?”
“I have, but not for very long. They’re both involved in a lot of things at school and other than a few texts, we really haven’t been in touch. I probably should try a little harder to pin them down and get their take on what’s going on with our grandfather, but I also don’t want to freak them out and worry them if this isn’t anything.”
“Okay, that makes sense. But maybe you can reach out to them and…not talk about your grandfather and maybe just talk about what you’re going through with your injury.”
“I downplayed it all this time. Like…even when it happened and I was in so much pain and unsure of what was going to happen, I didn’t tell anyone how bad it was or how I was freaking out.”
“Why? I would think you would have wanted everyone around you. And I’m not saying that in a bad way; I just consider you to all be really close.”
“We are, but…I got weird about this injury because it happened so dramatically and then I went into denial. Part of me still is, even though I have all these doctors telling me how bad it really is.”
“Have you been doing the physical therapy since you came home?”
She shook her head. “Not like I should be,” she murmured.
“Lily…”
“Denial, Noah! I just said…”
“Yeah, I get it, but you have to realize how much more harm you’re doing to yourself! I would have thought you’d be going above and beyond what the therapist told you to do so that you could get back to dancing faster.”
She didn’t respond. Instead, she took a bite of her burger and then played with her fries before eating a handful of them while staring at him defiantly.
“Are you even going to keep the appointment you have on Friday?”
“I don’t know. It’s all the way in Chapel Hill and that’s a little over a two-hour drive. Not that it’s a big deal, but it turns a one-hour appointment into an all-day event. And what’s the point if it’s just going to be more of the same?”
“Maybe it won’t be,” he countered. “Maybe this is the doctor who’ll suggest an alternate treatment.”
“It’s all just more bad news that’s keeping me from dancing. If I have the surgery, the recovery time from it is ridiculous and then I still might not be able to do everything.”
“Okay, but there will still be a lot that you can do. You’re looking at this in a very pessimistic way.”
Another fistful of fries went into her mouth and he knew a stalling tactic when he saw one.
“How would you feel if something happened to you that kept you from your job, Noah?” she challenged. “What would you do if you couldn’t work for almost a year and when you finally could go back, you could only give eighty percent? Would you be happy about it? After all the work you put into getting where you are, would you really be excited to go back knowing you'd never be as good as you were before?"
While he knew something like that really didn’t apply to his own career, he understood what she was saying. “I’d like to think that I’d just be grateful that I could go back at all in any capacity. Would I be disappointed sometimes? Sure. That’s just human nature. But I also know I’d do whatever I could to make the most of the situation.”
“I had forgotten how optimistic you were,” she mumbled.
“Is it the surgery that’s bothering you or the recovery?”
“Both.”
There was no way he was going to change her mind about any of this. Right now, she was struggling and dealing with a lot of emotions, and he had to let her feel what she was feeling.
Finishing up his lunch, he figured a change of topic was in order.
“How about dinner and a movie tonight?” he suggested. “There’s a great Mediterranean place around the corner from the movie theater. There are a couple of new releases that I was curious about, so I’m sure we can find one we both want to see.” Then he paused. “Or is William going to be home tonight?”
“Uncle Robert said they were going to stay one more night in Raleigh, or wherever they are, and they’d be home Thursday morning. I plan on being in the house waiting for them.”
