Page 37 of All the Ugly Things
“Yes sir, enjoy your desserts.”
They giggled again and left, laughing at us but that was okay.
“They think we’re crazy,” Lilly said. After another bite of her first cupcake, she set it down and reached for another. This one was covered with a heavily swirled mound of chocolate frosting on top.
“I don’t care what people think of me.”
“Nice you have that option.” She bit into the second one, chocolatey crumbs gathering at the edges of her lips before she licked them away.
I sat back and watched her, gave her time before I reached for a sliver of chocolate cake drizzled with a chocolate ganache.
“You never asked what you were really thinking, about looking me up online.”
“You’re not married.”
Not at all the first thing I thought she’d mention.
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I haven’t met the woman who looks at me like the way my mother looked at my father and vice versa.”
“Oh.” Blush pooled on her cheeks and she took a drink of her water. “That’s… really sweet.”
I took that blush as a gift. If I wasn’t so afraid of scaring her away, I’d point it out to her, tease her about it, about maybe reacting to knowing I was single—or a romantic at heart. But I didn’t. Because this was a girl with boulders built in front of her for protection, but the very idea she was happy about that was a win.
“What else do you want to know?”
My life was an open book thanks to the internet. I grew up on the edge of Des Moines and West Des Moines, helped my high school team to the state baseball championships three years in a row. Went to the University of Iowa, double majored in finance and economics and then went to work for my father. There were articles written about our fundraisers and our support for charities all geared toward helping the less fortunate.
Everything about me was there for everyone to see. Thankfully, once I graduated college, my personal life was able to stay personal. And most importantly, private.
I reveled in the delicious chocolate cake while Lilly tried a few more cupcakes before going back to the chocolate one. I liked that. That we had something in common, because even though she seemed to like the fruit filled cupcakes, chocolate was what she liked the most.
And I lovedallthings chocolate.
“What would I be doing? If I asked for help?”
Her question came out of nowhere and my fork, filled with the last bite of cake froze halfway to my mouth. I set it down and took a glass of water to wash away my shock.
“First, you’re not asking because we’ve already offered, you’re just accepting it. Second, that’s between you and Dad. He will want to talk with you, see what you’re interested in, what you’d be qualified for or willing to learn. It’s as easy as that. We can help get you a job, you have to be the one to earn the privilege of keeping it. And if you’d be more comfortable you can interview for whichever ones you like, see who you think you’d be more comfortable working with.”
And if she never wanted anything more than that from us, or me, I’d have to live with seeing her every day.
“No special treatment?”
“None. If you can’t hack it, maybe Dad will have you try something else, but it’s his reputation on the line as much as yours. He thinks you’d be a hard worker and that you’re smart enough to handle it. He wouldn’t offer otherwise.”
He would have helped her in some other way. Maybe waited until she graduated and talked to Ellen who he’d spoken to a few times shortly after Lilly’s release to help her get a job somewhere else. There were lots of things he could do to help her if she didn’t want to take a job with us, or if she didn’t like it.
She tilted her head to the side and I felt the internal debate rage in her mind. Take the help or not. Trust me or not. I let her see everything except that which I was hiding, but I was good at that.
Blinking, her expression cleared and she turned back to the dessert tray.
Her fingers hovered over a row of cupcakes before she went to the bottom shelf and grabbed a piece of chocolate cake similar to mine.
“I’ll consider it then.”
