This time, instead of not wanting to see her, Cherry studied her. The way she was built, the way she walked, the way she stood. How she leaned ever so slightly over the counter when placing her order. How she turned and caught Cherry looking and gave her a reassuring smile, even though she must’ve known Cherry was sizing her up.
I walk like her.
The thought shot through Cherry’s head as Lila headed toward the table with her coffee. She didn’t bounce at all when she walked, just sort of glided along the floor, and Cherry knew she did the same thing. Shea had poked fun at it once or twice. Called her Michelle Kwan because Shea said it looked like she was skating rather than walking.
Lila pulled out the chair and sat. She looked much like she had last time, like a regular person. Somebody’s mom. Her hair was fluffy but neat, her dark eyes observant, her outfit simple—jeans and a T-shirt.
“Do you burn easily?” she blurted before she even knew she was thinking the question.
If Lila was surprised, she didn’t show it. “Like a lobster.” She grinned and held out a leg. “Thus, the jeans in summer.”
She nodded slowly, taking that in. And then, suddenly, she had no idea what to say. She’d rehearsed several versions of the speech she’d planned, but strangely, they all flew from her head, and she was left with a big ol’ blank where her thoughts used to be.
Lila took the lid off her coffee, blew on it, sipped, and did not seem rushed at all. She didn’t hurry Cherry along. She simply smiled gently and waited. After all, Cherry had called this meeting. Lila was obviously waiting for her to take the lead.
Cherry took a big breath, blew it out, and made the decision. “Okay. I’m gonna dive right in then.” She reached into the bag on the floor by her feet and pulled out Lila’s letters, which she’d rubber-banded into three stacks. She set them on the table, and Lila gave a little gasp. “I just found these recently. After our last meeting. In my dad’s stuff. With the exception of the first one, they were all unopened.”
Lila’s big eyes, a shade of brown so like hers, filled with tears, andshe clamped a hand over her mouth as if to keep any wayward sobs in. She took a moment. Cherry saw her swallow twice, then she seemed to pull herself together. She removed her hand, cleared her throat, and said, “You found them.”
“Yeah. Dad had hidden them. And I swear to God, I don’t know who I should be more pissed off at, you or him.”
Lila frowned and looked into her coffee cup. “I get that.”
“No. You don’t. Forgive me for being a bitch about it, but you absolutelydo notget it.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry. And you’re not being a bitch, but you have every right to be if you want to. I apologize.” No argument. No defense. Just an apology. Okay, that was surprising. Lila took a closer look at the stacks. “You opened them then?”
“I did. Read them all. Was gonna bring you back the cash because I don’t really want anything from you, but then decided to hell with that, I earned it.”
A nod from Lila. “That’s totally fair. It was meant for you anyway. I wouldn’t want it back.”
Okay. Fine. That was good. Cherry sipped her now very cold coffee and wished she’d taken Lila up on her offer to get her something. At the same time, she felt jittery enough. More caffeine wasn’t going to help.
The silence went on for what felt like forever but was probably only a minute or two.
“So,” she began, slowly turning the cup between her fingertips. “What do you do in Durham? Do you have a job? Are you married?” She glanced at the diamond on Lila’s ring finger. “I assume so. Kids? Well,otherkids?” Yeah, snarky. It was allowed.
More slow nodding from Lila. Cherry was starting to understand this was a nervous habit of hers. Or maybe something she did while she organized her thoughts. “I do data entry for a medical billing company. I work from home, which means I can work on the road, too. That’s how I’ve been able to be here indefinitely.”
That hadn’t even occurred to Cherry, and she took it in, the fact that Lila had been away from her home for weeks, judging by how many times she’d been in the diner before actually approaching her. “You’ve been here a long time.”
“Two months, actually.” Lila laughed, but there was an edge to it.“To answer the rest, yes, I am married. I also have a son. Noah. He’s nineteen and in college at NC State.”
I have a brother.Cherry blinked rapidly as her brain took in this information as well. Wow. “Do they know you’re here and why?”
More nodding. “They do. They encouraged it, in fact.”
“Really.”
“Yes. I’ve been…struggling lately. We all sat down and talked about it, and they pushed me to come here and try to meet you, try to explain, try to apologize.” Lila’s voice was quiet, barely a whisper, and her eyes filled.
Cherry swallowed down the sudden lump in her throat, annoyed that Lila’s emotion was affecting her. She absently sipped her coffee, then grimaced.
“Look. Cherry. I’m not asking you to forgive me. What I did to you was unforgivable. I’m not asking you for anything. I wasn’t even sure I’d get to meet you, and if I did, I wasn’t sure it would go beyond you telling me to fuck off and leaving. So this?” She waved a finger between the two of them. “This is so much more than I was even hoping for. And I want to thank you so much for sitting down with me. Twice now. I can never apologize enough to you, but I want you to know that I’m so happy and so grateful to be sitting across from you in this moment. You are more beautiful than I imagined. You’re smart and you’re creative, and I’m just so grateful.”
The lump was back. Bigger. Dammit. She cleared her throat. “How do you know I’m creative?”
“Are you kidding? I’ve been following Cherry on Top since the beginning. I love it. It’s so much fun.”
