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What would he think of Ellie? I would like for them to meet, but I would have to make her swear to be on her best behavior. We always tend to misbehave in front of each other’s crushes. Not that Henry is my crush, but I think she feels that there is some romantic potential between the two of us. That’s just because she hasn’t been around us while we are together. Being in our shared company would certainly disillusion any romantic thoughts of us being more than…whatever it is we are.
When I return to London, we will begin posting more photos of the two of us. I have to tell Mom about Henry before things get out of hand, and she finds it suspicious. Our trip to the store will be as good a time as any.
“So, I met someone.” I purposely wait until we are stopped at a red light.
“In London? Oh, honey! Tell me all about him!” She turns toward me as she claps her hands together.
“Do you want me to drive, Mom? The light is green.” I point up.
“Oh, goodness, no, I’ll be fine. We are almost there, but keep talking! What’s his name, what does he do for a living, how did you meet?”
Deep breath, you can do this. You just have to lie to your mother about a fake relationship.At least here are some completely true parts. “We met at the coffee shop near my apartment. He’s a little older than I am.”
“Oh, I can’t say I’m surprised. You’ve always had a thing for older men,” she says with a shrug.
“Thanks, Mom.” She’s not wrong. “I met his sons and their girlfriends at the coffee shop and they introduced me to him when he was in town visiting them. ”
“How old are we talking, Lucy?” Her tone is a little more serious.
“He just turned fifty—his sons are in their late twenties.” I need to move off this and keep the conversation going so I can get past the lying parts. “His name is Henry. His sons are Oliver and Finn. I’m getting to be close friends with them and their girlfriends, Hannah and Mia.”
“Well, tell me more about him. I need more details.”
“He’s nice.”Lie.“He lives in a small town about an hour outside of London.”Truth.“We hit it off the moment we met.”Lie.“He works in the film industry and directed a lot of my favorite romance movies, actually.”Truth.“We are just starting to see each other and want to take it slow because we really like each other.”LIE.“With his occupation, sometimes we could find ourselves in places where paparazzi are and could end up in the papers. Well, we actually already ended up in the papers, but I’ll show you those pictures later.”Truth.“It was no big deal.”Lie.
“Is he handsome?” she says as if all the other information wasn’t as relevant as this.
“Very.”Truth.
“Well, I look forward to these pictures.” She puts the car in park, “Get them out while we walk in.”
She pushes the cart while I swipe through the photos I’ve saved on my phone from the websites they showed up on. Thankfully I didn’t have many and swiped quickly past the ones with the “longing looks” between us.
“And he makes you happy, honey?” she asks as I put my phone away and move to take the cart for her.
It was a question I didn’t prepare an answer for. “Yes.”
As much as I don’t want to admit it, truth.
Nineteen
LUCY
It’sjustafter 9:00 p.m. when Ellie’s text buzzes on my phone. The Wednesday night before Thanksgiving is just as big of a holiday in my hometown. With everyone who previously moved out of town back to visit with family, the local bars are jam-packed with people looking to catch up with old friends.
Ellie
I’m outside! Get your butt out here!
I head down the stairs and grab my winter coat, a bright blue scarf, and a matching hat before stopping to say goodbye to Mom.
“Ellie and her dad are outside. Her brother is working tonight and will give us a ride home after his shift at the bar ends. Don’t stay up!” I say as I give her a quick hug before heading out the door.
“If anything happens and you need a ride, call me. I’ll come get you. Don’t get in a car with a stranger or, worse, a stranger that’s been drinking.”
“We are thirty-seven, Mom. The time for us to make poor decisions has long passed. We can handle this. I love you.”
I hear her yell back, “I love you,” as I close the door behind me and run to get into the back seat of Ellie’s father’s car. “Hello, Mr. Burrell. Thank you for driving tonight.”
