"Okay, I will agree to this but I want you to know that my friend Kate knows where I'm going and who I will be with."
"I would not expect anything less, Lilly, but you have no reason to be afraid of me. I would never harm you or do anything that you did not want. Believe it or not, I just want to be with you."
"That is good to hear. So what should I pack for this weekend?"
"We will be staying by a lake and I have a hot tub so you may want to pack a bikini. Pack some hiking shorts, boots, casual clothing and a few dressy outfits. I have invited another couple to join us so expect to do a little socializing." I smiled to myself thinking of Rafe and his shenanigans. Amusedly, I wondered what Lilly would think about him. Some women find him irresistible with his Swedish good looks and unusually large endowment.
"Thank you for the tips. So where shall I meet you?" She sounded relieved, a little more at ease. I guess the idea of another couple coming along made this decision easier for her. If she only knew...
"I will pick you up tomorrow evening, say 6 o'clock? The plane leaves at seven but we need to arrive a few minutes early."
"Alright then. I will see you at 6." Lilly's voice wavered a little. The confident woman that called me was gone, I could tell by her tone. I hoped I was wrong.
"See you then. My chef will have dinner waiting for us when we get to the cabin. I expect to spoil you a little this weekend, if you will let me."
"Sure, Bullet. I will see you at six." She hung up before I could respond. I felt both excited and apprehensive now.
I went to a lot of trouble to arrange this weekend not to mention quite a bit of expense. I hoped it was not going to be spent with a pouty young woman. I wanted to be with the adventurous Lilly that I had spent one night with. Maybe that woman did not exist? Maybe she really was just "drunk Lilly" and the only way that I would see her again was to ply her with liquor. That idea did not appeal to me. I had slept with my share of drunken females so I knew that I did not have a thing for drunks. Dude, you are thinking way too much about this.
The phone on my desk rang. "Dr. Steinmann, Mrs. Fuentes is in waiting Room Two."
"Thank you. I will be right there." I stared out the window, daydreaming for a moment about my weekend with Lilly. I was not taking anything for granted. I called Page and asked her to manage a few extra details for me. I was going to make the most of this. I got what I wanted, a pretty toy to play with and play with her I would.
Carmen was waiting but I liked making her wait. She embarrassed me in front of Lilly. I picked up my office phone and called Rafe to confirm that he would indeed be traveling with us.
"Now my guest is a little shy so nothing freaky. No, of course you can have your usual fun. I do not think there is anything wrong with that but I am afraid you'll have to leave me out of it this time. You will definitely have to leave her out of it. Come on, Rafe. Do this for me... Sure, I'll be happy to meet Melissa when we return." Our talk turned to business and we said our goodbyes. I slid into my white coat and headed down the hall to Mrs. Fuentes’ room. I waved at my nurse asking her to attend with me. Carmen was less likely to try to manhandle me if the nurse was present. I hoped that the older woman would get the hint and lay off. It was against my nature to embarrass or humiliate a woman but I could only take so much.
Armed with a buttoned coat and a protective nurse I walked into Carmen's room. "Mrs. Fuentes — how nice to see you." I extended my hand to her and smiled. Surely she would take the hint.
Chapter Five
Lilly
I rode the swell of music, stroking the violin with my bow like a mad woman. This audition was for all of the chips—my future depended on taking home the win. I had to get this right or it might be months or even years before I had this opportunity again. I had dreamed of this day — of trying out for the Metro Symphony. Now here it was and things were going like a dream. A few more sweeps and the audition would be complete. I closed my eyes and leaned into my instrument. I had no worries because I knew every note and every measure of this score. Once the last note disappeared into the air, I opened my eyes and placed my violin in my lap. I resisted the urge to smile and do a "happy" dance. I kept my face like stone just like the judges that I auditioned for. The three judges whispered to one another and nodded. Their spokesperson, Audrey Williamson thanked me for my audition and assured me that they would be in contact soon.
"Thank you, thank you so much." I felt good about the audition — I knew that I had nailed it but there were always things you could do better. The opening riff could have been stronger but I had been unsure of the acoustics in the rehearsal hall. I held back some of my usual forcefulness and regretted it now. Oh well, it was in the history books. I
left the rehearsal hall and smiled at the remaining musicians. Six of us were applying for this spot and only one of us would receive it. I definitely wanted to be the one.
On my way to the car, I sent Kate a text letting her know that I was out of the rehearsal. She responded with a smiley face and wanted to come over. I messaged her back, "See you in 20." I slid the rehearsal CD into the CD player and jammed out to Vivaldi all the way home. Yep, I had nailed it. In a few minutes, I was home and bouncing happily up the stairs to my apartment, humming the notes, going over the audition again and again in my mind. Sitting on my doorstep in a shambled mess of runny mascara and wrinkled clothing was my friend Kate.
"Katie, what happened? Are you okay?” She didn't answer me but nodded. Jangling the keys, I opened the apartment door hoping to get her inside before my nosy neighbors showed up. "Here, come sit here." I waved at the couch.
I scampered to the kitchen and got a cup of water for Kate. On my way back, I brought with me a box of tissues. I took my place beside her, quickly glancing at the clock on the microwave. It was 4 o'clock. I still had time to pack. I knew I should have started on this last night. I cannot think about that right now — I had to take care of Kate. "You want to talk about it?"
"I know you have better things to do than listen to me whine about Riley. You never said it but I knew it all along, I went way too fast with the whole Riley Patterson thing. I guess I was caught up in the excitement of dating a celebrity. You wouldn't believe how popular he is right now." She stopped talking and cried; I rubbed her back, trying my best to comfort her. I was not sure what to say yet because I was not sure what the problem was. I let her take her time; I knew that eventually Kate would tell me all about it.
"Lilly, you know I have always been a bit of a playgirl. I have enjoyed my experiences — I have never been ashamed of who I was but for some reason when I met Riley, all I wanted was him. When I met Riley everything changed. I don’t understand it — I mean he is not even a good lover. Well, he is okay, I mean he’s trainable but he is not a natural or anything. To be honest, I don’t even think he’s a great musician. I think you are much better than he is. I have all of these reasons to not like him, to not...to not...love him but I do." Kate cried some more and I pulled tissues out of the box like an obedient friend.
"Kate, did something happen? Did you guys break up?" I coaxed her along patiently.
"All of this, getting married, looking at apartments together, thinking about the future — it was all so exciting until I started thinking about it. All of a sudden, I wanted to stop, so I did. I guess I just panicked a little and I left Riley sitting at a restaurant. Now, he won't take my calls — he won't even talk to me. The last thing he said to me was, 'If you can't be sure about us than I can't be sure of us." Kate's shoulders slumped with sadness. "What am I going to do? I cannot stop thinking about him. I miss him. I love him. I have never said that before, I love someone."
Wow. This was huge. Kate was right — I had never heard her say "I love you” to anyone. Well, no one that she dated anyhow. She was pretty close to her brother and she often told me she loved me, in a friendly sort of way. However, for her to say "I love you" to a guy — yeah, that was the headline here.
"It is going to be okay, Kate it will be — I promise. I saw you two together. Riley seemed so happy and so did you. It cannot be over but you did leave him in a restaurant so maybe you should just let him cool off. When did this happen. Today? Yesterday?"
"It was yesterday. Right before we talked. I wanted to tell you then but it seemed like you had your hands full."