Wyatt paid for everything and pushed the cart out to the car. He opened up the back door and began loading up the groceries, while Lily helped Maggie into her car seat. Once that was done, she went to the back to help Wyatt.
“So it looks like I'm probably not going to starve while Mildred is gone.” Wyatt laughed, as he heaved the giant bag of potatoes into the back.
“I'd say that's probably true,” Lily said. “I think your entire neighborhood could eat for a couple of weeks with this much food.”
They finished loading everything up and then started their journey back to the mansion. Wyatt started up a movie for Maggie, which she watched on the small television screen that was installed in the back of the passenger's seat headrest. This gave Lily and Wyatt a bit of privacy, which they used to talk about things that they normally couldn't with Maggie around.
“So how was your first day on the job?” he asked, pushing his sunglasses to the top of his head and taking a quick glance toward Lily.
“It was actually really nice,” she said. “It was ten times more relaxing than slinging coffee for the grumpy soccer moms.”
Wyatt laughed. “I figured you'd enjoy this a little more than that. I'm glad you've been able to take a break from your usual gig. It's nice that you're going to get to spent some more one-on-one time with Maggie, at least for the next week.”
“Speaking of Maggie, I seriously can't believe how fast she's growing up,” Lily said. “I mean, I always have known that kids grow up fast, but jeez. She's talking so well and when we play board games, she beats me half the time.”
“Tell me about it,” Wyatt said. “Seems like every time she busts out Candy Land, she already knows that I'm going to lose.”
Lily laughed. “I know I've told you this now a hundred times, but thanks again for this opportunity. It really means a lot that you let me spend so much time with her.”
“Of course.” Wyatt pulled the car out of the parking lot of the grocery store and onto the frontage road. “She really loves you. Caroline did, too
. You know that, right?”
She nodded. “Yeah, I know. She was such a great woman.”
He sighed. “I miss her a lot, but sometimes I wonder if she'd think I was completely ridiculous for thinking about her all the time.”
“I don't think so,” Lily said. “It makes sense that she would be on your mind. Why wouldn't she be? Caroline was pretty amazing.”
Wyatt smiled. “Yeah, that she was. Life is strange. It lifts you up and pulls you down and stretches you in every direction. Somehow, though, it seems like you always end up making it through the day. I guess people are pretty resilient, yet at the same time, surprisingly fragile.”
“I think about that a lot.” Lily gazed out the windshield as she spoke. “Sometimes I wonder why life can be so amazing and yet so difficult at the same time. I have a theory about it, though.”
Wyatt raised his eyebrows. “Oh yeah? I'd love to hear it.”
Lily shrugged. “I think that the reason life throws us curve balls is to remind us that we are all here on borrowed time. Tomorrow is guaranteed to anybody, so we have to make the most of what we've got right now. Think about it. If it weren't for the struggles, we'd all just go through our lives like zombies. We wouldn't care about anything, because we'd never be challenged by anything.”
“That's an interesting perspective,” Wyatt said. “So what you're kind of saying is that there's a reason for everything?”
“Yes, exactly.” Lily turned to face him. “I truly believe that. Every single thing happens for a reason. Most of the time, we don't know what that reason is. Either that, or we just can't see it right away. Sometimes it takes a while. Eventually, though, it becomes clear why an event took place. Whether that event was good or bad is just a matter of opinion. In the big picture, though, I think most things happen for the good.”
“I see what you're saying,” Wyatt said. “I just can't think of a good reason why Caroline had to pass away.”
Lily's heart sunk as he spoke. “That's not exactly what I was saying. I guess I don't mean that all things that happen are good. It's more like, I just hope that some good can come from all of the things that happen.”
Wyatt's smile returned and he looked over toward her. “Now that's a philosophy I can get behind. I never realized there was this side to you.”
“What side is that?” Lily asked.
“This one,” he said. “The one you're showing me right now. I always knew you were intelligent. In fact, Caroline and I both admired that in you when we'd first met you. However, I never knew you were so deep and philosophical.”
Lily blushed. “I'm not, really. I just think about life a lot. I was pretty shy growing up, so I spent most of my time with books. I'd go out in the park after school and just read all afternoon. I'd get lost in ideas and worlds that could never exist. It really changed the way I see my own world, though. Everything I would read, even if it was fictional, made me feel like I understood just a tiny bit more about the way things work.”
“Wow,” Wyatt said, shaking his head in surprise. “I wish I could understand where you're coming from. My whole life has been pretty black and white. I graduated high school, went to college and then started up my business. Things were cut and dry. There was profit and there was losses. There was risk and there was gain. It was easy. That all changed, though, when Caroline passed away. Then it was like a wrench was thrown into the gears and my entire perception of life got flipped upside down. Everything that I thought was simple and pure, became complicated and painful. Nothing was black and white after that. It still isn't.”
Lily felt some tears welling up in her eyes but she managed to keep them from falling out. “I'm really sorry.”
“I appreciate that, but there's no need to be sorry,” Wyatt said. “It's just interesting to me how things unfold, you know? I'm not complaining, though. I'm really not. Overall, life has been pretty damn good to me. I've still got Maggie and business is good. Plus, I'm pretty confident that I've got Caroline watching over me, making sure I don't screw anything up too bad.”