So she doubled her efforts to find a job, any job.
Late the second week, she’d gone out to lunch with Laura and Laura realised something was wrong straight away.
“It’s just something I need to sort out,” Lily had responded when Laura asked.
“Is it Nathaniel?” Laura queried, her eyes gentle.
“No! Of course not, everything is fine, great, wonderful with Nate.”
Laura smiled then the smile wavered. “Is it Jeff?”
Without hesitation Lily grabbed the woman’s hand and squeezed it with reassurance and just shook her head. They didn’t need to talk about Jeff, ever.
Laura’s smile strengthened again and then she said, “Whatever it is, just tell Nathaniel. He’ll sort it out. He’s good at that kind of thing.”
She said it in a way that meant he was good at every kind of thing. Lily couldn’t help herself, she hugged the other woman and Laura returned the hug with a strength that astonished her.
Laura may have raised two terrible children but surprisingly, she was an excellent mother to the one she did not bear.
That night in bed (unless they were at the dining room table, a restaurant or at Victor and Laura’s, they seemed always to be in bed, though Lily wasn’t complaining), pressed up against Nate’s side, her arm wrapped around his stomach, she’d said, “Do you think we were a bit hasty?”
It was a silly question, obviously they were a bit hasty. They’d barely known each other and moved in together – or he’d demanded she move in with him and she’d done it.
Nate still didn’t talk very much. He didn’t share very much at all. Lily didn’t mind this. He did the same with his family, it wasn’t just her. He listened and laughed when she told stories about her family and Fazire and growing up in Indiana. But most of the time he was working. Most of the other time, they were making love. Any other time there was left over they were eating so they could have the strength to make love. Talking wasn’t exactly their strong suit.
Now she had significant money troubles and didn’t know him enough to know how to broach it with him, ask for his help.
It wasn’t that she didn’t trust him. It was that she didn’t want to take advantage of him.
He was already housing her and feeding her in great style. His flat was fantastic, she knew a bit about London real estate and it had to cost a mint, not to mention he had groceries delivered and they were from a very posh store and he had a housekeeper that came in once a week to clean and do the laundry.
Lily was certainly not going to ask him to pay her mortgage. She’d considered asking him to find her a job at Victor’s company but that was just too weird.
She’d bought her house as a screaming deal because it was so run down, it was barely worth what she paid for it. But even if it wasn’t much, it was still a mortgage.
She stopped her careening thoughts and sighed, loudly.
Then she realised Nate hadn’t answered.
“Nate?” she prompted.
It was his turn to sigh.
Then he asked, “Hasty with what?”
“Me moving in,” she told his chest.
“Lily, what’s on your mind?”
Her head came up, she looked at him and he dipped his chin to stare her straight in the eyes. He did that all the time, stared at her straight in the eyes. He was not a man who was incapable of a direct look. She liked that about him too and her father would definitely like that about him. Will always said, “Never trust a man who won’t look you in the eye.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
To her surprise, he answered her earlier question. “Yes, it was hasty, it was rushed, it was fast, but it wasn’t wrong. You know this is good, I know this is good. That isn’t your question. Therefore I’d like to know what is your question.”
She smiled at him, she couldn’t help herself. He was very astute. Nate seemed to get down, rather easily, to the meat of the matter. It wasn’t the first time she noticed it.
“Now she’s trying to distract me with a smile,” he told the room in a harassed tone and she giggled at him, put her cheek to his chest and hugged his waist.
“It’s nothing. It doesn’t matter,” she whispered.
And it didn’t. She’d figure it out, she always did. All that mattered was him and that they were together. If she needed to, as a very last resort, she could always ask for her last wish from Fazire.
“Lily.”
She slid her head up his chest and looked at the underside of his strong jaw.
“Yes?”
“You know you can tell me anything, yes?”
She didn’t answer but she nodded her head and his hand tightened where it was resting on her hip.
She sighed.
She would figure it out and everything would be fine.
* * * * *
The next day the mail came including Maxine’s bunch of forwarded post. It held the notice that an article she’d submitted to a magazine was to be published. It also included a cheque. It wasn’t a great deal of money but it would cover her mortgage and the minimum payments on all her cards.
Lily was ecstatic.
“I knew everything would be all right!” she told the living room and whirled around with her excitement.
The phone rang in mid-whirl and she grabbed it, beside herself with happiness.
It was, to her shock, and delight, Fazire.
“Fazire, oh Fazire, I’m so glad you called, I can’t wait –” she began.
But he interrupted her.
“Lily-child,” he said in a voice she’d never heard from the usually happy-go-lucky or sometimes pompous-know-it-all Fazire.
Her body froze at his tone and then when she heard what he had to say, it became rock solid.
“I’ll be there right away,” she assured her dear friend when he quit talking.
Then she hung up and stood frozen for what could have been a minute, it could have been an hour.
Then she flew into action.
She called Nate’s office but his secretary was not answering and Lily didn’t want to leave a message especially not this message. She called the airline, maxed out her credit card and got a ticket. She packed everything she owned because she didn’t have much at Nate’s and she’d likely need all she had.
Then she called Laura and, to her great misfortune, Danielle answered and told Lily that Laura wasn’t home.
“Can you ask her to phone me the minute she gets in? I’m leaving Nate’s in an hour.” She pulled in a breath and begged, “Danielle, I really need you to do this, it’s urgent.”