After he was released, Fazire looked from Lily to Nate and back to Lily. He shrugged his disinterest in the news and went to the coffeepot.
Nate leaned his hip on the counter and nodded to his father who straggled in wearing his pajamas and a dressing gown.
“Who made this?” Fazire demanded to know, he was holding the coffeepot aloft and staring at Nate angrily deciding Nate had to be the culprit, his lip curled in disgust.
“I did,” Lily answered, busily lining bacon on the grill pan.
At Lily’s admission, Fazire wasn’t deterred in his ire.
“It looks like water,” Fazire accused, transferring his angry eyes to her.
“It does not look like water. Just because you can’t chew it, Fazire, doesn’t mean it isn’t any good.” She tossed her head and looked over her shoulder at Victor who had decided to seat himself at the kitchen table to watch the show. “Fazire likes his coffee strong.”
“I gathered that,” Victor commented.
Lily threw a startlingly bright smile at Victor and went back to work. Even though she’d turned her back to him, Victor stared at her in frozen wonder for a moment then his eyes slid to Nate.
Then Nate’s father smiled and slowly he winked at his son.
* * * * *
That evening, after Victor and Laura had gone, Fazire had disappeared to his room and Nate had listened to Tash reading before he tucked her in to sleep, Nate had gone to find Lily.
She was sitting in the sun room in a new wicker lounge with a bright blue cushion edged in a soft beige, her legs curled beneath her, her head bent, reading a book. Mrs. Gunderson was sleeping in a tight cat body curl next to her.
With Nate’s money and Lily’s choices, everything in the room was of far better quality and vastly improved style. The furniture was wicker, woven plump with thick, dark reeds. The windows had been replaced with timber framed, double-glazed, sparkling panes. The walls had been repainted in clean linen and large potted palms were placed attractively around the room. The day outside was grey but the room had a soft glow from lamps with bulbous, beige bases with crisp shades sitting on wicker tables by the lounge and in between the two chairs opposite it. A square, glass-topped, wicker table sat in the centre of the arrangement holding a huge crystal globe vase filled high with irises.
Nate felt a sense of satisfaction seeing Lily sitting there peacefully reading with her cat. It was the kind of room Lily should be in, expensive and elegant and it was the kind of thing Lily should be doing, reading and relaxing, not running around taking care of everyone.
He’d been studying her for some moments when she sensed him, her head coming up and her face, which had been concentrating on her book, relaxed into a small smile.
“Is Tash sleeping?” she asked.
Nate felt something uncurl inside him at her simple question. It wasn’t important; it wasn’t profound, just a mother asking a father if their child was sleeping.
Yet, to Nate, it was the most intimate question anyone had ever asked him.
“Yes,” he answered.
Lily put her bookmark in her book and set it aside but she didn’t rise.
“She loves to read to you, I think it’s the highlight of her day.”
Nate made no verbal response but that thing unfurling in his chest loosened further upon hearing her remark.
Finally he spoke. “I don’t want to interrupt your reading.” She shook her head to indicate she didn’t mind and he continued. “I’ve been meaning to tell you that tomorrow morning we have an appointment at the Registry Office to begin the process –”
He didn’t finish as suddenly Lily hurled herself out of the lounge and across the short space and threw herself bodily at him, rocking him back on his heels. Mrs. Gunderson went flying on an angry cat meow at her rapid movement.
Lily’s arms went around his shoulders and with a little hop, her legs went around his h*ps and he reflexively put his hands under her bottom to hold her steady against him.
She was pressing her cheek against his and holding him tightly.
“What’s this?” he whispered into her ear.
Her head jerked back and she looked at him, her eyes bright and tears were glimmering at their bottom edges.
“You said in Alistair’s conference room you were going to marry me but then you didn’t say anything about it again. You said two months. It’s been nearly a month already!” He had no chance to respond to her overwhelming reaction as she went on excitedly. “We’ll fix a date tomorrow, yes?” she asked and he nodded, finding himself pleased by her extremely positive response.
She leaned into him and again put her cheek against his.
“I have so much to do! I have to find a dress and Tash needs a dress. And we have to get invitations.” Her head jerked back and she looked at him again, all sign of tears were gone, her eyes were alight and dancing. “A small wedding? In the Registry Office?”
At her question, he nodded again and with a soft pull, she released her legs from his h*ps and he let her go. He watched as she kept talking excitedly and walked around the room, turning off the lamps.
“Fazire will need something to wear and then there are flowers. I think peonies, Mom loved peonies. It’s the Indiana state flower, did you know that?” She didn’t look at him as she asked the question, nor did she wait for a response.
“We’ll need a photographer. I don’t want one of those Nazi photographers that take seventeen hours to pose all the photos. It should be a fun day. We should be drinking and eating, not spending all our time having our pictures taken. What do you think?”
Before he could answer, she stopped and jerked erect after turning off the second lamp.
“I know! Fazire can take the photos!” She clapped her hands in front of her excitedly and Nate remembered her doing precisely the same thing when he’d given in to her motorcycle ride on their first and only date. The sight of it made his chest expand in a way he’d never felt before, it was warm, it was pleasant and he had no idea what it meant. He had no idea that it heralded contentment and security, two things he’d never felt in his life.
He had not even come into the room and was still standing in the doorway. He leaned against its jamb and continued to watch her.
He didn’t stay very long in his position. Lily walked toward him, grabbed his hand and led him out of the room through the living room and up the stairway to their bedroom. The entire time she talked and she planned.
She asked him if he wanted dancing then didn’t wait for his answer and decided there should be dancing.