Love In Between(22)

“Take slow, deep breaths, Lily,” he whispered as he gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

The touch of his warm hand soothed me as my racing heart began to slow down, and a sense of calm slowly washed over me.

“Now, open your eyes. You can get some great pictures,” he said.

I slowly opened my eyes to see Charley was staring at me.

“Are you ok, Lily?” she asked.

“I’m fine, sweetie.”

The time had come for the ride to end, and of course, we stopped at the top. I gasped. Luke looked over at me and smiled.

“Look at the world through your camera lens,” he said. “It’ll calm you down.”

I brought my camera up to my face and began taking pictures of the bright lights and the people down below. Luke was right. For a minute, I forgot we were stopped at the top because I was focused on getting the best pictures. Before I knew it, we were back on the bottom, and it was time to get off the ride. Luke took my hand and helped me out of the seat.

“I’m hungry,” Charley announced.

“Me too, peanut,” Luke said as he picked her up to give her a piggyback ride.

Charley was giggling. I wanted to capture the sweetness and innocence of this moment, so I began snapping pictures of the two of them. We stopped at a stand where they sold burgers, hot dogs, and fries. Charley ate a hot dog, while Luke and I ate hamburgers. We were sitting down at the wooden table eating, when Luke and Charley started throwing French fries at each other and laughing.

“You both need to stop.” I laughed at them.

Luke picked up a fry, threw it at me, and smiled. I looked at him and smirked as I threw one back. After our food fight had ended, I glanced at my watch and saw that it was late, and Charley looked exhausted. Luke picked her up and carried her to the Jeep while I carried her oversized cat. He set her down and buckled her in. Being with him tonight and seeing him act the way he did with Charley told me he would be an amazing father. It’s just one more thing about him that seems to be making him perfect. We arrived back at the apartment building, and I held the door while Luke carried Charley into his bedroom and laid her in his bed. Luke walked out of the bedroom as I whispered good night to Charley. She opened her eyes and gently took my hand.

“I haven’t seen Uncle Luke so happy in a long time,” she whispered.

I smiled and kissed her gently on her forehead. “I had a great time too.”

Sam and Gretchen were sitting on the couch, watching a movie when I walked back to the living room.

“Hey, you guys, did you have fun?” Sam whispered as not to disturb Charley.

“Yeah, we had a great time,” Luke said as he walked into the kitchen.

“It was a lot of fun,” I agreed.

Gretchen looked at me and winked. I rolled my eyes at her.

“Call me tomorrow,” she whispered.

I headed towards the door, and I heard Luke ask Sam to keep an eye on Charley while he walked me home.

“One foot out the door, and I’m already home.” I laughed.

“You can never be too careful in these parts.” He smiled.

I inserted the key into the lock. “Would you like to come in for some adult drinks?” I asked.

“You mean I can have something alcoholic?” he asked jokingly.

I laughed and nodded my head. “Come on in and have a beer with me. I think, after tonight, we deserve one.”

Luke followed me in as I walked to the refrigerator and grabbed two beers. After handing Luke a bottle and opening mine, I held my bottle up.

“Here’s to a wonderful evening spent in good company and facing my fears of the Ferris wheel.”

Luke threw his head back and laughed. “I’ll drink to that,” he said as our beer bottles came together. I was leaning against the refrigerator while he was leaning up against the counter across from me. It was one of those awkward moments when neither person is sure what to say next, so I just went for it.

“Let’s go sit on the couch while we finish our beer.”

“Um, ok,” Luke said as he followed behind me.

I sat with my back against the arm of the couch so that I was facing him. I brought my leg up and tucked it underneath me. Suddenly, I had felt the urge to pee, so I got up from the couch.

“I’ll be right back.” I smiled.

Luke smiled back and took another drink of his beer. When I walked back into the living room a few minutes later, I saw him standing in front of my guitar.

“Hey,” I said as I put my hands in my pocket. I knew he was going to figure it out soon— if he hadn’t already.

“This guitar of yours; there was only one made in the whole world, and it belonged to Johnny Gil—” He stopped before he could get my last name out. After pausing for a moment, he continued. “The guitar was handmade by an old man who lived in a small village in Southeast Asia. It was most known for the initials, L.G., that was engraved into the frets. No one could figure out what it stood for.”

He turned around and looked at me. The expression on his face was pure shock. “The initials stand for Lily Gilmore, don’t they?” he asked.

I took in a deep breath. “Yes, the initials are mine. He had that guitar made one week after I was born,” I said as tears started to fill my eyes. I quickly looked up at the ceiling. There was no way I was going to let Luke see me cry.