“Checking to see if I have a swelled head?” I asked, both perplexed and amused.
“Exactly!” she said with a smirk. “I think we better measure all the guys to make sure you’re not rubbing off.”
She started doing just that, calling out measurements to Cassidy, who dutifully wrote them down.
Yuri looked excited.
“I have another head you can measure if you want,” he said while batting his eyes.
All it earned him was a disinterested look from Gina and a poke in the ribs from Jan.
I ignored the remaining comments about my swelled head and the disparaging remarks about my manhood.
“It’s important for an actor to be associated with a financial success. It’s especially good if it’s your first movie,” I said.
“So, how rich are you?” Phil asked.
I just shook my head. My half brother was an idiot, sometimes.
“The Internet says he’s worth five million,” Wolf said, checking his phone.
I flipped them all off. It was good that they were all my friends. I was sure they would tease me about my money, but it would be just that, teasing … or so I hoped.
◊◊◊
After school, I came upon Lily, looking upset.
“
“Oh, hey, David.”
“What’s up? Is something wrong?” I asked.
“I know you have your thing with Cassidy. It’s no big deal.”
“Hang on. Let me go tell Cassidy that I’m bailing, and I’ll take you home,” I said.
Cassidy just gave me a look but nodded when I told her I needed to talk to Lily. Lily didn’t seem too excited about me giving her a ride. On the way to her house, she just looked out the passenger window. When we arrived at her home, she jumped out, but I followed her.
“David, it’s nothing, really,” she almost pleaded.
“Come on, Lily, give me a break here. You realize I have to be the knight in shining armor and solve all your problems.”
She tried not to, but I got a little smile and then the patented sigh.
“You’re not going to leave me alone, are you?” Lily asked.
“Nope, so you might as well just tell me what’s going on.”
She let me into her home. It was a small ranch that was a little dated but seemed well taken care of. Lily led me to the kitchen and poured us each a glass of iced tea. I sat down and waited her out. She fussed around, straightening the kitchen, and finally joined me at the table.
“Did you know I don’t have a mom?” Lily asked.
It embarrassed me that I didn’t. After I’d saved her life, she had approached me with more than a little hero worship. At first, I tried to push her away, because she’d run with the same crowd I had in middle school that had gotten me in trouble. At the time, I wanted to put all that behind me, and ‘all that’ included Lily.
Fortunately, she hadn’t been deterred by my aloofness. Her need to pay me back for what I’d done for her had her help me with my websites and social media. Lily had quietly done yeoman work for no pay and little recognition. I’d finally figured out that she was serious about being my friend. I’d also pulled my head out of my butt and started paying her and even worked it out so Frank would hire her. He and Kendal had only good things to say about Lily.
For as much as she’d done for me, I couldn’t believe I didn’t know her family situation.
“I didn’t know that,” I admitted.
“I used to tell people she died, but the truth is she just left us; five years ago today, as a matter of fact.”
“Lily, I’m so sorry. What happened?” I asked.
“They were all liars,” she hissed and began to breathe hard.
I became worried.
“Who were?” I asked gently.
“Everyone. My parents, my brother, my relatives … all of them. Sharon was the one who finally told me.”
She was talking about Sharon Riley. Sharon had been at the party when Lily had stopped breathing, and Sharon was part of the old crowd I no longer hung out with.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I was twelve at the time, and Sharon was my best friend. We’d gone to her house after school like always. Both my parents worked and had made arrangements with the Rileys to let me go home with Sharon until my mom got off work and picked me up. That was fine with Sharon and me because it gave us more time to be together.
“But that day was different. The time for my mother to come to get me came and went. Mrs. Riley called and couldn’t get ahold of anyone, so I stayed for dinner. It was almost ten o’clock before my dad came and got me. He was upset, but he wouldn’t tell me what was wrong.”
Lily looked off into space, lost in her own thoughts. I waited, but it didn’t seem she was going to finish her story, so I’d finally decided to ask when she began again. Lily’s voice was barely above a whisper, and she talked in a weird monotone.
“When I got home, and my brother and my aunt were waiting for me, I realized something had happened to my mom. My dad just left me, stepped into his office, and shut the door. My aunt sat me down and told me that my mom and dad were having some problems, and Mom had decided to go away for a while.”
