Chapter 20
Dylan
“Mr. Hayes, your table is ready.”
Dylan took hold of my hand and waited as the hostess grabbed six menus. We followed Walker, my mother, and Lorelai to the table.
“I got the best table in the place,” he said, leaning in and whispering in my ear. “Tonight is a cause for a huge celebration.” He winked.
“Dylan, this place is beautiful,” Penelope said, turning and smiling at the pair of us. The smile I noticed barely reached her eyes. We’d gotten her settled into a small apartment a few days before we’d moved. She said she was happy there, but I knew she wasn’t. I had never seen her take so long to heal after a breakup. She missed Joe, and we all knew it.
Dylan smiled. “When I brought Aurora last time, she’d raved about the food, so I figured we’d come back for tonight.”
“Well, from the looks of it, it’s a brilliant choice,” she said, catching up to Walker and Lorelai.
Once we were at the table, we all took a seat at the table, and everyone opened the menu while Dylan ordered two bottles of the same wine I’d had that night we’d first come here.
He took hold of my hand and softly smiled at me. I knew he felt bad that he’d not been able to be with me the night of graduation and insisted he make it up to me. However, he’d more than made it up to me over the last few weeks, but he still insisted on celebrating.
“My goodness, everything looks so good. I don’t know what to order,” Lorelai said, leaning into me.
“I’m going to go with the lasagna. I wanted to order it the last time, but you know me and salmon. I had to go with that instead.” I giggled.
“I swear you have had salmon in every restaurant we’ve been to in Victoria and Vancouver.” Lorelai giggled. “Time you spread your wings.” She winked.
“Oh, that sounds good,” my mother said, still looking over the options.
“Salmon or lasagna?” I questioned.
“Lasagna. Salmon is, well, not my favourite.”
“What about you, Walker?” Dylan asked.
“Definitely the surf and turf,” he answered. “I checked the menu out online when you messaged me. I’ve been craving it since.”
“My kind of guy,” Dylan replied, patting him on the shoulder. “I think I’m going to have the same.”
Dylan rested his hand on my upper thigh and picked up his wineglass. “Guys, I’d like to take a minute while we are all trying to decide what to eat to congratulate Aurora and Lorelai on their graduation.”
Everyone picked up their glass, and we all clinked glasses together and took a drink.
“And to their new positions with the Dominators.”
Again, we all clinked glasses and took another drink.
“How does it feel to be working with them?” my mother questioned.
Lorelai glanced over at me and smiled. “For me, it almost feels surreal that we are actually not in school anymore and we are working, but I am very excited about the future.”
“Me too. It was a long road, and I am so glad we are finished. Now, it’s on to better things.” I smiled, meeting Dylan’s eyes. “Oh, and we can’t forget, happy birthday to my brother, Walker,” I said, smiling over at him.
“Yeah, Happy Birthday,” Lorelai added.
“Thanks,” Walker said, making eye contact with her.
Lorelai cleared her throat and pushed her chair back from the table. “Please excuse me, I just need to use the little girl’s room.”
For the first time, she smiled at Walker without tears in her eyes. Perhaps she was finally over what had happened between them. At least, I hoped she was.
Mom stood as well. “Lorelai, I think I’ll join you.”
They both took off toward the washroom, leaving the three of us at the table.
“Who’s the empty seat and extra menu for?” I questioned, taking a drink of my wine.
Almost as if on cue, Dylan stood up and waved. I glanced over my shoulder to see Knox coming toward the table. He smiled in my direction and grabbed the seat beside Walker.
“Oh my god, Knox Evans…this can’t be real,” Walker said, a look of shock and surprise on his face.
I couldn’t help but smile. Walker still hadn’t gotten over meeting Dylan, and Knox was his second favorite player. I glanced over at Dylan and then immediately thought of Lorelai, panic mode already beginning to set in.
“In the flesh,” Knox said, shaking hands with Walker. “Dylan told me you are a huge fan.”
“Never miss a game,” he said, looking proudly.
“We love fans that like, don’t we, Dylan.”
“Absolutely. If only I could get my girl here to be that dedicated,” he said, winking at me.
“I’m dedicated,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him, then laughing. Once the new season started, I’d promised I’d get better.
“You better be.” Dylan leaned over and placed a kiss on my lips. That was when I heard the gasp. I glanced up to see Lorelai standing there, glaring at me.
“What’s wrong?” I questioned, still smiling.
“What is he doing here?” Lorelai said, glancing toward Knox, not hiding her displeasure at all.
“Hey, Lorelai, love your face,” Knox said, winking at her.
Trying to divert a disaster in the making, I got up and grabbed hold of Lorelai’s hand and pulled her through the restaurant and out to the entrance.
“Just for tonight, give this man a break,” I said, crossing my arms in front of me. “He’s done a lot for us in the last couple of weeks. Tomorrow, you can go back to your hatred for him. Just don’t ruin tonight,” I pleaded.
“He’s done a lot for you. For me, he only made move-in day that much harder when he’d had all my bedroom furniture delivered to the wrong bedroom.”
“Whose fault would that be?”
Lorelai let out a huff. “Fine, if I must endure this man tonight, then bring on the wine.”
“You better get over whatever it is he’s done, because in about two weeks you may need to treat him for an injury, and then what will happen?”
Lorelai straightened and then turned and looked at me. “If that were to happen, I guess I’d have to be professional. Until then, it is what it is.” She turned and walked back toward the table, holding her head high.
* * *
After dinner,Dylan, Walker, and Knox excused themselves and headed outside to the parking lot, leaving Lorelai, my mom, and me at the table. Knox had brought a couple signed jerseys for my brother for his birthday, and they wanted to give them to him before Knox had to leave for the night.
I sipped on my wine and sat back in my chair. “Mom, are you sure you’re going to be happy in this new place you’ve found?” I questioned.
I’d really wanted to see her try to work things out with Joe before grabbing her own place, but she’d been insistent.
“Oh, it’s perfect for me. To be honest, I was looking for someplace a bit smaller.” She smiled.
“Mom, why didn’t you try and work things out with Joe?”
My mom sat back in her seat and thought for a moment. Then she looked at me. “Aurora, I hope you’ll never be in a position to understand this. When I found out Joe was against your relationship with Dylan, it bothered me. The fact that he wouldn’t want to see his own son be happy really upset me. No matter what I told him, he didn’t seem to care. He was so against it, he told me he’d disown his own son before he’d accept your relationship, and he told me I was foolish if I wouldn’t do the same.”
I looked over at Lorelai, who sat there with the same shocked expression on her face as I did. I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I wasn’t even sure if Dylan knew his father had said those things, because I knew neither of us cared enough to talk about it. We were who we were, and I knew without a doubt in my mind that he was who I wanted to be with, no matter what.
“To be honest with you, I have been trying to search within myself to find a way to make up for all those years of being a terrible mother.”
“You weren’t a terrible mother,” I answered.
“Oh, honey, no, I was bad. You had very little guidance, and I’m grateful you turned out to be as good as you are. So, this was how I could do it, how I felt I could make up all those years of not being there to you. I let him go. I don’t want to be with a man who would spit in the face of love that way. If he does that to others, what will he do to us in five or ten years. Plus, and I’m being honest here, he was a little too controlling for my liking. You know me, I’m a free spirit.”
My vision became a little blurry. I wasn’t sure why. My mother had never made me cry before.
“I just, I thought you were finally happy,” I said, wiping at my eyes.
“I was for a while. However, your happiness means so much more to me than my own does.”
I wiped at my eyes again and took a sip of my wine to help clear the tightness in my throat. I never thought my mother cared that much about me to give up something she wanted.
“Plus, if I’m being honest with myself, I’m a dreamer, Aurora, and you and Dylan have the fairy tale. I wanted that for myself, but he certainly wasn’t my prince charming. So if you two are lucky to have that, I want to make sure it stays that way. I see the way he looks at you, and you at him. You two are so in sync with one another, it’s frightening to me. I can’t even remember what that feels like anymore.
“You mean you had that once before?” I asked.
My mother nodded. “That was what it was like with your father, and I’ve never been able to find that again.”
She looked at me and smiled through the tears in her eyes. “And to answer your question, what you have with Dylan is definitely love. Never mistake it for anything but and, my dear, wrap your arms around it and never let it go.”
All this time, I’d never realized how much my mother actually loved me until tonight.
“Oh god, that was so beautiful, Penelope,” Lorelai cried, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “Maybe one day I’ll find that kind of love.” She sniffled and picked up her seventh glass of wine and drank it down.
I couldn’t help but laugh at Lorelai and her flushed cheeks. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d drank so much, and it was all because Knox had joined us for dinner. I wrapped my arm around Lorelai and pulled her close. “You’ll have it one day,” I said. “Probably with someone you hate.” I winked, glancing across to the spot where Knox had been sitting.
“I swear, Aurora, don’t start,” she said, getting a little red in the face.
Mom and I burst out laughing, and soon she was laughing too.
* * *
We ordereddessert once Walker and Knox left. Lorelai seemed to be more at ease and was finally smiling again. Dylan quickly took care of the tab, and we made our way out to the parking lot.
“Thank you so much for dinner,” my mother said, turning toward me and Dylan.
“My pleasure. These two ladies have worked hard.” He pulled me against him and placed a kiss on my forehead.
“That they have. I’m very proud of the pair of them.” She winked.
“Are you coming home?” Lorelai asked, turning toward me.
I was about to say yes, but Dylan spoke up first. “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to monopolize her for one more night. I’ll have her home first thing in the morning, and I’ll even help with more unpacking.” He added.
“Eight sharp,” Lorelai said, smiling.
I wasn’t sure if she was kidding or not. “Eight sharp?” I repeated. “It’s Saturday.”
“Wimps. Fine, how is ten? This guy doesn’t like to get up too early on his days off.” Dylan chuckled.
“Honestly,” Lorelai said, shaking her head.
The four of us laughed. “Ten is fine.” She winked, pulling me in for a hug.
We watched as Mom and Lorelai climbed into the car and pulled away, then Dylan pulled me into his side and turned toward his car.
“So, you want me all to yourself, hmmm?”
“I do. There will be lots of nights you’ll spend alone soon enough. I want to make the most of the time we have together, otherwise I’ll be on one end of the phone or camera and you on the other, and while that is fun, this is better.”
My heart skipped a beat hearing those words leave his mouth. I hoped this phase of our relationship would last forever.
* * *
We walkedhand-in-hand through the park across the street from Dylan’s condo. It was a quiet night. Few people were out, despite the gorgeous weather. He stopped at a park bench and sat down, pulling me down beside him.
“You have a good time tonight?” he asked.
“I did. Best time. Thank you for everything tonight.”
He placed his hand on my cheek and leaned in, placing his lips on mine. “You’re welcome,” he whispered as our lips parted.
He placed his arm on the back of the bench, and I cuddled into his side, and we sat there staring out at the water.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the past little while.”
“Oh?”
“I know you haven’t said anything to Lorelai about moving in with me.”
Dylan had asked me a couple weeks before Lorelai and I signed the lease about moving in with him. I hadn’t answered him then because it was more about the timing of the situation, but now I was starting to feel a little worried that he thought maybe I didn’t want to move in with him.
“Dylan, I can explain.”
“No need. I know you probably didn’t want to mention anything because of the whole job thing, and rent here is expensive, and I know you love Lorelai like a sister.”
“I do,” I replied.
“So, with me being gone all the time, I’d rather know you are with her than on your own in my place, even though you’re perfectly safe there. So, how about we agree that when I’m home, you’ll stay with me, but when I’m on the road, you’ll stay with Lorelai.”
Almost immediately, that defensiveness I was feeling floated away, and I realized Dylan was more than okay with that arrangement. I hadn’t even had to say it.
“I think that is a great idea,” I said.
“We can wait and talk more about moving in together later.”
I nodded. “I’d like that.”
I rested my head on his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around me, taking my free hand in his. We sat there together quietly, just enjoying one another’s company. I knew in him I’d found my forever, and I couldn’t be more excited to start that journey with him by my side.