Chapter 18 #2
Lucas nodded; that sounded like a good idea.
‘What are you going to do now?’ she asked. ‘It’s still early. You could come back to mine. Tommy will still be up, no doubt with that idiot friend of his, Joey. They may have left some of my stew …’
‘I’ll be fine, Jan,’ he said, forcing a grin. ‘I have the books to look over.’
And he wanted to be alone.
Or at least – he thought he did.
The hammering on the door was insistent, making it shake on the hinges.
Lucas jumped back in anticipation. Thoughts churned in his mind.
Was someone in trouble? Had something happened?
He hoped it wasn’t Eric looking for an argument – he really wasn’t in the mood for that.
He swallowed, tasting dry air, and moved towards the door.
‘Hang on! Hang on!’ he called as he struggled with the bolts. They were stiff at the best of times.
‘Just don’t be anything too bad,’ he whispered under his breath. ‘I’m not sure I have the energy for that—’
He flung the door open.
There in front of him stood Mia, dripping wet from a spring shower.
‘Hello, bro,’ she said warmly. ‘What took you so long?’
Mia sat drying her hair in his small living room upstairs. Her face was drawn and Lucas could see dark shadows like bruises under her eyes.
‘Is everything alright?’ he asked. ‘You didn’t say you were coming back.’
She frowned a little, turning so that she wasn’t quite facing him. ‘I just wanted to come back for a bit? Is that such a big deal?’
‘Not at all. It’s just unexpected and you seemed so happy and settled in New York when I saw you.’ He paused, circling the room carefully. ‘How is Joshua anyway?’
Mia continued to rub her hair, but it was becoming more forceful. ‘He’s fine. Why?’
‘No reason …’
Lucas knew better than to push his sister on this.
Her and Joshua’s relationship had always been up and down to say the least. Lucas had never really taken to the guy and although he appreciated that he didn’t know him that well, he seemed a little hotheaded at times and the type that would butt heads with Mia, but if she was happy who was he to interfere?
As his mom had taught him before, if you told Mia what to do – she would end up doing the opposite.
‘It’s good to have you back anyway,’ he said, flashing her a hopeful grin. ‘Are you planning on sticking around for a while?’
‘Yeah, maybe.’ She threw the damp towel on the sofa in typical Mia fashion. Lucas tried not to flinch. ‘And also – what’s the situation with Jenn? I went to the cabin and Willow was there. Scared the hell out of me!’ Mia gasped. ‘Isn’t she the one that you—’
Lucas quickly interrupted her. ‘I don’t want to go into that now. We were friends a long time ago, that’s all.’ He flopped down next to her. ‘Then she got with Jake, and everything changed.’
Mia snorted. ‘Sounds like you’re still hung up on her.’
‘Sounds like you need to keep your nose out of my business.’ Lucas kept his tone light but he was rattled. ‘So, you went round there?’
‘Yeah, I think she was as surprised to see me as I was to see her. I was hoping to crash at Jenn’s, but I’m guessing that won’t be an option now.’
‘Jenn’s gone traveling. She sold her van to Willow. Now Willow’s selling matcha drinks in my parking lot.’
Mia puffed out a breath. ‘Wow, I love matcha! I’ll be checking that out. I can’t believe Jenn actually went through with it though. She’s been talking about traveling for years.’
‘I guess she finally got brave …’
Mia was fiddling with a loose thread on her skirt; she looked wistfully off into the distance. ‘Yeah, I guess she did.’
Lucas sighed and stood up, clapping his hands together. ‘So, I guess you are planning to stay here then?’
She looked at him hopefully; her head tipped to one side. ‘If that’s OK?’
‘Sure. As long as you clean up after yourself. I’m not living with a pig.’
Mia pulled a face. ‘You are such a nag; do you know that?’
‘And I guess you’re still not going to tell me why you’re here.’
She offered him a small smile. ‘Not yet, Luc. I’m tired. I just need sleep right now. I can talk tomorrow, OK?’
‘Sure.’ He shrugged. ‘It can wait till then.’
Because what else could he say?
Lucas was whipping up some maple pancakes, Mia’s favorite breakfast dish.
Mia was taking a shower and singing tunelessly against the sound of water.
He smiled; his mind immediately transported back to when they were teens and growing up here together.
The apartment had seemed so hollow and empty without his sister and mom here and although there were three years between them, Lucas and Mia were pretty close.
He hadn’t realized how much he had missed her until her chaotic ways had suddenly appeared back into his life again.
Mia was ready at the same time as the pancakes and slipped into her seat with a huge grin on her face.
‘Just like Mamma used to make,’ Lucas told her warmly. ‘Dig in.’
Mia stabbed at them, syrup oozed out like lava from a mini volcano. She giggled. ‘Mom never did worry about the calories, did she?’
‘No.’ Lucas slid into the chair opposite. ‘What was it she used to say. If something makes you feel good—’
‘How can it be bad!’ Mia finished for him. She took a forkful and groaned in pleasure.
‘Oh my! These really are as good as the ones Mom used to make …’
‘I’m not sure I could ever reach her levels …’
They sat in comfortable silence for a while, simply enjoying breakfast. Lucas felt like his body was finally relaxing and softening – it was both pleasant and oddly unsettling.
Mia had left for New York shortly after Mel died, claiming it was too much still being here.
They stayed in touch, of course, but it wasn’t really the same.
Lucas had honestly missed having his sister around.
It had been raining nonstop all night, but now the weather had cleared and dappled golden beams of sunlight spread into the apartment.
Lucas liked to keep at least one window open; the fresh scent of the mountains blended with the pine trees was soothing.
He felt it was important to keep some of the outside in.
Mia studied Lucas. ‘It’s Sunday, so unless you’ve changed the opening hours, The Diner is closed for a few hours. So, how do you plan spending this morning?’
‘Well, I was hoping that you might answer why you’re here first?’
Mia sipped her coffee and flinched. ‘Wow! I forget how strong you like it!’ She put her cup down and rocked back in her chair.
‘I will tell you, Luc, I promise; there’s just a lot to unpack, and I need to get my own head around it first. That’s why I thought it might be fun to do something nice together … ’
‘Yeah, I guess we could—’
Lucas was interrupted by a knock on the door downstairs. It wasn’t insistent like Mia’s last night – it was far more polite – but he was still irritated.
‘People should know by now that the place is shut on a Sunday. I need one day off!’
Mia shrugged; she was busy demolishing her pancakes now. ‘Maybe you should check it out though? It might be important.’
He trudged downstairs reluctantly. In truth, he had had another bad night’s sleep.
Not only was he worried about finances, but now he was also convinced his baby sister was hiding something from him.
There was another knock as Lucas approached the door.
‘Alright!’ he shouted. ‘That better not be you, Eric! I’m not serving your hangover today.’
He pulled open the door.
It wasn’t Eric. It was Willow.
‘Hi,’ she said almost shyly. ‘I hope I didn’t disturb you or anything, but I was hoping to catch Mia. Is she here?’
Lucas’s eyes grazed her body; he couldn’t help it. She was wearing jeans and a tight sweater that seemed to skim over her curves. Her hair was loose and falling in soft waves to her shoulders. In this bright morning light, she looked more beautiful than ever.
‘Mia’s eating breakfast,’ he said finally, perhaps a bit too bluntly, but he felt caught off guard. ‘Should I pass on a message?’
‘I’d like to see her if it’s possible?’ Her tone was light, sweet, but her amber eyes drilled into his. ‘I feel like I wasn’t myself with her last night and I wouldn’t want us to get off on the wrong foot.’
Lucas nodded. There wasn’t really anything else he could do, although he was reluctant to invite Willow into his space, especially now that Mia was there messing it up. Willow followed him upstairs, talking politely about the rainstorm last night.
‘I forgot how much more rain we get by the mountains. It feels different though, doesn’t it? Am I crazy to think that? Fresher? I hated the rain in Seattle. It was nonstop …’
Lucas struggled to reply, even though part of him wanted to grab her and say, ‘Yes, I totally get that! The rain was different in New York too. It’s better here. It feels like home …’
He held back though, not sure why. He hadn’t opened up to Willow for a very long time and the last time he had tried, it had all gone wrong. He decided that it’s often easier to keep his thoughts to himself.
Willow rushed to Mia once she saw her. She had a flurry of apologies that were so quickly given, they made Mia burst out laughing.
‘Hey!’ she said, pushing her now-empty plate aside. ‘You have nothing to apologize for. You weren’t expecting me, and I was pretty rude to you too! Demanding to know where Jenn was and not even asking who you were!’
‘It was a surprise,’ Willow admitted. ‘But I recognized you straight away. I just didn’t understand why you were there!’
‘Don’t tell me! You thought Lucas had sent me.’ Mia laughed. ‘Don’t worry. I don’t do his dirty work for him. I was there purely for Jenn. We were good friends before I left.’
‘And you didn’t remember me?’ Willow asked, her eyebrows slightly raised.
‘Well, I do now! You were my brother’s first love! He was always talking about you! Pull up a seat, Willow. We have lots to catch up on.’
Lucas stood back in shock as the two women settled down together. ‘Don’t mind me, I’ll make some coffee,’ he muttered before slinking out to the kitchen.
He had to leave the room before he snapped at his sister. Why did she have to say that about Willow being his first love?
And why did the truth hurt so badly, especially when it was something that could never be real?
When Lucas re-entered the small living space, the two women were locked in conversation.
Mia was laughing, her dark hair dancing around her face.
She had always reminded him of a pixie, quite small and fragile – but now with her much shorter hair and more refined features, she looked more elfin like.
It took his breath away for a second how much she was the spitting image of their mother.
Mia caught his gaze and beckoned him over. ‘We were just talking about the town and how some things have changed and others have stayed very much the same.’
‘Like the Parkers and the Honey Pot Inn,’ Willow added. ‘And Macguire.’
Lucas rubbed his chin. ‘I guess so. Although other things come and go.’
Mia looked at him bemused. ‘Really? Anyway, I thought maybe it would be nice if Willow joined us this morning?’
Lucas knew he probably paused a bit too long, but he was totally thrown by the suggestion. Willow joining them? Would she even want to? To his astonishment, Willow was beaming with excitement.
‘Oh, could I? That would be so cool. I’ve not got anything planned today …’
‘Willow hasn’t been back to the Falls since she returned. Maybe we could go there,’ Mia suggested casually. ‘I know you went yesterday, but you don’t mind going again, do you, Luc? We could take some snacks? Remember, like the old times?’
‘Maybe you two should just go,’ Lucas suggested. He scanned the apartment, at the mess Mia had already created. ‘I could use the time to clean up here and like you say, I went yesterday—’
Mia immediately jumped up and tugged on his arm. ‘Oh no, Mr. Grumpy – you don’t get out of it that easily. What does it matter that you went before? You’re coming too. We’re going to have so much fun.’
Lucas found himself nodding along, but pretty unenthusiastically. He seriously doubted that fun would be in store today.
Stress maybe. But not fun.