Chapter 4
Chapter Four
“And they always tell me I dirty the sidewalk,” a female voice greeted her.
Lilly glanced up, laughing. Over the past two weeks, her new neighbor, Hailey, had developed an unintentional morning habit of stopping by while walking her goat, Scotland-Beard, along the boardwalk.
And yes, Hailey not only owned a goat, but also a chicken and, more recently, a three-legged iguana, whom she sometimes let sunbathe on the beach.
Lilly had absolutely no idea how Hailey obtained the animals, but it had become clear to her within seconds that the computer scientist had a heart of gold.
And in the L.A. area, that was at least as absurd as meeting a goat on the beach.
“Well, I guess my mess isn’t as impressive as Scotland-Beard’s,” she pointed out.
“Nothing’s as impressive as Scotland-Beard,” Hailey replied wisely, stroking the happily bleating goat’s head. “Unfortunately, he relieved himself in his favorite spot again today and I forgot the poop bags. So, let’s hope I’m out of here before…”
“Hailey! What the hell?”
“Oops,” she mouthed before turning with Lilly.
Ten yards away stood a man with dark red, typical Irish hair and a three-piece suit that easily marked him as lawyer. His eyebrows were furrowed and his hands were on his hips.
“Good morning, Cian,” Lilly called out, raising her hand. He was the divorce lawyer from the law firm next door and also happened to be her landlord. And as long as he wasn’t confronted with goat dung, he was actually an incredibly nice guy.
“Yes, good morning, Cian,” Hailey echoed, although she sounded considerably more guilty.
“It would be a good morning if your damn goat didn’t leave presents on our doorstep.”
“What?” Hailey innocently placed a hand on her chest. “That’s how he shows that he likes you!”
“Clean up your dung.”
“It could be your dung if you finally bought Scotland-Beard. And Guacamole needs a new home too. You have such pretty stones in your garden that he’d feel comfortable there. I offered Ada a good deal, so she’ll surely come to you with it in the next few days.”
Judging by Cian’s expression, Hailey’s words were causing him physical pain. “I beg you, Hailey, stop pushing your homeless animals on my daughter! We already have two turtles I never wanted! Why don’t you talk Lilly into taking your chicken and the rest of the zoo?”
Hailey grinned and looked at her. “Well, what do you say? I’ll give you a friend discount — zero dollars if you take Guacamole, Eggsy, and Scotland-Beard!”
Oh God…
“Mom! Where are my red pants?” Delfina called down the stairs from the upstairs apartment situated between the workshop and the showroom.
“Um, sorry, but I have to take care of this right this minute,” Lilly said apologetically before yelling back, “In your closet!”
“No, they aren’t!”
“Then they are in the laundry.”
“Merda! I need them today!”
Lilly narrowed her eyes. “Del! We’ve talked about this — just because no one here understands you doesn’t mean you can swear in Italian all the time.”
An ambiguous grumble was the response and then silence.
Hailey grinned broadly. “What does merda mean?”
“Shit,” Lilly said with a sigh.
“Ah — and how would you say you’re such a dick?”
Lilly laughed. “Sei un tale stronzo.”
“Good.” She turned her head and yelled, “Sei un tale stronzo, Cian!”
“Right back at you, Hailey,” he replied affectionately. “Leave Ada alone, and stop talking as much crap as your goat produces. Have a nice day, Lilly.”
“You too,” she replied with a smile, while Hailey rolled her eyes.
The two were actually friends. Or so she thought. Hailey and Cian had a strange dynamic and gave off mixed signals.
Her new friend smiled. “That was funny. I love it when Cian loses his temper; typically the guy’s basically unbreakable. Okay, I have to open the agency. Come over if you’re bored.”
Lilly exhaled. “I don’t think I’ll ever be bored again. I get stomachaches thinking about everything I have to do before the opening in a couple of months.” But most of all, her stomach ached when she thought about being back here, having made a promise to her daughter…
“Well, come by if you need help,” Hailey replied kindly. “And hey, you’ll reserve that turquoise vase that looks like butterflies are flying out of it, right?”
“Already done, and thanks, I’ll probably take you up on your offer.”
“No problem, always happy to help.” Hailey waved and walked a few feet further to tie Scotland-Beard to the lamppost in front of Match Me!
The dating agency had brought her together with the two sisters, Rachel and Maddie, whom Lilly avoided as much as possible.
Not because they weren’t friendly and wonderful – everyone at Sunshine Pier had welcomed her with open arms – but Maddie’s husband was a hockey player for the Hawks, and the whole thing just seemed… too risky.
“Mom, I wanted to wear the red pants, but they’re not dry yet. Why do you always wash all my things?” Del called out, offended.
“Because they’re dirty,” she replied, taking the stairs to the first floor. “Why are the pants so important? Just wear another pair.”
“But I wanted those. They’re my lucky pants,] and I need my lucky pants today…”
Lilly sighed. She’d so hoped the prepubescent signs wouldn’t appear until Del’s tenth birthday.
“Merda!”
Oh dear, if the swearing continued, she’d definitely get a call from Delfina’s new teacher today.
“Del, please stop swearing.”
“You swear all the time!”
“I know, but I’m an adult, so I’m allowed to do that.
” Sighing, she crossed the hall and peeked into Delfina’s room.
Her daughter was sitting on her bed in a mountain of clothes, tugging at her lower lip in dissatisfaction.
She was tall for her age and would need some time to grow into her overly long arms and legs.
Her hair fell, as always, in a messy brown mass over her shoulders. Her face was oval, her cheekbones high…
God, she looked so much like him. She had Lilly's eyes, but the rest? Her lips, the upper lip a little fuller than the lower one, the whole expression, her ears, her stature… Shit.
She would get hurt. Lilly just knew she would get hurt, and she couldn’t bear the thought because she loved Del more than glass, the sea, Daisy, and her parents combined.
She knew she was lucky. Her daughter had always been strong, confident, and a little too mature for her nine years.
She was rarely bitchy, endlessly inquisitive, and open-minded.
She could make her own sandwiches and breakfast, but Lilly knew the move would be a big change for Del, and she wanted to make the transition as easy as possible.
Delfina didn’t complain. She knew the reason for their return; Lilly was always as honest as possible with her daughter.
Naturally, Del missed her Italian family, as well as her school friends, her swimming club, and the life she knew.
But she wasn’t angry; she was infinitely understanding and had already made her first new friends.
She had only one condition when Lilly told her about the move: “Mom, when we are in L.A., I can meet my dad, right? He’s still there. I googled it.”
She understood Del’s curiosity — but the words had still broken her heart. Del had first asked about her father when she was four and Lilly…well, she’d tried to be as honest as possible without unnecessarily hurting her, which had only partially worked.
But she’d promised her that they would visit her father together. What else could she have done? Del had the right to meet her father in person at least once, whether he wanted to be her father or not. And so far, that hadn’t been possible.
“Why do you need your lucky pants?” she wanted to know. “The school year just started. Do you already have a test?”
“There’s no school today. We’re taking a field trip!”
“Right, the field trip. Sorry, I forgot for a moment.”
“Mm hm. Can you do my hair?”
“Sure, I’ll braid it for you.” She sighed inwardly before wading through the sea of clothes and taking the brush Del handed her. It was new that Del cared about her appearance. She was putting together her outfits more carefully than Lilly.
Lilly expertly arranged Del’s hair into two French braids while asking, “Where are you going again?”
The last few weeks had been incredibly stressful.
She’d moved, remodeled her workshop, expanded the shop space, and started producing glass art again.
She’d gotten to know her neighbors better, had dozens of conversations with Delfina’s new teachers, looked for a new swim club for her daughter.
Delfina took after her and not the one whose name she didn’t want to think about.
She'd occupied herself with furnishing the apartment. She’d had to take care of the dozens of licenses for the shop while also cooking, cleaning, worrying about Del’s state of mind, her parents, and supporting her best friend through a minor life crisis.
Understandably, she’d forgotten about the field trip; she couldn’t always remember everything — but she still felt like a bad mother.
“I don’t know exactly,” Del said, turning her face away. “Somewhere. Will Grandma be here soon? I don’t want to be late.”
“You need to eat something before you leave, Del. Breakfast is on the table. And what do you think of your green pants? You like them too.”
Her daughter sighed heavily, as only a child could sigh when receiving audacious suggestions from her mother. “Well, yeah, I like the green pants… Wanna bet I can finish my meal faster than you?” She jumped up and ran out of the room.
Wanna bet I…was Delfina’s favorite phrase these days. That incredibly competitive part of her personality certainly didn’t stem from Lilly’s X chromosome.
“No contests at the table,” she reminded her daughter, sinking beside her while Delfina stuffed toast into her mouth as if it were sand and she was six years younger. “Why are you in such a hurry?”