Chapter 2 #3
She’d asked him, many times, why he persisted in keeping Lucinda around, and he’d never found a completely satisfactory answer.
He wasn’t in love with Lucinda, but as a friend of the Steele family who was going through some hard times, he didn’t feel like it was right to sever all connection.
Especially when their families were so close and his sister, Francine, was good friends with Lucinda.
And it wasn’t like he had anyone else to supplant her as far as girlfriends went.
He had to work hard to meet new people, and while he saw many single ladies at church, he was never too sure of their motives, which meant he preferred to talk with the youth or their parents after church, rather than with these overconfident creatures with their blond bombshell looks that intimidated him and made him want to crawl inside his shell.
He got enough of that from Lucinda. He didn’t need more.
Finally, the last chair was put away, and the remaining teens were collected by their parents.
Charlene glanced at Lucinda, who was still studiously looking at her phone, as if determined to ignore her, then nodded to Ethan. “I think tonight went well. Don’t you?”
They managed a quick debrief while Lucinda scowled at her social media, muttering something about followers.
“But I think it’d be good to work on getting our social media a little bit more consistent,” Charlene added.
“Yeah, sorry about that.”
“Hey, I know you’re stupidly busy, so no sweat. But once a week would be good. Just so the kids know we’re alive.”
“Once a week I can do,” he promised. Well, he would make sure he could do. Promises were meant to be kept, after all.
“Are you two done yet?” Lucinda whined. “I really need to talk to Ethan about something.”
“Fine, go, go.” Charlene held up her hands. “I don’t want to be accused of holding you up.”
“Finally,” Lucinda muttered, as she clutched his arm and virtually dragged him to the door.
He removed his arm. “Wait. You know I like to wait until Charlene has locked up and is safe in her car.”
“Oh my gosh. Why do you have to be such a gentleman all the time?” She rolled her eyes, but her lips turned up.
“Just lucky, I guess.”
Except it wasn’t luck. It was called having a conscience. Caring about others. Wanting to see people kept safe.
Charlene eventually locked up and got in her Mini Cooper, waving at Ethan as he waited with Lucinda. “Now can we go?”
“Go where?” They didn’t have a date planned, did they? He’d been so busy recently that he’d barely talked with her. But maybe she’d said something and he’d not really paid attention. Over the years, Lucinda had said a lot of things. Not all of it she meant.
“Look, I just wanted to speak to you. It feels like forever since we went out.”
“I’ve been busy, remember?”
“You’re always busy.” She pouted.
He restrained a sigh. “So, what do you want to talk about?”
“Not here. Not like this.”
“Then where?” He glanced at his watch. Winced. “I can’t stay too late ‘cause I’ve got another early start tomorrow.”
“Seriously? Tomorrow is Saturday. The weekend. Don’t you believe in having a day off?”
“That’s not always easy to do when a case needs my attention.”
“Fine. Forget it.” She folded her arms. “I don’t know why I bothered to come out here to try to talk to you when it’s obvious you don’t want to talk to me.”
“Lucinda, come on. We’ve been over this.” Why couldn’t the woman learn to say what she meant and mean what she said? Were all women like this? Well, Charlene wasn’t. But most others he knew sure were. His family included.
“Oh, why do you have to be reasonable all the time?”
“It’s a gift.”
She rolled her eyes, then shook her head. “Look, just give me fifteen minutes—”
Yeah, that’d be a solid thirty, at least.
“—so we can catch up.” Her bottom lip wobbled. “I need to tell you about the latest with Mum.”
His heart softened. Sometimes he wondered just how much he had in common with Lucinda. But mothers facing illness was one of them. “Sure.”
She wasn’t going to want to go to McDonald’s—he doubted she had eaten there since she was four years old—even though McDonald’s drive-through was about the only thing he was up for. French fries dipped in a caramel sundae for the win.
But Lucinda had more sophisticated tastes, so he soon found himself in a local late-night café, eating not-so-great cherry pie, wondering why he’d agreed to this.
Lucinda was rambling about her day, her family, her friends, and he found it hard to stay interested.
She knew so many people, and some names kept popping up like a champagne cork in the sea.
But he hadn’t met them. Or didn’t think he had.
Maybe she’d introduced him to them at a party once upon a time.
“And your mum?” he prompted gently.
“Oh, Mum.” She sighed, and tears filled her eyes.
“Aw, Lucinda.” He reached across and held her hand.
She blinked at him. “I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”
He had a fair idea. He tried to gently withdraw his hand, but she held on fast, tightening her grip.
“Mum is really sick, and I just don’t know if we can go through chemo again.”
The cynical part of him wanted to point out that it wasn’t Lucinda who was going to face chemo.
That was her mother, who had fought breast cancer five years ago and won.
But now that the cancer had spread to her liver, things felt different.
Still, he knew what a family faced, having gone through this himself, and he also knew what a friend should say. “It’s hard, but you’ll survive.”
“But what if Mum doesn’t?”
How he wished he could calm her with talk of eternity in heaven.
But Christine, Lucinda’s mum, didn’t believe in things like that.
Even after the health scare before. Her recovery had been put down to good luck and powerful herbal concoctions, not prayers.
Still, it never hurt to drop some heavenly seed. “You know I’ll be praying for you all.”
“Thanks.”
She yawned, which triggered his own, reminding him of his early start. “I really have to go soon.”
“I know. You’re always busy. But you need to be careful. I don’t want you burning out.”
“Not my plan.”
“I don’t think it’s ever anyone’s plan, is it? When was the last weekend you actually had off?”
He shrugged, unable to say, her words convicting him. One of his New Year resolutions this year had been to be more intentional about taking time off. He’d clearly failed that one. Within a week, he was back to his old habits.
Her hand caressed his. “Ethan, I think you and I should plan for a weekend away.”
He coughed. “Excuse me?”
“No, not like that.” She laughed. “I know you’re not ready for that. Not yet, anyway.” She winked.
“Whoa. Lucinda, you know how I feel about that. And I won’t be ready until I’m married. Okay?”
“Is this your way of making a proposal?” she asked slyly.
Good gargoyles, the woman was persistent. “No.” Sometimes a man just had to be blunt. “Lucinda, I don’t know what you think this is, but I don’t think we’re at that stage of our relationship.”
As soon as those words escaped, he cringed. Because—yep, there it was. Her eyes had lit. He’d finally called this—this whatever it was—a relationship. When it was a friendship at the very most.
“I’m so glad you’re finally recognising that we’re together,” she purred.
Man. He’d never had much sympathy for Samson, but he could suddenly see how a man could get himself into a mess, where words grew sticky and stuck in a woman’s heart.
“Look Lucinda, we’re not together, and you know it.”
She pouted again. “But you and me, you know that’s what our mothers want.”
But not what he wanted. Still, saying that out loud seemed a step too far. “I really need to go—”
“Oh, but before you do, could you please keep the last weekend in September free?”
“Why?”
“Because I might have a surprise for you.”
He scanned his memory for other commitments, but nothing sprang to mind. A quick check of his phone calendar didn’t reveal any commitments either. “Looks like you’re in luck.”
Her face lit.
“Apart from youth group, of course.”
“What? Why?”
“You know why.”
She heaved out a dramatic sigh. “I don’t understand why you care more about them than you do about me. Can’t you please take the Friday off?”
“Not unless you tell me why.”
So she told him. And he fought to keep his nose from wrinkling.
He couldn’t think of anything worse. And how that was definitely not something to skip youth group for.