Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Cecilia was on the phone when Lucy returned to the table, speaking loudly enough that Lucy could hear a few words as she walked up. When she heard Cecilia shout “Noah,” she quickened her pace, rushing back and spilling some of both drinks over the glasses and onto her hands.
“Is that him?” she asked, putting the drinks down but not sitting. She was too excited, too nervous to sit. “Are you talking to Noah right now?”
Cecilia waved her off, covering her other ear with her hand. “Hello? Can you hear me?”
“Who is it?” Lucy hissed, but again, Cecilia ignored the question.
“Where are you?” she shouted into the phone. “Why is it so loud?”
Lucy bounced on the balls of her feet, eager to find out what was happening. She wanted to ask Cecilia to put the call on speaker, but sensed that the request would be ignored, too.
“Okay,” she said after a few more seconds, sounding disappointed. “Fine. I’ll tell her. All right, bye.” She hung up, leaving Lucy standing there with her jaw dropped, waiting for an explanation. “That was Noah.”
“What did he say?” Lucy returned to her seat. It had only taken her about five minutes to get their drinks, but a lot could happen in that time. “Did he tell you where he was? Is Megan with him?”
“Yes, Megan is with him. But he wouldn’t tell me where he was. He just called because he saw he had a lot of missed calls from me and didn’t want me to worry.”
“It’s a bit late for that!”
“Yeah, well, I said the same thing, and he apologized for freaking us out, but I’m not about to pretend he doesn’t still have a lot of groveling to do when he gets back. I guess I’m glad he called, though.”
Lucy frowned and checked her phone. She didn’t have any recent calls from Noah, even though she had tried to reach him multiple times that day as well. Did he not care that she might’ve been worried about him?
“Did you tell him that you knew who Megan really was?”
Cecilia nodded. “I had to. When I asked if she was with him, it was pretty obvious that I had been made aware that she isn’t your niece.
He didn’t seem upset that you told me, but he did sound pretty stressed out.
Also, wherever he was, it was really loud.
There were a lot of voices in the background, and cars honking and stuff. Like he was on a busy street.”
“That rules out most places around here.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
Lucy hummed in thought. “What else did he say?”
“Just that he was safe, that Megan was safe, and that he would be back in Northampton as soon as possible. In the meantime, he asked me to come up with a cover story for why he has to miss a couple more days of work.” She picked up the new drink and sipped greedily from it.
Lucy felt that there was more to the conversation that she wasn’t saying. “What else?”
Cecilia avoided her gaze. “He asked that we not talk to any strangers who might come looking for him.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “That makes it seem like he expects people will be coming around and asking about him.” She sank further down into her seat. “Oh, God. What does this mean? Who does he think will come looking for him?”
“He didn’t elaborate.”
Letting out a pathetic whine, Lucy let her head fall into her hands. “Is he trying to make himself sound like the most suspicious man on the planet?”
“If so, he’s doing a great job.”
“This is all so messy! And why did he call you instead of me? I’m the one who actually knew the truth about Megan, not to mention, he knows I’ve been trying to get ahold of him all day. Did you tell him to call me?”
“I tried, but he said he couldn’t talk to you right now.”
This confused her. “Why?”
Cecilia shrugged. “Maybe it’s because you already knew so much about the situation.
Maybe he thought it would be easier to get away with whatever he’s doing if he talked to me instead of you.
I would’ve pushed him for more information, but it was so hard to hear him in the first place, and I felt like he wouldn’t tell me anything else.
I wanted to leave the door open in case he decided to call me again, and being overly aggressive could ruin that trust.”
Lucy rolled her eyes and took out her phone. “I’m calling him.” Even though she knew he wouldn’t answer, it still stung a little when her call went straight to voicemail. “He’s screening me.”
Cecilia smiled sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I can tell this is really hard for you. I know you were starting to have pretty strong feelings for Noah, and?—”
“I don’t have feelings for him!”
Her brows arched in feigned surprise. “Oh, we’re still pretending?”
“Wha—”
“I thought maybe we could move past the schoolyard games now that things have sort of escalated to a new level of adult problems.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, since you’re dealing with all these other things, like lost children and shady pasts, I was hoping we could drop the pretense and be honest with each other.
You like Noah. That’s why you didn’t want to believe he was doing something wrong.
” She smiled casually, as if this were the most obvious thing in the world.
Lucy had to wonder how many other people in town could see right through her.
“You wanted to see the best in this man who, once upon a time, made you so furious you almost couldn’t bring yourself to work in the same restaurant as him. So you like him. It’s obvious. And it’s not a big deal. We’re adults. You’re allowed to have a crush on someone.”
“But I can’t have a crush on him!” she said, her voice trembling slightly.
She wasn’t really sad but more confused and frustrated, and more than a little annoyed with herself and Noah.
“Look at how crazy his life is right now! It’s the worst idea in the world to get involved with someone like Noah, who has all these secrets and takes off without telling anyone for days at a time.
That’s not what I want, Cecilia. I left my ex-husband because he was too unreliable, too irresponsible.
Now you think I’m going for someone who I think we can both agree is basically the definition of emotionally unavailable? ”
Cecilia raised her hands in surrender. “I’m not saying anything about Noah’s emotional availability. Like I said, you’re the one who’s been spending time with him throughout this drama, not me.”
Cecilia was right. If Lucy truly took the time to consider Noah’s behavior over the past few days—excluding his decision to leave town—she had to admit he had been very caring and thoughtful. He had been so attentive and kind that she even started to wonder what kind of father he would be.
“I don’t want to talk about Noah anymore,” she said, shaking her head. “We know he and Megan are safe; we don’t have to worry about him right now. I’d rather finish this drink and talk about anything else. I need a break from serious subjects.”
“Does that mean I’m not allowed to ask about you quitting your job?” She frowned. “I didn’t even realize you still had another job, besides working at the diner.”
“Well, not anymore.”
“Want to talk about it?”
She shook her head. “Not really, now that you mention it. It’s a boring story anyway.
I just decided to quit my job because I had been in the City this morning, dealing with my stupid ex-husband, who was in the hospital, and I realized I wanted to be done with everything tying me to my old life.
Besides my family, of course, but you know what I mean. ”
“You were in the City this morning? And your ex-husband was in the hospital?”
“Yes and yes.”
“Okay, that’s it. We’re getting drunk. After a few more drinks, I have a feeling you’ll talk, or at least you’ll find it harder to avoid my questions. I need to know exactly what you’ve been up to today.”