Chapter Thirty-Three Lily
Back in my room, wet from the rain and bone-tired, I’m desperate for distraction, for comfort.
I sit against the hard edge of my bed frame and remember Jade’s text. Because of the exhaustion I feel from the action-packed night, when I check the clock and see it’s only nine, I’m surprised. I decide to give Jade a call, and she picks up on the first ring.
“Lily,” she says immediately. Her voice is chipper and kind. “I’m so happy you called. I miss you.”
It’s the familiarity of her voice, the friendliness and warmth. I’ve missed her this summer, I realize. I’ve missed my best friend.
“Jade, I’m so sorry,” I say. “I’m so sorry I haven’t reached out before this. I was just insecure and being stupid.”
She rushes to jump in. “I could’ve called, too,” she says.
“I honestly felt a bit abandoned when you left me with the lease. I was angry, and I let that frustration build instead of being the bigger person. I know you were going through a hard time, and I wished I could’ve been there for you more after you got fired. ”
In the background, I hear what sounds like the clinking of pots and pans. “Oh, I’m so sorry. Is now a bad time? It sounds like you’re cooking.”
Jade lets out a short huff, and I picture her rolling her eyes the way she always does. “That’s just Mark,” she says. “He’s cooking very loudly.” In the distance, I hear her boyfriend laugh. “I’ll go into the bedroom for a bit.”
There’s the sound of a door closing and then quiet. “Sorry about that,” says Jade. “Can we be okay again?”
“Of course,” I tell her, relieved at how easy this reconciliation is. Just like it was with Clive—how many things have I avoided out of misplaced fear? “Thank you,” I say. After a few seconds, I ask, “So, Mark’s cooking dinners now?”
Jade giggles. Her laugh has always had a bright, musical quality: girlish. “After you left me with that random subletter—who, by the way, was super messy and gross and always left hair on the shower wall—” I shudder. “Well, it kind of expedited my plan with Mark. I moved into his apartment.”
I can sense the smile in her voice. “Jade, that’s amazing! Congratulations!”
Maybe earlier in the summer, I would have heard this and felt sorry for myself, knowing that if I ever return to the city, our relationship won’t be the same. We’ll never again be roommates. But now, I really am happy for Jade.
“So, what’s new with you?” she asks. I hear the creak of her leaning back on her bed frame. “Catch me up!”
“Well, for starters, I instigated a six-person fistfight tonight. Henry is engaged, and his fiancée wants me dead. I met a really great guy but kind of blew it. My dad and I maybe reconciled. I yelled at my old boss, Clive. My mom’s long-lost love ended up renting out the other half of our cottage, and I’ve been on a mission to set them up all summer.
” I’m breathless when I’m finished. “Oh, and a really creepy psychic lady told me that my soulmate’s name starts with the letter H. Where do you want to start?”
Jade is nonplussed. “Definitely start with your mom’s long-lost lover.”
I tell her the full story of the summer.
By the end, we’re laughing so hard my ribs feel sore.
I look over at my bedside clock and see it’s already ten.
Discussing it all with Jade, everything feels more manageable.
She’s always had a way of putting the world into perspective.
After an hour, I realize I’ve probably kept her from her dinner plans with Mark.
“I love you, Jade,” I say.
“Love you, always,” she says. “And don’t worry. Your mom will forgive you. You guys are so close. Nothing can break that.”
After we hang up, I look around the room, taking stock. The portraits, now dried, are leaning against the right wall. To their right, on a small wooden stool, are the envelopes from Lottie that Thomas found.
Normally, a message from Lottie would have been the first thing on my mind, but with everything else going on, the urgency has been lost. Maybe that’s a sign that we’re healing, finally moving on.
I walk over and pick them up. The first one is lighter than the second. There must be at least a hundred pages inside.
I sit back down on my bed, open the envelopes, and begin to read.