30
Luke
As Lily and I were snuggled against each other in bed, I heard my phone beep. I reached over, grabbed it, and read a text message from Maddie.
“Adam just called and talked to Charley. He said that he’s sorry and something came up, so he won’t be able to come visit her. She’s devastated and won’t stop crying.”
I closed my eyes, and Lily asked what was wrong. I showed her the message from Maddie, and she instantly felt bad for Charley. I was relieved because I didn’t want him anywhere near her, but I felt sorry for Charley. I kissed Lily on the forehead and sent a message back to Maddie.
“Typical douchebag, Adam. I’ll be up there in a second.”
I sighed as I climbed out of bed and looked at the clock, which read 6:00 p.m. Lily and I got dressed and headed upstairs to Maddie’s apartment. As I opened the door, Maddie walked over and told us Charley was in her room. I could hear Charley crying down the hallway. As Lily and I stepped into her room, we saw Charley lying face down and crying into her pillow.
“Hey, peanut,” I said as I rubbed her back.
“Go away, Uncle Luke; I don’t want to talk to anyone,” she sobbed.
“Your mom told me about your dad, and I think it’s pretty crappy what he did, but he’ll come see you soon.”
“You don’t know anything!” Charley snapped at me.
Lily walked over to the bed and motioned for me to move down. “Let me try,” she whispered.
As she sat down on the bed, she began to tell Charley about her father.
“I know what it’s like to be disappointed by your dad, Charley. My dad disappointed me almost my whole life.”
Charley turned her head, looked at her, and sniffled. “Really?”
“Yeah, really,” Lily answered her in a soft, sweet voice.
“But he promised, Lily. He promised me that he would come see me,” she said with a pout.
Lily took her hand and started stroking Charley’s hair. “I know he did, sweetie, but sometimes when you’re grown up, things come up, and it can hurt the ones you love. My dad made me a lot of promises that he didn’t keep. Sometimes, he wouldn’t be home for my birthday, even though he said he’d be.”
“What did you do?” Charley asked as she sat up.
“I cried, just like you are right now, and then I got over it, because I had plenty of people at home who loved me, just like you do.”
“But I wanted to see him,” she whined.
Lily pulled Charley into an embrace and kissed her on the top of her head. “I know you do, sweetie, but sometimes certain things can’t be helped. You have to be a big girl and move on.”
As Lily looked at me, I smiled. Seeing her with Charley was incredible, and all I saw when I watched her was the mother of my children.
“Thank you, Lily.” Charley smiled as she looked up at her.
“You’re welcome, baby.”
“Hey, what about me?” I asked as I leaned over and began tickling her.
Charley giggled and tried to push my hands away. “Thank you, Uncle Luke.”
“How would you like to spend the night over at my apartment tonight? We can dance, eat a bunch of junk food, sleep on the floor and, best of all, we can watch scary movies!” Lily said with excitement.
“Really?!” That would be so fun! Can Uncle Luke spend the night with us?” Charley asked.
Lily looked at me; then she twisted her face as she looked at Charley. “Are you sure you want boys at our sleepover?”
“Only Uncle Luke.” Charley giggled.
Lily leaned over and kissed me. “I guess he can come, but he has to behave himself.” She smiled.
“Is that so?” I growled at her.
As Lily and I got up and walked out of the room, I told Charley to pack her bag. We walked into the living room, where Maddie was sitting on the couch.
“Charley is going to have a sleepover at Lily’s tonight, if that’s ok,” I said.
She looked up at me and smiled. “That’s great, Luke. Thank you, Lily. I’m sure that made Charley very happy.”
Charley came running down the hall with her bag. “I’m ready!” she squealed as she kissed Maddie goodbye.
***
The next morning, I rolled over and looked at Lily as she slept next to Charley on the floor. We had a great night, and Charley was happy. Before getting up, I softly kissed Lily on the head and walked back to my apartment to take a shower. While standing under the warm water, I kept thinking about Callie and how she’d be happy that I’d moved on. I grinned as I thought about Lily and how all I saw was my future with her. As I was turning off the water and wrapping a towel around my waist, there was a knock on the bathroom door.
“Bro, I have to take a piss! Can you hurry it up?”
“I’m done, man; relax,” I said as I opened the door and walked to my bedroom. After getting dressed, I saw Sam sitting on the couch, alone.
“Where’s Gretchen?” I asked.
“She had a photo shoot,” Sam said.
I walked into the kitchen and grabbed what I needed to make pancakes because I wasn’t sure if Lily had everything. “Dude, come over to Lily’s for pancakes; Charley’s there.”
Sam turned his head. “Why is Charley there?” he asked.
“Adam called her yesterday, said something came up, and that he wouldn’t be able to come visit her. She was upset and crying about it, so Lily asked her if she wanted to sleep over at her place.”
“I bet she loved that.” Sam smiled.
“We had a lot of fun,” I said as I headed towards the door.
“Hold on a second and let me throw on some clothes,” Sam said as he got up from the couch.
We walked back to Lily’s place, and I set the stuff on the counter. Lily wasn’t on the floor anymore, and Charley was up watching cartoons.
“Hi, Uncle Sammy.” She smiled.
“Good morning, darling.”
“Charley, where’s Lily?” I asked as I plugged in the griddle.
“She’s in the shower. Are you making pancakes?”
“I sure am.” I smiled.
As I measured out the pancake mix, Sam cracked the eggs and put them into the bowl. Lily emerged from the bedroom with a smile on her face.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you two were gay.”
I looked up and smiled at her as she walked over and kissed me on the lips. “Maybe I am, and you just don’t know it yet.”
She hit me on the arm with the back of her hand as she walked over and kissed Sam on the cheek. “Where’s Gretchen?”
“She’s at a photo shoot. We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon for San Francisco. I’m taking her home to meet my parents.”
“That’s great, Sam.” I smiled.
As Lily reached up in the cabinet, Sam grabbed her and hugged her.
“Dude, what the hell are you doing?” I said as I looked over at them.
“I’m just thanking her for moving in next door because if she didn’t, I never would have met the love of my life,” he said.
“Uncle Sammy! Lily is Uncle Luke’s girlfriend; you shouldn’t be hugging her like that.”
“Yeah, Sammy, hands off.” I chuckled.
“It’s ok, Charley; it’s just a friendly hug,” Lily said as she set the plates on the counter.
I made the pancakes exactly the way Charley loved them, and the four of us had a nice breakfast. As we were cleaning up, and Charley was gathering her things, my phone rang and my mom appeared on the screen.
“Hey, Mom,” I answered.
“Good morning, Luke. Your father and I were wondering if you and Lily would like to go to Bernie’s bar tonight for a couple of drinks.”
I told her to hold on as I looked at Lily and asked her if she wanted to go. She smiled and nodded her head as she took a sip of her coffee.
“Sounds good, Mom. How about we meet around seven?”
“Excellent! We’ll see the two of you tonight. I love you, Luke.”
“I love you too, Mom,” I said as I hit the end button.