Love in Between

10

Luke

Charley was sleeping peacefully as I carefully opened the door and peeked into the room. Closing the door as silently as I could, I grabbed a pillow and a blanket from the hall closet, set them on the couch, sat down, and ran my hands through my hair. I couldn’t believe that Lily was Johnny Gilmore’s daughter. I remembered her father having passed away about two years ago, but I didn’t recall hearing anything about her mother or sister, so I decided to get up and bring my laptop back to the couch. I did some online searching, and because her parents were divorced for the past ten years, I couldn’t find anything on them until an article popped up that caught my attention. The headline read: ‘80’s Musical Legend’s Daughter Calls off Wedding’. I clicked on the headline to bring up the article.

“Lily Gilmore, daughter of 80’s musical legend, Johnny Gilmore, calls off wedding after she caught her fiancé having relations with her sister, in the church, on their wedding day. Sources say Miss Gilmore caused quite a scene outside the church, climbed into a limousine and then hasn’t been seen since…”

I looked at the date of the article, and it was dated a little over a year ago. At that moment, it had occurred to me that she lied to me about her family. The only person in her family that had passed away was her father, whereas her mother and sister were still alive. I set my laptop on the coffee table and laid myself down on the couch with my hands behind my head. Why would she lie to me? I couldn’t understand her motive, and I was pissed. There’s one thing in my life that I hated most and will not tolerate—people who lie.

I awoke to the feeling of tapping on my shoulder. I opened one eye and saw Charley standing over me, smiling.

“Wake up; I’m hungry,” she said.

“Ok, ok, I’m getting up.”

I sat up on the couch and rubbed my eyes. “What time is it, Charley?”

She looked at the clock in the kitchen. “It’s seven o’clock.”

“May I ask why you’re up so early?”

“Uncle Luke, it’s not early for a kid my age.”

I couldn’t help but smile as I gave her a kiss on the top of her head. “What do you want for breakfast?”

“I want your smiley pancakes.” She smiled.

I walked into the kitchen and took out everything I needed to make pancakes. Charley loved the way I made them. Her favorite part is when I use chocolate chips for the eyes and whipped cream for the smile.

“Don’t forget the eyes, Uncle Luke!” she shouted from the couch.

“Don’t worry, Charley, I won’t.”

The pancakes were cooking on the griddle when Sam walked through the door.

“Damn, Luke, those smell good.”

“Want some?”

“Yeah, I’m starving. Gretchen had a photo shoot this morning, so we didn’t get to eat.”

I poured more batter onto the hot griddle.

“Hey, don’t forget to make them smiley,” Sam said as he turned and looked at Charley.

Charley looked at him and giggled. I rolled my eyes. Sam walked into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.

“I pulled up an article last night about Lily,” I said to him.

“Are you stalking her or something?” he asked.

“No. Do you know who her father was?” I could tell by the way Sam looked at me that he already knew. “You asshole, you knew and didn’t tell me?”

“Uncle Luke, language!” Charley yelled from the couch.

“Sorry, peanut. Please, don’t tell your mom.”

“The article said that she caught her fiancé with her sister on the day of their wedding.”

“Yeah, I only found that out from Gretchen,” Sam said as he poured some coffee into his cup and sat on the bar stool. “I asked Lily about it, but she got really pissed and told me to forget that I even knew about it.”

“You asked her about it?” I said as I took the pancakes off the griddle. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I think you two would make a great couple, and I wanted to get her feel about dating.”

“Bro, leave it alone. Jesus Christ, I already told you that I’m not interested in dating anyone.”

“Uncle Luke, I’m pretty sure J.C. is a bad word when used that way,” Charley said as she sat down at the table.

“I’m sorry, Charley.” I sighed as I set down the plate of pancakes in front of her.

Sam got up from the bar stool and sat at the table across from Charley. “Dude, what the hel—heck did you do my pancakes? They’re frowning cakes,” he said with a pout.

I rolled my eyes and poured myself a cup of coffee. Just as I was about to sit down, Maddie walked into the apartment.

“Good morning, baby,” she said as she walked over and kissed Charley on the head. “Good morning, guys.”

“Hey, Charley, would you mind if Sam took you home while I talk to your mom for a few minutes?”

Charley looked at Sam and tilted her head. “Will you give me a piggyback ride upstairs?”

“You bet I will. Hop on, little girl, and we’ll giddy-up outta here.”

Charley climbed on Sam’s back and giggled. As soon as the door shut, Maddie asked me what was going on.

“Lily’s the daughter of Johnny Gilmore,” I said.

“What? As in Johnny Gilmore, the musician?”

“Yeah, and she lied to me about something.”

“What did she lie about, Luke?” Maddie asked as she poured more coffee into our cups.

“She told me that her family was killed a couple of years ago in an accident, but I did some research. The only person who died in her family was her father, and I remember that day. The reports said he had a massive heart attack. Her mom and sister are still alive and living in Seattle.” I grabbed my laptop, set it on the table, and brought up the article I saw last night. “Here, read this,” I said as I turned my laptop towards Maddie.

“Wow, poor girl,” she said as she looked up at me. “She obviously had her reasons for telling you her family’s dead. I know that if I had a sister and caught her having sex with my fiancé, I would never talk to her again. But to find them on her wedding day, in the church! Cut her some slack, Luke, you don’t know the whole story.”

I stood there for a few moments, pondering what Maddie had said. “You’re right, sis. Thanks.”

“You’re falling for her, aren’t you?” Maddie asked as she put her hand on my shoulder.

“No, we’re just friends,” I replied.

“It’s ok, Luke. Don’t fight what’s natural,” she said as she walked out the door.

I sighed and started cleaning up the kitchen.