Chapter 34. A beginning of “friendship”
Jackson Johnson
I pulled out the chair for Lilly to sit down. She was impressed by the new place I had taken her to. It was my other new restaurant, which was associated with my brother Jacob.
"It's very rustic," she said as I pulled out my chair to sit. "I love it, the vintage brick wall, the lamps... it's very youthful," she said in a tone of surprise. "What do you serve?" Her brown eyes stayed on me, and for a moment the words escaped me. "Jackson?"
"Oh, burgers, they're the best in the city." She squinted her eyes and smiled discreetly.
"Is it yours too?" I pressed my lips to avoid showing that hidden smile full of pride.
"Yes, it's mine and my brother's," I said, making a brief pause. "We both designed it. It opened to the public a week ago..."
"Wow, you really like the restaurant business," she said curiously.
"Yes, I love eating. And I like people to really eat, not just live on salads. We have one life, and we should enjoy it."
"You have a very motivational phrase," Lilly replied to my words.
"It's just what it is, don't you think?" She sighed, and I noticed how she relaxed, her face becoming pensive.
"I've always thought we have to live, not set limits for ourselves," the way she was talking hypnotized me. "...as you say, we only have one life." Her brown eyes stayed on me.
"Yes, yes, I think the same," I cleared my throat and signaled one of the waiters waiting for us to call to start ordering. I looked at the clock, and we had enough time to eat and return to the company.
"Jackson!" I heard from behind me. Lilly smiled in my direction and then at my mother behind me. "Hello! What a coincidence to run into you, Lilly! How are you, dear?" Lilly politely stood up to greet my mother, who hugged her unexpectedly and smiled happily. As they parted, my mother looked at me with a big smile on her face. "Son, aren't you going to greet your mother?" I quickly stood up.
"Sorry, what are you doing here?" I asked, surprised.
"Your father is coming, Jacob sent us the address of the place. We couldn't come to the opening, so I thought, why not have some burgers?" My father arrived by my side and greeted Lilly, then looked at my mother and signaled for them to go to another table.
"Oh, yes, of course, we'll let you eat," my mother looked at Lilly, who was still standing next to her chair as I was. "Nice to see you again, Lilly, say hello to your mom," she winked and smiled at me. "Enjoy your meal, son," another wink for me before she went with my father to another table. I waited for Lilly to sit down and then I did. The waiter approached, and we ordered. When he left, silence reigned at the table.
"Your mom is very kind; she treated me wonderfully at the party on Saturday."
"Yes, she's always been like that, especially when..." I stopped my words, and she looked at me, waiting for me to finish. But I couldn't say that unless I thought of something else, but my mind went blank.
"… 'when…'" she encouraged me to finish the sentence.
"Uhm, when she sees me with someone."
"With a woman?" I nodded and then looked away.
"She gets obsessed with the idea that I might be dating, and if not," I looked at her, pausing, "...she arranges blind dates." She smiled, remembering our failed dinner weeks ago.
"Oh, I get it," she placed her arms on the edge of the table and looked at me intently. "She wants you to settle down. To start a family and give her grandchildren."
"Yes, exactly." She sighed and looked at the napkin holder in the middle of our table.
"It's common for parents to want you to have what they have," she now turned her brown eyes in my direction. "I went through it when I met my ex-fiancé..." I tensed, finally hearing about the jerk who had threatened her. "There was a time when my parents wanted me to meet someone, to find love..."
"But love comes on its own," I said unfiltered, and she agreed with my words.
"Exactly. So they introduced me to Oliver," she continued talking, "...at one of the Hospital events where they worked. Then I found out he worked at the same company as me. He turned out to be the owners' son. I had never seen him before, so he started coming to work, we began talking, getting to know each other, and before I knew it, we were engaged."
"Did you want to get engaged?" She sighed.
"Some women dream of their fairytale wedding..."
"But you weren't one of them, were you?" She smiled.
"No. I had dreams in common with him, which excited me at the time until..." she stopped her words and quickly looked away from me. "Sorry," she wiped the corner of her eye and smiled.
"It seems like you still have some feelings for him," she returned her gaze to me.
"No. Everything I felt for him, he killed to the root," her tone of voice contained anger. "All he does now is threaten me to come back to him, but no. I wouldn't go back to him even if I were crazy. What he did is unforgivable."
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be inappropriate."
"Don't be sorry," she smiled. "It's something I needed to say out loud, I feel better."
"Don't apologize, we're starting a friendship, and what do friends do?" I put on a half-smile. "We listen to each other."
"That's right," she whispered. Moments later, the waiter arrived with our orders. Lilly devoured hers, just like I did. Hunger was mutual. I ordered a basket of fries and onion rings. We both dedicated ourselves to eating. I only thought about how comfortable I felt eating in her company, forgetting that my parents were in the same place as me.