Chapter 8 : A Place of My Own

*Lily* The following morning was Saturday. I stretched my arms and legs, hoping to languish under the covers for a few an hour or two longer, but the smell of coffee forced me to stand. I stumbled to the kitchen for a cup of joe, feeling slightly hungover. The boys were up and dressed, watching the news. The door to our small balcony was open, and a light breeze ruffled the magazines on the table. I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and sat on the sofa across from them with the biggest smile. They weren’t home when I’d arrived last night, and I knew they wanted details about my night with William. “Look how happy she is. Spill it,” said Adam. “Start from the moment you walked out the door.” I filled them in on the highlights–the restaurant, the champagne, and the marvelous food and dessert. I left out the bit about meeting William’s ex-wife’s friend. They seemed floored that William took me on a private museum tour to see the planetarium’s exclusive screening. “We stared at the stars and named the constellations,” I tilted my head backward and closed my eyes. “He’s very cultured.” “He’s a grown man, Lily, not the Minnesota hicks you’re used to dating. We were surprised to see you here this morning,” Adam teased. “Adam! Lily is a good girl. She wouldn’t agree to that on a first date.” I blushed, thinking of how I would have complied if William had only asked. “Did he kiss you at least?” Patrick asked. I pursed my lips. “Just on the cheek.” “He respects you,” Patrick mused. “I’m sure there will be a next date in your future. It sounds like it went well.” “He did mention our next date, so that is hopeful.” I pondered the night’s events, reviewing everything William had said to me, wondering when I’d hear from him again. “I’m not sure, though. He’s very busy. Eva said that he’s always traveling.” “Ugh, I forgot about the Eva connection. Does he still want to keep it from her?” Adam asked. I nodded. “Well, busy as he may be, I’m sure he’ll make time for you.” He smiled at me and then at Patrick. I thought about how much we had in common, despite the age difference. We both loved art, museums, and food. William, an admitted foodie, named several places that I must try. He even talked about a restaurant in Connecticut he wanted to take me to. He seemed to love the fact that I had a healthy appetite and wasn’t afraid a piece of chocolate cake would hemorrhage my waistline. Thankfully, I had a great metabolism–so far, at least. That was one thing I had my parents to thank for. “He loves food and talked about several restaurants we must try, some in our neighborhood.” “Well, you have that in common. You do love to eat. Lily, listen, we have some news.” Adam sounded serious. I perked up and set my coffee cup on the table. “Okay, what is it?” I looked from Adam to Patrick. “Patrick and I found a brownstone in Brooklyn and put down a deposit. We move in next week.” “Our realtor told us it just became available,” Patrick added. “We’re sorry to dump this on you.” I sat stunned. This was not the news I had expected. I had thought it would be something with their jobs. “Now you have to find a new place to live, but at least you sold your collection and have the money from the sale as a safety net,” Adam said. I wondered how long they had been sitting on this news. I couldn’t blame them for wanting to start their life together. They had even discussed adopting a baby at some point, though I couldn’t help feeling a bit sad about losing them. “Could you stay here and rent part of the place out?” Patrick moved to sit by me on the couch. It seemed unlikely that I’d find two roommates in such a short amount of time. “Maybe. No worries about me. I’m happy for you guys. I’ll just really miss you both!” I laid my head on Patrick’s shoulder. There was no way I could afford this apartment on my own. “We’ll miss you too.” Patrick squeezed my hand. “We’ll just be in Brooklyn. It’s not the end of the world, as Adam sometimes acts like.” “You have to come to see it, Lily. It’s absolutely perfect.” “I know how you feel about leaving Manhattan, so I’m sure it’s amazing. I can’t wait to see it. Don’t worry about me.” I repeated, more to myself. “I’ll find something. I can ask my friend, Farrah. You remember she needed a roommate about the same time I moved in here.” Later in the day, I reached out to another friend from college I hadn’t spoken to in several years, Farrah Lahey. Though several years had passed since we’d seen each other, I knew she had a place in the village. We had stayed in touch through texting and Instagram. I had already committed to living with the boys when Farrah needed a third roommate. Farrah, a stunning brunette from Florida, was trying her hand at acting like so many others I knew from school. She and Eva never got along, which forced me to split my time with them both. I chose Eva over Farrah several times out of a strange loyalty to Eva. “I live right around the corner from that art gallery!” I told Farrah about my life and my recent exhibition. She seemed excited about my art showing and wished she had known about it so she could have attended. “I’m sorry, Farrah. It all happened so fast.” I wasn’t sure why, but I admitted to meeting Eva’s father and the date. “Be careful, Lily,” she said. “You know I’m not a fan of Eva. This sounds dangerous. I can’t see her being all right with this.” “It does worry me what she’ll say when she finds out. I can only hope she’ll come around at some point.” I left out Eva’s delusions about reuniting her parents, which worsened the situation. I also left out the fact that William had bought all of my art pieces. It seemed to dimmish my victory like he only bought them because he was interested in me, which I knew wasn’t true. “Please don’t say anything if you happen to run into Eva. William wants to be the one to tell her.” “Don’t worry,” she said. “I don’t talk to Eva, and I wouldn’t want to be the one to break that news to her in any case. Although, you never know. She’s unpredictable. I could also see her being fine with it.” “Maybe. Please let me know if you hear of anyone who needs someone to sublet.” “I will. Let’s do lunch sometime.” I laid back on my bed, and a wave of sleepiness crept over me. “That would be great.” Farrah also didn’t hold back, letting me know she was concerned about the age difference between William and me. That seemed less of a concern than the complication of William being Eva’s father. I tried to reassure her before I hung up. The call with Farrah and the fact that I was running out of ideas for a new place soured my mood. Maybe I was rushing things too quickly with William. I had more pressing concerns now to deal with. I wondered if Tony Gold or Hannah might know of a place I could live. Just then, my phone rang, and Eva’s number appeared. I panicked initially, worried she might have found out about the date. I wasn’t that close with Eva; however, she seemed to be suddenly back in my life as quickly as she’d dropped out of it. The guise of William calling me Lilian could have gotten back to her mother and then her. “Hi Eva,” I answered, curious why she’d be calling. “Hello, my little artist friend. How are you?” “I’m good.” Maybe she’d discovered that William had bought all my paintings and was calling to confront me. “Listen, remember the trip to Belize I’m taking next month? Someone in my group dropped out, and I wondered if you’d like to come. There are like six of us going. We have a house on the beach with a private chef. My father was the one who brought you up, and I thought that it was a great idea for you to join us.” Feeling more than a twinge of guilt, I cut her off. “Oh, Eva, thanks for thinking of me; that’s so sweet of you, but I can’t. My roommates just called and told me they found a place in Brooklyn, and I have to move out of here. I’m not sure where I can find a place I can afford. I really need a roommate. You wouldn’t, by chance, know of anyone, would you?” “None of my friends need roommates, Lily, except you. Sorry. Oh hey, when am I receiving your painting, by the way?” Eva’s complete oblivion over my dire straits shouldn’t have surprised me. “Uh, let me check with Tony at the gallery, and I’ll get back to you. I’m sure it should arrive any day now.” “Great, thanks, Lily. Bye-bye.” “Bye, Eva.” I now wished I had kept the Brooklyn Bridge portrait to give to Adam and Patrick. It would have been the perfect housewarming gift. Eager as she was to receive it, I knew they would have cherished it more than Eva ever could. Wouldn’t it have been delivered to her father with all of the others? She must be confused. I would just have to paint them another one. I itched to start painting my new Coney Island Carnival series, but I would have to find a place to live first. I tried not to panic but was soon running out of options. Looking for an ad in the paper or online was always risky, but I didn’t really have a choice. My greatest fear was having to move back to Cannon Falls. My hometown had a population of around ten thousand. People driving through might miss it if they blinked. It was located in the Minnesota River Valley. The quaint town sat on a confluence of three rivers. I missed the scenic drives with my folks and brothers through farmlands and the charming downtown area lined with shops and restaurants. During the summer, Cannon Falls hosted the annual Sauerkraut Days Festival and a Frost Wonderland in the winter. However, December in New York City was also one of my favorite times of the year. I couldn’t help feeling at home in the city, and the idea of leaving left me heartbroken. I made a mental note to remind William to send Eva the painting. William–I laid my head back on my pillow and imagined how he was spending his Saturday. When would he call, and how could he follow up with our first date? I worried that he’d ruined dating for me now. How could anyone possibly fill his shoes?