I belong now. Not some one-horse-town surrounded by cornfields.”
“You never go back? To visit at least?”
“Well… My mother is there. So yes, I go back on occasion.”
“What about your dad?”
“My father is dead.” He says the words evenly and meets my eyes but his tone is icy.
“So how often do you see your mom then?” I decide not to ask further about this dad.
“Once a year.”
“Just once a year?” I try to hide the shock in my voice. Even Deanna comes back more than that.
“I support my mother from here.” I detect a slightly defensive tone in his voice. “I bought her a big new house as soon as I had the money. And now I take care of all her needs and wants.” He pauses. “Of course, I should probably see her more.”
“I guess it’s tough when you have so much to do here,” I say quickly. I feel like I’ve touched a sore spot…and David’s been so kind about Deanna, I’d hate to unnecessarily cause him some kind of pain now…bringing up sore memories. “It’s nice that you support your family financially. But what if you have a family of your own some day? Wouldn’t you want to be somewhere smaller?”
His eyebrows shoot up sharply. I feel like I’m treading on thin ice, asking all these personal questions. But I’m genuinely curious. And I’ve told him all about me…not that there’s much to tell.
“If I have a family, I’ll have it in Vegas.”
“If?”
“Not sure it’s a must for me,” he shrugs. “I assume it is for you?”
I nod, feeling a smile creep over my face. “Eventually. One day. Yeah. Once I’ve figured out the career stuff.”
“You mean once you’re running the show at your own restaurant?” He asks with a grin.
“Hopefully.”
“Don’t say hopefully as if it’s some farfetched dream.” He looks at me seriously. “Say definitely. You’ve got to believe in yourself, Lilly, otherwise you’re setting yourself up for failure. And you’ll have to get out of Parkville if you really want that dream to become a reality.”
“I guess so,” I concede. I’ve thought about leaving Parkville before, of course, but the prospect is daunting.
“You have to get into the world one day. Have you ever even been outside of the United States? Do you have a passport?”
“Of course!” I don’t know why, but I feel vaguely offended. There’s nothing wrong with not having a passport, of course. But David seems so worldly and seems to expect the exact opposite of me.
“Where have you been?” He presses me.
“Canada. Niagara Falls.” I hold my breath, expecting some snide remark.
“Never further afield? Europe? Or even Mexico?”
I shake my head, wishing this didn’t embarrass me. You have no reason to be embarrassed, I remind myself, and hold my head a little higher.
“That’s a shame. There’s so much great food out there. Traveling is a wonderful way to try new things, test different cuisines.”
“Traveling costs money,” I state the obvious as I straighten my shoulders.
“Sure, that’s true. So, how was Niagara Falls? Actually,” he pauses and grins, “I’ve never been.” He lets out a big laugh. “I’ve traveled the globe and you’ve managed to see one of the great sights of the world, one that I haven’t.” He gives me a reassuring smile.
“It was beautiful.” I don’t know if he’s just saying this to be nice but I don’t care. At least he’s not being a jerk about it. “I mean you see the photos but you just don't realize how big it is until you're there in person. And it's loud!” I rattle on. “That waterfall is huge, so of course it makes sense that it would make noise but I remember, we had to shout to have a conversation while we were there.”
I giggle at the memory, remembering how Deanna was teasing Mom and Dad by just mouthing words instead of speaking, causing them to shout what? what? what? at increasing volume until they finally figured out she wasn't even talking. For months afterwards, Deanna would randomly poke her head into my room and shout out what? what? what? It made me laugh every time.
“Seems like it was a good time, judging from that giggle,” David says.
“We went as a family. Mom, Dad, me, and Deanna. It was this special treat for our sixteenth birthday,” I explain. “Deanna was already sort of itching to get out of Parkville. She was talking about traveling, about quitting school and getting a job in Los Angeles.” I pause. “And then she left, not