Blind Fate

The kiss in the park had been beautiful. It had been breath-taking. It had been romance movie-worthy.

It had also been blissfully short. Ly wasn’t sure how long she could hold herself back... She wasn’t sure how long she could keep from falling for Jake. It sounded stupid, it sounded childish, it sounded selfish—but she knew herself enough to know that it was true, nonetheless. She was falling for Jake—hard—and before she hit the bottom she needed to get Den to talk to her.

There was no choice for her to make anymore. Whatever there was between her and Jake, there was no stopping it. Ly had to make Hayden understand that. It had been an accident. They had tried so hard to stay away from each other. They had known it wasn’t the right thing to do, but in the end they had been drawn back inexplicably and indisputably, like they were stuck in each other’s gravitational pull.

Den loved Lycoris as much as Ly did Hayden—so she would understand eventually, right? And maybe this was best for everyone. Everyone (except maybe Hayden) was pretty much sure that Jake wasn’t ever coming back to her. Now she could move on. Den was so beautiful and charming and fun and good at so many things that there was no way she wouldn’t be beating new romantic prospects away with a stick. Everything Ly could imagine anyone wanting to be, Den was. She was fashionable and sweet and honest and loyal—that sent a battering ram of guilt into Ly’s ribs.

No, she wouldn’t think about it. Ly needed to tell Hayden—show her somehow—that she had never meant for this to happen, that she felt the guilt to her very bones, that she didn’t want to lose her friendship, that she would never choose a man above her best friend.

So, leaving the park, Jake and Lycoris went their separate ways. They shared a long, brilliant smile as it snowed and Jake squeezed her hand, but that was it. Jake walked home to retrieve Daisy from his neighbor and Ly returned to her apartment. There was an unspoken understanding that yes, this would happen—yes, they wanted each other to keep—but there were a few things to take care of first.

As soon as Ly walked through her front door, she stripped off her mittens and pulled out her phone. She called into Sorenson and Ames. Her coworker, Baxter Rhodes, picked up and she asked him to fill in for her next few shifts. Thankfully, Baxter had a growing family and was willing to help her out both to earn some overtime and to stay out of the house for a bit. Lycoris thanked him profusely and moved on to her next call—Mrs. Baker.

This was the truly terrifying part. Ly was sure that Hayden had told Eileen all about what had happened in New York. Eileen was a lovely lady—very sweet, a mother to all... But if you crossed her or hurt her baby, you were fucked. Ly had never been outside her good graces, but she’d always had a healthy fear of Mrs. Baker. She was the type of woman who would bake you cookies and give you a hug and a Band-aid when you scraped your knee, but if she saw you sample the frosting on a cake would banish you from the house indefinitely. Needless to say, she ran a tight ship, even though Hayden was all grown up and out of the house.

The phone rang three times before a male voice answered.

“Hello, Sam Baker speaking.”

“Hi, Mr. Baker, it’s Lycoris Crane,” Ly managed to squeak out. She didn’t think she sounded too frightened. Well, she hoped, at least.

“Oh.” Apparently he had heard about what happened as well. “How can I help you?” He asked sternly in his gruff voice.

Ly swallowed audibly. “I was hoping I could speak to your wife, if that’s alright.”

There was a pause as if he was considering telling her that it damn well wasn’t alright and she could go to hell. Instead she heard him, farther away from the phone, calling for Eileen. Ly breathed a sigh of relief. She heard a rustle, like Mr. Baker had placed his hand over the phone. After a moment, Eileen picked up.

“Ly?” She sounded a little angry and a little confused.

“Yes, ma’am. How are you?”

“I doubt you called to ask me how I am. Can we please cut to the chase?” Okay, maybe she sounded more than a little angry.

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to be polite...” Lycoris trailed off and took a deep breath. “I’m calling you because Hayden won’t return my calls.” Eileen began to cut in but Ly spoke over her. “I know I don’t deserve for her to return my calls. I know that.” She paused and there was silence on the other end. “I’m not calling to get you to convince your daughter to speak to me or to be my friend again,” Ly continued, “I’m not twelve and I know I really messed up. Bad. I just want her to give me a chance to explain.”

“What do you want from me, Ly?”

Ly took another deep breath. “I need your permission to come see Hayden.”

-----

The next morning, bright and early, Ly packed herself into Jake’s car—which he had graciously lent her after her call the night before. They had discussed their feelings in very rudimentary terms, trying not to feel anything behind them, and more or less planned what Lycoris would say to Hayden. Unfortunately, there was a good five-hour drive to think about everything to say to Hayden, ways to make her listen—and all the ways she could slam the door in Ly’s face. Thankfully, when Jake lent her his car, he’d also lent her his CD collection to use in the ancient stereo. It seemed that their tastes in music (as well as cinema and literature) overlapped. Ly nearly yelped in joy when she came across a well-loved Elvis Costello CD.

Feeling slightly more upbeat, Ly pulled out into the road and started driving north, singing along with Welcome To The Working Week, trying her best to think of anything but Hayden. It was going to be a long drive.