Page 22 of Lilly

Dean jumps up from his chair and walks over to the window. "For years, I've been trying to work my way up. Be an executive. Have an office on the top floor." He turns back to us. "And I finally did it! I did it, Reed!"

"I'm really happy for you." Reed gets up and goes over to his dad and gives him one of those half hugs that guys do. "So when do you start?"

"Tomorrow. I am officially done going on tour."

"Congratulations," I tell him.

"Thank you." He walks back over to me, along with Reed, and they both sit down.

But his dad can't sit still. He's too excited, his face animated, his hands moving around as he talks. "Back in the day, I was thrilled to be going on tour. Traveling the world? Attending concerts every night? Hanging out with rock bands? But now? I'm too old for all that. It's exhausting and I've had enough of it. This will give me a chance to try something new." He smiles at Reed. "And I'll get to see my son more."

When I glance at Reed, he's staring at his dad as though he's never seen him act this way. I haven't either. I don't know him that well, but whenever I see him, he's usually more laid back and serious. Today, it's like he just drank a few shots of espresso.

"So where should we go for lunch?" he asks Reed. "Pick anywhere you want."

Reed looks at me. "Do you want to just get a burger?"

"Yeah. Some place that has good fries."

"A burger and fries?" his dad says. "That's it? Come on. You kids can do better than that. Pick a nicer place. Someplace you'd normally need a reservation." His eyes light up. "With my new job title, I bet I could get us in without a reservation. So where should we go?"

"I don't like those fancy places," Reed says. "I'd rather just grab a burger somewhere."

Dean's shoulders slump in disappointment, but then perk up again. "Then we'll keep it casual for lunch, but tonight we're going out to a nice restaurant. Someplace expensive."

"Okay." Reed tries to act excited but I can tell he's not. Fancy restaurants are not his scene. "So what about lunch?"

"Let's go to that place I used to take you when you were a kid. Remember how we'd go there after the zoo?"

He smiles. "The one with the paper hats?"

"Yes, that's the one." Dean looks at me. "It's one of those old-fashioned diners. Reed used to love it. They give kids crayons and those white paper hats like cooks wear so the kids can color the hats while they wait for their food."

"That's why I liked it so much," Reed says. "But they also have awesome burgers and fries."

His dad chuckles. "I still have one of those hats."

"You do?" Reed asks, surprised. "Where is it?"

"I keep it in my office at work. It's the one you made me for Father's Day. You wrote 'dad' on it and drew a picture of us." His face turns serious, almost sad. "You were only five and I hadn't seen you for months. I thought maybe you'd forgotten about me, but then you drew that picture and—" He chokes on his words, then clears his throat. "Anyway, I took it to work because I didn't want your mother coming to my place and seeing it and...well, it doesn't matter now. The point is, I still have it."

The room gets quiet and I feel like I shouldn't be here. This seems like one of those father-son moments that should be followed by a long conversation between Reed and his dad. This past year, they've spent a lot of time trying to rebuild their relationship after years of Reed's mom trying to tear them apart. Growing up, Reed saw his dad only a few times a year. Dean had to travel a lot, and when he was in town, Reed's mom would try to keep Dean away from him. She knew if Reed got to know his dad, he'd want to go live with him instead of her. But now? His mom isn't around and Reed is living with his dad and everything's going great.

"Well, should we go?" Dean asks.

"Yeah." Reed gets up from the couch, holding his hand out to me.

We go down to the parking garage and get in Dean's car. It's a silver Lexus that's at least ten years old.

"I'm getting a new car," he announces as we drive to the restaurant.

"What kind?" Reed asks. We're both in the back seat and he's holding my hand.

"A Mercedes." He glances in the rearview mirror at Reed. "Brand new. You know I've never had a new car? Always bought used."

"Dad, maybe you should wait before getting a new car. You haven't even started the job."

"There's no need to wait. Besides, it's already on order."

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