Page 47 of A Heart of Little Faith

well, she called me stupid.

ouch!

i’m tired. i’m going to bed. glad you’re feeling better. don’t forget, you owe me dinner.

For the rest of the week, he and Lily spent every night on the phone together, talking or texting—sometimes both. When Lily spoke, he listened. He made her see the humor in things. It had been years since he’d had a relationship with a woman. He felt like a teenager again, albeit without the need to compete for phone time with his family. Before Lily, he’d used his downtime for extra work from the office, when he wasn’t at the center, playing basketball or seeing friends. Now, he valued downtime as a chance to talk to her. She talked to him like she would anyone else, without regard for his disability. She didn’t change her vocabulary, didn’t stumble over words like “walk” or “run” and didn’t apologize for discussing activities he could never do, like jogging. He could be himself with her and let his guard down.

Almost.

****

Lily and Claire met Kim, Emily and Adam Saturday at a playground on the Upper West Side. After an initial period during which the kids stared at each other, they played together all afternoon, which allowed the two women a chance to get to know one another.

“I’m glad you called and suggested this,” Lily said to Kim as she munched on some grapes she’d brought for the kids to have as a snack.

“Me too. I figured since Mark is working today, it would be a good chance for us to get together.” Kim glanced at the playground. The girls were at the swing set, pushing Adam. “The kids are having fun together. It’s always awkward when the parents like each other and the kids can’t stand to be in the same room together.”

Lily nodded. “Yeah, play dates can be tough. They’re almost as bad as dating. It’s embarrassing when you have to ask some strange mom if their kid wants to play with yours.” She watched as Claire paused in her running to wait for Adam to catch up. “Claire loves having a little boy to take care of. She’s in love with babies and little kids.”

“I noticed.” Kim smiled at Lily. “So, you mentioned dating. Are you?”

“No. It’s hard with a child. I want to give Claire as much attention as I can, and frankly I just don’t have the energy to spend on finding someone who not only wants to date me, but be with her as well.”

“So what about you and Gideon?”

Lily fidgeted, plucking invisible lint from her clothing.

“I’m sorry; I don’t mean to get too personal.”

“No, you’re not; I’m just not used to talking about this. I feel like I’m in high school. Honestly, I don’t know what we’re doing. We see each other often, although usually it’s with Claire and Samantha in tow. We’ve kissed a couple of times, but that’s it. I enjoy being with him, but don’t know where we are right now.”

“Well, I hope it works out for the two of you. From what I know of him, Gideon is a great guy, and it’s obvious to me he adores you.”

“Really?” Warmth spread through her belly at Kim’s unbiased opinion. If only Gideon would tell her himself.

****

That night, Lily, Claire, Gideon, Samantha and Tony met at Carmine’s in Little Italy for a celebratory pizza. Over a bottle of Chianti, they toasted the successful resolution of Lily’s case.

“I want to thank you again, Tony, for all your help,” Lily said. Tears glistened behind her lashes. “I could never have gotten through this without you.”

Gideon’s stomach clenched and he sat straighter in his chair. He focused on breathing and relaxing his suddenly tense shoulder muscles. There was no reason to be jealous. He was the one who called Tony in to help. Lily kissedhim, not Tony. Still, he couldn’t help but wish for different circumstances.

Tony smiled. “You’re very welcome Lily. I’m glad I could help.”

As they resumed eating their pizza, Lily paused and held her slice in the air. “Gideon, you still owe me dinner.”

He frowned. “What?”

“You owe me dinner.” Her eyes sparkled.

Dinner. He swallowed the pizza in his mouth. Their bet. What had been a mouth-watering combination of fresh mozzarella, spicy pepperoni and house-specialty sauce suddenly tasted like rubber. “I do?”

“Yes, don’t you remember our bet?”

He remembered, all right. But he’d hoped to keep it private.

“What bet is that?” Samantha interjected, her eyes wide with curiosity. Gideon scowled at her as his neck heated under the stares of everyone at the table.

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