Page 50 of Will You Stay Another Day?
With a frown, Lili unlocked and opened the door. The one opposite opened too.
She almost gasped, and angry sentiments were replaced by an uncomfortable sensation. He looked exhausted, as if he hadn’t slept for days, his shoulders were hunched, his hair a mess. No doubt it was jet lag; yes, that had to be it. However, Lili could swear she smelt the whiff of alcohol coming from his direction, and the lines in his face dug deep, making him look years older.
‘I didn’t see you at Heathrow, in the departure lounge,’ she said with a blunt manner.
‘I decided to come at the last minute,’ he muttered. ‘The people at the airline’s desk were very kind and agreed to hold up the plane for a couple of minutes. I just made it.’
Of course. The flight had been delayed. ‘But I didn’t see you on board and we must have walked off together at Harry Reid.’
Harry. There was that name again.
‘I looked for you,’ he said and shrugged. ‘I didn’t want me being here to come as a shock but the airport was so busy and I just wanted to get away from all the noise.’
The connecting space still stood between them, filled with so many unanswered questions.
‘I wasn’t sure whether to come. But I’m doing it for Harry. Although I think it’s going to be harder than I thought. He… he should be here. I… can’t pretend any more that… that he’s in Vietnam.’
‘I’m doing it for Em,’ Lili replied stiffly.
He put his hands in the air. ‘I’ll keep out of your way if you want. You call the shots.’
‘Fine with me.’
He coloured up. ‘My brother died, Lili. My brother, my buddy, the most infuriating person in my life, the fucking funniest. He died.’
Her fists curled. No. She wouldn’t be moved by the agony in his voice.
‘You’re the one person who knows how it feels to lose someone you’d put your own life on the line for.’ His voice sounded jagged. ‘He was so young.’ His eyes flashed. ‘So young. He didn’t deserve it. He deserves to be here wasting money on machines and plastic mementos and living the carefree spontaneous life that I always secretly admired. I wish I’d told him how much I looked up to him.’ The words caught in his throat. ‘But now it’s too late.’ Lili’s eyes prickled. ‘I know I did wrong and I’m so, so sorry, Lili, about lying, to you of all people who… who’s been where I am, but?—’
‘There’s no but that can make this better, and no excuse for your behaviour,’ she said sadly and pushed the door shut.
33
After ordering a sandwich from room service, Lili scrolled on her phone, without taking much in. Eventually she showered, went to bed and slept for ten hours straight. Lili got up at eight and dressed. She picked up the iPad and found the room service page for breakfast, and was about to order when a knock came on the connecting door.
Dylan again, in a linen shirt and trousers. The clothes hung off him. ‘I’m going to the food hall. I can’t come to America and not have pancakes.’ He gave a tentative smile that didn’t reach his tired eyes. ‘Hungry?’
Lili thought back to her chat with Dad and how he’d been so wrapped up in his divorce he’d not considered how deeply it must have affected his daughter. And how she’d been so wrapped up in losing Em that Lili hadn’t thought about how it must have affected her parents. Grief could make you selfish and thoughtless.
But that was no excuse. Lili hadn’t lied to anyone about Em.
Yet she had to eat. The food hall would be easy. They didn’t need to sit together.
‘I’ll probably be going down in about ten minutes,’ she said in a flat voice.
The food hall was down on the second floor, a more casual – and slightly cheaper – option to eating in the restaurants. The two of them didn’t talk in the lift. They walked out and into a circular dining area with various food booths all around. The seating space, in the middle, was decked out with an eclectic mix of furniture. Some tables were low with upholstered armchairs, others were metal with practical seats, and running around the edge was a narrow, long, semi-circular dining bench with high stools.
They took a lap. Breakfast could be pancakes, yes, but also fry-ups, fruit bowls, or turkey and avocado paninis, as well as waffles. One outlet even served French toast with a selection of festive cocktails and another nothing but donuts, including a bourbon apple flavour, cranberry and orange or decadent eggnog. Lili’s stomach rumbled as she breathed in the smell of fried dough and sizzling meat.
‘Wish I’d brought elasticated trousers,’ she muttered.
Dylan caught her eye.
‘That comment was for Em, not you,’ she said abruptly.
Shoulders sagging, he went off to order pancakes. Lili stood and watched him. He’d lost weight. As he got to the front of the queue, Lili tapped his shoulder and he turned around.
‘If you get the food, I’ll get the coffees. Just order me the same as what you’re having.’
