Against the Tide

Chapter 5 - The First Smile

It had been weeks since Isabella's passing, and the silence in the house weighed heavily on both Gregory and Lily. The vibrant energy Lily once had was not absent, replaced by a quiet, distant version of herself. She rarely spoke, and when she did, it was only when prompted. Gregory, though not one for sentimentality, began to feel a deep sense of responsibility. He had made a promise to Isabella, and every day he saw Lily's lifeless demeanor, it reminded him of his failure to fulfil it.

He started small, trying to engage her in simple conversations, asking about her day or offering to make her breakfast. But every effort seemed to go unnoticed or met with a blank stare. She wasn't rude, just absent, her mind somewhere far away from the present moment.

Gregory's concern grew each day, and the more he watched her retreat into herself, the more helpless he felt. He needed to find a way to break through the wall she had built around herself. He needed to find something that mattered to her.

One afternoon, while Lily was at school, Gregory decided to take a look around her room. He knew it was an invasion of privacy, but desperation pushed him forward. He searched quietly, hoping to find something, anything, that could give him a clue about what could life her spirits.

That's when he stumbled upon her diary, tucked neatly beneath her pillow. For a moment, he hesitated, feeling guilty about the idea of reading it. But then his eyes landed on a particular entry, written with shaky handwriting.

"Whenever I'm upset, Mom would always make me Mac and Cheese and put on 'Marmaduke'. She knew it was my favorite movie and would sit with me until I was smiling again. I miss those days when it was just the two of us, and everything felt normal. I miss her."

A light bulb went off in Gregory's head.

When Lily came home later that day, she noticed that something was different. The house felt... warmer somehow. There was a note waiting for her on her bed, written in Gregory's messy handwriting.

"Surprise awaits on the dinner table in the dining room. G"

Curious, she followed the trail to the dining room, and there, sitting on the table, was a steaming tray of Mac and Cheese, the smell filling the room. Her favorite. She blinked, confused.

Just then, Gregory walked in with a glass of orange juice and a big grin on his face. "You hungry?"

Lily stared at him, unsure how to respond. This wasn't the Gregory she was used to — the cold, indifferent man she had barely tolerated before her mom passed. Why was he doing this? Her heart ate with confusion and an unfamiliar warmth.

"Come on, sit," he urged, pulling out a chair for her. "I know it's been hard, and I'm not great at this kind of stuff, but I though maybe we could have a good dinner together."

Lily hesitated but eventually sat down, staring at the past in front of her. It smelled amazing, and her stomach growled despite the emotional storm brewing inside her.

As they ate, Gregory fumbled with the remote and clicked on the TV. The familiar opening scene of Marmaduke played, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Lily's lips curled into a small, hesitant smile.

"I read somewhere that you like dogs," Gregory said, a bit awkwardly. He disappeared for a moment, only to return with a small box in hand. He placed it gently in front of her.

Lily looked at him, her eyebrows furrowed. "What's this?"

"Open it," he urged.

With shaky hands, she opened the box to reveal a tiny Black Labrador puppy inside, its dark eyes looking up at her with innocent curiosity. Her breath caught in her throat, and for the first time in weeks, she felt something other than pain. Pure, unfiltered joy washed over her, and without thinking, she let out a laugh — a genuine, surprised laugh.

She placed the puppy on the ground, it's little paws pattering against the floor as it clumsily walked toward her. And then, without warning, Lily threw her arms around Gregory, pulling him into a tight hug. He froze, startled by the sudden affection, but quickly softened, wrapping his arms around her in return.

For the first time since Isabella's death, they talked — really talked. They shared a meal, watched the movie, and spent the evening together, not as strangers forced into a family, but as two people trying to make sense of the broken pieces of their lives.

As the night drew to a close, Lily looked at Gregory with a small smile, her eyes still a little red from the tears she had cried earlier. "Thank you," she whispered. "This... this was really nice. It reminded me of her. My mom... she used to do stuff like this when I was mad."

Gregory smiled softly, relieved to see color returning to her face, her eyes no longer filled with sadness. "I just wanted to see you smile again," he admitted quietly. "And I'm gonna keep trying to make that happen, Lily. I promised your mom I'd take care of you, and I will. No matter what."

Lily's heart warmed at his words. For the first time since Isabella's passing, she felt like maybe — just maybe — things could get better. As she cuddled the puppy, now fast asleep in her lap, she glanced at Gregory and nodded.

"Maybe we can try," she whispered.

Gregory nodded back, silently vowing to do everything in his power to keep her smiling from this moment forward.