A Lady Never Tells

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

1922, New York

Two days after Grandmother died, her funeral was held. Several people appeared to pay their respects to the elderly woman; the help who worked for her, others who knew her through Lillian’s Grandfather, and some people even came because they knew her from when she was a little girl.

Lillian did cry during the ceremony, and she didn’t have anyone to comfort her. Joseph knew that Grandmother had died, and he knew about the funeral details, but he never showed up. Apparently, he had some social even that he had to go to, and it was bad enough that he had to go without his wife at his side so there was no way that he was going to come to the funeral.

After the ceremony, Grandmother was buried under her favorite willow tree. She would sit under there in the warm, summer afternoons and drink some ice cold lemonade. She would listen to the birds sing and watch Lillian run around when she was playing with her younger friends. She would silently scold Lillian for not acting as proper as she should have been, but Grandmother never confronted her granddaughter about it; she was happy to see Lillian have such a wonderful time.

Everyone gathered under the willow tree to say their final goodbyes before they left, but not Lillian. She just stood under the willow tree and started at the freshly turned soil. She would not move. Even when dusk came, she hadn’t moved a muscle. She was just staring at her grandmother. At one point, her one of her grandmother’s maids came up to Lillian and offered to take her inside, but Lillian just shook her head and the maid left her alone to stare at the ground.

It had been dark for about two hours when someone suddenly walking up behind Lillian. She didn’t have to turn to know that it was a man. Joseph, she thought. No, his work life is too important to be there for his wife, she added with hostility.

All of a sudden, there was an arm that was wrapped around her shoulders. “I heard about your grandmother.”

William?

“I’m so, so sorry for your loss Lily,” he said and then she finally turned to face him.

“Thank you William,” she whispered and suddenly the two embraced in a tight hug. Lillian held onto William as if she was holding on to her own life. She let go her strength and started crying. With William she could just be herself. She just let loose.

When Lillian stopped crying, William pulled his head back and quietly said, “Let’s go sit, okay? We can talk, or not; we can just sit in silence. It’s all up to you.” Lillian then nodded before the couple headed toward a different tree.

Lillian gathered the skirt of her gown before she sat down next to William. Instead of sitting away from William, she sat so she was leaning against his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, as if to show that nothing can hurt her while in his arms.

The two sat in comfortable silence. William had several questions that he wanted to ask his former best friend, but he figured that they will all be answered in time.

Lillian sniffed her nose, an effect from her earlier break down. “You know, I haven’t really seen her that much since Joseph and I moved into the city. I saw her once since then, and do you know what happened?”

“What?”

“We got into an argument about me being married. She said that I wasn’t being the dutiful wife or granddaughter. I got so angry at the time and I just lost it…”

“Well, you were angry. That’s completely understandable.”

“Yes, I suppose that’s true, but not all the way true. I was pregnant at the time and the anger sent me over the edge. I lost the baby that night.”

“I am so sorry Lillian. You don’t have to give me the details if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s okay. Sure, I’m upset that I lost my only baby that I’ve ever had a chance of having, but I’m still okay.”

“You’re such a strong woman, d’ya know that Lily? I could never imagine having that amount of strength myself.”

“I wasn’t last night. When I came back here she told me that my mother was a whore. She said that my mother slept around on my father when we were out of town.”

“Wow, I can’t believe it.”

“I can’t either. My whole life, I looked up and admired my mother and father’s love for one another, and now I find out that it was all a lie!”

“I don’t think that it was a lie. I really don’t. When we were little you would always tell me how much they loved each other. You carried around your mother’s diary like it was the Bible. You always told me that when you grew up you were going to marry someone like your daddy and love him like you were your momma.”

Lillian gave a single snicker. “I remember those days. That’s when everything seemed so much easier.”

“Have your dreams come true?”

“Not exactly, no they haven’t. I love Joseph, I really do. It’s just that…”

“What Lily?”

“I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Are you happy with him?”

Lillian thought about this answer. She kept looking for the right words that would signify her love for her husband. “No, I’m not happy.”

William nodded, accepting the answer and took one of his hands into hers. He pulled her closer and the two sat in silence once more.

“What are you going to do now,” William asked suddenly.

“I am going to find out the truth about my parents. I am going to look through all of the items that weren’t damaged from the fire and find this man.”

“Are you going to do that from the city?”

“No, I’m going to stay here for a while. I’ll phone Joseph and tell him that I need a few more days up here. He won’t like it, but I don’t care. I need to know the truth.”

“Lillian, I’m here for you. If you need any help, please just ask for it.”

Lillian turned her head and looked into William’s green eyes. She leaned in and kissed him on his cheek. “I know that. Thank you so much Willy.”

“You’re welcome Lily.”

That was all that was said between the two as they watched the sun rise to symbolize the beginning of a new day.