What Now

17. Pizza, Anyone?

"There she is!" 

Lydia came running towards me after descending the stairs of my charter plane. I knew I had a cheesy smile on my face, but I didn't care. I was so fucking excited to see her. Even though she's only been gone for a little less than two days, this is the first time I'm seeing her since she officially agreed to move in with me. 

"Hey, Sean," she breathed as she jumped in my arms and wrapped hers around my neck. I squeezed her against me as I took in the smell of her lavender shampoo. Whenever I held her like this, time seemed to slow down.

We pulled apart and I grabbed her bag from her. "How was the flight?" 

"Long," she laughed. "Well, it felt long. I just wanted to get back here. To you." She glanced away and her happy expression fell. "Sean, I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am for leaving."

She was being ridiculous if she thought she still needed to apologize. "Baby," I said as I stroked her cheek, "we already talked about that. You don't need to apologize. I mean, yes you taking off scared me, but I know you. Can you just promise me you'll talk to me next time? Before you flee the state? Then after we talk, you can feel free to be a recluse as long as you need." 

She laughed and it was music to my ears. I would never get tired of hearing it. I would never, ever grow tired of her. "Yes, I can promise that."

"Good. Now, how do you feel about grabbing some food before we head to your dorm?" I asked hopefully. I was starving and I hoped that she was too. There was a possibility she could have ate on the plane.

Lydia called me this morning before her flight, as she always did, and explained that she wanted to go by her dorm after she landed to get some clothes. After that, she wanted to stay at my place for a few days. She wanted us to reconnect after what happened and I was extremely on board with that. Originally, she wasn't going to stay at my place until her mom got here at the end of the week, but she wanted to come early. 

"Yes, please. I barely took anything with me to Michael's. Let's just order delivery so it'll be there the same time we get to my door."

I agreed and stepped onto the sidewalk to flag down a taxi. After we climbed in the car I ordered food as we started heading towards the university. In the silence of the cab, I couldn't stop myself from thinking about our plans for the next few days.

Even though Lydia was going to come over tonight and stay with me for a few days, I needed to get started on this new work project. The deputy director called me this morning wondering what I had so far. He wasn't pleased when I told him I had nothing done.

I was surprised that Lydia didn't get upset when I told her I was going to have to work while she was at my place. She said would bring some of her notes for school and her art. The thought of her sitting in my apartment, humming while she painted made my chest tighten. I don't think I've ever seen her more at peace then when she's painting.

The one thing I was looking forward to the most, was attending her art show. I still couldn't believe that she made it. Not because she wasn't talented, because she was extremely talented. I was surprised because Lydia is, or was, the type of person who wouldn't believe in herself enough to try to be accepted.

She took a chance by entering that contest. I believed she would from the beginning. But it was all up to her. I never forget when she got the news. She called me and accused me of rigging the contest. While I would have, and still would, do anything for her, this time it wasn't me. I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I knew that if I attempted to mettle in any way to have her win, she would probably never forgive me. Let alone trust me.