The Player and the Pixie
Page 91

My Lucy winked at me and grinned, holding my gaze hostage with hers. “Oh Sean, my love, with you and me, there’s going to be a lifetime of lessons.”
Epilogue
@LucyFitz What’s the deal with Yorkie Bars these days? Def getting smaller.
@BroderickAdams to @LucyFitz My opinion? Chocolate manufacturers and WHO are conspiring to screw us while continuing to hike prices #candyconspiracy
@RonanFitz to @LucyFitz They decided to model them on the size of @SeanCassinova’s manhood.
@SeanCassinova to @RonanFitz Or the size of your IQ.
*Lucy*
Some years later…
“I really like the burgundy one. The flower print is too busy.”
A yellow taxi honked in the background as I held my phone up in front of me, multi-tasking hurrying through a busy Manhattan street and video-chatting with Mam.
“But the flower print has a higher neckline. You know I’m self-conscious of my neck these days, Lucy.”
“Your neck is fine. Get the burgundy dress. You’ll look drop dead gorgeous in it and this date of yours will think he won the flippin’ lottery.”
My mother worried her lip, a frown marring her forehead. She was seriously overthinking her outfit choice. And before you wonder, no, hell hadn’t frozen over. Me and my mother were having a friendly conversation like a pair of old pals. It hadn’t become our norm, not yet; but I had high hopes that it would be in another two years.
Therapy was a work in progress. Sure, it took a whole lot of convincing on Ronan’s part to finally get her to see the light, but in the end she’d agreed to join me for a few sessions. A few sessions turned into every session, and I’m not gonna lie, in the beginning it had been rough. We had a lifetime’s worth of issues to get through, after all.
The first day I stepped into Dr. Hollyfield’s office he’d told me about a little thing called the phone test. If a certain person calls you and you just can’t bear to pick up and talk to them, then they’re probably toxic and you should cut them from your life. If it’s a person you can’t cut from your life, then you need to find a new approach to dealing with them.
“What if he doesn’t like me?” Mam asked. “Or what if we can’t think of anything to talk about?”
“Now you’re just being ridiculous,” I answered. “Look at you, you’re a catch. Plus, we both know you can talk for Ireland, so don’t give me that.”
She wiggled her head and gave me a small grin. “If you say so.”
In the case of Mam and me, I started to realize that no matter how much she nagged or how many times she commented on my appearance, there was nothing she could really do stop me living my life how I wanted. She could say whatever she liked, I’d still dye my hair whatever color I chose, date who I wanted to date, and wear the clothes I liked wearing.
As we delved deeper into our issues, we had a lot of breakthroughs. I learned about her insecurities that stemmed back to her relationship with my dad and how his family had shunned her. He’d later died tragically, leaving her feeling helpless and alone. All these things hardened her, but now she was seeing Dr. Hollyfield on her own as well as during our sessions.
“I do say so. Now go glam yourself up. This guy doesn’t know what’s about to hit him.”
Now she laughed, a blush coloring her cheeks that was almost girlish. “He’s a builder, you know. Works with his hands…”
“Okay, stop right there. I can give you as many pep talks as you need, but I really don’t want to know anything about his hands and what he does with them.”
She rolled her eyes at me. Yes, that’s right, my own mother rolled her eyes – at me. I thought I was supposed to be the kid here. “Fine. I’ll say no more. Give my love to Ronan and Annie when you see them. Tell them I miss them and can’t wait for them to come home next week.”
“I will, Mam. Enjoy your date. I’ll call you tomorrow for all the details.”
“Looking forward to it.” She paused, her smile growing a little watery before adding, “I love you, Lucy.”
I returned her smile and her sincerity. “Love you, too.”
Hanging up, I reflected on how things had changed. Our relationship wasn’t perfect, but she was happier. I was happier. I was beginning to look forward to her phone calls and that felt like a flippin’ miracle!
Oh yes, and I hadn’t stolen a single thing in over two years. I didn’t even take the complimentary slippers and toiletries when I stayed in hotels. I was a whole new woman.
I slid my phone back in my bag and continued on my way, hoping I wasn’t going to be late. Ronan and Annie were in New York all week for business meetings and I was supposed to be having dinner with them at Tom’s restaurant.
Whenever my brother and his wife came to visit there was no keeping them away from Tom’s. Annie was absolutely crazy about the food there. She even said herself that she’d sell the soul of her firstborn child for the secret recipe to his pecan pie.
Rounding the corner to the restaurant, I glanced in the window to see them sitting in a booth. Ronan had his arm around Annie as he affectionately placed a kiss on her temple. My heart ached as I watched them, so in love, because it made me miss Sean even more than I already did.
Unfortunately, it was going on three weeks now that I hadn’t seen him, and though video chat was a godsend, it just wasn’t the same as seeing him in person. There were so many nights that I found myself hugging my pillow, wishing it was him. And don’t even get me started on cyber-sex. We’d become quite adept at it, both desperate for each other but separated by an entire ocean.