Charade

Four Weeks Later

Benji

I sit at a small round table in the back corner of a small, city café, where the elegant golden sunlight spills through large, clear windows and all over the floor. The café is filled with half a dozen people, most of them lined up for their morning coffee, and so I'm alone on my table. I wait for the numbers to tick over on the small television screen, muted, with the caption: Ashley Doyle's body found dumped on road side. I gulp and avert my eyes, feeling that ever familiar pain, and remind myself that I need to find a way past what had happened, and that Vic and Lily will be here soon. I've missed them terribly in my travels since that night, but have heard good things about what they did in my absence.

Lily has been out of surgery for a few weeks now, and everything went perfectly. The doctors had described the procedure as 'text-book surgery'. It was only in the past few days that she'd been released from her hospital bed.

They walk in not a second late, which is what I've come to expect from Vic – impeccable timing. Lily smiles when she sees me and I return it, standing from the table. Already, her hair has begun to grow back. I'm itching to see what it'll look like in a few more months. She grabs me and hugs me tightly. Vic does the same.

"Hey," Lily says. "Haven't seen you in a while. Where you been?"

"Around," I say. "I've been travelling, actually."

"Where'd you get the money?" Vic asks, narrowing his eyes.

"Calm down. I'm not scamming. Just train hopping, working odd jobs for food, finding quiet places to sleep. All honest work."

Needless to say, we'd learnt our lesson from the late James Darby, who was now resting peacefully inside the stomachs of countless leather jacket fish. I know that we all did some terrible things that night, but I believe that bad things can have good outcomes. Vic and I swore off scamming for the rest of our lives, no matter the circumstances. We said this, but I know that given the chance, Vic wouldn't change a thing about what happened to James or Dana. Some people would call that selfish, but I call it unconditional love. I almost bring up that night as I stare across the table at them, watching them order coffee and tea, but I know that we've all made our peace with it, and it was time to move on.

"So how are you doing, Lily?" I ask.

"Great," she smiles. "I'll make a full recovery. They said there's a chance it might come back, but it's slim."

"I don't think it will, sweetie." Vic says, meeting her eyes.

"What's that? Instinct, it seems?" I grin.

"You could say that."

"Well, look at you, Mr Rational, trusting his gut instead of his statistics. I'm impressed."

"Shut up," he laughs. "What about you? Anything planned after your travelling?"

I chuckle to myself.

"Yeah, I, uh, actually applied for an art course at TAFE. Don't know where it'll get me, but it's a start."

"Yes, that great news," Vic agrees.

"I'm going back to school, too." Lily says. "I start next month. And I already know somebody, so it's gonna be good."

"That's really good," I tell her, meaning it.

Lily's phone then buzzes in her pocket and she grabs it, answering it immediately.

"Hang on, I've got to take this," she says before running out the door.

I look to Vic, unsure.

"That one person she already knows is a fourteen year old boy with a cell phone addiction."

"Oh, it's not the cell phone he loves," I correct him, watching Lily giggle outside, holding the phone close. Artie was right. She found somebody else.

"And your dad? How's he doing?"

"Good, good. He got out of hospital and went to the shop to buy a new bottle of scotch, just like he said he would."

"Do you think he'll ever be sober again?" I ask.

"Probably not."

I laugh and then breathe out a sigh.

"So Lily's back at school with a new boy, I'm off to TAFE to do what I love. Tell me, Vic. What does the future hold for you?"

Vic's smile was brighter than the sunshine spilling into the café.

"Lily," he says. "I've got a lifetime of taking care of my baby, and my grandbabies, when the time comes. She's growing up, and I get to take part in that. So, I get everything I ever wanted."

I smile at him, knowing that this is probably the first time in years that he's been truly happy. Just as the thought crosses my mind, a young lady in an apron approaches us with a tray holding one coffee, black with no sugar, and some herbal tea for Lily. She smiles and sets it down. I thank her and look at my own cup, full of milk and too much sugar, and look up. Vic already knew what I was getting at and held up his cup.

"To the cons, the shady deals, and our beautiful charade," he says.

"And to Lily," I add watching her smile in the sunlight. "May she live a long and happy life."

© A.G. Travers 2015