Chasing the Sun

Lilly tried to relax while she sped down the motorway with her sunglasses on to block out the sun that was miraculously blazing that day. She had no reason to be so uptight, at least that’s what she told herself. Gerard had scrubbed up well, wearing a shirt and the black jeans she loved so much. They fit him perfectly, encasing his long legs and nice ass. He wasn’t paying attention to the scenery, not that there was much to be had on the busy road. His attention was on Lilly’s sister, Fiona, who was using the opportunity to get to know Gerard a bit better. Lilly had no reason to worry, but the nervous nausea in the pit of her stomach wouldn’t go away. She had to trust that Gerard wouldn’t drink so much in front of her family. Of course, they probably wouldn’t notice, considering they were heavy drinkers themselves, but Gerard would be under scrutiny, and the last thing she wanted was for her mother to pick up on Gerard’s fondness for alcohol. He wasn’t an alcoholic. There was no way Lilly would fall for someone who had an addiction. He was young and using it to cope with certain issues in his life. It was nothing more than that. Lilly tuned out the conversation for the most part, contributing a comment or two here and there when necessary. She kept focused on the road and prayed that everything would work out fine. It was only a family gathering. Sure, everyone would be interested in Gerard for five minutes, but after that he’d be all but forgotten about,and they’d be free to enjoy themselves. Everything would be fine. It had to be.

An hour later, she was pulling up outside her parents’ house, or as close to it as she could get when there were four other cars parked outside, blocking the driveway. She killed the engine and took in a deep breath, knowing that the moment she’d be so anxious about was fast approaching. Fiona got out of the car first, springing Lilly into action. She grabbed the present she had bought last minute before they left the city. Gerard gave her a reassuring smile, and, amazingly, it calmed her down a little in spite of herself. She returned the smile, thankful that he was able to be calm when she wasn’t.

“Don’t be so nervous. I’ll be on my best behaviour, I promise.” He took a hold of her hand, giving it a loving squeeze, and let her led the way into the house. She took two steps inside before her mother came rushing down the hall to meet her. Her mother was a small, thin lady who had a loud voice that could travel for miles. Her voice was heard before she was seen in the dim light of the small hall.

“You’re late Lilly! Tell me you bought him a present or I swear to god I’ll-“

Her mother stopped short when she came into sight, flushing with embarrassment when she finally saw Lilly had company. She glanced down at their clasped hands, a bewildered expression on her face. Lilly hadn’t told her anything about Gerard, so she expected the onslaught of questions that were headed her way.

“Who’s this?” Her mother asked cheerfully, but Lilly wasn’t fooled. She cringed internally, knowing she was going to get a lecture later for keeping it from her mother. Lilly made a mental note to avoid her mother like the plague for the rest of the evening if she wanted to keep her sanity.

“Ma, this is Gerard. Gerard, this is my mother, Tara.”

Tara shook Gerard’s hand with a genuine smile, her watchful eyes appraising his appearance. She seemed satisfied enough and nodded.

“It’s nice to meet you, Gerard. I’d love to say I’ve heard a lot about you, but unfortunately I haven’t. My daughters rarely see fit to update me on their lives now they live in the city. Guess raring them for eighteen years means nothing these days. It’s shocking, really. Maybe you can remind her to pick up the wonderful piece of technology called a phone every once in a while, just to let me know she’s alive.”

“Ma” Lilly whined.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs Madden.” Gerard was all smiles and politeness, but Lilly could tell he was dying to laugh. He had heard her complain about her mother so many times, and she could only imagine what he thought now that he had finally met her.

“Oh. American, huh? You’re aunt Jenny will love him. She used to live in Florida. What state are you from?”

“New Jersey” He answered, before they followed her mother out to the back garden to join the rest of the party.

The back garden was decorated with balloons and filled with relatives and screaming kids. Lilly watched the chaos, thankful that the family gatherings were sparse and far apart. She gripped Gerard’s hand and gave him a smile. He didn’t seem fazed at all by the pandemonium going on. Lilly looked around for her dad, aware that he was probably the best person to start the introduction game with. He also happened to be located beside the drinks table, which may have influenced her decision.

“I’ll introduce you to my dad.”

So began the round of introductions. Her dad had been polite and pleasant, handing them both a bottle of beer while making disinterested idle chit chat. Lilly knew she was lucky to have a dad who didn’t care about her love life too much. As long as she was happy and keeping out of trouble he was happy to keep his nose out of her affairs. She only wished her mother had the same approach. Her mother was determined to butt in on every detail she could in both her daughters’ lives, and her interference was normally the last thing Lilly, or her sister, wanted. Her mother meant well, and Lilly never confronted her mother over it, but it was still frustrating and at times overwhelming - hence why Lilly had moved from her hometown. The distance had been the best thing for her relationship with her mother, especially in the aftermath of a breakup that her mother had taken harder than Lilly had. Lilly had been more than happy for the relationship to end when it had, while her mother had made many a comment about how ‘Finn was such a lovely guy’ in the weeks that followed. It was ironic when Lilly considered her mother didn’t seem so fond of him before. After her dad, she decided to get her grandparents out of the way. Lilly could tell straight away that they weren’t Gerard’s biggest fans. It was probably the skinny jeans and slightly too long hair that raised their eyebrows, but Lilly couldn’t find it within herself to be worried about it. She saw her grandparents two times a year at most, and she wasn’t particularly close to them, so their opinion didn’t really matter. Once her present was handed over, Lilly made quick work of moving on, and within half an hour she was able to drag Gerard over to her sister and cousins, where she finally felt like she could relax a little. Her cousins were close in age to her and her sister, so it was a nice break from the judging eyes of her aunts, uncles and parents. After a while, Lilly realised that she was actually enjoying herself, and if she was taking Gerard’s smile at face value, he was happy enough with how the afternoon was panning out too. The food was good and the alcohol was plenty, making the conversation flow with ease at their table. Everything had been going well until her mother saddled up beside Lilly, with a look of mild panic on her face.

“Lilly, there’s something I should tell you. I invited Finn and his mother around.” Her mother whispered guiltily.

“You WHAT?!”

“I didn’t know you were seeing someone.You didn’t tell me! I met him last week when he came home for the weekend, and he was asking after you. I invited him thinking that…you know…this is what happens when you don’t update me on your life!”

Lilly couldn’t believe what was happening. Gerard watched with concern, seeing Lilly’s genuine distress at whatever it was her mother had told her. Her face was pale, the relieved glint in her eyes replaced by bland panic. She glanced at him, clearly upset.

“For god’s sake, ma, you don’t invite someone’s ex to a family event, even if his parents are friends of the family. Jesus Christ!”

“Don’t you get smart with me, young lady. He’s a lovely lad, and it’s not my fault I didn’t know you weren’t still available. It won’t do any harm to say hello anyway, maybe clear the air a little bit?”

“Clear the air? There’s no air to clear. It got cleared when we broke up.”

“No need to be like that. Just go out and say hello.He’s talking to your cousinJohn by the barbeque. I’m sure he won’t be staying long.His mother just wanted to drop by with a present for your granddad.”

Her mother rushed off, still flustered and sheepishly guilty for interfering once again. Lilly was trying her hardest not to cuss and rant, angry that she had no choice but to talk to the ex she had dumped before the beginning of the school year last year, when she moved to Dublin.

“What’s up?” Gerard squeezed her hand.

“Ugh…see that blond guy beside the tall red head standing at the barbeque? He’s the ex my mother so graciously invited to the party, in the hopes we could, I quote, ‘clear the air’. What did I do to deserve this? Shit, he’s looking over here. Ugh, what do I do?”

Gerard’s concern was replaced with pure amusement at Lilly’s predicament, and not a shred of jealousy or sympathy was felt at her ex’s presence.

“You best go over and say hell then. Tell him I said hi” Gerard giggled.

“Come with me, please?” she begged.

“I would love to, but I’m in the middle of an interesting conversation about some TV show your cousin is mad about. “

“I hate you” she hissed, a little aggravated that Gerard wasn’t in the least bit concerned over her ex’s appearance.

“Love you too, baby. Just make sure you came back to me when you’re done breaking his little heart.”

Lilly groaned, wishing she could be anywhere else right at that moment. She knew she couldn’t avoid Finn any longer, not when she could feel his eyes watching her. She saw his mother talking to her aunts cheerfully, and Lilly was pleased to see she didn’t have a drink in her hands. Hopefully they would be leaving soon. With a painful sigh, she stood up and made a bee line for Finn, who kept his blue eyes on her the entire time. She mustered a small smile when she approached him, hoping it could hide her discomfort.

“Hey, Finn” She greeted him, injecting more enthusiasm than she felt into her voice.

“Hey, Lil. How have you been?” he sounded a little nervous, and Lilly was reminded of how awkward their breakup had been. It had been at her insistence, citing that her working in Dublin and him working an hour away was too difficult. They had spent over a year together, and in that time it was clear he was far more into the relationship than she was. The guilt of stringing him along had gotten too much towards the end, so when she had gotten the job offer, she had used it as the perfect opportunity to end things.

“I’m good. I’m still working in Dublin. How’re things with you?”

“They’re good. You’re looking amazing.”

Lilly blushed under his gaze, hating his scrutiny. He was definitely checking her out, and while she may have revelled in his attention a year ago, it wasn’t appreciated anymore.

“So do you.”

The inevitable awkward silence found its way into their awkward reunion. Lilly didn’t know if she should continue making strained conversation, or use the opportunity to make an exit.

“I take it he’s your boyfriend?” Finn finally asked, his eyes flickering over to the table occupied by Gerard. Lilly glanced over, meeting Gerard’s eyes and silently pleading for him to save her.

“Yeah, he is.”

“Didn’t take you long to replace me.” His spite was clear, shocking Lilly with the uncharacteristic bitterness he displayed.

“He didn’t replace you, Finn” Lilly sighed, more exasperated than annoyed with the attitude.

“Sure seems like it. I didn’t take you for a whore, but I suppose we all get things wrong occasionally.”

“Is everything alright here?” Gerard’s voice came from behind her, and Lilly recognised the anger in it before she faced him. He looked livid, and she was certain that he had heard Finn’s insult. Finn just stood there, goading Gerard with his self-satisfied smirk that begged to be punched.

“It’s fine” Lilly warned, afraid that Gerard would start a fight in the middle of the party. She didn’t care if Finn got his ass handed to him, and if they had been anywhere else, she would have let it happen.

“It doesn’t sound like it.”

“Leave it, Gerard. Let’s go back to the table.”

She tugged at the sleeve of his shirt, gently coaxing him away from the tense standoff. Gerard gave Finn a last glare before following Lilly.

“You should have let me punch him. Fucking asshole” Gerard grumbled, shaking with fury.

“He’s just bitter, because I dumped his ass and got somebody better. Let him have his little dig, I really couldn’t give a shit,” Lilly whispered into his ear. Gerard smirked, suddenly pecking Lilly on the lips.

“Damn right, you got somebody better.”

“Lucky me, huh?” Lilly giggled.

“You betcha.”

Notes

Another update for my wonderful readers. Thanks for sticking with me!

Lyra