Lily gripped Rufus' scarf closer to her chest, her knuckles turning white. Tears streamed down her face, her make-up chasing them down to form long black lines across her cheeks. She tried to silence the little gasps escaping her lips, afraid anyone in the house would hear her. As she leant back into the lounge she was curled up in, lie after lie began unravelling in her head. She never visited her mother in August, Cece wasn't even sick. She couldn't bring herself to think, let alone speak the one word that would refuse to go away. Cancer. It seemed a cruel dream ever since she was diagnosed, the only people she'd known to have cancer were just faceless names tossed around sympathetically in flurries of conversations past. But it was a reality, and it was something she had to face. To her, to her children, and to her husband.
She was exhausted after the tears finally ran out, but the pangs in her stomach refused to cease. She laid Rufus' scarf on the coffee table and hastily wiped the rogue makeup off her face as she stood up; a habit she'd acquired from her years as a social climber. Always look your best, you never know who will show up echoed in her mind, and she spared a giggle at the vain words of wisdom. She turned to walk up to her room, but sneaked another glance at Rufus' scarf lying limply on the table. She couldn't erase the memory of Vanya's face last night when he handed her Rufus' scarf that had appeared mysteriously in another woman's room down the hall. She couldn't recall the woman's name, there were so many people in the building complex she was living in already, and she was probably just another person she'd smiled at as she went along her way. She snapped her head back around, and shook her head instinctively, trying to forget Vanyas' sad eyes and helpless words fumbling all over the place. He had tried so hard to not make her feel bad, but they both knew what that little piece of woollen material meant in the woman's room.
Lily and Rufus both knew they were equally perfect as they were imperfect for each other from the moment they met. Lily had come from a family of upper class snobs, striving for social glory every waking moment. Rufus was raised in Brooklyn, his family pushing him only to live life to the fullest. They met when Rufus was the lead guitarist and singer of 'Lincoln Hawk', a band that was dubbed number nine in 'The Top Ten forgotten bands of the 90's' in Rolling Stone magazine. Lily was a budding photographer and professional groupie of Lincoln Hawk, and they fell in love from the second their eyes met. But fate had a way of pulling them apart, and as the years rolled on, so did their lives. Lily went on to be all her mother Cece wanted her to be, and Rufus went on with his own life. Twenty years later they somehow found their lives tangled up in each other's again, and like a fairytale ending, they fell back in love and married. Lily's fifth husband, Rufus' second wife. They had missed a lot of their lives, but they believed no matter how heavy their baggage, they could last.
Lily went into her room to get her bag and jacket, and swiftly flew out the door. She knew she shouldn't be going to see Rufus at this late hour, but she felt she had lost all control of her legs, them working all by themselves. She quietly crept down the stairs, knowing that Jenny and Eric were sleeping only metres away. She walked back over to the glass coffee table and picked up the scarf, tucking it under her arm. It was still warm as she strode over to the elevator. She punched in the luminescent L for lobby on the metal plaque and as the doors came to a close, and she collapsed back against the elevator, finally having a few moments completely alone to herself.