Meeting Lily – Chapter 7

The moment the hotel room door closed, his kisses had been soft, questioning and she had happily responded in the affirmative. Lily shuddered as she remembered the electricity his touches had sent through her body as he slowly undressed her.

She had woken up the next morning curled to his chest with his arm tightly wrapped around her. Michael had kissed the top of her hair and they had lain in comfortable silence. He had laughed at her when she freaked out at realizing they were in the same hotel as Connor.

She remembered the grip of his arm around her waist as they walked into the restaurant for breakfast. Connor was surprised to see her, more surprised to see her with Michael who had made his views very clear about Connor leaving her alone. She had liked him fighting her corner.

Lily had sat in the uncomfortable police waiting room which smelt overwhelmingly of chlorine and vomit as Michael made his statement to the police. He walked out looking exhausted, older and instantly relieved to see her still there. She had walked with him back to his flat before leaving for work.

She phoned Tom that afternoon and told him that she had met someone else. She didn't say who. It hurt her when he heard the resigned acceptance in his voice. He was a man who deserved to be happy.

For a while, her and Michael had been so easy. He made her dinner and took her hiking. She took him to a little jazz club she had found which became one of their regular meeting places. They understood the importance of each other's work so made sure they enjoyed the time they had together.

It was after a couple of months, she received the letter in the post. She had applied for the role months before. She had assumed she hadn't got it. It was a fantastic opportunity to practice medicine with a charity in the poorest part of Africa. She had applied for it because she knew it was one of her an opportunity to make a significant difference to a community. It was a year long placement. She wanted to go but she didn't want to leave Michael.

She knew she couldn't hide it from him, he didn't deserve that. So she took the letter with her when she went to his flat for dinner. Lily watched his eyes as he read it quickly. He looked at her quizzically and she explained in as much detail as she knew. She remembered his eyes as they darkened with a mixture of sadness and pride.

Was it dangerous was his first question. Of course it was but the organization she was going with did everything in their power to minimize that. Most of the locals on the ground appreciated the work they did.

Would she promise him to be careful was his second question. Lily remembered the quiver in his voice as he said it. She understood what it meant. He was letting her go. It made it so much harder for her to do the same.

She had cried as she kissed him, trying to say what she couldn't put into words. He pulled her into his arms and responded in kind. Lily hadn't wanted to sleep that night. She wanted to remember every moment with him.

The next morning, she had been in tears as he kissed her on the cheek and whispered softly in her ear.

"Until our paths cross again."

It seemed so much longer than six months ago. As the plane landed on the tarmac at Heathrow, she ran her hand over her rounded stomach. The baby had finally settled down after kicking her for most of the flight. At this rate, she was pretty sure she was giving birth to a football player.

As Lily walked through the busy airport terminal, sighing at the grey drizzling rain, it all became real. The doctor in her understood that she having a baby. But in Africa, it had felt like a dream. As she sank into the lumpy seat of the black cab and gave the address of the flat her parents had bought her in London, her heart beat faster as she realized all she had to do. Tell her parents, tell Michael, have the baby and then figure it out from there. Easy, right?

It wasn't that she hadn't wanted to tell them, her parents and Michael, she just hadn't known how. She didn't know how her parents would react. They didn't know about Michael and she wasn't sure if she wanted them to know about Michael.

Michael had let her walk away easily and she loved him and hated him for it. But they had made no promises. She didn't know where he was with his life now. He had sent her an e-mail about Waterloo Road moving up to Glasgow. She was glad because at least she knew where he was but he didn't deserve her to turn up like this. She wasn't expecting anything but she was hoping for something. She just didn't know what. She was going to stay in London for a few days, find a GP and a hospital, make a plan for the arrival of the baby and then try to see Michael.

She pulled out her mobile phone and opened her e-mail account. She was surprised to see an e-mail from Lucy, her flatmate in Rochdale, one of the few people who had known about her and Michael. Lily opened it.

"Have you seen this?!"

It was a single line message followed by a website link.

She opened the link and gasped as she saw the headline.

"Michael Byrne, former head of Waterloo Road in Rochdale, arrested for assisting his father's suicide."

Lily glanced at her watch as she asked the taxi driver to divert to Euston. She still had time to make the sleeper train to Glasgow.