On the Edge of Tomorrow

Chapter 39

The smell of bacon pulled me from my sleep. I took my time getting ready, both wanting Billy to wake up and also wanting him to rest. The hectic schedule that was his life for the past six months had exhausted him. I continued to remind myself that he needed sleep. Still, I was nervous about meeting his mother without him. Billy valued no one more than his mother. What if she didn't like me?

I lingered as long as I could before the grumbling in my stomach pulled me into the kitchen. I watched from the doorway as Mary Collins whirled around the kitchen with ease. It was like watching a ballet as she moved between frying, stirring, and chopping. But more surprising was Mary herself. I expected a towering woman with the same dark eyes and hair as Billy. Instead, I found a woman shorter than me, barely 5'5'', with grey hair. She had none of Billy's shy demeanor; her movements felt spry and filled with joy. Happiness sprung from her, even with her back to me.

"Hello," I tentatively said.

She turned without planning her expression. Instead, a genuine look of first bewilderment and then curiosity ebbed welcoming on her lined face.

"You must be Lily." Her eyes were clear green, like the first leaves of spring, and creases framed them from years of laughter.

"I am; I'm sorry to intrude; Billy is still asleep. I didn't want to wake him," I explained, only to fill my need to ramble from nerves.

"Oh, heavens, you're not an intrusion. Come on in." She whirled around the kitchen, clearing a spot at the small Formica table. "Sit. I have bacon, eggs, and can start the toast. Oh, and fruit; Billy mentioned you eat fruit in the morning."

"You didn't have to get me fruit." My shoulders curled into me as I instinctively tried to hide from the fuss.

"Look at you, as shy as Billy. How did you two ever even start?" She laughed to herself. It was a mischievous giggle that hit my ears like a tickle and pushed up the edges of my smile. "Do you want milk, juice, or water?" She added as she spooned out a large helping of fruit.

"Water, please," I tried to sound less shy, but my voice just came strained. "How can I help? I promise I'm a normal person when I have something to do." I flushed at my admission.

"Ha, aren't we all!" She set the bowl and water down in front of me. "Eat first, and then I'll put you to work."

"Agreed." I eagerly shoved fruit in my mouth to quiet my stomach.

"So, Billy tells me you're in school. What are you studying?" She asked as she focused on flipping the bacon.

"I'm an English and history major," I mumbled between bites.

"How's that going?" She continued in a sing-song voice.

"Pretty well; I got ahead last week when I visited Billy."

"Hopefully, you had time for a little fun. You young people, keep forgetting to be young!" She complained with a giggle.

"Well, Tim, Tess, and I got to test drive a Tesla. I mean, Tim did, but Tess and I rode along," I offered.

"Tim is the exception to nearly all rules. That boy would have a party in jail." She set the plate of bacon down on the table and settled into the chair next to me. "He's good for Billy. Billy's too serious, just like his father." She warmly smiled at me.

"He's serious, but Tim pulls out his childish side. I had to scold him last week for punching Tim." The words just fell out before I realized I had just told on Billy to his mother.

"He what?" But there wasn't alarm in her voice; there was the unmistakable tone of pride.

"Oh, you know how they are, always ribbing each other. Well, they took it a bit too far, and Billy laid a punch on him pretty hard, so I scolded him. He sulked like a toddler." I let out a giggle.