Chapter Five

That night, Olivia sat in my room and proceeded to tell me in full detail of the endeavors that she experienced with Lucas that day. It actually sounded like a lot of fun, and quite safe, really. I soon found that my massive worrying was, indeed, a little silly.
“I think you should go out with him,” Olivia said. “He seemed to like you enough. I mean, it doesn’t matter that he kept looking at all these other girls. I still think he’s got sort of a soft spot for you. You should just try one date. I’m sure you’d have fun.”
“Uh huh,” I said, not exactly listening to what she was saying. I was quite tired. You can just imagine how much worrying can tire you out, even if you’re practically only sweeping your restaurant’s floor over and over again.
“Yeah,” she said. “I mean, just try once. One date. One day with him. You need something or someone in your life, Caitlin, and I’m just trying to help.”
“I do not need a boyfriend, if that is what you are meaning to say,” I said. “I’m just fine on my own.”
“You’re fine, not happy,” she said. “And I think Luke has somethig that you might need. That extra little push. That one marvelous day. That experience that will want you craving more of that experience. Why don’t you just give it a shot?”
I thought about it. Why don’t I just give it a shot? I mean, he seemed like a nice enough guy, apart from the whole being with a different woman every day thing. But he was very attractive. And he took care of my sister for the day. He saved me from those drunk people once. Did I really trust him at that point?
I continued on my way.
“So how about tomorrow?” Olivia asked.
“What?” I said, caught off guard.
“I said, how about tomorrow?”
“What tomorrow?”
“What do you mean what tomorrow?”
“What are you talking about?”
“I mean hanging out with Luke. Tomorrow. How about it?”
“What? Oh, no. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
I paused. “I don’t have any time.”
“Oh, come on! You don’t even have work tomorrow!”
“Right. And mum doesn’t let me go to London unless I have work. So I can’t even go to London, and therefore, I won’t even see him tomorrow.”
“Tell mum you’ve got work tomorrow, and go spend the day with Luke.”
“I can’t just lie to mum’s face!”
“Why not? One little lie for one little day? And not to mention, it’ll be the best day of your life. Trust me on that one. And you will be with Luke! It is kind of about time that you stop admiring him from afar when you’re on the train. Just spend a day with him! Just one day. It will totally be worth it, I promise.”
I thought about it. Was anything really worth lying to my mum’s face? I honestly couldn’t even remember when the last time I lied to her was. But instead of thinking about my mum, I thought about Luke. Spending a day with Luke. My sister had a lot of fun, so a good time was practically guarunteed. Unless he did something horrible to me. Were all those worries I had about what he could have possibly done to my sister… should I be worrying of he does any of those things to me? But he could have easily done anything with my sister, yet he didn’t. Maybe he was trustworthy after all. The more I thought about it, the more my sister seemed right, but the more reckless it seemed as well. I mean, did I really want this? Or was Olivia just trying to plant these ideas in my head? Then again, why would she do that if she didn’t care about me?
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll do one day. But just one day!”
Olivia cheered with victory just before my mum came in.
“You girls are still awake? Well, I do suppose it’s because you have the day off tomorrow.”
“Actually, mum…” I looked nervously at Olivia, and then back to my mum. “They’ve called me in tomorrow. They said we can’t afford to be closed for a day, and I really don’t want to get fired, so I should go.”
“Right. Well, I suppose a day off is too good to be true. Orion will be working from home tomorrow, so Olivia can stay.”
“Aw! Do I have to?”
“Well, I suppose you did come back in one piece today,” she said, “but I’d still feel safer if you were at home with your dad.”
“Fine,” Olivia said. She wasn’t one to agree to these things quickly, but I knew it was because she wanted to leave me alone with Lucas.
I had a dream that night about Olivia with Lucas. The two of them were making out with each other extremely passionately. Before I knew it, both of their shirts were off, and then their pants were off as well. They were in my old bedroom, the one where Cedric used to tell me stories. Kissing and groping on my bed, with their underwear still on. Billy, Olivia’s boyfriend, was in the background with a video camera, taping them as they went at it. One of Lucas’s whores walked in, completely naked, and joined them in bed. Soon, they were all naked and continued at each other like sweaty animals.
I woke up, sweating. What time was it? Around 4 AM. I couldn’t go back to sleep. I decided to get up and make myself a cup of tea and watch a bit of television. Doctor Who re-runs were on, thankfully, and it took my mind off of whatever it was I was about to face that day.
After a few of my favorite episodes, my mum was awake. “Oh, good morning, dear. When are you leaving for work?”
“In about an hour,” I said. I had forgotten that my mum thought I was going to work. “I just need to hop in the shower now, I guess.” I turned off the television.
“Well, I need to go to work,” she said. She grabbed her bag and darted out the door. “Have a nice day, love!”
“Bye, mum,” I said as the door shut. So I hopped in the shower, washed away my dirty, unwanted thoughts, and proceeded to get dressed. I wore a red sweater dress with my favorite gray stockings and my boots. I decided to go with a simple necklace for accessories.
Orion wouldn’t wake up for another couple of hours, and Olivia would just not wake up today. She always sleeps in on a Saturday.
I made sure my hair looked presentable. For some reason, it looked more red than usual.
I decided to ignore it, and stepped out the door right after grabbing my bag, and went to the station.
I got on the train, and Lucas was nowhere to be found. I didn’t let it bother me too much, though. It didn’t matter if he showed up or not.
But at the next stop, he got on, smiled at me, and then sat in the empty seat to my left.
“I didn’t think you’d show up,” he said.
“What d’you mean?”
“Your sister told me that she was going to try to convince you to spend a day with me.”
“Ah. So you’re in on it, are you?”
“Yep. So you lied to your own mother just to spend time with a total stranger?”
“You’re not a total stranger,” I said in my own defense.
“Oh, am I? You think you know me so well?”
“Well enough to trust you. I mean, I gave you my sister for the day, and she came back in one piece.”
He nodded. “Very true. All right, then. I’ve decided. I’ll make today the best day of your life.”
I scoffed. “Good luck with that.” But then I thought about it. How many ‘best day of my life’s did I actually have so far?
There was my fifth birthday party. Cedric and I took a few friends to the amusement park, and he dragged me on all the cool rides that we were tall enough to go on. He also helped me win prizes at some of the games. And when some guy was performing a comedy act, Cedric actually had the guts to get up on stage himself and tell him what he was doing wrong. I remember roaring with laughter along with the audience.
Another amazing day of my life was the day Cedric and I ran away when mum and dad told us we had to go to school for the first time. We went to the park, and then down into the creek to see how far it led, and it was almost like discovering a magical land.
Yeah, I had some pretty awesoe days. But a part of me really thought today was going to be better than the best.
So I got down from the station to see Lucas’s motorbike parked in the parking lot.
“C’mon,” he said, handing me his extra helmet. “Let’s go.”