03

Lily

When they reached the airport, Matt, her humdrum of an escort, pulled up alongside the curve and slid out from behind the wheel to assist her with her bags.

She gave him an awkward smile and he replied with a brief nod before slipping back into the Durango and casually driving away.

Shaking her head, she slung her bags over her shoulder and started inside. Valets in their crisp, white button-ups and red vests motioned passengers to and from ; long lines of people weaved from the information desk and ticket counters. The white polished floor teemed with tourists and travelers lugging carry-ons and briefcases, a stream of voices echoed through the expansive extended ceilings as the morning gray light beamed through the large, crystalline glass.

Lily stood in the center, gripping her baggage with uncertainty as her eyes scanned the crowd for her father’s stately frame.

She hadn’t seen her father in several years and what’s to say in those five years her father’s appearance hadn’t drastically changed ? He could be standing a foot away without her knowing. She tried imagining a more realistic life ; a life where she and her father had that inseparable bond of unconditional love but try as hard as she could, her mind couldn’t wrap itself around that illusion.

She spotted the lounge and thought maybe her father would be waiting for her there. Delayed passengers permeated the room, occupying leather seats as they gorged on snacks and coffee ; several entertained newspapers and magazines, an antsy teenager drummed a pair of drum sticks on the table in front of him as he rocked his head to the music streaming from his head phones, but none of the faces around her were remotely familiar.

Breathing a sigh, she walked to the bar and ordered a black coffee. She gripped her Styrofoam cup of bitter airport brew and wondered thoughtfully if this had been a mistake.

« Ms. McDermott ? » it was no surprise to her that the man who greeted her was not her father.

Lifting her head she peered up at the man who addressed her. « Yes ? »

« Your father is waiting for you aboard the plane. »

Lily frowned as she gathered to her feet, « Are we not taking-« 

« We’re taking a private plane. »

« Is that necessary ? » she asked, puzzled as to why her father would go to such extreme measures for travel.

The man simply nodded a curt nod and reached out to take her luggage. As they made their way to the plane, she tried making sense of her father’s extravagant taste in the littlest of things. Was he trying to impress her by having a complete stranger chauffeur her about and take a private plane verses the real deal ?

As she boarded the plane, her hands began to tremble and her stomach fluttered with butterflies. Odd that she would feel so out of sorts when the man was merely her father, but merely was not the word best to describe the firm, statuesque figure that awaited her.

« Lilith. » Her father’s voice was exact and stern just like the methodical planes of his face. He had chosen a white button-up beneath a dark slate vest that corresponded with his gray slacks.

He was more a stranger than father but she could never forget the unique details of his appearance, from his angular chin to his slender, aligned shoulders. The wealth of cropped black hair, now peppered with gray, gave him a more prominent bearing.

Thick black brows slanted above eyes that mirrored her cerulean blue but his eyes held secrets ; secrets he had little intention of revealing.

He offered no warm greeting, simply a smile that did not reach the analytical stare of his eyes as he motioned to a seat.

She had a lot of questions, questions such as ‘Where the hell you been the last five years of my life ?’, ‘Why now have you decided to sever the awkward lines and make some attempt at parenting ?’, instead, she refrained and settled comfortably into her itchy, airline seat.

He settled opposite of her and crossed one lean leg over the other. She noticed his gray slacks were without a single crease and his sleek, black Bostonian’s shined to perfection ; devoid of any blemishes.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, feeling very much ‘under the microscope’, which was an appropriate term, considering his profession. As a renowned biochemist, he was paid to uncover things that most people would have trouble understanding.

He conducted research and studied an assortment of living matter. As far back as she could remember his profession had always kept him from home. He would spend hours and sometimes, days on end, in his lab, analyzing and testing theories.

His theories had always been priority to his family. The look in his eye whenever seeking an answer or on the verge of a discovery, brought an unimaginable light to his eye, a light that family failed to spark.

She eyed him suspiciously. Of all the years she had known her father, she had never known him to be passionate towards anything but his work.

The pilot came on over the loud speaker and prepared them for take off. Lily quickly fastened her seat belt as the plane shuddered to life.

« Did you mean what you said on the phone ? » she asked, rifting the perplexing silence that hung between them.

« Would you believe me if I said yes ? »

She said nothing.

He smirked, « I didn’t think so. »

She gripped her stale coffee. « Am I supposed to believe that you’ve had an epiphany about our non-existing father-daughter relationship ? »

He tilted his chin to better observe her. « I imagine you have some suppressed anger about me. »

Lily snorted, « Anger is but one word to describe how I feel towards you. » She narrowed her eyes with renewed chagrin. « What was the reason for my escort and fancy ride ? And the man in the airport, the one lacking a personality, was you trying to glamour me with wasteful methods of your hard-earned money ? »

He sighed a heavy sigh as he dropped his leg to the floor. Lily stiffened as he leaned forward towards her. « Lily-«  she was surprised by his empathetic tone, an emotion she hadn’t sensed in him since her mother’s death. « -I am a top notch biologist, but when it comes to being a father, I have a pretty shitty imitation of it, so why don’t you humor me and pretend to have a good time, hmm ? »

She didn’t know whether to be outraged or impressed that he had actually owned up to one of many flaws.