It was my normal day of the week to see Lilith, so the only thing out of the ordinary was that Landon was accompanying me.
His nerves were evident. It reminded me a lot of the ride we’d taken home from the restaurant in L.A., the night he confessed his sordid past to me. He was completely having a silent conversation with himself. Even though I wished he were talking about his feelings in that moment, I knew that he needed the quiet time to process his own thoughts and gear up to see my child for the first time.
As nervous as I was for him to meet Lilith, the pure relief I was feeling from having finally told him balanced everything out. It made me realize just how much my harboring that secret had been eating away at me.
When we pulled up, Lilith was already waiting for us out front. Her hair was getting longer; it was almost down to her butt, and I suspected she was growing it out to match mine.
I’d given her a heads up over the phone that she was going to meet Landon. I didn’t think she would have appreciated me surprising her. She liked to be prepared for things, especially if she deemed them important. I knew she’d been dying to meet him. Her curiosity about him was actually quite adorable.
From the moment he put the car in park, Landon’s eyes were glued to her. We both got out and approached the front steps leading up to the farmer’s porch where she was waiting. I smiled to myself, noticing she was more dressed-up than usual. Landon wasn’t the only one thinking about making a good impression, apparently.
As we got closer to her, the expression on Landon’s face became one of wonder. I knew exactly what he must have been thinking. She looked exactly like me—well, the old me. The main difference was that her hair was lighter and longer than mine was back then. But her face was identical to young Rana.
Lilith tapped her foot against the wood. “Well, well, well, California boy finally got on a plane to see us.”
Landon was getting his first taste of Lilith’s spunky personality.
“Well, well, well, I didn’t realize I had a little sassypants waiting for me. I would’ve done it a lot sooner.” He held his hand out to her. “I’m Landon.”
“Really? I kind of already know your name.” She smacked him five instead of shaking his hand. “Rana only talks about you all the time. She laughs a lot when she thinks about you, too. I guess she thinks you’re funny or something.”
“Is that so?” He paused and was smiling while taking in her face.
Lilith interrupted his stare. “Earth to Landon.”
“I’m sorry. You just remind me of someone.”
“Is it Miss Piggy? Because someone at school said that once.”
“No. Definitely not. You’re much prettier than Miss Piggy. Whoever said that doesn’t know diddly squat.”
“Dudley who?”
“Diddly squat.” He chuckled. “That means they don’t know anything.” Landon whispered to me, “And apparently, I know shit about talking to kids.”
“I heard that,” Lilith scolded.
“I’d better watch my language, then. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. Rana said the F word once.”
His eyes widened. “She did?”
“Yeah. She slammed her hand in a door. She didn’t mean to swear. It just came out. I know not to repeat it. It was funny, though.”
“She hears everything,” I told him before turning to her. “Guess what, Lilith? Landon is here to stay. He moved his stuff. He lives here in Michigan now.”
“Are you moving in with Rana?”
He looked at me, unsure of how to answer. I nodded to let him know he should tell her the truth.
“I am.”
“I hope you know how to cook. Rana can pretty much only boil water.”
Looking amused, Landon glanced over at me. “I have it covered.” He was learning what a little pistol she was.
“So, Lil, I was thinking we’d show Landon our favorite yogurt spot.”
Landon’s eyes lit up. “What’s this, now? Sounds like I’ve been missing out.”
“Rana likes to throw a bunch of chocolate on the sugar free, fat free yogurt.” She giggled. “Her diets are really funny.”
He laughed. “That sounds like cheating to me.”
When we got to FroyoLand, Lilith was quite entertained by Landon’s attempt to get his money’s worth by piling almost every topping over a mountain of three different kinds of yogurt. Since it was a flat price, you could fill the cup as much as you wanted. Landon had definitely gone overboard.
Lilith challenged him. “There’s no way you’re gonna eat all that.”
He lifted his brow. “Wanna bet?”
“I love bets. How much?”
“How much you got?”
“Two dollars.”
“You’re on.”
“How about this, Lilith. If you win, I’ll make it five.”
“I’m cool with that.”
He winked. “I bet you are.”
It was hysterical to watch Landon gorging on the yogurt. He was pretending to love it, but I could tell after a while he was getting pretty sick. Lilith sat watching him with her chin leaning against her hands. She was thoroughly entertained. We’d both finished our own yogurts well before Landon even made a dent.