Page 102 - It Ends with Us

lower back. Onc e we rea ch the table, I beg in to pull off my jacket .

“Hey, Mom.”
She looks up from her pho ne and says, “Oh, hey, ho ney.” She
drops her pho ne in her purse and waves her ha nd around the
res taurant . “I alrea dy love it. Look at the light ing ,” she says, point ing
up. “The fix tures look like somet hi ng you’d grow in one of your
gardens .” Tha t’s when she no tices R yle, who is stand ing patient ly nex t

to me as I slide int o the booth. My mother smiles at hi m and says,
“We’l l take two waters for no w, plea se. ”
My ey es dart to R yle and then back to my mother. “Mom. He’s with
me. He’s no t the waiter.”
She looks up at R yle again with conf usion. He just smiles and
rea ches out hi s ha nd . “Hones t mistake, ma’am. I’m R yle Kinc aid.”
She ret urns the ha nd sha ke, looking back and forth bet wee n us. He

rel ea ses her ha nd and slides int o the booth. She looks a little
flustered when she fina lly says, “Jenny Bloom. Nice to meet you.” She
places her attent ion back on me and raises an ey eb row. “A friend of
yours, Lily?”
I can ’t believe I’m not better prepared for thi s moment. Wha t in the hec k
do I int roduce hi m as? My trial run? I can’t say boyfriend, but I can’t

ver y wel l say friend. Prospect seems a little dated .
R yle no tices my pause, so he puts hi s ha nd on my knee and
squeez es rea ssuring ly. “My sister works for Lily,” he says. “Have you
met her? Allysa?”
My mother lea ns for ward in her booth and says, “Oh! Yes ! Of
course. You two look so much alike no w tha t you ment ion it,” she says.
“It’s the ey es , I thi nk . And the mouth. ”

He no ds. “We both favor our mother.”
My mother smiles at me. “People always say they thi nk Lily favors
me. ”
“Yes ,” he says. “Ident ical mouths . Unc anny.” R yle squeez es my knee
und er the table again whi le I try and suppres s my laught er. “Ladies , if
you’ll excuse me, I need to hea d to the gent lem en’s room.” He lea ns

in and kisses me on the side of the hea d bef ore stand ing . “If the
waiter comes , I’ll just take water.”
My mother’ s ey es follow R yle as he walks away, and then she slowly
turns back to me. She point s at me and then to hi s em pty sea t. “How