Page 103 - It Ends with Us

come I ha ven’t hea rd about this guy?”

I smile a little. “Thi ng s are kind of . . . it’s no t rea lly . . .” I ha ve no
idea ho w to ex plain our situation to my mother. “He works a lot, so we
ha ven’t rea lly spent tha t much time toget her. At all. Thi s is actually
the firs t time we’v e been to dinner toget her.”
My mother raises an ey eb row. “Rea lly?” she says, lea ni ng back in
her sea t. “He sure does n’t trea t it like tha t. I mea n— he seems

comfortably affec tiona te with you. Not no rmal beha vior with someo ne
you’ve just met .”
“We didn’t just meet ,” I say. “It’s been almost a yea r sinc e the firs t
time I met hi m. And we’v e spent time toget her, just no t on a date. He
works a lot.”
“Where d oes he work?”
“Massachu set ts Genera l Hospital.”

My mother lea ns for ward and her ey es practically bulge from her
hea d. “Lily!” she hi sses . “He’s a do ctor?”
I no d, suppres sing my grin. “A neu rosurgeo n. ”
“Can I get you ladies somet hi ng to drink ?” a waiter asks.
“Yea h, ” I say. “We’l l take three . . .”
And then I clamp my mouth shu t.

I stare at the waiter and the waiter stares back at me. My he art is in
my thro at. I can’t remember ho w to spea k.
“Lily?” my mother says. She flicks her ha nd toward the waiter. “He’s
waiting for your drink order.”
I sha ke my hea d and beg in to stutter. “I’ll . . . um . . .”
“Three waters ,” my mother says, int erru pting my fumbled words.
The waiter sna ps out of hi s tranc e long eno ugh to tap hi s penc il on

hi s pad of paper.
“Three waters ,” he says. “Got it.” He turns and walks away, but I
watch as he glanc es back at me bef ore pushi ng thro ugh the doors to
the kitchen.
My mother lea ns for ward and says, “Wha t in the world is wrong
with you?”

I point over my sho ulder. “The waiter,” I say, sha king my he ad. “He
looked ex actly like . . .”
I’m about to say, “Atlas Cor rigan ,” when R yle walks up and slides
back int o the sea t.