Fractured from the Fall

Pushing Buttons

"What are Earth are you doing in there?"

Lily's father stood leaning against the doorway, sipping his coffee while he watched his daughter rummage through the closet on her hands and knees.

"Ah ha!" Lily shouted in triumph as she resurfaced from the mess with two once-white canvas Keds sneakers in her hands. "I knew they were in here somewhere." She dusted the shoes off and put them on her feet. They still fit.

"Whaddaya you need those for?" he asked. He couldn't help but wonder what she was up to. Lily's demeanor had changed in the last several days. She hadn't drank. She got up early and helped him in the stables. She stopped wearing her ridiculously overpriced and ill-suited-for- ranch-life outfits and stuck to whatever she could find in her closet, plus a few pieces she had bought at a clothing shop in town. She had borrowed his truck the day before to pick up Harper from school and taken her to get ice cream. At first he thought she was turning back into the Lily he remembered, but then he realized that she would never be that girl again. She didn't need to be. She was working on a better, healthier version of herself and he was proud of the changes she was making. It made him happy to see her smile. It'd been a long time since he'd seen his daughter like this and he couldn't quite place the feeling. It wasn't necessarily happiness; she still had a long way to go. But Lily was filled with a hope that he hadn't seen in her since before her mother had died.

"You'll see," she said coyly, getting to her feet. "Can you drop me off somewhere? I've got a couple things I need to take care of."

He eyed her suspiciously.

"Sure," he said, taking one last sip of his coffee.

"Great!" Lily said with an enthusiasm that her father had never seen. She was definitely up to something. "I'll meet you out front."

***

Lily's father dropped her off at Carl's Bike Shop at the edge of town. Carl, the owner, was of course still working there after all these years. It was a wonder that he had stayed in business.

"Well I'll be, Lily Haliday, in the flesh," he smiled. She almost corrected him and said, "it's Adler" but then stopped herself as Carl brought her in for a big hug. She wasn't expecting it and stood rigid until she finally relaxed and reciprocated his embrace. She was going to have to start getting used to all this small town friendliness.

"Hi Carl, good to see ya," she said once he had finally pulled away.

"So what brings you in?"

"I'm looking for a bike, nothing too fancy," she said.

"Inventory is slim. We don't get too many customers these days. But I do have a couple mountain bikes over here, road bikes are along the back wall or I might have one more dual sport, just depends on what you're looking for."

"No, no," Lily said as she looked around. I'm looking for something a little less flashy, more old school."

"Hmm," he thought. "I think I might have just the thing."

He went into the back and brought out an old Schwinn bike, dating back to the 70's or 80's by the looks of it.

"She's used, but she's in great condition."

Lily smiled.

"I like a girl with some miles on her," she joked.

"Ha ha!" Carl laughed, smacking her on the back. "It's good to have you back in town Lily. How long you stayin'?"

"Not sure exactly."

"Well, we'll take ya for as long as we can! Come on, let's get you rung up, shall we?"

Carl walked Lily up to the cash register and she paid for her new old bike.

"Anything else I can do for ya?" Carl asked as he handed her the bike.

"Actually, yeah. My dad's still stuck in the Stone Age. Do you know a place with a computer with internet connection?"

***

Lily sat staring at the screen in the little coffee shop near route 32. Just press send, just press send, she repeated over and over in her head. Her hands were shaking from one too many cups of coffee. She was nervous, but also excited. This would be the start of a new chapter for her.

She took one last sip of her coffee, hoping the jolt of caffeine would give her the courage that she needed.

"Eeeee," she squealed quietly. She couldn't bring herself to fully look at what she was about to do. One hand was cupped over her left eye, shielding her from the screen as her right index finger hovered over the touchpad. Her fingertip clicked on the button and it was done. Lily relaxed and smiled. All there was left to do was wait.

In the meantime she had some other important business to conduct. She opened her email and hit "new message."

She kept the email brief and to the point, adding the necessary attachments. In to "to" line she entered the name: Samuel Jensen and in the carbon copy line she typed: Richard Adler.

This time she didn't hesitate. There were no squeals or second guesses. She hit the "send" button and closed out of the browser. She took one last sip of her coffee and gathered her papers from the table, shoving them into a Manila envelope.

On her way out she waved goodbye to the friendly girl that worked behind the counter who had helped her get set up on the computer and who had kept her cup filled with piping hot coffee as Lily had filled out the lengthy online form, offering her words of encouragement.

"Careful out there," the girl shouted. "Looks like it might rain."

"Thanks," Lily tipped her head up in appreciation. The little bell above the door rang as she exited the tiny cafe.

Lily stood on the front porch of the coffee shop for a moment breathing in the cool mountain air. It smelled different today: fresher, sweeter. Everything seemed different. But there was one thing that remained the same, which she was hoping to change. She hopped on her Schwinn, grateful that she had found her old Keds; pedaling in cowboy boots or her Christian Louboutins would have been impossible. She was headed home, but she had one more stop she needed to make.