What She's Doing Now (Sequel to The Great Pretenders)

Hello Stranger

By Barbara Lewis

Hello stranger

It seems so good to see you back again

how long has it been?

seems like a mighty long time

If you're not gonna stay

Please don't tease me

like you did before

because I still love you so

although

it seems like a mighty long time..

Lucy couldn't believe she'd actually let Charlie go to the Avenged Sevenfold concert. She remembered the day Charlie discovered them. She fell instantly in love with their music and then even more in love with them when she saw the men who made the music. Lucy couldn't blame her daughter. The guys had all grown up to be some of the most handsome men Lucy had ever seen. Matt especially had gotten better with age, or maybe she just thought that because she'd been in love with him. It was hard to discourage Charlie's interest in the band. They made phenomenal music and were easy on the eyes. Every teenage girl's dream come true.

That didn't mean Lucy didn't try. She tried to convince her not to go. Begged her. She'd tried to bribe her. She tried to convince her they sucked. She tried everything. In the end she didn't have a good enough reason to not let her go. So she'd said yes. And then Kelsey's parents admitted they'd gotten them meet and greet tickets. Lucy began to panic. She had spent the last 15 years trying not to cross paths with M Shadows and here she was sending her kid directly to the lions den.

Charlie was a good kid. Smart, funny, beautiful, a natural athlete that could sing better than almost anyone Lucy knew, a true mixture of her mother and her father. It killed Lucy everyday how much she looked like her dad. Those dimples and hazel eyes often took Lucy back to a time where she was stupid enough to think that she could be with Matthew Charles Sanders.

Lucy heard the doorbell ring about 8am. She knew it wasn't Charlie because she had checked in an hours earlier saying she was spending the night with Kelsey. She knew both girls would stay up all night talking about meeting the band and sleep late. That was a good thing. Lucy didn't think she was prepared to hear how gorgeous Matt and the guys were in person and how much Charlie loved them. Jumping out of bed, in her pajamas bottoms and tank top, she grabbed her UCLA sweatshirt on the way downstairs.

Getting to the door, she checked the peephole and saw the face she never expected to see in person ever again. She sighed deeply. She could just ignore him, pretend she was asleep, washing her hair, not home, out of the country. But then she might never have this chance again. She never quite realized how much she really wanted to see him.

She ran her fingers through her hair and ran her hand across her face. Just open the door, Lucy, she told herself. Just like ripping off a band aid.

And she did. She swung the door open quickly and it startled him. Short dark brown hair gleamed in the early morning sunlight and a pair of sexy aviators were perched at the bridge of his nose. A worn denim jacket covered his familiar Metallica shirt and his jeans hugged his long legs. Lucy's stomach did a flip, bringing a warm sensation she wasn't expecting.

He pulled his glasses off quickly. His hazel eyes were surprised and for a second, she thought he was going to grab her in his embrace "Lucy!"

She nodded her head and folded her arms across her chest. "Sanders, what are you doing here?"

"I..." he opened his mouth but didn't seem to know what to say "I don't know."

"You don't know why you're at my house at 8am in the morning?" she asked. "After 15 years, you still haven't thought of a better answer for that question?"

He laughed and the sound was soothing "You're the only person to ever ask me why I show up. Everyone else is usually pretty psyched when they open the door and M Shadows is at their doorstep."

Lucy wanted to tell him that she was pretty psyched, but she was more scared."How did you find out where I lived?"

"Zoey," he said simply.

She closed her eyes. Damn her. She'd kept quiet all this time and then bam! She was spilling the beans. What else did she spill?

"What are you doing here Matt?"

"I met your daughter last night," he replied "she's beautiful."

Lucy tried to relax. "Thank you. So you met my daughter and you just decided to show up at my house?"

"Basically," he said hitting her with his dimples. And just like that he reduced her to her 17 year old self. "Are you going to invite me in?"

"Why?" Lucy asked, feeling a bit of déjà vu asking.

"Because I want to talk to you," he said earnestly.

"Sanders, we don't have anything to talk about," Lucy said getting nervous. Did he suspect that Charlie was his daughter? That had to be it. He wouldn't just show up at her house to see Lucy herself. That would be ridiculous. Right?

"We do have to talk," he insisted "And I think you know what about."