“I guess it is. At the time, it just seemed normal. They got divorced soon after.”
“I guess it is. At the time, it just seemed normal. They got divorced soon after.” Boris started to bark.
“Not a fan of divorce, I see,” I observed.
“His treats are also in my bag,” Lily said with a sigh.
For a minute or two, she closed her eyes. Just sat there and let everything else drift away, become beside the point. I didn’t mind that I, too, was disappearing. She looked like she needed a break, and I was willing to give it to her.
“Here, Boris,” I said, at empting to be friendly with the beast. He looked at me warily, then started licking the floor.
“I guess I’m nervous to be meeting you,” Lily said at long last, eyes still closed.
“Likewise,” I assured her. “I nd I very rarely live up to my words. And since you know me primarily through my words, there are oh so many ways I can disappoint.”
She opened her eyes. “It’s not just that. It’s just the last time you saw me—”
“—you weren’t yourself. Don’t you think I know that?”
“Sure. But isn’t it possible that I was myself then? Maybe that’s who I’m supposed to be, only I don’t let her out a lot.”
“I think I like the dog-walking, baby-catching, truth-telling Lily bet er,” I said. “For what it’s worth.” And that was the question, wasn’t it? What was it worth?
“That Lily landed us in jail,” Lily pointed out.
“Well, you wanted danger, right? And, really, it was Boris who landed us in jail. Or the red notebook that landed us in jail. The red notebook was a great idea, by the way.”
“It was my brother’s,” Lily admit ed. “Sorry.”
“Well, you’re the one who stuck with it, aren’t you?”
Lily nodded. “For what it’s worth.”
I pulled my chair over so we were next to each other at the interrogation table.
“It’s de nitely worth something,” I said. “A lot. We still don’t know each other, right? And I’ll admit—I thought it might be best if we kept it all to the page, passed that notebook back and forth until we were ninety. But clearly that wasn’t meant to be. And who am I to blow against the wind?”
Lily blushed. “ ‘And what did you do on your rst date, Lily?’ ‘Well, we went down to the precinct house and grabbed two Styrofoam cups of water.’ ‘That seems very romantic.’ ‘Oh, it was.’ ”
“ ‘So what did you do for a second date?’ ” I continued. “ ‘Well, we gured we’d have to rob a bank. Only it ended up being a sperm bank, and we were accosted by angry mommies-to-be in the waiting room. So it was back to the jailhouse for us.’ ‘That sounds exciting.’ ‘Oh, it was. And it went on. Now when I have to remember a date, all I have to do is consult my rap sheet.’ ”
“ ‘And what drew you to her?’ ” she asked.
“ ‘Well,’ ” I answered the phantom interviewer, “ ‘I’d have to say it was the way she catches babies. Exquisite, really. And you? What made you think, Wow, this gent’s a keeper?’ ”
“ ‘I love a man who doesn’t let go of the leash, even when it leads him to ruin.’ ”
“Well done,” I said. “Well done.”
I thought Lily would be happy with this compliment. But instead she sighed and slumped down in her chair.
“What?” I asked.
“What about Sofia?” she said.
“Sofia?”
“Yes. Boomer mentioned Sofia.”
“Ah, Boomer.”
“Do you love her?”
I shook my head. “I can’t love her. She lives in Spain.”
Lily laughed. “I guess you get points for truthfulness.”
“No, really,” I said. “I think she’s great. And I honestly like her about twenty times more now than I did when we were dating. But love needs to have a future. And Sofia and I don’t have a future. We’ve just had a good time sharing the present, that’s all.”
“You really think love needs to have a future?”
“Absolutely.”
“Good,” Lily said. “So do I.”
“Good,” I echoed, leaning in. “So do you.”
“Don’t repeat what I say,” she told me, swat ing at my arm.
“Don’t repeat what I say,” I murmured, smiling.
“You’re being silly,” she said, but the sill iness was falling out of her voice.
“You’re being silly,” I assured her.
“Lily is the greatest girl who ever was.”
I drew closer. “Lily is the greatest girl who ever was.”
For a moment, I think we’d forgot en where we were.
And then the of icers returned, and we were reminded once again.
“Well,” said O cer White, who was black, “you’ll be happy to know that the videos of your exploits this afternoon have already garnered two hundred thousand hits on YouTube. And you were captured at pret y much every angle possible—it’s impressive that the statue of George Washington didn’t whip out an iPhone and email the photos to his friends.”
“We’ve looked at all the footage closely,” said O cer Black, who was white, “and have come to the conclusion that there’s only one guilty party in this room.”