I didn’t say anything more. He may not want me to help but he needed me. This wasn’t about his hot and cold behavior toward me. At this moment, I didn’t care about that. He needed help and I was possibly the only person he had that could be of use in this situation.
The elevator doors opened and he held out his hand for me to exit first. I did so then waited for him to join me in the parking deck. “Let’s take my car. There’s more room for all of us,” I said, thinking about his truck.
“I have her keys,” he said and pulled out a key fob. A sleek black Tesla’s headlights came on that was parked in the reserved spot directly to our left. “I can’t trust her with the keys,” he said simply then headed for the car.
I followed him then had to pause when I couldn’t figure out how to open the passenger door. Saul looked at me over his door as it slid up slowly. He said nothing but walked over and opened the door for me. “Get in,” he said and I did as I was told. He closed my door behind me before going back to the driver’s side.
We drove out of the parking deck and out the gate onto the main road. He didn’t say anything and I didn’t ask questions. When he turned right at the light and headed out of town and toward the Florida state line, I wondered exactly how far we were going. Lily didn’t have access to her car so how far could she have gone? Did she have friends that would have come to get her? I wanted to ask, but Saul probably didn’t want to answer my questions at the moment or ever.
“Lily loved Honey,” he said.
I looked at him, waiting to see if he said more but he didn’t.
“How did Gran know Lily?” I asked him since he brought the topic up.
“Honey brought snacks to the local AA meetings. Every other day, she was there with cookies, cupcakes, chips, and lemonade. About five years ago, Lily went on a bender and missed two meetings. Honey showed up at the gate of the Hendrix and I found her trying to talk security into letting her inside. She was there to check on Lily. She went with me to find her.” He stopped and glanced at me a moment. “Like you.”
Of course, my gran would take snacks and drinks to an AA meeting when she had never once needed to go to one herself. That was just like Gran. Always helping others. Always looking for ways to better the world. Always trying to “fix the bullshit.”
My tears stung thinking of Gran, but I blinked them away. Crying was not what Saul needed right now. He needed me to be Gran. I would never be the woman Gran was, but I would do everything in my power to help him and Lily.
“I miss her,” I said.
“Yeah, so do I,” Saul replied.
We may never be friends and tomorrow he could go right back to disliking me and being rude, but right now, none of that mattered. Gran was still here fixing things it seemed. Even from the grave.
Saul crossed the state line and immediately turned left down a narrow street then pulled into the parking lot of a run-down bar. It was built from cement blocks with three flashing beer lights in the windows. The open sign blinked off several seconds then back on as if it wasn’t sure it wanted to work or not. Only three cars were in the parking lot.
Saul glanced over at me. “If you don’t want to go in there I understand,” he said.
“I’m going, I just need you to open my door,” I replied because there was no way I wasn’t going to go inside and help him with Lily. That was why I was here. I just wasn’t going in if he didn’t get me out of this futuristic fancy vehicle.
His smile was grim and didn’t meet his eyes. I waited until my door slid up and opened then climbed out to join him in the heat of the relentless summer sun. I fell in step beside him as we made our way to the solid red door that had Vern’s painted on it in black.
Saul went to open the door then looked at me. “I’ll go in first. Just stay right behind me.”
I nodded, although I didn’t see what kind of danger could come from a bar with only three vehicles outside. The dim lighting made it hard to see after coming from the bright sunlight. I squinted and hoped I didn’t run into Saul or someone else while my eyes adjusted.
“My boy!” Lily’s voice called out loudly over the country music playing on the speakers.
I followed the shadow of Saul’s body as he moved toward the sound of his mother’s voice. Even though I was struggling to see clearly, it was obvious Saul was tense, as if he was preparing for a battle. I did a quick glance around the room, but there was nothing threatening as the place was almost empty.
“Is that Henley?” She asked with a high-pitched slur. “You brought Henley!”
Finally able to see clearly, we came to a stop at the bar and Lily. Her glamorous appearance was gone and her cheeks appeared sunken in. The dark circles under her eyes were joined with bags, making her appear much older. The stench of stale cigarettes and whiskey wafted from her or maybe that was just the bar itself.
“Yeah, she’s here to come bring you home. She came to visit and you weren’t there,” Saul told his mother in a gentle tone.
Lily sat her glass down and looked at me. “I wasn’t there and you came,” she said. “I’m so sorry.” Tears began to well in her eyes and she shifted her gaze to Saul. “I should have been there. Honey would be so disappointed in me.”
Saul put several large bills down on the bar and slid an arm around his mother’s back. “Yeah, she would,” he agreed.
That response caused Lily to break down sobbing and then she started repeating the words, “I’m sorry,” over and over again. I wanted to assure her it was okay, but Saul ignored her and looked at me. “Lead the way,” he said.
I did as he instructed and opened the door so he could walk her out.
“I just wanted a cocktail,” she said to him and leaned heavy against him.
“That’s all you ever want,” he replied, “but you can’t have one. You can’t stop at just one.”
“I didn’t take anything,” she said with a hopeful voice. “I didn’t go looking for any.”
“Good. One less thing to deal with,” he replied.
When we got to the car, I studied the door, wishing I had paid closer attention when he opened it for me.
“Stand back,” he said to me and then he reached forward to open it. He put Lily in the back seat then stepped back, so I could get in the front. Lily lay over in the seat until she was curled up on her side. She closed her eyes and didn’t say anything more.
When Saul was in the driver’s seat and driving back on to the main road, Lily began to lightly snore. “That was easy thanks to you,” he said.
“I didn’t do anything,” I replied, not sure how my opening a few doors helped make it easy.