Lily was the first to react. She leapt to her feet. "Don't move!" she cried. She hurried around the table. "Are you cut?" she asked, grabbing Cal's wrist. He sat there, dumbfounded, as she examined his hand. "You look fine," she said. She dropped his hand. "You must go through a lot of glasses," she added drily.
"I'll get the broom," Eva said. "And another glass."
"What were you saying, Lily?" Deidre asked when the mess was cleared away. "You were named after a painting?" Ignoring the stricken look on his face, she turned to Dylan. "Is that how your name was chosen, as well?"
"Just my middle name, Monet," he said absently. "My mother liked the name Dylan because it reminded her of the kind of name a poet would have."
"They sound like very interesting people," Deidre said politely.
Dylan just nodded, barely hearing her. What the hell is happening? He squeezes a glass until it bursts and we pretend it didn't happen? It didn't make sense. He glanced over at Lily; she appeared to be in the beginning stages of a staring contest with Cal. He shifted his gaze to Eva. She was picking at her food, her chin resting on her hand. "Would you like to take a walk?"
"Now?" she asked, surprised.
He nodded. "Yeah. Now."
She smiled hesitantly. "I'd like that very much."
"Do you mind?" Dylan asked Deidre.
"Oh…no," she said. "I suppose not." Her voice fluttered like a small bird. Not only was he asking permission to wander off into the night with Eva—something she already knew happened from time to time and tried to pretend didn't—but he was asking her for permission. It was almost impossible not to remind him her husband was just a few feet further down the table. Had anyone else been asking, it would have been horribly inappropriate, but there was something about Dylan. He had a sort of charm she couldn't quite describe, despite liking it.
She was shocked when Eva gave her a rushed kiss on the cheek and a "Thank you, Mother."
"You're welcome, dear," she said, sounding slightly dazed. She watched as Eva took Dylan by the hand and led him into the hall. Cal's eyes narrowed, but he didn't speak.
"I suppose that means I must be going, too," Lily said, grabbing her bag from under the table. The books crashed into each other as she swung it over her shoulder.
"What do you have in there?" Cal asked, suddenly alert.
"Books." She adjusted the strap. "This week's round."
"Your mother encourages that, doesn't she? Your reading?"
An edge came into Lily's voice. "And my father does, too."
Cal's mouth curled until it was half-sneer, half-disgusted smile. "I'm sure he does."
*****
"I'm sorry about what happened," Eva said. "I don't understand…I've never seen him do anything like that." She shook her head. "I can't imagine what could have been so upsetting."
Dylan took a deep breath. It was now or never. "Our names upset him," he said.
She gave him a confused look. "Why? And how could you know that?"
"Because…" He sighed. "Please don't be mad that I didn't tell you before now, okay?"
"What the hell are you talking about? Didn't tell me what?"
"Your father almost married my mother." Eva's eyes widened. "It was a long time ago," he added quickly. "I don't think they were actually engaged that long. She broke it off when she met my father. Though I guess broke it off is a bit mild for what actually happened."
He sounded to Eva as though he were yelling at her through a long tunnel. He was talking, but about what, she didn't know. His words all blended into one. "H-he did what?" she asked finally. "Say that again."
"Which part?"
"He really tried to have your father arrested?"
"Are you surprised?"
"No," she admitted, deflated. "I'm not, unfortunately."
Dylan took her hand. "Are you okay?"
She nodded quickly. "I'm fine. I just—I just need a moment to process all of this." She laughed humorlessly. "And to think, he didn't like you before he knew who you were."
"Is that why you disappeared that time?" Dylan asked slowly.
"You could say that," she said. "My father—he doesn't like me associating with certain people. Certain types of people, really. To talk to him sometimes you'd think the Crash never happened. It's funny, in a sad kind of way. There are days he acts like he's still a master of the universe and then there are days he doesn't even bother getting off the couch. He just stares at the wall and drinks." Dylan put his arm around her shoulders. Without realizing it, she leaned into him. "But my mother isn't much better, really. You don't know how lucky you are to have your family."
"They could be your family, too." His heart began to race as she turned to face him.
"How would that work?" she asked. Her eyes laughed. "You in the market for another sister? I would think Lily was more than enough."
"That's far from what I was thinking." His throat felt as though it was closing. He leaned down so his forehead was touching hers. He slowly began to caress her cheek with his thumb. Eva sucked in her breath. "Eva, would you—will you marry me?"
She threw her arms around him with a force that almost knocked him down. "Yes!" she cried. "Yes! Yes!" She kissed him. "Yes," she said again, softly this time.
*****
Eva didn't walk back into her apartment; she glided back in. The lights were off, and she didn't see her father until she was halfway across the front room. He stood next to the window, a drink in his hand. He turned around. Even in the dark, he could see her smile. "Don't tell me he asked you to marry him."
Eva was too caught up in her own happiness to care about the disgust in his voice. "How did you know?" She laughed nervously. "Is it that obvious?"
"You couldn't have found someone decent? Is it absolutely necessary to marry below yourself?"
Her smile faded. "I don't know what you're talking about. Dylan is the best man I've ever known. I love him. He's sweet, and he respects me. I could talk to him forever. I could watch him draw…" She blushed at the thought of Dylan's hands.
"He would draw," Cal scoffed. "Just like his father. A worthless waste of time."
"I suppose the way you spend your time is not a waste?" she snapped. She took a step back, shocked by her own outburst.
Cal stared at her. "The way I spend my time isn't any of your business," he said coldly.
"You're right," she said. "And who I marry isn't any of yours." She turned on her heel and marched out of the room. When she reached her door, she threw one last glance over her shoulder. "I'm glad we lost the money, you know. Maybe now I can be a real person and not a porcelain doll like Mother."
"You don't mean that. You don't know a thing about the world. If you did, you would understand just how dire your situation really is. You would understand just how stupid you will be if you marry the son of a gutter rat and his whore."
"That's not a nice way to speak about your former fiancée," she spat. Ignoring his shocked look, she continued, "I'm sure that wasn't how you described her when it was your ring on her finger."
"Told you, did he?" He grunted quietly. "Did he tell you all of it?"
"He told me enough."
"I'm sure." His mouth thinned. "Marry him, and you'll regret it."
"Oh, I doubt that. His mother didn't seem to at all regret marrying his father." And with that, she disappeared into her room, slamming the door behind her.
There was a time when he would have gone after her, but that time was over. The urge to literally shake some sense into her just wasn't as strong as it once was. He slowly sipped the rest of his drink. "Didn't help with Rose, did it?"
*****
Lily bounced excitedly in her chair. "You finally did it! You asked her!"
Dylan draped his jacket over the arm of the couch before sitting down. "How can you tell? All I did was walk in."
"You didn't just walk in. You walked in with her in your eyes. I can see it in your face. You asked her." He dropped his head, a blush spreading across his cheeks. "Don't act like that!" she said, punching him gently on the arm. "Just tell me what happened."
"She said yes."
"Well, of course she did! I already knew that!"
"We talked about what happened tonight. She—I told her about, you know, our parents."
"What did she say?"
"She took it well. And then—" He sighed. "That is not how I intended to do that. I don't even have a ring yet. I don't even know where I'm gonna get the money for a ring."
"Something tells me she won't mind. And you could always do what Dad did."
Dylan chuckled. "I'm not quite as talented as he is. I don't think I can both find a silver spoon that reminds me of her and twist it into a ring."
Lily rolled her eyes. "And you can't draw, either." She picked at a hole in the chair's fabric. "When are you gonna tell Mom and Dad?"
"This isn't the kind of thing I can say over the phone, is it?"
"I wouldn't."
"So, I guess the next question is, feel like being part of a trip?"