Chapter 24

Sharon picked up her rental car and drove straight to her hotel. She didn't sleep well the night before, and she hadn't felt like herself over the past couple of weeks. She unlocked the door to her hotel room and went inside. She immediately took off her shoes, sat down on the bed, waited for a moment, then pulled out her cell phone.

"I don't even know why I'm here. This goes way beyond my job description," she said into the phone.

"I know," Keith said. "But you said after this, you were done."

"I am done. This is crazy. Who does this for their boss? A boss who doesn't even give a shit about anyone but themselves?"

Keith laughed. "Well, it's obvious you do."

"Ha ha," she replied. "Okay," she said, "I should only be a few days."

"Hey, what if this homeless woman is Sylvia's half-sister? Then what?" he asked.

"I have no idea," she said, sighing. "She says she wants to meet her. My thing isn't the sister; it's the money. This woman took money out of the mouths of homeless people. I work for a heartless bitch."

He chuckled. "Well, not for long. I'll call you tomorrow. I have surgeries scheduled for the morning," he said.

"I love you," she said.

"I love you, too," Keith replied, then hung up the phone.

On the other side of town, Lily walked into the Marigold Shelter. For the first time in years, she felt clear and sober. She was clear as if a fog had lifted. She'd spent several days in the motel. She was sick, but she knew it was the detox; she'd been through it before. She began to feel better after a few days and was finally able to leave the motel and check herself into a day treatment program. She was getting sober. Once the fog cleared, she contacted the hospital that had treated her from the incident at the liquor store. She knew Anna may be left responsible, and she didn't want that to happen. She made arrangements to pay the bill in full.

She spotted Anna hanging a poster and walked over to her.

"Anna," she said.

Anna turned around and could hardly believe what she was seeing. Lily's hair was combed and put up in a bun. Her face was clean, and her eyes were gentle and warm. Anna smiled. "Lily?"

Lily nodded her head. "I wanted to come by and find out how to sign up for the open mic." Anna's eyes widened. "That's wonderful! I have a signup sheet in my office. I'm so glad you decided to sing, Lily. I just need to finish hanging this poster, then we can sign you up."

After she finished hanging the poster, they walked into her office. She sat behind her desk and gestured for Lily to sit down.

"Lily, you look wonderful. Where have you been?"

Lily shifted in her chair. "I…I...decided to stop drinking. I got into a program. It's time to stop running."

"I'm so happy for you. You look so good. Is there anything I can do to help?" Anna asked. Lily shook her head no, then said, "No. I'm okay. I'd like to sign up."

Anna passed her the signup sheet and a pen, then watched as Lily wrote her name on the sheet. When she was done, she handed the sheet back to Anna, who quickly glanced at it and smiled.

"What will you be singing?" she asked.

Lily shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she replied softly.

"Oh, before I forget: I need your help with some information for your hospital bill. I'd been meaning to speak with you, but you hadn't been around," Anna said. She reached for a file as Lily stood up.

"The bill has been paid," she said.

Anna stopped searching for the file and looked up at Lily. "What?" she said.

"The hospital bill. It's been paid."

"But how can that be? It was almost $5,000."

Lily didn't speak; she just turned and left the office. Anna called out for her, but she didn't reply or come back.

Anna jumped up and ran out of the office after Lily, who was walking out of the door to the shelter. Anna called her name again and watched the door close. She then turned around and walked back to her office, where she grabbed the medical form file on Lily and placed it in the drawer. That's when she heard her name and looked up to see Lily standing in the doorway. "Anna, I'm sorry. I told myself I was going to stop running away." Anna smiled. "Thank you, Lily. Sit down."

Lily sat in one of the chairs in front of Anna's desk and rubbed her hands together. She kept her eyes down, looking at the floor.

"It's okay, Lily," Anna said.

Lily looked up at her and said, "I paid the hospital bill. I didn't forget. I want to get my life back together. Stop running. I've been running for so long." A tear rolled down her cheek.

"How did you pay for it?" Anna asked.

Lily wiped the tear from her cheek and shifted in her chair. "I…I...I had some money. It was my brother's money. He left it to me when he passed. I put it in the bank and left it there. I never wanted the money." She stopped and took a deep breath. "The girl, Tallulah. She played my record for me. She actually found my record. It brought back so many memories. It woke up something in me. Something that's been asleep. Something I pushed down deep. I want to do good. I owe them."

Anna listened to her, then nodded her head and said, "Lily, that's wonderful. Can I help you in any way?"

Lily thought a moment. "The girl, Tallulah. Can you help me reach her?"

Anna nodded and pulled out her cell phone. "I have her number. I don't think she'd mind if I gave it to you." Anna wrote down the number for Lily and handed her a small piece of paper. "She works at Zoe's Soul Food Kitchen. That's where the open mic is going to be held."

"Thank you, Anna."

Anna stood up, walked around the desk, and hugged Lily. "You're welcome, Lily." She released her and watched her walk out of her office.

Tallulah sat in the small coffee shop and nervously drank her coffee. She was meeting Sharon in a few moments. She'd gone over every scenario in her head.

Why's Sharon coming to meet with me?

She sighed and took another sip of her coffee, and that's when she noticed Sharon walking through the door.

Tallulah waved at her, and she walked over, sat down, and smiled at Tallulah. "Hi. I hope I'm not late."

Tallulah smiled back and replied, "No, I was a little early. Do you want some coffee or something?"

Sharon shook her head no. "I've been up for a while. I've had my limit of coffee for one day."

An awkward moment of silence passed between them, then Sharon said, "I know you're wondering why I'm here. I'm just going to lay it out for you." She pulled out a large file folder and set it on the table. "Okay, what I'm about to share with you is confidential. It's a long story, so bear with me. As you know, Sylvia Blass owns You & Me. You know the history, right?"

Tallulah nodded her head. "So, Sylvia came to me a few weeks ago and told me a very troubling story. She's searching for her half-sister. Same father. She asked me to hire a PI to help her find this woman. Her name is Lily Duke or Lily Blass. I think the woman you're writing about is the same woman. Tallulah, Sylvia is dying. She has cancer. No one knows. This is why she wants to find her sister."

Tallulah sighed. "I know Lily is her half-sister. My editor also hired a PI, and he found out for us. Even produced two birth certificates, one with Blass, and the other with Duke. Lily told me the story. I was trying to figure out a way to tell you before I moved forward with my article."

Sharon opened the file folder. "This is a picture of Lily when she was younger." She handed the picture to Tallulah, who nodded.

"Yes, this is her. Lily's been homeless for a while. After she found out about her father, Amanda Worthington-Blass used her money and power to end her singing career. I think she checked out after she lost her brother, Clyde. He died in an automobile accident. She said Amanda was furious when she found out about Lily and them. All this time, she knew Sylva was her sister."

"So, do you know where Lily is now?" Sharon asked.

Tallulah shook her head. "I don't. I saw her a few weeks ago. She had a promising career as a singer. Before Amanda could stop her, she recorded an album. I found it, went to the shelter, and played it for her. I haven't seen her since."

"Okay," said Sharon. "I need to find her."

"What's Sylvia going to do?" Tallulah asked.

"I have no idea," Sharon said.

"Are you going to fire me?" Tallulah asked.

Sharon chuckled. "Of course not. I'd like for you to wait before you publish your article." "I thought you'd say that. I can take you to the shelter. We may be able to find Lily." "I'm only here for a few days. I leave the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, we can get going now."

They left the coffee shop and started out for the shelter.

Zoe carefully opened the oven and inspected her five sweet potato pies. She then smiled and closed the oven.

"Pies almost done, Robert," she said. He looked at her and nodded. "I'll be in my office. If you need me, come get me."

Zoe walked into her office and sat at her desk. She was going over inventory when Simone, the hostess, appeared at her door.

"Zoe, sorry to bother you. There's a woman looking for you." Zoe looked up. "Who is it?" she asked.

Simone shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Do you want me to send her back?" "No, I'll come out."

As she walked to the front of the restaurant, she spotted a woman waiting by the front door. She didn't recognize her. The woman had her back slightly turned toward her, so it was hard for Zoe to make out her face.

She walked up to her and said, "Hello. I'm Zoe. May I help you?" The woman turned around. "Hi, Zoe," Lily said.

Zoe was amazed to see how much Lily how changed. How good she looked.

"Lily?" Zoe said. "Lily, is that you?"

She smiled and nodded her head.

��Hi, Zoe. I…I…I'm looking for Tallulah. She's your friend, right? Anna said she works here." Zoe's mouth was slightly open. She was trying to process what she was seeing in front of her. "Lily…I'm so surprised to see you. Ah...come into my office."

Lily followed Zoe through the restaurant, into the kitchen, then into her office, where Zoe motioned for Lily to sit down. She watched Lily as she looked around the office.

"You own this place?"

Zoe nodded her head. "Yes, I do."

She smiled and turned towards Zoe. "I know you're surprised to see me. I...I…well, I'd like to find your friend Tallulah. I want to speak with her. She played my record for me."

"I know. Lily, you have a beautiful voice. Tallulah will be here for dinner, or we can call her."

Lily pulled out the small piece of paper Anna gave her. "I have this," she said as she handed the paper to Zoe.

"Yes, this is her number. Do you want to call her now?" she asked.

"I want to thank her for finding my record. I'm getting sober. I got into a program. I've been off the street for a little while. The music woke me up. I need to stop running. I see you and the others at the shelter, helping us, and I just want to…do better. I gave up. But hearing my voice on my record…I'm not crazy."

Zoe sat for a moment, not saying anything.

Lily then said, "Thank you."

Zoe smiled. "What are you thanking me for?"

Lily smiled at her and said, "For being a kind face on a hard day."

Zoe softly laughed. "Stop. You're gonna make me cry." "Can we call your friend?"

"Of course," Zoe said and pulled out her cell phone.

<gdiv></gdiv>