Tuesdays
Lily balances two coffees and a box of donuts whilst opening the door of James’ apartment at 6:30 am. What greets her as soon as she gets into his best friend’s home is a high-pitched scream.
“Whoever you are!” Sienna screechs. “Get out before I call the police!”
Lily takes a deep breath and gives her most friendly smile before saying “Hi, Sienna. It’s me,” and noticing the girl wouldn’t win an Oscar any time soon, she clarifies “Lily. James’ friend.”
“Oh, right,” the girl says, dropping the kitchen knife that would’ve been useless anyway. “James’ friend. I thought it was some stalker. What are you doing here anyway?”
“I’m meeting him for our Tuesday run,” Lily answered, amicably.
“Right, how could I forget?” Sienna replies, with enough venom to parallel a viper. “Your Tuesday runs.”
Lily didn’t know what else to do but ignore her jabs and lay her things on the counter, but Sienna wouldn’t let her.
“You know, I get it,” she started and Lily could only think Oh, here we go. “James is quite the man: a quidditch player, sweet enough to rot teeth. I understand that. But don’t you think it’s a little weird to come here at six in the morning when he has his girlfriend over?” Lily didn’t get a chance to explain to her how it was, and always would be, just friendship and nothing else, before Sienna continued. “I think you should probably leave.”
“I’m sorry?” Lily could only voice.
“As soon as he gets out of the shower, I’m telling him about your serious creep issues.” Dumbfounded, Lily was able to think about how it wasn’t like that (though it, perhaps, was), and how it wouldn’t end well for Sienna.
“If you have some dignity, you won’t want to be here for that.”
“Ok, you—” Lily could only say before a cheerful voice interrupted her.
“Lily! I thought I was supposed to meet you at the Three Broomsticks!”
“You were, but I got up early and decided to get ahead,” she said, while James gave her cheek a kiss. A friendly kiss.
“James!” Sienna squealed, sounding so horrified someone would think her firstborn was being stolen right before her eyes.
“Yes?” he asked, confused.
“James,” the girlfriend said, with the tone a person uses when explaining something to a toddler. “Don’t you think it’s weird that some girl comes when you have your partner at home?”
“It’s Lily,” he said, like it explained everything.
“James!” she repeated, like a parrot. “It’s your only day off! Shouldn’t you be spending your only morning off with your girlfriend instead of with some chick?” And Lily could simply think taht this woman used just too many inflections.
“We always run on Tuesdays,” James said, getting serious now. “And I don’t think I like your tone.”
“And I don’t think I like feeling as some afterthought. I think it’s time—” Don’t do this to yourself, Lily advised her. In her mind, at least. “You choose.”
“Choose?” James echoed, forcing her to spell it out.
“You cannot do this! I’m your girlfriend, not her! It’s time you started to act like that!”
“Sienna, look—”
“You cannot be serious!” she howled, actually surprised.
“Sienna, you’re a good person, but you can’t honestly think I’d choose our month-long relationship over Lily and I’s lifelong friendship.”
“Are you serious?” Sienna asked then. “If you’re going to be like this, I’m leaving,” she said, but it lost force when she didn’t make a move. “I’m for real. If this is your choice, I’m walking out that door and you will never see me again.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Oh, my god!” she cried, getting up now. “I don’t believe this!”
She kept making her incredulity known, loudly, while Lily could only give her a sympathetic simile and James did, well, nothing.
When Sienna slammed the door, Lily looked James in the eye, “Maybe she’s right, you know?”
“What do you mean?” James inquired, puzzled.
“Look at it from her point of view, James,” Lily said, trying to hide how it cost her to talk about it. “You spend most of your free time with me rather than your partner. I’m sure you can see how this—”
“Lily,” James cut her, with a decisive voice he used on so few occasions, Lily could count them on one hand. “You’re the most important person in my life,” and wasn’t that just a knife twisting in her heart? “No one is going to get between us.”
“But—”
“No,” he said, categorically. “There’s nothing to argue about.”
Lily tried to think of something anyway, but it was difficult when she herself would have done the same thing, if not more. But then again, it was different for Lily. She was aware she loved James like she would never love someone else, but understood and accepted that nothing was going to come out of it. She would never be something more than his best friend, and she was happy with that. She really, truly was. Being someone near and dear to James was more than anyone could ever dream to deserve. Still, it was difficult to fight him so early and without having been prepared to have her shields up.
“Okay,” she agreed, reluctantly. “Should we run, then?”