A month ago, if Jesse had told her that he was leaving Willow Creek, Elise would have told him Good riddance! If he never came back, it would be too soon. That he might be under the misconception that she cared to have him around was an idea she was willing to rectify in no uncertain terms. In his absence, her life could return to some semblance of normal. She wouldn't have to look over her shoulder or wonder what new level of hell he was going to drag her down into when she least expected it.
Instead, Elise had been the one to run away. She'd left for Ibiza with Jake, and if Lanie hadn't run into a semi-emergency situation, she wasn't exactly sure when they would have come back. Things right now might be very different all around. If she'd never met Lily...if Lanie had had time to forget about the conversation she'd overheard at H&G...yes, things would definitely be a lot different in Willow Creek tonight.
For example, Elise wouldn't be rushing to put away her paints (acrylics, so there was no exceptional odor) after she set her easel in front of a standing fan to dry quicker. She killed the large halogen lamp that lit her workspace and carried it back to the closet where she stored it during the day. It was very easy for Elise to let things inside her apartment get out of hand in the clutter department, but she'd been trying to be more mindful of that lately.
Ever since Jesse had started to let her babysit Lily.
Her reaction when Jesse had actually told her that he was leaving town for a week had been less than enthusiastic — once she'd realized he intended to take Lily with him. She'd been perfectly willing to watch the baby for as long as he was gone, but going to visit a pediatrician without a kid probably looked pretty suspect. He'd told her a week, however. He'd left July 28th, after stopping by her place in the morning to show her how Lily had started to roll over...and to drop off a birthday present for her. That was something she hadn't been expecting. In fact, when he'd told her he had something for her, warning bells had started to go off, despite the fact that he'd tried to assure her it was boring.
Since when was jewelry boring?
Okay, maybe she could see how some people might think jewelry was boring, especially those who received it often. The last piece of jewelry Elise had been given was the tiny 14-karat gold cross that her parents had given her when she'd made her Confirmation. None of her so-called relationships had lasted long enough to get to the jewelry stage, and even if they had, Elise wasn't the type of girl who screamed diamonds and pearls. She honestly never would have seen herself accepting anything that could be termed fine jewelry, and most definitely not from the jerk who'd killed her, but they were lilies.
Lilies to remind her of Lily, and he was taking Lily away, and Elise couldn't even begin to explain how unhappy that had made her.
A week. That was how long he'd said.
Two weeks was how long he'd actually been gone. Well, tomorrow would be two weeks exactly, but this was close enough. He'd been gone for half a month. All because he had to drive all the way across the country to bring Lily to her doctor. That seemed to be a bit much. What was so wrong with finding a doctor closer to home? It seemed ridiculous to take a baby on a road trip that long when there were doctors literally all over. True, Lily was a special case, but so were half the kids in Willow Creek. There just had to be someone closer. Someone not in Louisiana.