“Oh, darling, I’m so sorry you’re having to go through this.” Valerie was her mother’s oldest friend. They’d known each other forever, and as such Valerie had always been a part of Lily’s life too.
“I just keep praying that I’m going to wake up.” Lily shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as the shrill ring from the phone splintered the calm façade of the room.
“Just try to ignore it.” Valerie waved at the phone and took a sip of tea. “Have you talked to Justin?”
“No.” She rubbed her ring finger with her thumb, the pain still raw. “Not a word. I just can’t believe I was stupid enough to have fallen for him.”
“He loved you, Lily. Everyone knew that. It was plain on his face when he looked at you.”
“Yeah, or maybe he was just high-fiving himself over all that money.”
“Oh, darling.” Valerie’s face twisted with concern, and Lily felt her fragile hold on decorum slipping. “Sometimes men just don’t deal well with change.”
“Don’t make excuses for him, Val. He was just like the others, only he was better at making me believe he was different. But in the wake of everything that’s happened, it almost seems inconsequential. You know?”
“I just want what’s best for you.”
“Truth is, I’m not sure I know what that is any more.” Lily threaded her fingers together, her stomach twisting with the enormity of what she’d lost. “Ten days ago, I had two loving parents, a devoted fiancé and pretty much no worries about anything more pressing than whether to serve chicken or fish at the reception. And now… now I…” She trailed off, choking on her tears.
“Lily, I wish I could make it go away. But I can’t. And I know if your mother were here, she’d want you to go on. To find a new and better life.”
“Easier said than done. Dad didn’t exactly leave things neat and tidy. There’s property to be sold, and I’ve got to arrange an auction for their belongings.” She tipped back her head, rubbing her temples. “Mr. Banderson tells me I have to sell everything.”
“Surely they understand that this is your home.”
“That’s just it. It isn’t mine. I was only living here until the wedding.”
“What about your apartment in the city?”
“Technically it belongs to Dad. He never put it in my name. Basically, except the money in my bank account, and my clothes and personal things, everything is fair game. At my apartment, here—and in the other houses.”
“And you had no idea there were problems?”
“No. There was nothing. I’ve been over it and over it, and there just wasn’t any sign. Dad was happy to be retired. And he and Mother were having the time of their lives. There wasn’t anything to indicate that there was this kind of debt. Did my mother say anything to you?”
Valerie shook her head. “It’s like you said. They were happy. At least you can hold on to the fact that they loved each other very much.”
“And that they were together when they died. I’ve thought about that a lot. And as much as I wish that one of them at least was here with me now, I know the truth of it is that they’d never have wanted to be apart. So now they’re together forever.”
“And you’re left with the mess.”
Lily nodded, grateful that Valerie wasn’t sugarcoating the truth. “But I’ll deal. I always do.” She’d been the third wheel in her parents’ relationship her whole life. Which meant that although she had always known she was loved, she’d also learned, as an only child, to be self-sufficient from an early age. “The hardest part, really, is dealing with all the people. If it isn’t the press or the creditors, it’s all of the others, friends and acquaintances, hovering, trying to fix everything. Or bringing food. There must be ten baskets from Zabars in the kitchen.”
“People don’t know what to do, darling,” Valerie said. “They’re just trying to help.”
“I know. But sometimes it just makes it harder. Like I have to comfortthem. And I don’t know how much more of it I can take.”
“Well, then maybe I shouldn’t feel guilty for not bringing muffins.”
“Actually it would have been a nice change from bagels.” Lily laughed, the sound surprising her. “Oh, God, Val, what would I do without you?”
“Hopefully, you won’t be finding out anytime soon. But just because I didn’t bring food doesn’t mean I didn’t bring something.” She held out a small white box.
Lily slipped off the top, her breath catching in her throat as she looked down at the narrow silver band nestled against the cotton inside. “Daddy’s ring.”
“I hope I did the right thing. I know how much it meant to your father. And it’s been in your mother’s family for years. She always talked about how it created happy endings as it was passed from one generation to the next. So I thought it should be with you. I asked the funeral director to give it to me.”
“Oh, Valerie, it’s perfect,” Lily said, unclasping the silver chain she was wearing. She strung the ring with its intricate silver knots onto it, refastening it around her neck, the weight of the cool metal comforting in some deep, intrinsic way. “I should have thought of it myself.”
