Nodding, Bennett said, "I do." He pulled her back to him and continued to kiss her all over. He had learned the best way to stop an argument was to engage her in something other than talking.
"One question. I still need the money for art school. What happens if I end up here at ASU Searcy, still working at Colton's? Will I be good enough for your friends and family, then?"
"You are good enough for them now. You are just too young for their taste. Besides, of course, you are going to New York. Your tuition is covered. I will rent an apartment for you. The money you are saving should be enough to cover anything else. What it doesn't cover, I will. Problem solved."
"No. You are not paying for my rent. Are you crazy? You just got out of law school. You can't afford that."
"Actually, I can. I have a trust fund from my mom. I know you. If I don't do it, you will find some dinky little hovel that I will hate staying in. And I will be staying there a lot."
"Oh, you will, will you?"
"Yes, I plan to fly up to see you as often as possible. Like every other week. Can't let those artsy college boys have a shot with my woman."
Laughing at the ridiculous idea that any boy could ever hold a candle to Bennett, Poppy said, "Well, in that case, I guess you had better make sure you get your butt to New York as often as possible."
With that, Bennett scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his room as his kisses smothered her giggles. All discussion of the fireworks was forgotten. Ultimately, Poppy and Bennett went to a fireworks display uptown at a local college.
Chapter 9
Carrington House
Searcy, Arkansas
August 2000
Over the next two weeks, Poppy and Bennett continued the routine they had followed all summer. True to his word, Bennett contacted a real estate agent in New York and rented a furnished apartment for Poppy near the school. He also set up a checking account for her. At first, she refused to use it. He argued that she would need it for the apartment they would share when he was in New York. She did not like it, but it was hard to argue with Bennett. He made a strong case that it would be easier if she had a local account in which he could put money if she needed it than trying to send her money in an emergency. In the end, she went uptown to the big, local bank on the town square and signed the check card and necessary forms. She got a debit card and promised it would only be for emergencies.
She officially accepted her scholarship and began making plans for the fall. The college called and let her know that she had been awarded the hardship scholarship. She was very excited. Now, she had the funds for school. She offered to pay half the rent, but Bennettt refused. He said she wouldneed the money for other things, and that now she would not have to worry about getting a job in New York.
Bennett arranged to take off the week before she left for orientation. They would pack her things and then drive up in his Jeep. Poppy was getting excited about it all.
The only drawback was that she had not told Gran any of this. The original plan had been for Gran to come home the last week of July, and Poppy would tell her then. However, with Poppy's great aunt back in the hospital, she never got the chance. Gran felt like she couldn't leave her sister. Instead, it was decided that Gran would remain in Tennessee for the foreseeable future.
Realizing she had to tell her grandmother about her college plans, Poppy gathered her courage and called her early the morning before she and Bennett were to leave for New York. Over the phone, Poppy shared about her scholarship and that housing and incidentals had been covered. She did not mention Bennett in any way other than to say that he had a business trip planned to New York and had offered her a ride. If Gran was suspicious of that, she did not say.
Gran was too shocked by Poppy's news and overwhelmed with caring for her sister to ask too many questions. Of course, she was happy that Poppy would be able to study what she loved. Before Poppy hung up, she asked Gran for the code to the safety deposit box in Gran's closet. It had Poppy's social security card and a few other documents she needed. Gran gave her the code.
As Poppy was getting the things she needed from the box, something caught her eye. It was an older diary. Unable to resist, she opened it. Stunned, she realized it had belonged to her mom. She should have been packing, but instead, she spent the whole day devouring her mother's words. What she discovered would shape her life from that moment on.
Poppy assumed the diary was a graduation gift since the first entry was a few days after her mom graduated high school. The first few entries were pretty sweet and simple. Only when her mom started her new job at Mr. Carrington's law firm did the entries get interesting.
From reading the diary, Poppy learned about who her father might be. She also got a front-row seat to her parent's relationship. Even though her mom did not name any names, Poppy discovered he was a married man with children. He had promised to leave his wife, who was battling some form of cancer, as soon as she was in remission. Her mom clearly loved her dad and completely believed him when he said he would leave his family for her.
In her last entry, her mom described a huge fight between her and Poppy's dad regarding the timeline around when he would leave his wife. He promised it would be before Poppy was born. Her mom wrote that he proposed and promised they would marry by August. The next day, her mom had a car crash that put her in labor. She never made it out of the hospital.
Reading this, and thinking about what might have been if her mom had lived sent Poppy’s stomach rolling. Every page answered questions Poppy had for years. It also created new questions left unanswered. At least from her mother's perspective, her mom and dad were madly in love. Poppy wanted to believe that was true.
She did not know or understand why her father made no move to get to know her or support her after her mother's death.
Several times, when her emotions got the best of her, she ran to the bathroom and was violently ill. Poppy felt overwhelmed and stressed out by all she had learned. She planned to have a long conversation with her grandmother very soon about all of it. But, at the moment, Gran was doing all she could to care for her sister. That conversation would have to wait.
She could, however, talk to Bennett about it. She could hardly wait to tell him what she read. She made them grilled cheese and soup for dinner and sat down to wait for him.
It was nearly 9:00 before Bennett got home that night. His secretary Katie had called and said there had been an emergency, and he would be late. The secretary assured her that Bennett was fine.
When he walked in the door, Poppy took one look at Bennett and knew something terrible had happened. His eyes were swollen, and she could tell he had been crying.
Running to him and wrapping him in her arms, she asked, "What is it? You look terrible. Katie said you had an emergency. What happened?"
