Usually, I grab a dress or shirt at Walmart or Target, so this is way out of my comfort zone, but I push through for Lainey, who seems to be in her element.
After the fourth store, Lainey finally pulls me toward a restaurant.
“Thank God,” I mutter.
She lets out a burst of laughter. “Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it.”
“Not in one day,” I chuckle as I drop down on the chair at the table shown to us. I have to resist the urge to kick off my shoes so I can rub my sore toes.
“Do you like everything you’ve gotten so far?” Lainey asks as she looks at a menu.
“I love all of it.” Needing something cool, I tell the server, “I’ll have an iced tea and chicken salad.”
“I’ll have the same,” Lainey mumbles. Her chin quivers, and her eyes begin to shimmer with tears.
With Lainey suffering such a heartbreaking loss, the therapist said it’s normal for her to have breakdowns at random times.
Reaching across the table, I place my hand on hers. “You okay?”
She ducks her head and whispers, “I miss Mommy.”
“Me, too, my sweet girl.” I lean forward and tilt my head. “How about we go home, and we put on one of her videos and drown our sorrows in a pizza and a big bucket of ice cream?”
Struggling to hold her tears back, Lainey nods, and we quickly stand up. As we walk to the door, I tell one of the servers to cancel our order. When we exit the restaurant, Tyler gives me a questioning look.
“Change of plans. We’re going home,” I inform our guard.
We walk to the SUV, and as soon as we climb into the back seat, Lainey creeps in under my arm and presses against my side.
Sometimes, she’s a real little adult, but then there are times like now when she’s just a ten-year-old girl with a broken heart.
I hold her and drop kisses on the top of her head during the drive home, and when Izak stops the SUV in front of the mansion, we get out and head inside.
“Hi, Frances,” I greet our housekeeper. “Sorry to do this to you on such short notice, but can you make us one of your delicious pizzas, please?”
“Sure. It will be ready in thirty minutes,” she answers while giving Lainey a sympathetic look. “I’ll put on extra pineapple for you.”
Tyler and Izak bring in all the bags, and I say, “Can you take them up to my bedroom, please? The first room on the right.”
“Sure,” Tyler replies.
I place my hand on Lainey’s shoulder and ask, “Do you want to change into something more comfortable while we wait for Frances to make our pizza?”
She nods, and as she walks to the stairs, I follow after her. While Lainey heads into her bedroom, I go into Rachel’s. I glance through the flash drives and pick the one that’s markedLainey 1.
I grab the box of tissues from the bedside table and walk back to the living room.
“Brace yourself, Frances,” I warn her. “We’re going to watch a video of Rachel, so there will be lots of crying.”
“I’ll just cry with you,” she chuckles sadly.
I get everything ready, and when Lainey comes into the living room wearing comfy shorts and a T-shirt, I hand her the box of tissues.
Taking a seat beside her, I pull her against me before I press play.
I actually feel pretty as I walk in the direction Izak told me to go. I washed my hair and spent an hour curling the ends, and I took my time putting on makeup.
Carrying Easton’s smoothie, I glance up at the big buildings and curiously look at a group of people working in a big warehouse. I can’t tell for sure, but they seem to be building a forest in there.
