She really didn’t have any place to live, as she was going to stay with the couple until things could be arranged.Not that she couldn’t take care of things on her own, but Milly said that she wanted to take care of things, and since she was a force to be reckoned with, she let her do what she wanted.Now she had no place to stay, but her sister’s home, and she wondered how long she’d be able to stay there before someone took it upon themselves to take that from her as well.When Lizzy started to fuss, she laid her on the bed and unwrapped her from the blanket.It was so tight around her that Trinny wondered how she could breathe.She knew that she’d not be able to.As soon as she had her unbundled, she stopped fussing and looked at her again.
“It’s just the two of us now.I have no idea what we’re going to do, but I’m hoping that someone somewhere has a clue as to what happens to us.”She took her tiny hand into her own and was surprised when she took her finger.“I’m not sure what you can call me.Technically, I’m your biological mom, but I was supposed to be your aunt.I guess that’s something else that we’ll have to learn together.”
After changing her diaper and giving her the bottle that she seemed to like, they sat on the bed together and talked.Well, she did all the talking, and Lizzy listened to her.She told her again about the accident that took her parents away and how she was going to raise her in the house that they’d left behind.
“Everything that we need is there.I know that they had a baby shower and got all kinds of things for you.We’ll have to figure out what they are, too, I guess.I know what a stroller is, but the rest?I haveno idea.Hopefully, they’re all put together so that I can use them with you.Robert wouldn’t have left them in the box for me to read what they’re called.”She cried again, thinking about how much she was going to miss them.“They wanted the world for you.I hope that I can live up to their expectations and give you as much as you need.”
The nurse fussed at her about leaving the baby on the bed.It wasn’t like she could roll around or anything, but she said she was sorry and decided that as soon as she got home, she was going to stop bundling her up in tight things and let her arms and legs go freely.She seemed to enjoy that more than she did the swaddling thing that had been done to her.
Debra showed up about the time she’d been getting ready for a shower.Asking her to watch over the baby while she did it, Debra told her to take as long as she wanted.She was going to do it too.Her body felt nasty, and she wanted to wash her hair twice before she was ready to go back.
Feeling refreshed and clean, she did feel a great deal better about dealing with the stuff that Debra had been able to find on her behalf and whatever the other attorney wanted when he showed up.He’d called her yesterday and told her that he had some paperwork to go over and that he had some things that had come from both her sister’s and her husband’s workplace.Whatever it was, she wasn’t sure how much it was going to affect her need to find them someplace to live if she couldn’t raise Lizzy in her parents’ home.
“Your sister and her husband were well off.Did you know that?”She said that she’d been keeping up with their investments, so she knew what they had in that.“That’s right.I forgot you were an investment banker.You’ve done well for yourself as well, I’m imagining.”She said that she’d been doing well since she turned eighteen.
“I seem to have a knack for it.And when Robert figured out that I could turn a dime into a million, he had me doing all their investing.I believe that’s what is going to keep us from starving to death until Lizzy is old enough to leave home.I know that the house was paid for, too.”She said that it was.“Can I live there?When I have to leave here, I don’t have a place set up for the two of us to live.I don’t want to have to live in an apartment or a condo, but I’m going to have to find something soon.”
“The house is yours because your sister died last.All of the assets would have come to her once it was established that Robert was killed first.”She nodded, not wanting to think about how he’d been killed.“They both had wills naming you as guardian to Lizzy.And that everything they owned would go to you so that you could raise her in the manner that they wished.I wish more people would do this.Lizzy is going to be able to go to any college that she wants to once she’s old enough.”
“If you have all of the information, what does their attorney want with me?Could I be sued for the money by the older couple?That’s all I can think of right now.”She told her what happened to the older couple.“So they found out that they had left behind an infant and decided not to sue.That’s nice of them.I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that they could sue, but nothing really happened to them other than their car was totaled.And that’s being fought over by the insurance companies.”
When the attorney showed up, Trinny let the two of them sort things out.She had to get to the house now that she owned it and live there.There really was everything there that the two of them needed, and she was hoping that she’d have no troubles with the neighbors.She didn’t know them other than what Milly and Robert would say about them, and they were a nosy group of people.She could handle that.Just stay out of her business, and she’d stay out of theirs.
Going to the crib where Lizzy was swaddled up again, Trinny promised her that as soon as they got home, she’d learn everything she needed to know to make her happy.But she wouldn’t spoil her.That was something that Milly was set against, spoiling her child.
“Someday we’ll look back on this and wonder what all the fuss was about and know that we did well for each other.”She hoped so anyway.She’d already fallen in love with the little girl.“I promise to take as good care of you as my sister would have.And I’ll tell you all about them so much that you’ll think you know them.I love you, little bit.And I hope we do fine together.”
Crying again, she was surprised when another man came into the room.He said he was an attorney with Debra, and she told them where the other two had gone.The meeting room was biggerthan her room, and she didn’t want them disturbing the baby.Really, she didn’t want them to disturb her, but he seemed to understand when he left.
~*~
Penrod filled out the paperwork for the accident that had killed two people.If they’d been wearing their seat belts, they might well have lived.The man surely wouldn’t have been tossed from the car only to be run over by two more cars.The woman might well have survived her injuries, too, had she been wearing hers.It took less than ten seconds to put on, and he wished more people would wear them.
It was a dreadful scene when he pulled up in front of the accident.There was so much blood that he’d been sure more than two people had been killed.The interstate had been closed down for several hours, as it was and the cleanup crew had taken that much longer to clean up the cars that had been involved as well.When his brother Stamos showed up, he let him read the report on the two victims and told him what he could use or not.
“What do you know about the surrogate?I heard she’s the woman’s sister and had only given birth a couple of days later.”He said as she wasn’t involved in the accident, he’d had nothing to do with her.“I guess I can understand that.But I heard that she’s a looker.”
“Are you planning on interviewing her and hitting on her at the same time?That seems tacky even for you.”The two of them laughed.“But seriously.I know nothing about her other than that she was the woman’s sister.And that she’d had a little girl.I don’t know any details about her other than that.”
“I have her address.I was going to go there and see how she’s doing.Nothing more than that.I don’t know what I’d do if I lost one of you guys to a horrific accident.”Penrod told him he’d thought the same thing when he’d rolled up on the accident.“I’ve heard from the man’s family that they’re none too happy with the way things turned out.I’m not sure what they mean by that, but the woman who had the baby is going to be set up nicely.There were even insurance policies on the infant.They must have been really good at making sure their asses were covered.”
“I don’t know.After notifying her of their deaths, I didn’t have a lot to do with her.She did tell me that she’s going to have to raise the child on her own, and she seemed like she was overwhelmed by that.I guess she’s never had any children of her own and was going to be an aunt to the child.”Stamos told him that’s what he’d heard too.“Can you imagine being an aunt one day and a mother the next?I can’t imagine what she’s going through.Not just losing her sister and brother-in-law, but her entire world is now upside down.”
“At least she was there to raise the child.”Penrod agreed with him about that.“I don’t know what would have happened either had the child been in the car?I guess they were headed back to the house to get the car seat when they were killed.I’ve been thinking about the infant being in the car since I heard there was one.”
“You should have seen us trying to find the child.The car seat was buckled in, and there was a diaper bag.We had no idea when we came up on the scene that there wasn’t a child, yet it looked like there should have been.I’m glad they left her at the hospital when they did.I don’t know what would have happened to her, but they’re lucky that she wasn’t in the car with them.”Penrod shivered.“It would have killed me to have come up on the scene where an infant had died.She’s only about six days old now.And would have been only two days old when the accident occurred.Too young to be killed.”
“No shit.”They talked about the couple and what sort of life they might have had had they lived.To him, it was just a matter of their wearing their seatbelts, which was what got them killed, but he knew that many would disagree with him.Some just didn’t like wearing them.He’d been around enough accidents to know that they would save your life more often than not when in something so horrific as an accident.
When Stamos left him to his work, he thought about calling Lori.She’d hired a company to go in and clean out her mother’s home so that it could be rented again.After going through the house just yesterday, she decided that there was nothing there that she wanted, and they could have it all.Eventhe furniture.She was doing the same thing for her own apartment, yet she was taking just a few things from her home.They were having a good time with filling out their new home together, and Penrod couldn’t believe how much it looked like a home rather than just a house that it had looked before she came into his life.
He’d messed up when he’d first met her.He would forever be grateful that she’d given him a second chance.More like a third or fourth chance, the way he’d been acting.To think that he’d not wanted a woman in his life really bothered him, and he couldn’t believe what an ass he’d been.Now that things were better between the two of them, he was as happy as he’d ever been in his life.There was nothing like having a woman in your life to make you realize how wonderful life could be.Picking up the phone to tell her that he loved her, he smiled when she started off by telling him about her day.Like they’d only just spoken about it seconds ago.
“They’re finding all kinds of shit that my mother hoarded over the years.There are unclaimed lottery tickets that I have no idea if they’re expired or not.”He asked how they tested them.“I guess we take them to a lottery store and see what they can tell us.I have no idea beyond that.”
“Are any of them worth all that much?”She told him that they were mostly five and ten-dollar winners.“Like they were too small an amount for her to bother with, you think?”
“Who knows what was going on in her mind.She seems to have her house in order, but when you started looking through the drawers and cabinets, you can see where she hid her clutter.It’s like she didn’t want anyone to see what she was doing, but was all right with making sure she had stuff around when she wanted it.I don’t know.”He told her he was sorry.“I am as well.But at least it’s getting done, and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.After they get it cleaned out, I’m going to have the carpets cleaned and the walls painted.Then I’ll turn it back over to the front office.It’s a nice place.Just enough for a couple starting out.”
