Aftershock Page 9

  “She saved me, Anna,” she whispered, fighting back tears.

  “I know. And I’ll be grateful to her for as long as I live.” Anna gave her a firm hug before steering her toward the departing mourners, each of whom wanted one more moment with her to convey their sympathy.

  As the crowd dwindled, Lily looked back at her mother’s casket. Bill Mueller stood beside it, his head hanging and his hands in his pockets. She walked up beside him and looped her arm through his, willing the lump in her throat to relax. “You were so dear to her, Bill.”

  He nodded sadly. “She was dear to me too. After Liz died I didn’t want to let anyone else close again. But how could you not want someone like Eleanor Stewart in your life?” He broke down in sobs.

  Lily’s heart went out to him. He had buried his wife, and now was losing another close companion. They stood together, arm in arm, staring at the casket in sorrow.

  “You were everything in the world to her, Lily. She was so proud of you.”

  “I wouldn’t have made it if she hadn’t taken me into her home. None of the good things in my life would have happened.” Certainly nothing that would have set her on the course to meet Anna.

  They broke apart and she turned to see the others. Sandy and Suzanne were huddled with the people from the Braxton Street Legal Aid Clinic.

  “You guys are the best friends a person could have,” she said, making teary eye contact with each of them.

  “Don’t worry about things at work,” Tony said. “Colleen hasn’t heard back from her bar exam, but she can do some of the grunt stuff. Lauren and I will cover for you in court.”

  “I appreciate that.” She sent each one off with a warm hug.

  Finally, the Kaklis family was all who remained. Lily thanked Martine and Kim for all they had done to help. “You were perfect, Jonah,” she said, placing a kiss on his forehead. “Mom would have been glad you were here.”

  Hal and George were standing together a few feet away, and Lily was struck by how lucky she was to know them. A few of her lesbian friends shied away from having men as close friends. Obviously, they knew no men like these, especially Hal.

  “Hal, thank you for everything you’ve done. It’s been a real comfort to have you here.”

  “You can count on us for anything, Lily. Kim and I both really liked your mom.” He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek, and then walked over to join his wife.

  Lily turned to face a nervous-looking George. They had barely spoken to one another since he had arrived yesterday, but she appreciated his support for Anna more than she could say. “I’m really glad you came, George. Thank you.”

  He surprised her with a fatherly hug. After a long moment, he tearfully whispered so that only she could hear, “Don’t worry about a thing, Lily. We’re going to be your family now.”

  “Then tell him to fuck off!” Anna growled, slamming down the phone in Eleanor’s kitchen. Not usually one to lose her temper, she couldn’t imagine what sort of asshole wouldn’t care that she was in the middle of a family emergency.

  “What’s up, honey?” Lily appeared suddenly in the doorway, which made Anna realize she had been shouting into the phone.

  “Sweeney’s being an ass. He wants the deal done tomorrow or he’s going to shop his dealership on the open market.”

  “So what’s the problem? Aren’t you guys ready to go to final?”

  Anna looked at her feet. The last thing she wanted to do was make Lily feel bad. “Yeah, it’s just that I would have to be there, and I want to be here with you.”

  “That’s crazy, Amazon. This is all you’ve been working on for a month.”

  “I don’t give a shit about Sweeney Volkswagen. I’d rather stay here.”

  “That’s ridiculous. You got me through the hardest part. All that’s left is to sort through Mom’s things and meet with the lawyer, and I really don’t need you for that. I know it’s going to be emotional, but I feel like it gives me one more chance to be with her. I can handle it.”

  “Lily, I—”

  “Seriously, Anna. I can do this. Go home.”

  Anna looked at her dubiously. It was true that Lily usually preferred to work out tough things on her own, and she was probably craving her solitude.

  “Go!”

  “It won’t take that long to wrap this deal up. I can come back when I finish.”

  “You don’t have to. You’re as worn out as I am. Get your work done and get some rest.”

  Anna hugged her close, realizing in a convoluted way that her leaving was exactly what Lily needed right now.

  Lily watched sadly through the window as the post hole digger planted the For Sale sign in the front yard. The agent had assured her that the home would sell very quickly and for top dollar, as it had been renovated throughout and was situated in an ideal neighborhood. No matter how much money it brought, it would never equal those intangibles it had provided over the years—comfort, security and love.

  The week she had expected to be in San Jose had turned into two. It was a formidable task to close out someone’s life, even though her mother had kept things in order. Lily talked with Anna by phone every day, assuring her that it was fine for her to remain in LA.

  Eleanor’s lawyer had called the second Monday, asking Lily to stop by for the reading of the will. As expected, her mother had left her everything, even setting aside a sum for the care of Chester should her daughter choose not to adopt the dog. How could her mother have thought she wouldn’t want Chester?

  She strolled slowly through the house. It seemed barren, all the books and trinkets packed in boxes in the foyer. The truck from the women’s shelter was due soon to pick up her mother’s clothing, kitchenware and linens. She had encountered few surprises among the personal effects, but was overwhelmed with how much of her own life her mother had preserved. Besides the standard refrigerator decorations from her art classes, Lily found her old report cards, a few high school papers, cards from every occasion and photographs. Lots of photographs. She packed them into a box and placed it in her X3, along with most of her mother’s hiking gear, and a favorite sweater.

  She then turned her attention again to the paper bag containing the contents of her mother’s safety deposit box, readying herself for the emotional onslaught of carefully reviewing each item. From the inventory she had taken with the bank officer, she already knew what was there—a life insurance policy worth a quarter of a million dollars, certificates of deposit totaling almost that much, and a packet containing Lily’s original birth certificate and all of her adoption papers. The piece that had jolted her was the Mother’s Day card, one she had fashioned from blue construction paper and decorated with glitter and glue when she was only seven years old. That was before her adoption was finalized, and she had written inside, “To Miss Stewart, love, Lily Parker.”

  Lily closed the card and held it to her heart, tears suddenly filling her eyes. That her mother had safeguarded such a silly thing for twenty-five years . . . Lily had always thought of her adoption in terms of how she had been saved, never truly understanding the gift of love she had given her mother in return. Bill had tried to tell her this at the gravesite, and now for the first time, Lily was able to see it for herself.

  Anna sifted through the stack of contracts, immensely pleased with the new format, which left practically no room for the types of transposition errors Holly was prone to make.

  “You wanted to see me, Boss Lady?” Holly appeared in her doorway, a knowing grin on her face.

  “Congratulations. Not one error in the bunch.”

  “I told you we’d fix it.” Holly had worked all last week with a business form consultant to design the new contract. “I’ve been dealing with this dyslexia thing all my life. I knew there was a way around it. I just had to explain it to somebody who could help.”

  “The new layout is perfect. We should have done this years ago.”

  Holly sauntered in and took one of the armchairs across from Anna
’s desk. “I believe the saying is that necessity is the mother of invention.”

  “So it would seem. This is going to solve a lot of problems.”

  Holly crossed her leg, resting her ankle on her knee, an almost masculine pose. She had a lithe, athletic build, and her golden tan and bleached curls offered further evidence of her self-described surfing addiction. “But is it going to get you out the door at a decent hour?”

  Anna glanced at the wall clock—ten after seven—and shook her head. “I had a message earlier from Lily. She was planning to leave San Jose around four, so there’s no point in me going home to an empty house.”

  “Even on a Sunday night?”

  Sundays with Lily were sacrosanct. “Especially on a Sunday.”

  “How’s she doing?”

  “It’s hard for her, but she’s a survivor.”

  “And she has you, which is a big plus.”

  “Yeah.” Since promoting Holly to management, Anna had noticed a shift in their relationship. They had always enjoyed chatting, but with working late together so often, they had begun talking a bit about their personal lives and interests. Anna found her easy to relate to, especially since they shared an obsession with the car industry. “I hope we can reschedule our Maui trip soon, but this deal with Kimble is going to gum up the works for a while.”

  “Not to mention taking over things at Sweeney.”

  “That starts tomorrow morning. I’ll probably be over there all week.”

  Holly drummed her fingers on the arms of a chair pensively.

  “Something on your mind?”

  “May I ask you a personal question?”

  Anna shrugged, unable to imagine where this was leading.

  “I just wondered if you ran into any problems with your family about Lily, and how you handled it.”

  “Are you . . . ?” Was Holly saying she was a lesbian too?

  “I have a potential situation with my folks. I know they’re going to be disappointed, but I hate having secrets. You know what I mean?”

  Anna listened with fascination as Holly described the challenges she faced. Their situations were remarkably similar, and Holly was equally determined to make her own choices.

  “I kept things from Dad for a while. It was nerve wracking.” Anna went on to describe her father’s misgivings, and the playful way Lily had broken him down. “You should have heard him at her mom’s funeral. He told her she was part of our family now.”

  “Let’s hope things go that well at my house.”

  “Speaking of houses, I should probably get on home. The way Lily drives, she could make a five-hour trip in four.” As she packed up her things to head out, she acknowledged with disappointment that the next few weeks would bring more long hours. Finding time to get away would be nearly impossible.

  “I’m so sorry, baby,” Anna said, spooning tightly from behind.

  “It’s okay,” Lily said. She had come home from San Jose to an empty house because Anna had misunderstood her garbled cell phone message, expecting her to leave at four instead of to arrive. All the while Lily had moped about being alone, Anna had been in her office killing time. “Where is he now?”

  “Still on his bed, I think,” Anna said with a groan. She had tried first to have Chester sleep downstairs in the family room, placing his familiar flannel beanbag in the corner by the door. After thirty minutes of whimpering and scratching, Anna caved and brought the dog and his bed to their bedroom. Chester had climbed onto their bed twice, seeking comfort at Anna’s feet. But each time, she had gotten up and marched him back to his own bed. The third time, she even stretched out beside him on the floor, petting him until he began to softly snore.

  “He misses her,” Lily said sadly. “And he always slept at the foot of her bed.”

  Anna squeezed her shoulder and planted a soft kiss. “I promise I’ll show him a lot of attention.”

  Lily chuckled softly. “I told Mom’s lawyer that he should give you the money she set aside for taking care of Chester.”

  “I’m glad we have him, especially since she loved him so much.”

  “You know, I can’t believe how much money Mom left me, especially once the house sells.”

  “Mmm . . . you want me to get you an appointment with my financial planner? It might be good to have the same person managing both of us so we’ll know everything is taken care of.”

  Lily felt a swell of love inside. Anna probably had no idea such a simple statement would carry so much weight, but the idea that she thought they should plan their finances together was, to Lily, a giant step toward the commitment she sought.

  Chapter 8

  Lily leaned into the office cubicle Tony had put together for his wife. “I hear congratulations are in order.”

  Colleen jumped up from her desk. “Lily, welcome back.” She gave her a small hug. “Yeah, I just got the news that I passed. Now all I need is a real job.”

  Lily remembered the excitement she had felt when she was admitted to the bar almost seven years ago. “You applied at the public defender’s office, right?”

  “Yes, but they said they have a backlog of applicants.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about that. Their turnover rate’s astronomical. That’s hard work, and underappreciated.”

  “I know, but . . .”

  Lily understood the calling to public service, but steered clear of criminal court when she could. Family court was much more rewarding. “By the way, thanks for taking care of all these cases for me. It was a real comfort not to have to worry about it while I was gone.”

  “I’m really glad I could help. You know, Tony thought the world of your mom. I really wish I could have known her.”

  “Thanks, Colleen. She was special.”

  “Lily, you have a delivery,” Pauline called down the narrow hallway.

  “Great. Everybody in the conference room, now!” Tony, Colleen, Lauren and Pauline obediently made their way to the meeting room, curious about the aromatic box at the front door. Lily paid the young man and carried the box down the hall, unloading its contents in the center of the table. “Let’s see, we have double cheeseburgers for the carnivores, a veggie burger for Pauline, french fries, onion rings, sodas and three flavors of milk shakes.”

  Lauren inhaled deeply and smiled. “How wonderfully decadent!”

  “I wanted to show you guys how much you’ve meant to me these last couple of weeks.” Lily’s voice cracked slightly. “I couldn’t work with a better bunch of people.”

  “Well, it’s mutual,” Lauren said. “Now pass the food.”

  She laughed, grateful for Lauren’s deflection, and dug into the feast with everyone else, eating more at one sitting than she had eaten in any day since her mother died. Then sated, she returned to her office to sort out her client files for the week.

  For the next two hours, she brought herself up to speed on the status of eight cases whose proceedings were already underway. Pauline had updated her calendar to include court appearances tomorrow morning, and again on Thursday afternoon. Two new case files sat in her inbox, one involving a divorce, the other dealing with a child endangerment defendant. She grimaced to see the criminal case. Fortunately, she didn’t get them often.

  By the time she got her caseload organized, it was a few minutes after three—too early to consider packing it in for the day. But Lily was distracted, unmotivated to plunge into the details of her clients and their legal troubles. After spending so much time alone in San Jose, she craved her solitude. And she wondered what Chester was doing on his first day alone in a new house.

  The telephone interrupted her thoughts, its digital display announcing a call from Premier Motors. “If this is about my car payment, I’m going to send the payoff in later this week.”

  Anna chuckled at the greeting. “Hi, darling. How’s your day?”

  Lily smiled at hearing the sweet voice. “It’s going fine. It’s all still . . . I don’t know . . . It just washes over me every now an
d then, and I have to pull myself together.”

  “How about we both slip out early and I’ll take you to dinner somewhere nice?”

  Lily’s stomach churned. “I just ate enough cholesterol to seal the Lincoln Tunnel. I can’t possibly think about food right now.”

  “So how about a walk on the beach?”

  The surprise gesture was so sweet that Lily had to fight to stop the tears from spilling out. “That’d be great, Amazon.”

  Two hours later, she and Anna—and one very happy basset hound—were romping in the sand at Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu. Watching Anna and Chester play fetch was just the ticket for lifting her spirits. Eventually, Chester tired of that game and Anna hooked a thirty-foot leash to his red leather collar. The hound continued his amusing antics, chasing the receding waves, then running like mad when they rushed ashore.

  “I’ve always loved this beach. This was such a good idea,” Lily said, looping her arm through Anna’s as they walked along the shore. The mid-June sun was still relatively high, but at nearly six, the heat of the day was past, giving way to a cool wind blowing in from the sea.

  “It’s good to have you back home, sweetheart,” Anna said tenderly. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you all day, just sitting in your office not ten miles away.”

  “For what it’s worth, I like playing hooky. We should do this more often.”

  “We’ll do it every chance we get,” Anna said, squeezing her arm. “I was especially glad to do it today, because it looks like I’m going to be busy again for a few weeks. With the Sweeney deal sewn up, we’ve started negotiations for the two dealerships in Palm Springs. I’m probably going to have to go down there tomorrow afternoon, maybe stay for a couple of days.”

  Lily had known this was part of Anna’s business plan for Premier Motors, but she wished it wasn’t all happening now. “I don’t suppose there’s any way you could put this off for a couple of weeks, is there?”