Chapter 5 #3
This was what I loved about Jax. She saw the best in everyone.
I wished I could do the same. It’s not that I was pessimistic or untrusting.
I just happened to also be realistic. I also happened to be into true crime shows and had seen plenty where people get scammed by someone who appeared completely innocent.
I didn’t actually think that Eliza was scamming us, but you could never be too careful.
“As much as I hate to say it, people lie. I’m not saying that’s what Eliza is doing, and I’m about ninety percent sure she’s not, but on the off chance she is, shouldn’t we be a little careful?”
Jax squished her face up as if she was deep in thought and it was so adorable that if she would have chosen that moment to say we should give this girl all of our money, I wouldn’t have been able to say no.
“I guess that’s true, but she would need to be a very good actress for that to be the case.
I’ve had to push to get her to agree to every step along the way. ”
“I know you’re right. I just like to be careful.”
“And this is why we’re married.” Jax put her chin in her hands and smiled across the table at me. “What if we encourage her to invite a friend or two to go shopping? We can see how their stories match up. Even if this girl is lying to us, I highly doubt she has a whole crime ring.”
“Very true.” I laughed at the silliness of this whole conversation.
I knew I was being extra careful, but that wasn’t such a bad thing when married to the most carefree woman in the world.
I looked around and was surprised to find Eliza still hadn’t returned from the den.
“I should go see if she’s having trouble finding that phone. ”
“Worried she’s stealing?” Jax teased.
“No, actually. The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.” Thanks for putting it there.
When I got to the den, I found Eliza on her knees searching through the bottom drawer of the dresser.
I had just walked into the room when Eliza pulled out an object I hadn’t seen in a very long time.
I honestly hadn’t even realized that this was where it had ended up.
The sight of it caused me to lose my balance and my hand hit the wall with a hard thud as I tried to catch myself.
Unfortunately, the sound caught Eliza’s attention and she dropped the vibrator from a Christmas past (or a back massager if you asked my grandma who had awkwardly used it in front of both of our families) as she turned to look at me, her face now bright red.
“I’m-I’m so sorry,” she stuttered. “I wasn’t trying to go through your personal things. The phone wasn’t in the top two drawers, so I thought maybe it was in this one. I didn’t know-”
I put my hand up and opened my mouth, but my words wouldn’t come out.
“Don’t worry. That’s not ours. It was my grandma’s.
” I cringed as soon as the words were out of my mouth.
“I didn’t mean it like that. It was supposed to be ours, but we gave it to her.
FUCK! No. Still not what I meant to say.
” How is my grandma still making things awkward from the grave?
“It’s a long story that I’ll save for another day, but just know that was never used by us or my grandma.
At least, not in the way you’re thinking. ”
One positive to my fumbling was that it caused a smile to come onto Eliza’s face. “Can’t wait to hear it.”
I joined her by the dresser and sorted through the mess until I found the phone.
I clearly needed to clean this out. Most of it, as proven by the vibrator, had been there since my grandma passed.
As much as I loved my space to be clean, clearing out this meant clearing out the last of my grandma, and I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” Eliza asked when I handed her the phone. “This seems like a lot to do for a complete stranger.”
“Everyone is a stranger at some point. It’s what we do that determines whether they will become a friend.”
Much to my surprise, Eliza reached out and wrapped me in a tight hug. “I hope you know that no matter what comes of this, even if we become strangers again, I’ll never forget what you two have done for me.”
Her words made me feel guilty for what I had just said to Jax a few minutes ago. No matter what the voice in my head told me, I trusted what my heart was telling me and that was that Eliza was being completely honest. It really felt like she had entered our lives for a reason.
When we walked back into the kitchen, Jax had just finished cleaning up. “Ready to go?” she asked.
I pointed between Jax and Eliza. “You two go. I have some things to get done around the house.”
I didn’t actually have anything to get done, but I wanted to take some time to research the laws involving medical care for minors who no longer lived with their parents.
It was nice of Jax to offer to pay the bills but while we definitely had a good amount of savings, medical bills, especially when pregnant were not cheap.
It would be much easier if she had some sort of insurance coverage, which I needed to figure out for her.
“What do you need to get-” Jax stopped herself. “Oh! You’re going to take care of all of the boring adult stuff for Eliza, aren’t you?”
I laughed. “Yes, dear. You two have fun. Leave all of the boring adult stuff to me.”