Chapter 1 #2
There were more personal things in Milly’s desk.
There had been another scrap of paper with a date with Robert written down on it.
The last of the thank-you notes for the baby gifts that had to be sent out needed stamps for them.
She’d taken care of those first thing. Then there were the notes on things that she wanted to do with her while she had been going to stay with them.
Those things she kept as well but had decided to keep them in what she was using for her own desk for now. The dining room table.
The house had been just like they left it until a couple of days ago.
The beds hadn’t been made. There were dishes in the sink.
Even though they had a full staff, it had been the cook’s week off for vacation, and they’d fended for themselves for a couple of days.
Towels on the floor as well as trash in the little can in the bathroom.
It looked just like it would have for a couple fully expecting to come home with a newborn. She missed them every day.
Trinny hadn’t cared all that much for Robert.
She didn’t hate him or anything, but she’d not been able to love him like she would have thought that she could have.
He didn’t like to lose at anything. It was the main reason that she stopped playing games with them.
He’d be such a sore loser that she’d have to apologize to him for winning against him. That got old really quick.
“Your phone is ringing.” She picked up her cell phone after being told by Burno it was ringing. As soon as she heard who it was, she smiled. Debra could make her day better than anyone. He left her to her phone call.
“I’ve been able to get the rooms straightened up now. I don’t think that the staff wanted to mess things up. But I’m not sleeping in the master. That was their room. Lizzy can have it if she wants it.”
“That’s all good, but not why I called. There is some trouble brewing between the Hamiltons.
They’re thinking that since their son was killed, they should get some of the estate.
I have given them all the information that they need to talk to their attorney, but they’re set on this.
We kind of figured this was going to happen.
” She said that she’d hoped that they’d wait a while.
“Yes, well, nothing like striking while the iron is hot, I guess. They’re saying that they deserve half the estate even though most of it was in your sister’s name before they married. She had him sign a prenup, didn’t she?”
“Yes. I don’t think he wanted to, but I know for a fact that he did. I was witness to his and her signatures.” She said she’d have to dig that up. “Good. I knew that he thought their marriage wasn’t going to last long when they were first married, but I guess he came around after a while.”
“Then I wondered why he signed it in the first place.” She didn’t know, so didn’t say anything.
“Oh well, that will go a long way in them receiving anything. I know this is different than them divorcing, but I still don’t understand why they think that they should get half.
As I said, most if not all of the estate is in her name anyway. ”
“Now it’s in mine. And I’m not giving up so easily.
” She said she’d better not. “You work out the details and let me know what you come up with. I’m still stressing about being a mom.
Axel is going to help me with my will today.
I want to get it taken care of. While I don’t know what will happen to Lizzy, I do know that she’ll be well cared for, or I’m coming back to haunt some asses.
” The two of them laughed, and Trinny felt better for it.
After they finished talking, Trinny went to find Lizzy.
She was in the nursery next to her room, and she was asleep.
The room looked so pretty for the little girl, and she was happy to have it all set up.
The entire house had been set up with her in mind, and it would depress her at times when she thought about her sister not being able to see Lizzy grow up.
After checking on Lizzy and making sure that she was all right, Trinny decided that she needed a nap and went to her room.
Lying down on the big bed, she would swear that she was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Her last thought was that she needed to meet herself a man so that he could take some of the burden off her shoulders. Like that would ever happen.
~*~
Audon was nearly finished painting his friend’s offices.
He’d been a pediatrician since he’d known him, and he wanted his offices to look like a kids’ room.
Donald was also a friend of Kahana, and they worked in the same setting at the hospital.
He was just finishing up the jungle when his brother came to see him.
“This looks fantastic.” He smiled and said that it was his last room to do. “It didn’t take you long. I thought you said you’d be a month getting it done. What did it take you? Half that time?”
“Once I got into the groove of things, it went faster. And knowing what he wanted in each room helped a great deal. He said he wanted bright colors and lots of animals. I think that this room is the most fun. He’ll have to find all the animals that I used in this room.
I snuck them around things. How’s it going?
I didn’t expect to see you until tomorrow night.
” He told him what he’d been doing. “That doesn’t sound like fun.
I’m betting that having your offices cleaned from top to bottom is the last thing you wanted to do. ”
“The carpets needed to be replaced too. Once that’s all done, I’m going to be working again.
I’ve given each of my staff the week off with pay.
It’s not their fault that I need this done.
” Putting away his things, he asked Kahana if he wanted to get some dinner tonight.
“I was hoping you’d ask, or I was going to ask you.
Debra is working with her new client on some paperwork that came from the deaths of her sister and brother-in-law.
It’s not a mess at all, I heard, and things are going well. ”
“That’s what Axel told me when I spoke to him earlier.
He said that he wished more people would have their wills made out and everything filed.
He said that it certainly made things easier for the sister to get everything that was her sister’s.
” Kahana said he’d heard that she was a wealthy woman.
“I believe she had money of her own before this all occurred. I think she’d rather have her sister and him back than all the money and estate.
I don’t know what I’d do if something like this happened to one of you guys. ” Kahana agreed.
“I was just going to have a couple of sandwiches, so I’m glad you want to eat with me. Tell me where you want to go.” He said that Murphy’s place had closed up. “Wow, really? I guess it was going downhill before Lori quit. I know that she said he couldn’t keep any staff.”
Kahana shook his head. “He was taking money away from the staff to share their tips. That didn’t go over well.
Then he hired a bunch of busboys to take even more.
They couldn’t get anyone to work for them.
” Audon said he could see that. “Yeah, me too. That’s too bad.
Even though it takes a little longer to get there to eat, the food and service were always good. ”
Audon had his paint brushes put up by the time he was ready to go.
Kahana said that he’d pick the place to go, and he was happy for that.
While he could decide where he wanted to eat on his own, he didn’t mind his brother taking away that little bit of a burden so that he didn’t have to stress about it.
As soon as he was all packed up, they were on their way.
They decided on subs. He wasn’t keen on having another sub for supper, but it was better than eating alone.
As soon as they ordered, the two of them started talking about his upcoming trip to California and a show he was having out there.
He said that he was about as ready for it as he could get and would be glad when it was over.
“You never were one for travel.” He said it wasn’t the traveling that he disliked but having to talk to people about his work.
“You told me one time it was because the paintings or whatever media you have there was something that you’d done some time ago and didn’t want to talk about the old stuff.
It’s all new to them, I hope you realize. ”
“Doesn’t make it any easier to talk about.” They both laughed and thanked the waitress when she brought them their beers. “I don’t usually like to drink beer, but there is something so satisfying about having a beer with a sub. Pizza is better, but it’s good.”
They talked about the different things they like to drink with certain foods.
He loved chocolate milk with his cookies, and Kahana liked having hot unsweetened tea.
Audon didn’t care for tea at all, but if that was all there was, he’d drink it.
But he loved water and would drink it over anything else if he could have it ice cold.
The two of them agreed that it had to be ice cold when drinking it.
Gilman joined them just as they were finishing up their meal.
“I’ve been working on my Christmas stuff.
I think I’m going to go all out this year because I’ll have a house.
” He asked if he’d found one yet. “Not yet, but I’ve looked at two in the last few days, and I like them both.
Whatever one I don’t take, Stamos is taking the other.
Like the rest of us, he’s sick of living in a condo too. Too much drama, he told me.”