Chapter 2
Looking over the bill, she couldn’t believe that it hadn’t been paid yet.
The work had been done six months ago, and she’d been there when the art was unveiled.
It must have gotten put under something and forgotten about until now.
Taking out the large checkbook, she wrote out a check right then and decided that she’d hand-deliver it rather than have it get stuck in the mail for weeks on end.
Snail mail, or just regular mail, she supposed, wasn’t very fast when something was as important as paying a bill.
“I can take it.” She looked up at Bruno. “I’m going into town, and I can run it by his place. I’ve known Audon for years now, and we’ve had a few beers together over the years.”
“I can’t believe they didn’t pay it.” He shrugged and said shit happens. “That’s your comment on all kinds of things. What will he say when it’s taken us six months to pay the bill?”
“He’ll say thanks and go about his business.
He’s a lot like you. He doesn’t really need the money and more than likely forgot that he’d not been paid.
” She told him that she’d know if she’d not been paid.
“Unlike you, he doesn’t fret over money.
I think the last time I spoke to him he had three commission checks on his fridge that hadn’t been cashed yet.
Like I said, he doesn’t get all bogged down in people paying him for what more than likely only took him a few days to do. ”
“Well, I love it. The wall, I mean. It’s something that makes the room perfect for Lizzy.
” She thought about Lizzy and how she’d been smiling at her last night.
“If you take this to him, will you explain about not finding it until this morning? I don’t want any hard feelings between us.
I might need him to do her room again when she’s older. ”
“I’m sure that he’ll understand. He’s more than likely heard about the accident from his family.
” She told him that everyone must have heard about the accident.
“Yes, you’d think that the way they keep running articles about it in the paper.
How are you dealing with things? I see you every day, Trin, but I don’t know that we talk much about what you’re feeling. ”
“I’m getting there. It’s only been six weeks since they died.” She looked at her dearest friend in the world. “I miss them, especially Milly. Robert was all right, but I miss Milly so much. Do you suppose there will be a time when I don’t think about them and start to cry?”
“It’ll get easier.” She nodded, fighting the tears now. “I’ll leave you to it. If you’re going to still go out tonight, I’ll be around.”
“I wish you would just go with me. I need a man on my arm like I need another hole in my head. But I can put up with you.” He laughed, and she smiled at him. “It’s just going to be dinner and drinks. Then the awards part. Two hours tops.”
“I have to wear a suit.” She told him she’d pay for him to get a tux. “Today? It will cost you a fortune to have a tux made on such short notice.”
“It’ll be worth it to have you ready to go the next time I need a person to go with me. Robert was going to go with me but…Well, he can’t now. So you would be perfect. There are still a few hours left before we have to leave.” He growled at her. “Come on. I’ll even pay you to go with me.”
“I’ll go, but I don’t like it.” She got up from the desk and went around to kiss him on the cheek. “Tell me where I have to go and I’ll go. But again, I don’t like this. I don’t even know why you’re going.”
“I’m getting an award.” He asked her for what. “Humanitarian of the year. I guess I donate a few bucks more than anyone else.” She waved him off when he looked impressed. “Don’t be like that. I have to donate so that I can afford to live. You know how it is.”
“You are a wonderful person. And it would be my honor to go with you. However, I’m not going to be able to go with you every time. You know as well as I do that Patty isn’t going to be happy with me going out with you.”
“I keep telling you that you can do better than her.” He told her that she loved him. “But you don’t love her. Please keep it simple with her, Bruno. She won’t let us be friends now. Can you imagine what she’ll do to our friendship when you get married? If you get married.”
“She wants to get married soon.” She pouted. “Don’t look at me like that. We’ve been dating for the last five years. And I know she doesn’t like you. She says you’re a bad influence on me.” Tinny snorted. “You do that well. Do your friends know that you do that?”
“No. And I don’t care if they did.” She went to sit behind the desk again to make arrangements to get his tux fitted.
“If you can find me someone else to go with me tonight, then I’ll get you off the hook.
But you need a tux. You might have to bodyguard me someday, and I want you to look the part.
I’m having trouble again with Mr. Jacobson. He really wants me to marry his son.”
Peter Jacobson was a jackass. His father, Pete, thought that the two of them should marry to settle down his son.
He thought that with him married, he’d settle down into a respectable person and she’d be able to curb his appetite for getting into trouble.
She thought that the only thing that would settle him down was prison, but that wasn’t up to her.
“And I assume you’ve told him no.” She just stared at him while handing over the check for the painting in Lizzy’s room. “I’ll take this to Audon and see if he has a tux. Neither one of you date all that much, so this might be the perfect timing.”
“I’m not dating anyone at the present. I’m a momma.
” He winked at her, and she didn’t know what that meant.
“You just pay him, tell him how sorry I am and that I’ll pay any kind of fees that he wishes.
Also, here is the name of the place you can get your tux fixed up.
I’m going to call them and tell them to expect you. ”
“Are you sure you want me to do this? I mean, this might keep Mister Perfect away from you.” Good, she told him. “All right, but if you want to get rid of me, just say the word, and I’ll be gone. I think you might settle down if you were to have a man in your life.”
“I don’t need anyone in my life but you and Lizzy. She’s enough to handle right now.” He said she was just a baby. “And all mine too. I wish it were different, but it’s not, so I’m going to do the best that I can with her and hope that I don’t screw her up too much.”
“You’ll do great. I know you will.” She hoped so. She loved her to pieces. “I’m off. If you need me, you know how to get in touch with me. I’ll call you if Audon has any trouble with you paying him so late.”
After Bruno was gone, she went to her office.
She’d been using the dining room table as her office since moving in and couldn’t wait until she could get Milly’s office cleaned out.
But every time she went in there with the intention of cleaning out the desk, she’d start to cry again and would miss her big sister.
As she was waiting for the program to boot up, she thought about how she’d met Bruno.
He’d been her friend in grade school. He’d been small for his age, she’d always thought, but once they got into high school and then college, he’d grown to be a man who was over six and a half foot tall and all muscles.
With his bald head and handlebar mustache, he looked like he could bench press trains for fun and eat a buffet of food.
And she’d never stopped being his friend since they’d been paired together on outings at school.
Making sure that her investments were doing as well as she hoped they would, she checked on the things that she had going with her sister’s account.
Sometime in the near future she’d have to change it over to her name, but there was no hurry.
The money from those accounts would go to Lizzy when she went away to college so that she’d not have to work.
Just as she was closing down her computer, Lizzy woke up from her nap.
She went to the nursery to find her just getting changed.
“Hello, lovely.” She took her from the nanny and decided that she’d give her the bottle that was hers. “Momma is going to work really hard so that you don’t have to. And tonight I’ll get to go out with your Uncle Bruno and hopefully have a good time.”
“Don’t forget, Miss, the young lady has a doctor’s appointment in the morning. What time would you like for her to be ready?” She asked about the appointment. “It’s her six-week checkup. I believe the doctor will be pleased with her progress.”
“I hope so. I’m not going to be happy if I’m screwing up here.” The nanny, she’d forgotten her name, said that they were both doing well. “Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without your help. I know nothing about babies.”
“You’re doing very well, mistress. I think that the doctor will tell you the same.” She hoped that he’d not think that she’d be better off with someone else. That scared her more than anything. That they’d realize that she didn’t know what she was doing and decide that she was a crappy mother.
After giving her the bottle and burping her, she laid her in the crib to watch her.
She didn’t seem to sleep all that much anymore, and Trin loved that.
She could sit and stare at her for hours and neither one of them got bored.
As Lizzy was dozing off, she touched her fingers to her hand and was surprised when she grabbed it and looked up at her.
Letting her hold onto her finger, Trin decided that at times like this, she was going to tell her about her parents.