Danielle #2
Her dad, Eli, works at Thompson’s Lumberyard and her mom, Anna, is a teacher at Lake Placid Elementary school. They had raised her to work hard, and also to come out on top in everything she set her mind to.
Which explains why she hadn’t had many friends, growing up. But, people change.
“What brings you both here?” she asks, putting milk and eggs in the fridge. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but I was just at your house this morning. ”
She turns to face them, pulling bread out of her grocery bag, along with chocolate chips and flour. She folds the grocery bag up, stopping what she’s doing to finally look at her parents.
They haven’t said anything since she got home, and her mother looks as if she’s been crying. Her father has his hands folded on the table in front of him, and looks older than he had this morning.
He won’t look at her.
“We have something we need to tell you,” he says, staring at his hands like they’re the most interesting thing in the world.
“I figured as much, since you’re in my house and didn’t tell me any news this morning,” Danielle says, rolling her eyes.
“Honey,” her mom says gently, “you might want to sit down.”
“Mom, you’re scaring me,” Danielle says, taking a seat at the kitchen table across from her. “You’re both acting like someone died.”
Her parents exchange a glance. It’s weighted, like they don’t know who should start.
“What is it?” she asks .
“It’s about Jack and Emerson,” her dad says, reaching across the table for her hand. “I don’t know how to tell you this…. They were in an accident.”
“They were driving into town this morning,” her mother says, voice trembling, “to do some shopping for Harper’s birthday party. A deer jumped in front of their car. They hit the deer, and Jack lost control. They hit a tree…”
Her mom trails off.
“Sweetheart, they didn’t make it,” her dad interjects, finishing what her mom can’t say.
Danielle shakes her head in disbelief. “I just talked to both of them this morning. They were going to come to the store today. I’m sure you got the news wrong. There’s no possible way that happened.”
“A lot can happen in a few hours,” her mom says, “they didn’t head into town until around noon.”
The ambulance.
Danielle and a customer had watched it drive by and had both made a comment about it before carrying on with their lives.
“You’re telling me my best friend was on the ambulance that went through town today? ”
“She could have been,” her father says, “but there’s no way to know for sure.”
“How did you find out?”
“Emerson’s brother called us to let us know.” Mom, this time.
“How would he know? He could have made a mistake!” Danielle says, desperate. “We all know that Erick doesn’t know up from down half the time, and that it’s a miracle he got through med school.”
Her eyes dart back and forth between her parents faces, trying to find the trick in them. Trying to find the ‘gotcha!’ and for Emerson to come in and say that it was an elaborate scheme to find out if Danielle really was her best friend.
She had hoped that Emerson wouldn’t be that cruel, but this can’t be real. There’s no way this can be happening.
“He was in the ER when they came in,” her dad says, reaching for her hand again. “He was the one who saw them unloaded off the ambulance. He called us after telling his parents.”
“I’m so sorry,” her mother says quietly, “I don’t know what else to say. ”
“This is a joke, right?” Danielle asks. “Some sick joke that everyone is in on but me.”
She pulls her phone out and presses and holds ‘1’ on her phone. Em’s on speed-dial and she’ll answer when she calls. Danielle only ever called during emergencies.
The phone goes directly to voicemail. Danielle tries again.
Voicemail.
She sends a text.
danielle: my parents are trying to tell me you’re dead so you better call me back
It goes unread.
Danielle: EMERSON PICK UP.
Danielle: EMERSON NICOLE STEVENS
Danielle: PLEASE PICK UP YOUR PHONE.
She tries to call again. Voicemail.
This isn’t real.
This can’t be real .
“What happened?” she asks. “They’re both really gone?”
“Jack was DOA,” her dad replies, “and Emerson was gone ten minutes after she got to the hospital. There was nothing they could do.”
“Her parents know?” Danielle asks, voice barely above a whisper. “Erick told them?”
“He called Berlin before calling us,” her mom confirms. “They’re flying in tomorrow.”
“What about Jack’s parents?”
“I’m guessing Erick told them, too,” her mom answers, “but I can’t know for sure. He didn’t say anything and hung up pretty quickly. Emerson was his only family.”
“Surprised her parents are flying in that quickly,” Danielle says, rubbing a hand over her face. “With the way they moved to Europe without Erick and Emerson.”
“She’s their daughter, Danielle,” her dad says, “of course they’re going to want to make… the proper arrangements.”
She can’t believe she’s having a casual conversation about her best friend’s funeral at her kitchen table like they’re talking about the weather .
“Honey, are you okay?” her mom asks her, reaching to take her other hand. “You’re taking this more calmly than we thought you would.”
“How did you expect me to respond?” Danielle asks. “You’ve just shown up at my house and told me my best friend, my platonic soulmate, is dead.”
She breaks out into hysterical laughter, and her dad moves to the chair next to her.
“There it is,” her dad says gently as her laughter turns into sobs and she collapses against his shoulder.
An inhuman noise rips from Danielle’s throat.
He wraps his arms around her as best as he can from the awkward angle they’re sitting at and Danielle hides her face in his shirt. Like she’s four years old again and dad was going to save her from the problems of the world.
“It’s alright,” he says, rubbing her back, “let it out. There’ll be more where this is coming from.”
Her mom scoots her chair and hugs Danielle from the other side, handing her one of the fabric hankies she keeps under her watch. She combs her fingers through Danielle’s hair as she cries, unsure of what else she can do other than let the sudden pain wash over her .
“I’m so sorry,” her mother says, her voice cracking as she tries her best to hold Danielle together. “Dani, I’m so sorry.”
Danielle pulls away from her parents and wipes her eyes, but the tears don’t stop coming. This wasn’t how today was supposed to go.
Emerson was supposed to come to the store with Jack, and then Danielle would have them both over for pizza so they could make Harper her birthday cake.
Tomorrow was her party and they would be so overrun by gifts that they would have no idea what to do with.
Harper would be so happy that Danielle got her that stuffed Unicorn from the local toy store.
Harper.
“What about Harper?” Danielle asks, hiccupping as she speaks. “Where’s Harper?”
“She’s in your room, asleep,” her dad says, “Emerson’s brother asked if we could watch her until arrangements are made.”
Danielle shoves back from the table and runs up the stairs, slowing to a walk before she reaches her bedroom door so that she can have some semblance of calm on her face .
She cracks the door, letting in just enough light to see that the little girl is curled up on top of her bed, arm wrapped a soft, plush giraffe that Danielle had gotten her the year before.
Danielle sighs in relief, but her heart breaks all over again as she closes the door and collapses against it in tears. How is she supposed to look that little girl in the face and tell her that her mom and dad aren’t coming back, and it wasn’t her fault?
“They don’t know who is going to take care of her,” her dad says softly. “We don’t know if Jack and Emerson had a will, so Erick is looking into taking temporary custody while their parents try to figure it all out.
“There’s no need,” Danielle says with a sigh, sniffing and wiping her eyes with her sleeve. “I’m taking her.”
“Sweetheart,” her mom says gently, “that’s really kind of you, but her family will want what’s best for her. And being in their care is what’s best for her.”
“No, mom,” Danielle says, shaking her head. She pushes off the door. “It’s not what Jack and Emerson wanted. ”
“We don’t know what they wanted, because we don’t know if they left a will or not,” her father repeats, both of her parents following down the hallway to the spare room where Danielle keeps her office.
She flips the light on, crosses the room to the filing cabinet next to her desk.
“With Harper they did,” she says, pulling open the top drawer. She flips through the folders until she finds what she needs.
Turning towards her parents, she holds up a stapled stack of notarized documents.
“According to these Guardianship forms,” she says, “upon the untimely death—” her voice cracks “—of Jack and Emerson, Harper legally becomes my daughter.”