Chapter Eleven – Aurora
Aurora
Liam seemed frozen for a moment before he moved past me and into the room. He stopped and stared at the table.
“Winnie? Where is the picture of Mommy?”
Making her way over, Winnie pulled open the drawer and pointed. “Wight there.”
My heart felt like it tumbled down into my stomach. Liam knelt. “Why did you put Mommy’s picture in the drawer?”
“Ms. Kim did.”
I saw the anger move across Liam’s face. He slowly stood and pulled out his phone. I quickly made my way over and placed my hand on his arm.
“Liam, don’t do it here. Not with little ears.”
He glanced down at Winnie and forced a smile. “Sweetie, let’s walk Aurora down to her car. She has to go to work.”
Winnie took my hand and we started out of the room. We weren’t halfway down the steps when I heard a furious Liam ask, “Why the fuck did you put my wife’s picture in the drawer?”
I winced and increased my pace.
“Is Daddy mad?” Winnie asked when we got to the bottom of the steps.
Oh gosh. What do I do? What do I say?
I exhaled and knelt so I could look into her face. “Yes, your daddy is upset that Ms. Kim would put your mommy’s picture in the drawer because he wants you to be able to talk to your mommy anytime you want. But you can talk to Mommy anywhere, anytime, even if you don’t have her picture.”
Winnie smiled as she nodded. “Can we talk to her now?”
I smiled. “Of course we can.”
Winnie took my hand and pulled me over to the sofa. We both sat down. “Talk to Mommy, Rora.”
“Oh, um, okay. Well, let’s see.” I drew in a deep breath and exhaled.
“Hi, Hope, it’s Winnie and me, Aurora. We wanted to take a moment to tell you that we both miss you very much.
We know you are in Heaven, and we know you miss us too.
Especially Winnie, but you’re happy and no longer sick.
And we know that someday we will get to see you again. ”
Winnie squeezed my hand. “When we see Mommy?”
“Well,” I said, cursing myself for probably going deeper than a two-year-old could comprehend. “It will be a very long time before we will get to see her because you will have to grow up, and have a family of your own, and well…it will be fast for your mommy in Heaven, but a bit slower for us.”
She stared at me like she had no clue what I was saying. I let out a nervous laugh. “Guess I need to order a book about talking to kids about grief and the afterlife.”
“Do they make such books?”
I startled as I turned and saw Liam standing there. Another bubble of nervous laughter escaped. “I’m sure they do.”
“Get a copy for me, too, will you? Because apparently, I’m screwing everything up.”
“Of course I will, Liam,” I said as I stood. “So did she say what happened with the photo?”
A look of anger passed over his face, but it was gone as fast as it appeared. “She said Winnie was playing on the bed and she put it in there so it wouldn’t get knocked over and forgot to take it out.”
I nodded, wanting to believe it but having difficulty thinking there was any way what she said was true.
Winnie knew she couldn’t play on the bed, let alone jump to where she might knock something off the table.
First, Perry the Moose was gone and replaced by one Kim bought, and then Hope’s picture was stored in the drawer.
None of it sat well with me, and I needed to figure out a way to tell Liam that without seeming like I was crossing any lines.
I certainly wasn’t going to talk to him about it in front of Winnie. That much I knew.
“I’d better get going. Thank you for letting me hang out with you guys this morning,” I said as I moved toward the door.
“Thanks for stopping by. We’ll see you later for storytime.”
Turning, I quickly made my way out of the house and to my car. This afternoon, I would ask Lou to watch Winnie for a bit so I could talk to Liam. The sooner I told him about my thoughts on Kim, the better.
Brystol stared at me with a look of utter shock. “She wasn’t letting you see Winnie?”
“Nope,” I said as I popped my P while sitting on the sofa. “She’s been giving me excuses. Like Winnie is napping, or they’re about to leave, and she doesn’t want to upset their routine.”
“And you told Liam?”
“I did.”
She shook her head slightly. “What did he say?”
I gave a one-shoulder shrug. “I don’t think he was pleased about it. But that’s not the worst of it.”
“There is more?” Brystol asked.
“So much more!” Harper and Cadie said simultaneously.
Brystol sighed. “Just because I had a baby doesn’t mean I don’t want in on everything happening!”
I looked at Lily sleeping peacefully in Harper’s arms and smiled. “She is so precious.”
Beaming, Brystol nodded her head. “She is. Now, get back to the gossip! What is the worst of it?”
Cadie chuckled.
I leaned forward. “She put Hope’s picture in Winnie’s side table drawer. She said she didn’t want Winnie to…” I held up my hands and made air quotes. “Break it.”
“And the Perry the Moose stuffy that Aurora bought her is gone,” Harper added in a very accusatory voice.
Brystol gasped.
“My reaction as well,” Cadie stated. “She probably buried him in the backyard and planted a tree over it or something.”
I turned to look at Cadie. “You have had way too much suspense in your life lately, you know that?”
She sighed. “I know. I’m sorry.”
I smiled.
“But I wouldn’t be surprised if she decapitated it, poured gasoline on it, and—”
“Cadie!” Brystol cried out. “What in the hell?”
My hand came up to my mouth to keep myself from full-on laughing. When I looked at Harper, she raised her brows and grinned.
Putting her hand to her chest, Cadie said, “Oh my God, I really need to stop reading Kian’s notes.”
Brystol focused back on me. “Do you think she threw it out or something?”
“I’m not sure,” I said with a shake of my head, “I was going to talk to Liam about it at storytime that same day, but he texted to say that they couldn’t make it.
His dad invited them over to grill hamburgers, and Liam didn’t want to miss the opportunity to hang out with his father.
But I do need to talk to him. I don’t trust her, you guys. ”
Harper let out a “Ha!” which caused Lily to jump, then she quickly settled back into her slumber.
“I haven’t trusted her since she showed up for that interview.
Who goes to an interview for your ex to be his nanny?
I’m not buying it. And the whole she was penciled in last-minute thing. No…something is off with that.”
Cadie pointed to Harper. “I’m with Harper on this one. I don’t trust her at all. And she’s rude. At movie night, she acted as if we weren’t welcome there.”
I let out a groan. “I don’t know what to do.”
“You tell Liam your thoughts on Kim,” Brystol said as she looked to Cadie and Harper to agree with her.
Harper added, “I’m with Brystol on this one.”
“I know I should, but I have this horrible feeling that if I say something, Liam will tell me it’s none of my business. He already accused me once of trying to take Hope’s place.”
“Which you said he apologized for and admitted he was wrong,” Cadie stated with her brows raised.
I closed my eyes. “I know. I know.” When I opened them, I could see the concern on each of their faces. “Would any of you go up to Liam and tell him his nanny is up to something?”
They all looked at one another before Harper said, “No, I don’t think I would.”
“Thank you!” I said, dropping back into my seat.
“But we haven’t developed the type of friendship with Liam that you have, Aurora,” Harper stated. “You and Liam became good friends, and he knows how much you love Winnie. I think in this case, Liam isn’t going to react the way you think he is.”
“What if he thinks I’m jealous of Kim and want her gone. Which I’m not.”
Cadie leaned over and took my hand. “You’re not?”
I let out a huff. “No! I’m not.”
My eyes bounced around to each of my friends as I sucked in a breath. “Oh my God. Am I?”
It was Harper’s turn to take my other hand. “Aurora, you don’t have any feelings for Liam?”
“Other than friendship?” I asked with a humorless laugh. “No! Liam is a friend. That’s all. There is nothing else there other than…”
My words faded as a churning in my stomach started. When I glanced down at my hands, I saw that I had pulled them away and was twisting the ring my father had given me as a graduation gift. A rush of heat moved through my body, and when I slowly lifted my head, all eyes were on me.
“Oh shit,” I whispered. I closed my eyes and said, “Oh God. I’ve been trying to ignore my feelings and tell myself it was nothing.”
Someone reached for my hands and squeezed one of them. When I opened my eyes, Cadie smiled softly. “It’s okay to develop feelings for him, Aurora. With as much time as you have spent together, it only makes sense.”
I dropped her hand and stood. “No, I cannot have feelings for Liam.”
“Why not?” all three of them asked.
Pacing in Brystol’s living room, I tried to make sense of this new revelation. Or was it a new revelation? I’d pushed thoughts of how handsome Liam was from my mind. Or the way my body warmed if he brushed against me or took my hand. I only wanted friendship with Liam. That was all.
Right? That. Was. All.
“Aurora?” Brystol repeated my name until I stopped pacing. “What is wrong with having feelings for Liam?”
I felt tears build up as I slowly shook my head. “It’s Liam. I mean, I won’t lie and say there haven’t been moments when I’ve looked at him differently. Or thought maybe I might have seen something on his face…but it’s Liam.”
“You’ve already said that. So what if it’s Liam.”
I shook my head. “Hope was the love of his life.”
“Was she?”
All eyes turned to Cadie.
“What do you mean by that?” Brystol asked, patting Lily lightly on the back.
Cadie sighed. “When I first met Hope, she seemed so unhappy, and I always attributed it to her evil mother-in-law. I knew her first before any of you, and I’m telling you…something was off between her and Liam. They hardly spoke in each other’s presence.”