Chapter 9 #3
After Loren left her and the girls, she set them up in two of the rooms on the second floor and showed them around.
Once they were back in the kitchen, she helped them get some lunch and let them get their gear, what they called their things, put away in the bedrooms that she’d given them each.
They seemed to be very shy at first, but she’d bet that in no time they’d be their usual outgoing selves and enjoy being around them.
She couldn’t wait for Falkner to meet them tonight when he got home from work.
“I’m picking up dinner.” Falkner had called her when he went on break to ask about the girls. “That way we can figure out what they like to eat and not mess up on our first dinner with them. Everyone likes pizza.”
“If you think that will be good for them. I mean, I could ask what they like.” He thought that might be a better way to go and she yelled up the stairs to ask them what they wanted to eat.
Both of them said pizza and she almost didn’t want to tell him he’d been right.
Laughing she told him what they said and he was all right with that. Pizza sounded good to her too.
“I was called to make arrangements for Drake. His attorney caught me this morning. I forgot to tell you.” She said that she knew that he’d been talking to his attorney after his operation and hoped that there would be someone to take over the arrangements for him.
“He said that he came into see him about some changes to his will. I hope that he didn’t cut his sister out just because she wouldn’t come and see him when he had his surgery. That would be a shame.”
“I didn’t ask, and he didn’t comment on it.
” Falkner said that sounded like something he’d do.
“Yes. But he was in good spirits when I saw him yesterday afternoon. He was telling me that he was looking forward to summer now that spring was over with. I’m going to miss my daily talks with him.
He was a good man once you got past the meanness of him. ”
“That’s a good way to put it. Getting past the meanness of him.” She wanted to ask him about his conversations with the other man but didn’t. He told her that he had to go. “I’m not busy but I don’t want to be on the phone when someone comes to find me. You understand.”
“I do. And I love that you called me.” After closing her cell phone she went about finishing up the projects that Betty, Falkner’s mom had her doing for her. It was a seating chart for the upcoming May tea that she was going to help with.
Women would bring their own teacup, and there would be pots of tea and cookies, as well as little sandwiches on the table for them to eat. She was looking forward to trying her first cucumber sandwich with mayo. Also, well-brewed tea, as Betty said, there was nothing like it when it was done right.
Once she had the chart filled out, she put it away so that they could eat in the dining room.
She put all her things away in the room that she was going to use as an office when her desk arrived.
She’d been about as excited about that as she was having the room to do things like the seating chart in the dining room.
By the time Falkner was on his way home, she’d spoken to the girls several times. She’d shown them how to look for an apartment in the newspaper and what they would need in the way of money to get started.
“We have about five grand between us. We both had a job up until a week ago. Now we’re looking for something in town where we hope we’ll be able to stay.
” Abby looked at her sister as she continued.
“We know that it’s going to be hard for us to find something we can live in, being that we’re only eighteen, but we’re going to have a lot of references before we can move in.
We still have about eight months to go, and we’ll be set up. We hope.”
“It sounds like you have enough to get you started. But there will be other things that you’ll need to put a deposit on just starting out.
My friend from work said that they demanded a two hundred dollar deposit on their electric bill for first-time renters.
I’d keep that in mind while you’re looking. ”
“Mr. Loren told us that we’d have to be careful about people wanting to take advantage of us because we’re so young.
I want to say that we’re pretty savvy, but I don’t think we are.
We’re kind of too trusting of people.” She said that she had the same problem when she had first started out.
“I hope that no one takes advantage of us, but I have a feeling that we’re going to have to be on our toes about it not happening.
I don’t want to lose out on things even before we can get them. Understand?”
“I do. I really do.” After they went back up to their bedrooms, she had a thought. Just as she was writing things down that they’d have to look into, things were popping into her head even before she got any paper out to write on. Things like furnished vs unfurnished.
They had plenty of time to get some things that they might need if they were to get unfurnished.
Plus with it being the beginning of summer, there was a chance that they could go to auctions as well.
They would have plenty of time if they rented a storage unit to hold the things until they were ready to move.
Also, they didn’t have to move out as soon as they turned eighteen. She thought that she might like them being around for a while. But then it had only been about two hours, and she might find that she didn’t like them being around. Then she thought of her mother.
They were going to be welcome no matter how they acted in another month. She wasn’t going to toss them aside just because they were old enough to be out on their own. No, she wasn’t going to be her mother in this circumstance.
They enjoyed the pizzas when Falkner got home.
He’d got four of them, knowing that he’d be able to eat a whole one on his own.
They talked about some of the things that she’d written down for them and had a lovely time watching television after dinner.
When they were going up to bed, both girls hugged her tightly, making her get a little teary-eyed when they did.
Doone was already sad that they were going to be leaving soon, and she hated that they couldn’t live with them all their lives. Falkner asked her if she was all right.
“Just thinking ahead about them leaving. It’s silly, I know, but I want to be able to help them out when they’re ready to go.” He said that they would. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that to me. I needed a bit of hope for the two of them. They’re pretty smart as it is.”
“I noticed that too. They’ll be fine.” She was sure of it and said to him as much. “We’ll help them as much as they’ll allow us to. Then from there even after they move out we’ll be there for them too. They’re going to do fine out on their own, I know it.”
She hoped so. And when she was ready for bed later that night she found herself wanting to check on the girls to make sure that they had everything they needed.
She thought she could get used to having someone to care for like this and was going to tell Loren that.
They might even find that they loved it enough to have babies around too.