Chapter 39
Three Weeks Later
Sienna was sitting on the balcony of her apartment, holding a large envelope in her hands. Los Angeles seemed somehow quieter with Bobby gone. As if someone had turned down the volume on life itself—such had been her father’s loud presence, despite Sienna not having had nearly enough time with him.
The sunset painted the LA skyline in strokes of orange and pink. Justine came to sit beside her.
“I didn’t have enough of these with my dad.” Sienna nodded at the setting sun. Her father had not been the kind of guy to quietly enjoy the end of a day.
Justine reached out her hand and covered Sienna’s with hers; it was warm and reassuring.
Sienna leaned into Justine’s shoulder. Something about her made it easier to breathe, to accept the heaviness of grief without letting it pull her under. Justine had this quiet strength that made Sienna feel safe and protected.
Being with Justine was like discovering a secret pathway through the wilderness of her emotions. Justine’s maturity was a light in the dark, guiding Sienna through this unexpected grief with a gentleness she hadn’t known she needed. It wasn’t only Justine’s age, but everything she’d gone through. It made her empathy as deep as the roots of an old, sturdy tree.
“I have something for you.” Sienna toyed with the envelope. “For the shelter, actually.” She gave Justine the envelope. “It’s not really from me. It’s from my dad.”
“Oh, babe.” Justine’s eyes moistened. She was, no doubt, clever enough to guess what was in that simple, brown envelope. “Thank you.” Justine’s voice was soft and solemn, as though she wanted to honor the moment with her tone.
Justine pulled out a stack of papers. The first page said, in big black letters:
The Rainbow Shelter Endowment Fund
Sienna had worked with her lawyer and financial advisor to set up a special investment fund that would generate a steady yearly income for the shelter. The profits of the fund could only ever go to the Rainbow Shelter, no matter what happened.
Justine leafed through the pages. Her eyes went wide as saucers when she saw some of the projected numbers.
“Oh my god, babe.” She glanced at Sienna. “Is this for real?”
“It’s very real.”
“Fuck me,” Justine muttered under her breath.
“Maybe later,” Sienna joked.
“Seriously.” Justine swallowed the lump in her throat. “Five million a year?” She huffed out an incredulous breath. “I can’t believe this.” She turned her head and fixed her damp gaze on Sienna. “I don’t know how to ever thank you for this.”
“It’s for the shelter and it’s Bobby’s money.” Sienna had put nearly all the money she had inherited from her father into the fund. She already had all the money she needed. She had this place—that her father had bought for her. The kids at the shelter had nothing. “You don’t have to thank me. If anything, I should thank you.”
Sienna hadn’t scheduled any future auditions yet. Helping out at the Rainbow Shelter, dressed down in one of Justine’s old shirts and with zero makeup on her face, turned her into a version of herself that she’d, perhaps, never been. Because Sienna had always been Bobby Bright’s daughter and she’d started her acting career as early as she’d been able to.
These days, at the shelter, she could work a shift at reception without being recognized—the kids coming in had other things on their minds—and it gave her such an unexpected thrill. To simply be a volunteer working at the shelter, with Justine milling about as she did, helped her cope with her father’s death most of all. To use the money she had inherited from him for the shelter made all the more sense because of that, no matter how much her mother and sister had disagreed at first. But they’d changed their minds after Sienna had invited them to come and see, with their own eyes, what the shelter was about. It also helped them to accept the fact that Justine was firmly back in her life. That Sienna and Justine were back on and had every intention of building a future together.
“I’m thanking you anyway.” Justine threw her arms around Sienna and showered her in kisses. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you,” she said in between every kiss. “Who knew this movie about my life would be the best thing that ever happened to me?” Justine said. “Because it brought me you.”
“To think that my dad warned me against playing a real person,” Sienna managed to say.
“I’m so glad you didn’t listen to him.” Justine pointed at the papers that were spread on the floor between them. “Although Bobby has my eternal gratitude as well.”
“Rest in peace, Bobby Bright,” Sienna whispered, while she nestled into Justine’s arms.
“You know what’s really funny,” Justine said. “When Rochelle and I founded the shelter thirty years ago, we were only able to do so because of the money she raised through her Hollywood connections. For a long time, she managed all the funding. Now, you’ve played her in a movie, and you’re also funding the shelter.”
As a response, Sienna huddled deeper into Justine’s embrace. The last of the sun dipped behind the distant skyscrapers and Sienna felt a calm settle over her. The endowment fund for the shelter was more than a donation; it was an investment in a future she believed in deeply—and it would always connect her to her father as well as to Justine.