arms crossed. “And if you don’t let them try and help you, it’s going to eat at them until he goes crazy. It’s not like it’ll be forever, and it’s not like you’re staying at the Ritz or something now. And you probably have some questions about things, and it would be easier for you to learn about the, uh, family stuff here.” He crossed his own arms in front of me and lowered his voice. “So, you’re moving in, and you’re gonna like it.” He sounded completely serious, too.
“I think I have a say in where I live, thank you very much. Besides, they don’t even know me, only crazy people invite strangers to live with them,” I responded, not appreciating his bossy tone.
But his words were sinking in pretty fast; my mom really did mean a lot to these people and I again wondered why she would have run away when she had people that loved her so much. I was both hopeful and terrified of their asking me to move in.
After a few minutes of me glaring at Cash, his parents came back outside and asked me to come in for a talk. I was emotionally numb due to the circumstances, and I marveled at my own calm since any sane person would have been freaking out. I now know that the calm I was experiencing was a defense mechanism; after a little while all the emotions would come crashing down at once.
I fo llowed the two of them to a home office with a slightly open window in the corner and I figured Cash was sitting under there to listen again. There was a small couch against the wall and I felt the leather stick to my skin as I sat. Ellis sat down next to me, and Connor pulled over the chair from his desk, though he stayed standing.
“There were a few things we wanted to talk to you a bout, if that’s all right, Della,” he said.
“Uh, sure.”
“Well, we really loved your mom a lot. I guess it shouldn’t have come as such a shock to us that she was… gone, but when you love someone you don’t want to think about something bad happening to her. Ah, the, uh, family has some plots at the local cemetery and we were hoping that you wouldn’t mind our getting her remains shipped here. We’d also like to have a funeral for her. She, uh, she had a lot of people who loved her who would want to pay their respects.” My uncle was having a hard time talking and even though it was my mother, I felt really bad for him ; after all, he’d actually known her.
“That’s okay. It’s just, they didn’t know who she was when she died so I don’t know what they did with her, like where they buried her and stuff.” It had never occurred to me to try and visit my mom’s grave. I didn’t even know if they had a name on her tombstone, or if she was cremated or something.
“Don ’t worry, we’ll take care of it,” Ellis said as she grabbed my hand as if to comfort me.
“There’s one other thing. I know that you don’t know us, but you’re family and family sticks together. At least ours does. If you don’t already have a place, we’d really like for you to stay here with us ,” Connor said, just as Cash had predicted.
“I was planning on staying at the house my mother left me ,” The two stared at me like I was a crazy person. “There’s a lot of work to do, I know, but it’s not that bad.”
“Well, you can at least stay here until the place is ready to be occupied. You can’t sleep at a construction site.” Ellis replied, in a very maternal manner that instantly put my defenses on high.
“It’s really not that bad. I slept there last night and I was fine until Cash barged, I mean, came in and woke me up,” I told them.
“ Della, I’ve been in that place, and I can’t tell you how happy I am that you plan on restoring it. But it’s really not the best place to live until it’s been fixed up a bit. The roof needs replacing, and who knows if the floors are safe to walk on. If you are really uncomfortable staying here, there’s a perfectly good bed and breakfast down the street, owned by
“I think I have a say in where I live, thank you very much. Besides, they don’t even know me, only crazy people invite strangers to live with them,” I responded, not appreciating his bossy tone.
But his words were sinking in pretty fast; my mom really did mean a lot to these people and I again wondered why she would have run away when she had people that loved her so much. I was both hopeful and terrified of their asking me to move in.
After a few minutes of me glaring at Cash, his parents came back outside and asked me to come in for a talk. I was emotionally numb due to the circumstances, and I marveled at my own calm since any sane person would have been freaking out. I now know that the calm I was experiencing was a defense mechanism; after a little while all the emotions would come crashing down at once.
I fo llowed the two of them to a home office with a slightly open window in the corner and I figured Cash was sitting under there to listen again. There was a small couch against the wall and I felt the leather stick to my skin as I sat. Ellis sat down next to me, and Connor pulled over the chair from his desk, though he stayed standing.
“There were a few things we wanted to talk to you a bout, if that’s all right, Della,” he said.
“Uh, sure.”
“Well, we really loved your mom a lot. I guess it shouldn’t have come as such a shock to us that she was… gone, but when you love someone you don’t want to think about something bad happening to her. Ah, the, uh, family has some plots at the local cemetery and we were hoping that you wouldn’t mind our getting her remains shipped here. We’d also like to have a funeral for her. She, uh, she had a lot of people who loved her who would want to pay their respects.” My uncle was having a hard time talking and even though it was my mother, I felt really bad for him ; after all, he’d actually known her.
“That’s okay. It’s just, they didn’t know who she was when she died so I don’t know what they did with her, like where they buried her and stuff.” It had never occurred to me to try and visit my mom’s grave. I didn’t even know if they had a name on her tombstone, or if she was cremated or something.
“Don ’t worry, we’ll take care of it,” Ellis said as she grabbed my hand as if to comfort me.
“There’s one other thing. I know that you don’t know us, but you’re family and family sticks together. At least ours does. If you don’t already have a place, we’d really like for you to stay here with us ,” Connor said, just as Cash had predicted.
“I was planning on staying at the house my mother left me ,” The two stared at me like I was a crazy person. “There’s a lot of work to do, I know, but it’s not that bad.”
“Well, you can at least stay here until the place is ready to be occupied. You can’t sleep at a construction site.” Ellis replied, in a very maternal manner that instantly put my defenses on high.
“It’s really not that bad. I slept there last night and I was fine until Cash barged, I mean, came in and woke me up,” I told them.
“ Della, I’ve been in that place, and I can’t tell you how happy I am that you plan on restoring it. But it’s really not the best place to live until it’s been fixed up a bit. The roof needs replacing, and who knows if the floors are safe to walk on. If you are really uncomfortable staying here, there’s a perfectly good bed and breakfast down the street, owned by
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