by Sandi Lynn
“Can I help you?”
“We’re from Kingsley Funeral Home and we’re here to collect the body of Nora Grayson.”
“Please, come in.”
I led them to Nora’s room and let them do their job while I went down to the beach to get Carter.
“Excuse me, Mr. Grayson?”
He turned and looked at me.
“The funeral home is here to pick up Nora. I thought you should know.”
“What funeral home?” he asked.
“Kingsley,” I replied.
He hastily walked back to the house and into Nora’s room.
“Excuse me, but who called you to pick up my sister’s body?”
“A man named Mr. Gainsley.”
“And what are you going to do with her body? She needs to be flown back to New York.”
“I’m sorry, but I don’t know. The only thing we were told was that we needed to pick up the body and further instructions will be given to us tomorrow.”
“Damn it.” He shook his head.
I walked over to him and lightly took hold of his arm. I knew I was crossing the line, but I didn’t care. He wasn’t going to make a scene.
“Mr. Grayson, let’s go into the kitchen and let them do their job. I’ve made some coffee.”
He looked down at my hand on his arm and then up at me.
“Coffee? You really think I want fucking coffee right now?” he angrily spoke as he left the room.
I followed him down the hallway and into the living room, where he picked up a bottle of scotch and poured himself a glass.
“This is what I want.” He held up his glass. “Not a fucking cup of coffee.”
I bit my tongue because he was lashing out from anger and hurt over Nora’s death. If the only way he could cope right now was to drink, then so be it. I turned away and walked into the kitchen where Sadie had started preparing dinner.
“You don’t need to do that, Sadie.”
“I do, Zoey. I need to keep busy.”
The men from the funeral home carried Nora’s body out and had Carter sign some papers.
“Let me ask you something,” Carter spoke as he approached me. “What did Nora mean when she said ‘they’ were here? Who did she see?”
I didn’t want to tell him because I knew he wouldn’t be able to handle it. So I hesitated.
“I asked you a question and I expect an answer,” he spoke in an angry tone.
“Your parents.”
He let out a loud, roaring laugh.
“And you expect me to believe that? She was delirious.”
“I don’t expect you to believe anything, Mr. Grayson. You asked me a question and I answered it.”
“You’re fucking nuts.” He pointed at me. “You may take good care of dying patients, but you’re not right in the head.”
He grabbed the bottle of scotch and took it upstairs.
“Don’t listen to him, Zoey. He isn’t aware of what he’s saying,” Sadie spoke.
“I know he doesn’t.” I sighed.
I ate dinner with Sadie, helped her clean up, and headed to my room for the night. When I stepped out of the shower, my phone rang. It was Mr. Gainsley.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Miss Benson, it’s Brian Gainsley. I just landed and I’m going to get a hotel room for the night. I’ll be by tomorrow say around ten?”
“Ten o’clock will be fine, Mr. Gainsley.”
“See you then,” he spoke.
Before climbing into bed, I decided to check on Carter. The door to his bedroom was slightly opened, and when I took a peek inside, I noticed he wasn’t in there. Opening the door all the way, I looked around and saw nothing. So I went downstairs and noticed the patio door wasn’t slid shut all the way. I went back to my room, put on a pair of sweatpants and a tank top, and went down to the beach.
“Mr. Grayson.” I knelt down beside him as he lay on his back in the sand with the empty scotch bottle lying beside him.
He let out a moan and tried to roll over. I sighed and shook my head as I grabbed his arm and tried to get him up.
“Come on, Carter, you have to help me out here.”
Another moan escaped his lips.
“As much as I want to leave your dumb drunk ass out here all night, Nora would never forgive me. So come on!” I shouted.
I managed to sit him up and he looked at me.
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” he slurred.
“I know. We can talk about this later, after you’ve sobered up.”
I helped him up, hooked his arm around my neck, and practically dragged him back to the house. There was no way he was getting up the stairs, so I led him over to the couch and helped him lie down. I ran up to his room and grabbed his pillow from the bed and a white blanket that sat on a chair. After covering him and making sure he was comfortable, I went to bed.
Chapter 17
Carter
I was awoken out of a sound sleep by the feeling of being poked. Slowly opening my eyes, I saw Zoey standing over me.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I mumbled as I placed my arm over my head.
“Nora’s attorney will be here in an hour and you reek like alcohol. Get yourself up, get in the shower, and get dressed. I brought you some coffee.”
“Why didn’t you wake me up sooner?” I asked.
“I tried. You wouldn’t wake up.”
I managed to sit myself up and take the coffee cup from her hands.
“Why am I on the couch? I thought I was in bed.”
“I found you passed out on the beach last night and I could only manage to drag you this far. You’re lucky I didn’t leave you out there all night.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” I brought the cup up to my lips.
“I know I didn’t have to, but I wasn’t going to let you embarrass yourself.”
I closed my eyes to try and soothe the massive headache that consumed me.
“I better go shower before he gets here.”
I got up from the couch and slowly walked up the stairs. Standing under the hot water and letting it stream down my body, I thought about all the changes my life was going to have now that Nora was gone. I hated change. I used to welcome it because I believed at one time it was good for the soul, but these changes I’d experienced over the past years were nothing but fucking torture. I was a thirty-year-old man who had more money than I knew what do with and it didn’t matter. If I could give it all up to have my loved ones back, I would in a heartbeat. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
After I finished showering and getting dressed, I headed downstairs and heard a knock at the door. Walking over to it, I turned the knob and saw Brian Gainsley standing there.
“Hello, Carter. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks, Brian. Come on in.”
“You must be Miss Benson.” He smiled as he held out his hand.
“It’s Zoey. Nice to meet you, Mr. Gainsley.”
“I suppose we should go into the dining room,” I spoke. “May I get you anything, Brian? Coffee? A drink perhaps?”
“No thank you.” He took a seat at the table.
Zoey took her seat and I sat down next to her.
“I have Nora’s wishes, so to speak. I was instructed to deliver these wishes immediately following her death.”
He pulled out a large packet of papers from the envelope and cleared his throat.
“I, Nora Grayson, give to you the following that are my wishes and are to be honored upon my death. I will be cremated and my ashes will be scattered in the following places: Lake Tahoe, Grand Canyon, in the waters of Puget Sound, and my remaining ashes shall be scattered near Sweetheart Rock on the Hawaiian Island of Lanai. The scattering is to be done by two people: my brother Carter Grayson and my hospice nurse Zoey Benson in the exact order as stated above.”
“What?!” I exclaimed. “You have got to be kidding me.”
“Shall I continue, Car
ter?” Brian asked with a raised brow.
I sat there and looked out the window as he continued.
“Upon the completion of my wishes, Zoey will receive a check for services rendered and Carter will receive the signed papers handing over my shares of Grayson Enterprises to him. Both Carter and Zoey will travel by car to distribute my ashes with the exception of Hawaii. Since Lanai will be the last place visited and not many ashes will be left, the remaining amount can be stored in a small Ziploc baggie and tucked away in between layers of clothing either in a carry-on or suitcase. Take note that when you scatter my ashes in Lake Tahoe, it must be done on the south side (Nevada), since it is prohibited in California. When you get back home to New York, please have a celebration lunch or dinner for me. Celebrate the fact that I am healthy once again and no longer in pain. No tears shall be shed and life will go on as usual.”
“Well, that’s it. Those are Nora’s wishes,” Brian spoke. “I’ve already been in contact with the funeral home and they will be cremating her today and you may pick up her ashes tomorrow. She was very prepared for this, Carter. Now it’s up to you and Miss Benson to see that her wishes are fulfilled.”
“She certainly was prepared, wasn’t she?” I sighed.
“If you don’t have any further questions, I have a plane to catch back to New York.”
“No.” I shook my head. “No questions.”
“Again, I’m so sorry for your loss. She was a wonderful girl.”
I walked Brian to the door, and after I shut it, I looked over at Zoey, who was still sitting at the table.
“What the hell was she thinking?” I asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Listen,” I spoke as I walked over to her. “I can do this alone. I’ll write you a check and you can go home.”
“To be honest with you, Mr. Grayson, the last thing I want to do is to be stuck in a car with you traveling from state to state, but I respected Nora a great deal, and if this is what she wanted, then I will do as she asked.”
I narrowed my eye at her at the fact that she said she didn’t want to be stuck in a car with me.
“Fine. Then we’ll head to Lake Tahoe tomorrow after we leave the funeral home.”
“In what?” she asked.
“I guess I’ll have to rent us a car, won’t I?”
I left the dining room and headed down to the beach to do some thinking and call the rental car company. Me and Zoey, in a car for all those days and hours, alone. We barely got along as it was, and now, I had a feeling things were about to get worse. I was looking forward to parting ways with her in the next day or two. But now, we’d be stuck on this road trip together, which was already stressing me out and making my head hurt.
Chapter 18
Zoey
The thought of being stuck in a car with him traveling through different states made me uncomfortable. I knew what Nora was thinking when she did that. The last thing she whispered to me before she passed was to look after him and make sure he was okay. If he had been a nice person, I wouldn’t have minded. And even though he was rude, arrogant, and a total asshole of a human being, I still felt this undeniable pull towards him. Nora wasn’t the only one who wanted me to help him. Angelique visited my dreams frequently. Her presence in this house was strong and her messages were coming through loud and clear.
“I’ve rented a car for our little road trip,” Carter spoke from behind and I jumped.
“You scared me.” I placed my hand over my heart and turned around. “Why are you always sneaking up on me?”
“I don’t sneak up on you. It’s not my fault that you’re always in a daze.”
“I am not.”
“Yes, you are. But I’m not going to stand here and argue with you. Sadie’s flight back to New York leaves tomorrow morning at ten o’clock and the car service is picking her up at eight. As soon as she leaves, we’ll head to the funeral home and be on our way to Lake Tahoe.”
Just as I was about to speak, Carter’s phone rang.
“I have to take this.” He headed towards his office.
I went into the kitchen where Sadie was just starting to make lunch. As I was helping her, Carter walked in.
“As of tomorrow, this house will be on the market.”
“That was quick,” I spoke.
“The quicker the better.”
He walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water.
“But why? You bought this house for a reason at one time.”
Sadie glanced over at me and lightly shook her head as if to warn me not to agitate him, but I didn’t care. Carter turned to me, his eyes burned into mine.
“Me selling this house is none of your concern, Zoey.”
“You’re right, Mr. Grayson, it’s not. But this house meant the world to Nora. She wouldn’t want you to sell it.”
“Nora isn’t here anymore, is she?” He cocked his head and spoke with an attitude.
“Just because she isn’t physically here doesn’t mean she isn’t here in spirit.”
“Jesus Christ, enough with your craziness. Nora isn’t here, this is my house, and I’ve decided to sell it. There’s no need for me to keep it anymore.”
“The memories here are enough to want to keep it,” I spoke.
“Yeah, well, some memories are better forgotten. I’m going out. I’ll be back later.” He stormed out of the kitchen.
I looked at Sadie, who stood there with an “I told you so” look on her face. I shrugged.
“Someone had to say it. He’s selling this house for all the wrong reasons and one day he will regret it.”
“We know that, Zoey, but he will never see it that way.”
I was lying in bed, unable to fall asleep, when I heard the front door open. Looking at the clock, I saw that it was just after midnight. I listened carefully for him to walk up the stairs, but I didn’t hear anything. It wasn’t hard to miss because the third step from the bottom squeaked when you stepped on it. Was he drunk again? Did he need to be checked on? Why did I care? I lay there, pondering my thoughts, and finally threw the covers back and walked from my room to the living area, where I found Carter lying on the couch, passed out. Walking back to my room, I grabbed an extra pillow off the bed and a blanket, and took it out to him. After placing the pillow under his head and covering him with the blanket, I stood there for a moment and stared at him. His grief, his broken heart, and his broken soul were too much for him to handle and I wasn’t sure how to help him.
The next morning, after getting dressed, I grabbed my bags and set them by the front door. Looking over at the couch, I noticed Carter wasn’t there. As I went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Sadie will be down in a minute. Are you all packed?” he spoke.
“Good morning to you too. My bags are already by the front door.”
I poured him a cup of coffee and handed it to him.
“Were you the one responsible for the pillow and blanket last night?”
“Yes.” I wrapped my hands around the mug and took a sip of coffee.
He stood in front of the patio door and stared out at the ocean.
“Thanks,” he softly spoke.
“You’re welcome. Want to talk about it?” I cautiously asked, even though I knew what the answer would be.
“No,” he spoke in a sharp tone.
Sadie walked down the stairs just as there was a knock at the door.
“That must be your driver,” Carter spoke to her.
I walked over and hugged her tight.
“Thank you for everything, Sadie.”
“You’re welcome, Zoey. Thank you for everything you did for Nora. Please don’t be a stranger and come visit. I’ll miss you and our morning talks.”
I gave her a small smile.
“I’ll miss you too, and I won’t be a stranger.”
“Good luck on your road trip. Whatever you do, please don’t kill Mr. Grayson,” s
he whispered to me with a smile.
“I will try my best to control myself.” I winked at her.
Carter said his goodbyes, and as soon as Sadie was gone, he grabbed his bags.
“Are you ready?” he asked me.
“Is the rental car here?”
“Yes. It was dropped off last night.”
Walking over to the door, I grabbed my bags and took them outside. While Carter loaded them into the Escalade he rented, I stood in front of the house and took one last look at it. Staring up at the bedroom window that was Carter’s, I saw Angelique in the window. The corners of my mouth curved up into a tender smile as I climbed into the SUV and braced myself for the journey that I was about to embark on.
Carter drove us to the funeral home, which was only fifteen minutes down the road. Once we arrived, we were greeted by Ted Kingsley, the owner.
“I’m so sorry for your loss. Please step into my office and I will collect your sister’s ashes,” he spoke.
Carter and I took a seat in the oversized brown leather chairs and waited for Ted to come back. As I glanced over at him, I could see his uneasiness as he sat there and rubbed his hands. A few moments later, Ted and another man walked in carrying two small silver urns each.
“Why are there four urns?” Carter asked.
“It was per your sister’s request,” Ted replied. “Each urn is for the four places in which you will scatter her ashes.”
He set the urns on the table next to his desk.
“Each urn is equally filled except for this one. This has only a small amount of her ashes in it for your Hawaii trip, which can easily be transferred into this plastic storage bag.”
“I am not putting my sister’s ashes in a plastic storage bag,” Carter spoke. “I will be renting a private plane to fly us to Hawaii, so taking the urn won’t be an issue.”
“Very well, Mr. Grayson. All I need from you is a signature that you’ve picked up your sister’s ashes and then we’ll be done here.”
Carter signed the paperwork, handed me two of the urns, and then we climbed into the SUV and started on our trip to Lake Tahoe.
