As soon as we walked out of the door of the coroner’s office, I called a taxi to take us to the hotel Nic had booked for us. I hadn’t thought to rent a car, but then again my brain wasn’t really processing everything. Besides, I’d assumed taxis were driving up and down the street like in New York City. Calling for an Uber wasn’t much better because Santa Barbara was a coastal town and not a huge city.
After we checked in, I dropped the bags on the floor and sat on the edge of the bed. The feeling of something being off had returned, and I was starting to think that it was from not relaxing as Easton had mentioned. At least I hoped that was it. Unfortunately, the weekend away that I’d thought would rejuvenate me hadn’t, and now I was even more stressed. I had no idea what to do in my situation. Should I call a random funeral home and tell them I need to plan a joint funeral? Would people show? How would I tell strangers that my parents were dead? Did I need to plan a funeral for the people who didn’t care about me? Could Nic and I just go home now?
So many fucking questions were swirling in my head, making my neck and back tense as the stress radiated through my body.
“I’m going to go back downstairs and see if someone at the front desk can help me rent a car,” Nic stated.
“What?” I asked even though I’d heard what she’d said.
“We need a car, baby. I’m going to take care—”
“Nic—”
“It’s okay.” She wrapped her arms around my neck, and I rested my head against her stomach. “Take a long, hot shower, and I’ll take care of the car. It will be easier than always having to call a taxi around here.”
“I can—”
“It’s okay. The front desk should be able to help me. I’m hoping I can get a place that will deliver the car to us.”
“I love you.”
“I know.” She bent and grabbed my cheeks, bringing her lips to mine. “I’ll be back. Once I get a car, I can go to that burger place you and Easton have talked about.”
“In-N-Out?”
Nic smiled. “Yeah. I’m in Cali, so I need to see what the fuss is all about.”
“I’ll go with you,” I offered.
“No. I can do this. Tomorrow we have an even bigger day. Just relax.”
“Tomorrow we have an even bigger day?” I questioned.
“We need to figure out what to do with their bodies, right?”
“Yeah,” I agreed. Nic was right. I couldn’t just leave them even though a part of me wanted to because, essentially, they’d left me. I stood and kissed her again. “Thank you. I’ll take a number one with a chocolate milkshake.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had a double-double cheeseburger, fries, and a shake from In-N-Out. Nic was in for a real treat because now I was going to show her what a real burger tasted like and not that one she loved from Shake Shack.
Avery was the strong one when we were going through our miscarriage. Now, I knew I needed to be the one he could lean on. That was what love and marriage were all about. Marriage wasn’t a fairytale like I’d thought it would be. It was to love the other person through the good and the bad times. It was to have patience and tolerance when you didn’t see eye to eye. It was enduring the hard times together, and this—Avery losing both of his parents—was his hard time.
Even though I’d never been to Santa Barbara before, I adulted my way through renting a car and getting us In-N-Out as planned. If I could manage the craziness that was NYC, I could manage the California coast. And it was beautiful. The sun was starting to set across the Pacific Ocean, palm trees were scattered everywhere, and the weather was warm but not too hot. One word to describe California would be paradise. I’m sure it didn’t compare to Hawaii or Fiji, and it was nothing like the Bahamas, Jamaica, or any other place Avery and I went on our honeymoon, but California was still like heaven on earth.
I was able to find the burger place that seemed to be centered between the ocean and the vast mountain backdrop. From what I could tell as I drove toward the restaurant, most of the buildings had terra cotta style roofs that gave the entire town a Spanish mission vibe. The town was beautiful, to say the least.
After going through the drive-thru, I headed back to the hotel where we were staying. When I entered the room, Avery was on the phone.
“Yes, Friday afternoon.” He looked over at me from where he paced near the window. “I will. Thank you.” He hung up.
“Who was that?”
“My dad’s office. They didn’t know.” Avery had on a pair of basketball shorts and nothing else. He smelled like the mountain spring scent of his body wash, and I knew he’d taken my suggestion of a shower. I hoped it helped to relax him.
“Oh, wow,” I breathed. “Do we need to call other people?”
He shrugged and plugged the phone into a charging cord on the nightstand. “I don’t know who to call. I know nothing about my parents, and I was only able to tell his work because they called his phone and I answered it.”
I handed him his chocolate shake and started to pull the burgers from the bag. Avery took the double cheeseburger I handed him and walked to the bed. He sat cross-legged on one side while I salt and peppered the fries and slid the white and red container in front of him.
“Tomorrow we can go through their phones and just call people,” I suggested.
“Don’t know their passwords,” he said around a mouthful of his burger.
I took my single cheeseburger, fries, and chocolate shake and sat next to him, matching the way he was sitting. “We have their licenses. We should go to their house tomorrow. What if they have a dog or something?”
Avery laughed. “No way would they have had any pets. My dad hated everything except baseball and making people look pretty.”
“And your mom,” I pointed out.
“And my mom,” he agreed. “I suppose he loved my mother.”
I took a few fries and stuck them into my mouth. They were salty, crisp, and pure perfection. “These are really good fries.”
“Told you.” Avery ate a few of his.
I grinned. “Okay, the fries are definitely better than Shake Shack. I think those are frozen, and I saw the workers at In-N-Out slicing the potatoes while I went through the drive-thru.”
“Burger’s better too. Try it.”
I took a bit of it and was surprised at how flavorful it was. “Okay, it’s good, but I’m not saying it’s better just yet.”
“It’s better,” he stated. “Easton’s going to be so jealous. I should text him a picture.” Avery reached for his phone that was on the nightstand next to him and took a picture of his spread. He typed something on his phone and then set it down. A few seconds later, it buzzed with an incoming text, and he picked it up. After reading the message, he laughed. “Yep. Pissed.”
“I didn’t know you had such a thing for cheeseburgers.”
“No.” Avery shook his head and then took another bite. “I can’t eat like this now, but growing up, E and I used to hang out every Friday night at the one where we grew up. I could eat two double-doubles, fries, and a shake, and not gain weight.”
“Because you were an athlete.”
“I guess, but I wouldn’t mind being able to get this whenever I wanted.”
“You want to move back to California?” I questioned.
“No.” He frowned. “Our life is in New York. Being back is making me a little nostalgic.”
I ate another bite of my cheeseburger. “When Brooke and I flew into LAX and took the bus to Long Beach, I hadn’t realized how beautiful California is.”
“That’s because you only saw the city. Cali has a lot of beautiful places.” Avery took a sip of his shake.
“Then we’re going to have to come back. I wouldn’t mind coming every year so you can get your burger fix, and I can see more of California.”
“I’d like that.” Avery kissed my cheek and then got off the bed to throw his trash away.
My phone buzzed with a text, and I gra
bbed it.
Brooke: How’s Avery doing?
Me: I think he’s okay. He hasn’t really said much about the deaths.
Brooke: I’m sure it’s tough for him.
Me: I think he cares, but he’s trying to pretend he doesn’t since they wrote him off 7 years ago.
After I sent Brooke the last text, I looked over to see Avery going through the clear bag of his parents’ belongings. I knew that I was right. Avery cared, but was trying to pretend their deaths weren’t affecting him. From everything I’d been through, I knew it was only a matter of time before it hit him again. Just like on the beach in Montauk.
The next morning, we drove to the address listed on both of his parents’ driver’s licenses. Avery pulled the car into a pavered-stone driveway behind huge hedges that were obviously there for privacy.
“This is it?” I asked, taking in the two-story home with a red tiled roof that seemed to be the norm in the coastal town.
“GPS says it is.”
Avery put the car into park, and we exited. It was apparent that the property was well taken care of. The bushes were trimmed, hedges shaped in rectangles, and various flowers were in bloom. I took in everything while we walked to the front door. Avery got the keys from his pocket and tried each one until, finally, one of the keys worked, and the French double doors with glass panes opened.
There were no signs of animals, like Avery had said. There were no signs of life at all. Everything appeared to be white: a white couch, white chairs, white walls. The only color was in the hardwood floors and the wood coffee table that sat between the couch and the chairs. Even the wilting flowers on the coffee table were white roses.
“They really liked white, huh?” I questioned.
“I … I don’t remember.”
“Well, it seems like it.”
I moved into the kitchen. It too was white except for the dark gray granite countertops and the stainless steel appliances. But what made the room beautiful was the view of the backyard from the window above the sink. A giant pool, at least fifty feet long, sat not too far from the window, followed by a manicured yard. Bushes with pink flowers lined the back of the yard.
Before we could take in more of the house, there was a knock on the door. Avery and I looked at each other, confused as to who it could be, and then we both moved back into the living room. He answered the door.
“Hello, I’m sorry to bother you,” an older woman with shoulder-length gray hair said. She was dressed in a purple, velvet tracksuit. “I live across the street and saw you pull up.”
“Oh, well, I’m sorry, but—”
She cut Avery off. “I know. Doug and Denise were in a horrible accident Friday evening.”
“Yes,” Avery whispered, agreeing with her.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
I stepped up to Avery, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “Thank you.”
“You’re Avery, right?” the lady asked.
Avery blinked and turned his head slightly. “Yes.”
“That’s what I thought.” She reached out with an envelope in her hand. “Your mother asked me to keep this and give it to you if anything were to ever happen to her.”
Avery took the envelope. “What is it?”
“It’s better if you open it after I leave,” she answered.
“Okay. Thank you, Mrs. …?”
“Edna. Edna is fine.”
“Edna, thank you. This is my wife, Nicole.”
I stuck out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Likewise. If you two kids need anything from me, I’m the blue house across the street.”
“Thank you,” Avery replied. “Before you go, how’d you hear about the accident?”
Edna frowned. “I saw it on the news Friday night. At the time, they didn’t release any names, but I recognized the car, and I know the coroner, so I called his wife, Elise, and she confirmed it.”
“You’re in their book club?” I asked.
She smiled kindly. “I am, but it’s more of an excuse to drink wine.”
I chuckled. “My kind of book club.”
“Well, I’ll let you two get settled. I’m sure you have a lot to do. Again, if you need me, I’m just right across the street.”
“Thank you,” Avery responded.
Edna turned to leave, and Avery shut the door as I took a few steps back. “Want me to open that?” I offered, motioning to the envelope.
He looked down at it. “No, I can do it.”
“Okay.”
We moved and sat on the white, leather couch. Avery opened the unsealed envelope, and I waited, a little nervous of what it was. Everything these past few days had been nerve-racking. One minute I thought we were having a nice weekend away, and the next we were jetting off to the other side of the country due to tragedy. Now Avery was reading some document that a neighbor had dropped off as we sat in a stark-white house.
His gaze lifted and moved back to me. “It’s a will and a letter from my mother.”
Dear Avery,
If you’re reading this letter, it means that I have passed. Edna is the only person who knows about the enclosed will. There is so much that you don’t know, and I’ve hidden too much from you.
The main thing you need to know is that I do love you. I always have, and I always will. You’re my son, and I apologize for the way Doug and I have treated you. That wasn’t my doing. I only did as he said to keep the peace—and to protect you from him.
Hopefully, the enclosed will can make up for some things. I know money doesn’t buy happiness or love, but this was all I could think to do for you. Doug will never leave you anything, and I had to do something. I know he will put up a fight. He’s a horrible man and has taken so much from us.
You might wonder why I stayed married to a mean man. Just know that keeping the peace and doing as he said was a way to keep you and me alive.
Please be the strong man I know you are and don’t let him continue to run our lives. I wish I could have done something before my death, but I couldn’t beat him at his own game.
What you need to do now is contact Shawn Slade. He’s an attorney here in Santa Barbara. He will know what to do next.
Stay strong.
All my love,
Mom
I read the letter three times, trying to figure out what my mother was trying to tell me. Protect me? Keep me alive? The letter didn’t make any sense. I would have protected her, provided for her. Why could she not tell me what was going on?
I handed Nicole the letter, and as she read it, I read the will. I had no idea if I was reading it correctly because I’d never seen one before.
“Babe,” she breathed. “Your mother loved you.”
My gaze met hers. “Yeah, but I don’t understand why she had to stay away from me.”
“It says she was protecting you. Was your father abusive?”
My stomach sank. “Not that I know of. I don’t recall seeing or hearing anything other than a few arguments, but I thought that was normal.”
She shrugged on a sigh. “I don’t know, but this letter proves that you were loved by her.”
“Yeah.” I swallowed. “But why not him too?”
Nic shook her head slowly. “I don’t know.”
I read the will again, seeing bank account numbers, and various other accounts listed. “I think my mom is giving me half of everything.”
“Really?”
“Well, I think we need to figure out if my dad has a will, and see what it says.”
“How do we do that?” my wife questioned.
“I guess we need to find a number for that Mr. Slade.”
I found Mr. Slade’s number when I searched for it on my phone. When I called, I explained to his secretary who I was, and they had Nic and me come in after lunch.
We sat in the waiting room, waiting for Mr. Slade, my leg bouncing up and down. I wasn’t sure why I was nervous. I never thought this moment would happen. I
didn’t need their money, their house, their cars. I needed their love, and now I would never have it.
“Avery?” An older man came into view, dressed in black slacks and a white dress shirt with a red striped tie.
“Yes.” I stood and took his outstretched hand. “This is my wife, Nicole.”
They shook. “Right this way.”
We followed him into his main office and took our seats in the two maroon chairs in front of his heavy wood desk. He opened a folder in front of him. “Let’s just get to it.”
I nodded in agreement.
“My office didn’t prepare your father’s will,” Slade stated. “But given that your parents were well off, I’m sure he did and another attorney drafted it for him.”
“How do we find out?” My palms began to sweat. Everything was slowly starting to hit me. What if he had a will and gave everything to someone else? Who would that be? Would I put up a fight? Was it worth it? I’d never wanted his money before, but my mother wanted me to have at least half to make up for the way they had treated me.
“The trustee has thirty days to contact the attorney who prepared the will. In that time, they need to file the will with the probate court. I will file your mother’s this afternoon, and we wait.”
“And if he does have a will?” Nicole questioned.
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. Hopefully, everything is willed to you, Avery, and it’s smooth sailing.”
“And if he willed everything to someone else?” I asked.
“Again, let’s worry about that when we know,” Slade answered.
“And if he didn’t have a will?” I inquired further.
“Given that they died together, and you’re their son, you’re the heir and would get everything.”
“Everything?” I asked, making sure I’d heard him correctly.
“Your mother listed all of their assets in her will. After any and all debts are paid, you would get everything they had in their estate.”
When I’d read the will, I also read the attachment that listed everything she was willing to me. I needed to look at the list again. But should I wait the thirty days instead of worrying about it now? I had no idea what to do. I knew I couldn’t sit around in California for thirty days.
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