“Um, what?”
“Well, technically, the money and house are Beckett’s. I should make that clear. But, as her guardian, you are entitled to live in the house and will receive a small allowance to provide for her. When she turns twenty-one, the house and money will be hers to decide what to do with.”
Rion was speechless for a moment. “Did my father specify me? Or could it be anyone who is Beckett’s guardian?”
Smyth rifled through the papers in his lap. “You. Specifically. See.” He held document that had a stamped seal in one corner. It was his will. She scanned the words quickly. There was nothing personal for her. It was legal speak that said, in much more technical language, just what Smyth had told her. “So, my father wanted me to be Beckett’s guardian?”
“It appears so.”
Rion didn’t know how much the lawyer knew about the situation that led to Beckett being in her care. She had gotten the impression from Chambers that it wasn’t guaranteed that she could have custody of her sister. She said as much to Smyth.
“Well, DCFS could contest the will. Especially since you and your father had no contact since you were a child.”
Apparently, Smyth knew the whole story. “Would they have won? Could they win?”
Smyth looked around the small, dark apartment and gave a smile to Beckett who had finally turned away from the TV to watch their meeting. He shrugged. “It’s hard to say. As long as you can prove you are willing and able to care for the child, most judges would respect the wishes of the parent.”
Rion wasn’t sure if that was reassuring or not. “So, what now?”
“I have some paperwork for you. Acknowledgement forms. Bank forms. Etcetera. I and a representative from the bank will administer the trust. You’ll receive a five hundred dollars a month allowance. And you can take possession of the house as soon the paper work is filed. Should be by next week.”
“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with Beckett staying in the house where her parents were murdered,” she spoke quietly, but she could feel the kid’s eyes on her anyway.
Smyth shrugged. “That is your choice. Right now, it is your house. You can live in it. Maintain it. Or even rent it,” he said as an afterthought. “It could supplement the allowance. Five hundred dollars isn’t a lot.
Rion almost snorted. It was a lot to her. And it would give them the opportunity to move into a better apartment if she decided to not live in the house. She decided she needed to discuss this with Chambers and Beckett. The social worker could think it was a terrible idea. Beckett hadn’t seemed upset at the house, but it was hard to tell how she responded to anything. “I have a lot to think about.”
“Of course. There is no rush to make any big decisions right now.” He looked sidelong a Beckett and leaned closer. He smelled like mint and Rion leaned away from him. “I understand that the house is…a bit messy?”
Rion nodded. “It wasn’t cleaned.”
“As executor, I can approve expenditures outside the allowance."
“Thank you.” She didn’t know what else to say.
Smyth began handing her paper after paper to sign and she knew she should be reading them first, but she just didn’t have the energy for it. She felt like the wind had been knocked out of her sails. Or more likely, that the wind was ripping through her sails and she had lost control of the boat. She let Smyth out and leaned against the door.
“Beckett?” She looked up to see that the kid had been watching her the whole time. “Did you hear what the lawyer said?” She nodded. Of course she did. “How do you feel about it?” The kid nodded. “Do you want to move into your old house?” As Rion watched, several expressions passed over the kid’s face. Rion wasn’t sure, but it seemed as if Beck was confused, struggling with the right answer. She almost gave up on waiting when Beckett finally spoke.
“Not yet”
“Not yet?” Beckett seemed to have exhausted her willingness to converse. She turned back to the TV and Rion sighed. She made them both lunches and they ate in silence. Beckett watched TV and Rion was content to let her. After they were done eating, she decided to call Chambers and fill her in on what the lawyer said.
“Wow! Congratulations!” the social worker exclaimed.
“Why?”
“…Well, money isn’t really an issue now….You can find a bigger apartment. Or were you planning on living in the house?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” She could hear Chambers’ sigh of relief.
“I don’t either. I’m not sure it would be good for Beckett.”
“Right,” Rion responded. A little more harshly than she intended. She wanted Chambers to know that she was capable of making wise decisions for her sister.
Chambers was silent for a moment. “How are things?”
Rion wanted to tell her everything. Her own doubts. Beckett’s worrisome behavior. The words sat at the top of her throat—waiting impatiently. In the end, she swallowed them down. “Not bad. I mean we’re adjusting. But, I knew we would both have to get into our own rhythm.”
“OK. Well that’s fine. That’s normal. As long as you are both still happy with the arrangements?”
“Of course. It’s great.” The words were sour in Rion’s mouth and she hung up with the social worker with the guilt weighing heavily on her.
Shep, as promised, came over after he got off work to play video games with Beckett. They played a Mario Cart for several hours before Rion realized it would be rude to not offer Shep dinner. She sighed and began making spaghetti—again. She was going to need to learn how to cook more things eventually. But, at least Beckett wasn’t a complainer. And Shep had never eaten anything she made. She resented the fact that she was glad she could make one thing well enough to impress. She didn’t want to want to impress Shep.
As they ate, Shep asked her questions about her day. She knew he was purposefully avoiding asking her personal questions because she didn’t like it. Eventually, they both grew silent, having ran out of non-personal things to discuss. Rion didn’t know why she decided to tell Shep about the lawyer and what she had learned, but the silence had grown too awkward to let it continue. It felt too familiar and too loaded.
“Wow!” Shep swallowed his mouthful as if it were too large. “Are you going to move into the house?”
“I don’t think so,” Rion twisted stubborn strands of spaghetti around the tines of her fork. She tried not to roll her eyes when he looked relieved. “I don’t think it would be good for Beckett. Her social worker agreed.” Shep’s lips parted and he took a breath, but he stopped before speaking. Rion knew he was dying to ask what had happened. She almost told him. As her mouth opened, a knock on her door startled them both. Beckett, who had finished eating and was watching the news didn’t react.
Rion had a feeling who it was. When she opened the door, Kerry was leaning against the frame. “Heeeelllooooo!”
“Hi Kerry,” it was an effort to not sigh or grumble as she said it.
Kerry looked beyond Rion into the apartment. When she saw Shep she grinned even wider. “I thought I heard a party in here!”
“It’s not a party,” she insisted. Kerry pushed past her anyway.
“Hi Shep!”
“Hi Kerry,” he was better at hiding his annoyance but Rion could still tell it was there. She shrugged at him over Kerry’s shoulder.
“So, that’s the kid, huh?” Kerry nodded towards Beckett. “What’s she watching?”
“The news.”
“The news?!”
“Yeah. She really likes it, oddly enough.”
“Strange. You never know with kids, I guess.” Both Rion and Shep must have been giving her a confused look because she laughed at them both. She had been leaning on the end of the counter, in Beckett’s vacated spot. She slid onto the stool and sniffed the air. “That smells wonderful!”
Rion got the point. “Would you like some?”
“Ooo! If you insist!” Kerry chuckled and winked at Rion.
Rion wanted to be annoyed, but there was a charm to Kerry that was undeniable. Something about her was completely open. She knew, without a doubt, that she could tell Kerry she couldn’t have any food and the girl wouldn’t be offended in the least. But, maybe taking care of a kid was bringing something out in Rion. Her neighbor’s impossible skinny arms just begged to be fed. As she piled a plate with spaghetti and meat sauce, Kerry leaned back and spread her arms.
“It might be hard to believe, but I actually do know a few things about kids.”
“Really now?” Shep asked flatly. His patience was wearing thin. Rion had a feeling he didn’t appreciate their “date” being interrupted. Rion didn’t mind, even though a part of her would prefer they all leave. Besides, if she was going to have company she preferred it to be more than just one person.
“As a matter of, I do,” Kerry replied in a sing song voice, obviously nonplussed.
Rion put the plate down in front of her and Kerry began shoveling pasta into her mouth. She rolled her eyes back into her head and moaned. She resisted the urge to ask Kerry how long it had been since she had eaten a decent meal. ‘So, how do you know so much about kids?” she asked.
Kerry swallowed before answering. “I raised my two sisters.”
Rion and Shep were so surprised neither knew what to say for a moment. Rion was lost wondering what it was like to raise kids in a bar. And how did she explain all the guys to the kids? How did social services not take the kids away? Also, Kerry barely looked twenty-one. How long could she have raised kids?
Shep eventually recovered first. “Raised, raised?”
Kerry laughed. Rion hated to admit it, but the girl had a wonderful laugh. She threw back her head and the laughs just hopped out of her belly. “Yes. Raised, raised.”
“How long?” Rion asked.
“Well, our parents died when I was ten. My sisters were five and seven. We lived with my grandmother until she died when I was fifteen. Then we lived with an aunt for a year. A year of that was all I was willing to take. My aunt cared more about drugs and men than us, so she was glad to see us go. We moved into our own apartment. She signed for it. We got a little money from social security. I had to threaten my aunt to give it to us. I told her if she didn’t I would report her to social services.” Kerry paused long enough to shovel in another mouthful.
“That was enough to support the three of you?”
“Oh, no! Not nearly enough. I had a fake ID and started stripping.”
Rion tried to figure out if she was joking or not. Shep stared at her open mouthed and Rion raised a brow. After she chewed another mouthful, she shrugged and continued.
“Hey, it pays good money. I’ve always looked young. So, at sixteen…lots of old guys paid a lot of money to get dances from me.”
Shep frowned and Rion resisted a shudder. “How long did you do that for?”
“Oh, just until my youngest sister turned eighteen. She started college last year. I started bartending after that.”
Rion tried to grasp all this information from her neighbor. She and Shep exchanged raised eye brows. She was surprised to even learn that Kerry was her age. Let alone that she had successfully raised her two young sisters. Especially overcoming the childhood they’d had. It also shed some light on the way that Kerry lived now. She essentially had not had a childhood. Rion felt back for judging her so harshly before.
“Wow,” Rion finally said.
Kerry chuckled, clearly pleased with herself for having surprised them. “Just goes to show you,” she nodded at Shep. “Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
Shep had the decency to turn bright red. He cleared his throat and mumbled something about not judging, but Kerry just laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t. I try not to worry about anything.”
Rion felt jealously spark through her. Not only because Kerry was so carefree. But, she was so open and honest. She should be repulsed by Kerry’s unabashed intimacy—but instead it intrigued her. She reminded Rion of the other kids she knew from foster care. The ones who, with a shared look, could remind you that there was someone else who knew what it was like to survive. When Kerry was done eating, Shep cleared all their plates away and began washing them. Rion raised a brow, but Kerry only gave her a double-wink while jabbing her with an elbow. Rion rolled her eyes and Kerry laughed. Shep ignored them, but by the shade of red his neck turned, he realized something was going on.
“Whatcha watching, kid?” Kerry asked, plopping down on the floor next to Beckett. Beckett just looked at her for a moment before returning to the TV. “Ah! A talker I see.” Kerry raised a bony knee and rested her chin on it. “I’ve never liked the news. It always made me sad.” Beckett didn’t respond. “What are you looking for?” Kerry asked. Beckett turned to her, her eyes big and round.
“Everything,” she finally whispered, but it was loud enough Rion heard it.
“Well, I hope you find it, kid.” Settling into the futon mat, Kerry watched the news with Beckett.
Rion let Kerry's voice fade into the background. She seemed to be doing most of the talking, but Beckett at least paid some attention to Kerry's ramblings. Eventually, Rion stopped paying attention until Beckett's voice, angry and low, drew her up short. "I said no!"
Rion turned to see Kerry with her hands in the air—one of them holding her phone. "Sorry! Sorry!" she was saying.
"What's going on?" Rion asked.
"I was going to take a selfie with Becks but she doesn't like her picture being taken.”
Beckett went back to watching the news. Kerry and Rion exchanged a heavy look. Rion wanted to ask her sister why she didn't like her picture taken, but the words stuck in her throat.
As if she felt the same, Kerry shuddered and looked away. Her intentions obvious, Kerry changed the subject. She squealed, spotting the video game. “I love this game! I wish I had known you were playing. We could have a tournament!” And like that, the moment was gone. Kerry's voice barely registered the change in moods.
Shep had finished the dishes and stood next to Rion drying his hands. “Sounds like a plan.” If he had noticed the odd exchange, it must not have alerted his concerns.
Rion wanted to object, but Beckett actually looked interested. Usually, once she started on the news she didn’t stop until Rion sent her to bed.
“OK.” The kid almost sounded excited.
“Come on,” Shep grinned, pulling Rion into the living room.
He and Rion took the futon and Kerry and Beckett stayed on the floor. They played until Rion realized it was ten and announced Beckett needed to go to sleep. The kid scowled at her. “I don’t want to go to bed.”
Rion was taken aback. She was at a loss for words for a moment. Beckett had never spoken up against her and she had no idea what to say. She wanted to snap at her to watch her mouth. It felt all the worse because it was in front of Shep and Kerry.
“Whoa kid!” Kerry laughed. “All parties have to end sometime.” Beckett continued to glare at Rion. “Besides, the sooner you go to bed, the sooner you can play again.” Beckett finally looked at Kerry and her glare softened. Rion felt her stomach try to swallow itself. “How about I read you a story?” Kerry asked.
After one last glare at Rion, Beckett finally nodded. “OK.”
Rion felt like a gigantic failure. “I don’t have any kid books,” she said softly.
“No worries. I’ve got my phone and access to hundreds of electronic books. There’s this place called the library. They just let you check them out for free.” Kerry laughed and followed Beckett into the bedroom.
Rion jumped when Shep rubbed her back. “Don’t feel bad,” he said softly. “You’re doing your best.”
Rion jerked away and began banging around the kitchen. She didn’t have anything to do there, but she hadn’t wanted to be next to Shep any longer. She began wiping counters down and throwing away expired food from the fridge. After a few minutes she realized Shep had left. She was ashamed of herself. I
t wasn’t his fault. She shouldn’t have taken it out on him.
She could hear Kerry reading softly to Beckett. Every few lines she would change voices. Once again, Rion realized how unprepared for this she was. Even the wild-child, party girl from next door was better at taking care of kids than she was. She leaned against the sink and forced herself to take deep calming breaths. If she couldn’t figure out how to do this, she would have to consider telling Chambers that she wasn’t capable of caring for Beckett. It wasn’t fair to the kid. If she wanted to do the right thing for her it would mean making choices—even if they were ones that made her sick to her stomach. Not all foster homes were terrible. Maybe it’s time to admit that my home is worse than some foster homes?
Rion felt like throwing up. Instead, she washed her face and left the bathroom the same time Kerry tiptoed from the bedroom. Her feelings must have been written on her face because Kerry threw and arm around her shoulders. She wanted to brush her off, but Rion didn’t have the energy.
“Don’t feel bad. My sisters and I ate burnt food for a month until I got the hang of cooking. Did you even have siblings growing up?”
“Nope,” Rion admitted, sliding up to the breakfast counter again.
Kerry joined her. “You’ll get the hang of it. You’ve just—”
Before she could finish her sentence the door opened and Shep returned. He held up a bottle of rum. “I think you could use another drink.”
“Now it’s a party!” Kerry laughed.
“Oh, no.” Rion cringed. “I don’t think I should do that again.”
“Come on girl! Mommy’s little helper is a bottle of wine. Or rum. Or tequila…”
“Or bourbon,” Shep grinned sliding the bottle onto the counter. “Unfortunately, I don’t have a mixer,” he cringed.
“Oh, I got chu,” Kerry chuckled. “I have plenty of fruit punch at my house. I’ll be right back,” she bounced out of the apartment.
Rion looked at Shep from underneath her lashes. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he seemed genuinely surprised.
“For being so hateful earlier.”
He waved her off. “Don’t be. I’ve never raised a kid. But I did grow up with a lot of them. Being a parent is tough. Especially when starting from…what, is she six?”
Something Happened Page 7
