Chance Encounter - Jerry Cole Page 0,32
she let out a soft cry. “I’m on my way.” I slipped the phone into the pocket of my jeans, grabbing my keys on the way out. I hurried up the stairs barefoot, tapping on her door. “Mari?” I tried the door, finding it open as I pushed my way inside. She was sitting at the table, and I approached her slowly.
“I just got a call… from an attorney.” I dropped into the chair across from her as she blinked. Tears were in her eyes, and I wanted to ask if it was about Becca but remembered that she mentioned her. “Vivian and her mother died. They were in a car accident. She told us she was going to put us down as legal guardians, but I assumed that she changed that.” Her eyes met mine. “She didn’t. Ava will be coming into our care when we’re ready.”
I stared at her, silent. The memories of Vivian weren’t good, but no child deserved to lose her mother. Her mother and grandmother, to be exact. “Are you ready for that?”
“I haven’t spoken to her in a few months. Of course not. I suppose I could refuse, but they said she’d end up in foster care that way. I’ve heard horrible things about foster care, and she’s still a baby.” Mari finally let the tears loose, crying into her hands. “I feel bad that we stopped talking to her, or we drifted apart now. I don’t even know. I never thought she’d make us guardians.”
“Calm down. You don’t have to do this tomorrow, Mari. You can talk to Becca, and we can even get together tomorrow. You won’t do this alone.” I reached across the small table to take her hand. “I can call her and tell her to come home.”
“Yes. Call her.” I called Becca’s phone, and she answered calmly. She told me that she was on a break and asked how everything was.
“You need to come home, Becca. Everyone is okay here, but Mari needs to talk to you,” I said as she sucked in her breath. “Is Hay onstage right now?”
“Yes…should I get him?” She asked as I closed my eyes.
“I’ll leave a message on his phone. I can’t interrupt him while he’s performing. He’ll kill me later, but come home. He can join us later.”
“I’ll be there soon.” The phone went dead, and I mentally kicked my ass for a second before sending Hayden a message that he needed to come home right away. I set the phone down after turning the sound on, rising to make three cups of tea.
“How old is she now? Ava?” would she keep that name.
“She just turned seven months old. She won’t even remember them.” Mari’s voice was low, and I imagined the tiny infant I saw that night in the hospital grown up. She came into the world beautiful and was undoubtedly even prettier now. She took after her mother, and the thought made me shudder. I hated the feeling of her hand on me, where I only craved Hayden’s touch.
Her daughter wasn’t responsible for her mother’s behavior, and my heart ached for Ava. I’d never tell Mari to hurry and make a decision on this, but Ava must be terrified with strangers.
We were all strangers, as well.
The door opened hard, and I watched as Becca stormed inside. “What the fuck is going on? Is it Ryan again?” She looked at Mari at the table, dropping to the chair beside her. “What’s wrong?”
“I just got a call from a lawyer.” Becca frowned at her. “She called to tell me that Vivian and her mom died in a car accident.”
“What does that have to do with us? We haven’t spoken to her in a few months?” Becca told her before her face went pale. “Oh, fuck. She put as the guardians, didn’t she? I knew that she talked about it, but thought she changed her mind.” Mari began to cry, and Becca let out a slow breath. “Oh, fuck. What do we do?”
“We stay calm and talk this out.” They both looked at me. “Talk this out, every detail. You get to make a choice here.”
“It’s a baby that she trusted us with. Isn’t that carved in stone?” Mari asked as I pinched the bridge of my nose in thought.
“I am not exactly sure, but we could talk to someone. A lawyer,” I determined, looking at the girls. “You have to support her, after all.”
“Oh, there’s another part. The grandma left an inheritance