Autum's Lost (A letting go series) (4 page)

BOOK: Autum's Lost (A letting go series)
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My lips are in a tight line and then Curt adds, “Well good luck with that, don’t ever say I never gave you a chance to make this right.”

I wanted to respond, my face was bright red and my eyes were starting to shine, but Oren walked back in with my Dad and uncle. I stand and place my purse on my shoulder, and walk toward Oren extending my hand for him to shake.

“Thank you Oren for doing this, I really appreciate it. I will give you a call in a few days so I can get our policy separated. I need my own insurance policies and I need to place my Dad as my beneficiary on my life insurance.”

“That sounds just fine Addy, I will help with anything you need.” Oren gives me a hug and I walk out of his office with my Dad’s arm around my shoulder.

We get out to the parking lot and Dad asks, “What did he say to you? He has no right to say anything Addy.”

“I know Dad, but you know Curt, he is a big ass baby when he isn’t getting his way. He will say anything he thinks will give me a guilt trip. He’s just too dumb to realize it doesn’t have that effect on me anymore.”

“Well, you are going to be just fine without him; you have been doing that for years.”

“Thanks Dad, I need to go, I will call you and mom in a few days.”

Dad and Uncle Jon give me one last hug before I get into my car and head over to the funeral home.

 

Chapter 8

 

I pull up outside the funeral home, and brace myself for seeing Michael. We have been friends forever; I love his daughter, so why does this feel awkward? “Get your shit together Addison!” I say out loud, giving myself a Jess pep talk. I walk up the steps and grab the handle of the door, but before I can open it, the door opens and I am thrown off balance. Michael grabs my arm for balance as I fall forward into his chest. I am seized by his warm hands wrapped around my arm and waist, his smell is of something fresh and woodsy, not strong like cologne, probably aftershave. “Shit! Sorry Michael.” I stammer looking up at him.

“Addy, first of all, stop being sorry all the time. Second, this has been the highlight of my week,” he smiles and his hazel eyes are sparkling.

“Well, if that is the highlight of your week, then we are both pathetic saps.” I give a sheepish smirk.

Michael laughs
out loud and shakes his head. “Nope, not pathetic. Loser? Maybe, but definitely not pathetic.”

I then realize Michael’s arm is still around my waist, I take a step back, and straighten my hooded sweatshirt and wipe my hands on my jeans, a nervous twitch of mine. My actions are not missed by Michael as he watches my movements and smiles a friendly non sexy smile; thank
God, because I don’t think my brain can take another Michael megawatt smile.

“I just came by to drop off a check for the funeral.” My eyes drop to the ground and I start to get the check out of my purse. Michael gently grabs my hand and looks at me with concern.

“Addy, I’m not worried about payment; did I make you feel that way?”

“No, n
ot at all,”

“Good, because the last thing I care about right now is a check. I wanted to apologize for being a bit of a
git a couple weeks ago.”

 

I start laughing and shake my head. “Michael, it’s fine, you don’t need to go all proper British on me. You are the last person on earth that could be an idiot.” I realize that the awkwardness that I had earlier has vanished and it’s just comfortable.

“Good, Addy, because your friendship means the world to me. If I ever crossed a line I would grovel at your feet for forgiveness.”

“I take it back; I like the proper British Michael better.”

He laughs again loudly and winks at me, and then says, “Well you are in luck because I do three shows a day, seven days a week.”

“ADDY, ADDY, ADDY!!” I hear Clarissa, and see her running down the stairs. She hugs me like her life depends on it “I missed you so much!” I close my eyes and hug her back.

“Well I missed you as well sweetie, I was just here to see your dad but, I am glad I got to see you, because I need to ask something of you.”

“Sure, what is it?” She asks with her big hazel eyes looking at me, they are the spitting image of her father’s.

“In a few days, I am going to go through the house to get stuff ready for a massive garage sale, but I need help,
do you think you can help me with it? There are things that I know Autum would like you to have.”

“Yes, yes, of course! I would love to help, I know dad would love to help as well, right dad?”

Michael smiles widely at his daughter and then back at me, “Of course I can help.” Clarissa claps loudly and turns toward her father. “Anything Addy wants, I would love to help with.” She hugs him and he looks over at me and winks again.

Freaking crap! I am so screwed with anything Michael related I inwardly say.

 

Chapter 9

 

As I am driving away from the funeral home my cell phone lights up with Curt’s name on it. I push ignore. Two blocks down the road and Sara Evans is singing
‘A Little Bit Stronger’ on the radio, I start belting out the lyrics, like she wrote it for me, my cell rings again, Curt’s name AGAIN! I push ignore
again
, this played out until I reached the house. I step to get out of the car and I hear tires squealing around the corner on my block. I look down the street and Curt is barreling down the road like he is a formula one driver. I slam my car door because, frankly, I have had enough of his shit for one lifetime. As his car comes to a dramatic stop in the driveway I look at him and roll my eyes before I start in for the house.

“ADDY!” he yells, and since I am in no mood for his attitude I yell back
.

“WHAT CURT! WHAT DO YOU
WANT!”

He looks at me and says “Can we talk inside? I don’t feel like giving the neighbors a show.”
Holy fuck is he serious
! I think to myself.

“Well you should have tho
ught about that before you did eighty down our street barely missing a small child and a squirrel! I have nothing to say to you, your little performance at the insurance office left a bitter taste in my mouth, so if you are here to discuss going through Autum’s stuff that will have to wait for another day.”

I open the garage door to go inside and I hear Curt walking behind me. “So, how was Michael, seemed like you took forever to drop off a check.” I spun around with my eye wide.

“Were you following me? Holy shit you did! For your information, Michael and Clarissa are fantastic. They care about people, are completely honest in everything they do, unlike you!”

“Michael is a tool, always has been, he wanted you so bad in high school, he was just waiting for you to be free so he could rescue you, like a…knight and shining armor and all that shit.” He badly mocks his British accent on the last sentence.

“Leave now! This conversation is over!!” I yell in his face. “If you follow me, call me, or come in this driveway without consenting with my lawyer first, you are going to find yourself in a jail cell with a guy calling you Nancy!” With that I walk up the two steps in the garage and slam the door shut locking it behind me. I get my phone out of my purse and speed dial Jess, “Hey it’s me, bring the kids and the hubby over for a barbecue tonight, I need to chat.”

The doorbell rings at 6pm sharp. I go to answer the door but Jess has already used her key that I gave her several years earlier.
Jess breezes in and then shows me the bottle of golden Margarita, I raise my eyebrow, “You know that’s dangerous stuff for us, right?”

S
he gives me a sheepish grin, “Yep, but it’s Friday night, and we need a girls night.”

I laugh, “
When did you decide this for
us
?” As we walk towards the kitchen

“Well let’s see, Skyler is forty
this year, as you know, and his mid-life crisis is kicking in, so he decided it would be a dandy idea to get into men’s league baseball,” she says crinkling her nose.

“It’s been what?
Twenty years since he played ball?” I question her.

“Yeah, so what better way to celebrate your you
th, than hanging out with other forty year old men jerking off?”

I start laughing loudly, then she starts using her dramatic jerking off hand gesture and I lose it, and laughing tears are running down my face. It takes me a few minutes to compose myself and I ask, “Ok, besides your mid-life crisis husband, where are the kids? They are always welcome over here.”

“Tristin, is a war lord or some shit, in an online video game and couldn’t be bothered and Lila is Skyping the neighbor boy and painting her nails.”

I give her a questioning look. “Can’t she just go over there to talk or call him?”

Jess looks at me like I have two heads and answers mocking her fourteen year old daughter “UH, no, Oh.My.God. That’s like, so not cool! What would my other super cool friends think if I just showed up to talk? I would totally be named a nerdy and my life would totally be ovah!”

I shake my head smiling, “Well get the glasses, because we are going to get wrecked! And you are staying the night my totally cool friend.”

Dinner and half a bottle of margarita later Jess turns to me. “So, what is going on Addy? You sound off, and I know you are keeping something from me.”

I give her a tight smile, “I went to the insurance office this morning and then went to the funeral home.”

“Go-on.”

“When I got to the funeral home, I went to grab the door handle, and Michael was on the other side at the same time. He opened the door and I fell through the doorway but, he caught me.” I give her a sideways glance.

Jess looks at me with a cat ate the canary smile “Good, continue.”

“Well it was awkward at first, but after a few minutes we both settled down, and then he apologized, for the hot comment, which he didn’t have to do because, it was well…
hot
!” I blushed at the thought of Michael whispering in my ear, with his smell lingering around me.

“Holy shit! You like him, and don’t give me any of that;
we are just friends,
crap missy! Because you just blushed like a school girl, and, closed your eye like you were taking a hit off a bong!” Jess unceremoniously cried. I looked at her like an impatient school teacher.

“Can I finish my story please? Or should we switch the conversation to our failed attempts at the bong.” I said with finger quotes on “the bong”

“Nope, no needs to go there, I have a perfectly good story to hear about you and Britt boy getting it on.” Jess took another drink from her margarita and smiled with her signature, ‘AHHHHHH.’

“Ok then, as I was saying,” I looked over at Jess, my eyes telling her to shut it. “Clarissa was upstairs and came running down and gave me a big hug. I asked her to help me with the garage sale, which she happily said yes; and then invited her father to help us. To which he said he would love to help me with anything, and then, he winked at me, again!”

“Oh, My, God! He wants you baaaad! Wait, you are having a garage sale? You despise garage sales. When were you going to tell me this?” Jess had her hands on her hips; the look on her face was one of confusion and joy.

“Yes, I
despise garage sales,
as you say, and I am telling you now, but all the money is going to the animal shelter. Autum loved that place so it will be a memory donation. I just decided today that this place is too big for one person, so I thought having a garage sale I could get rid of some stuff I never use or want anymore.”

Jess was leaning against the counter and was doing her foot tap thinking when I also added. “That wasn’t the only thing that happened today, Curt followed me to the funeral home, and waited till I left, then followed me home like a stalker, and accused me of taking too long at the funeral home and called Michael a tool.”

Jess stood up and frowned, “I know Curt doesn’t like it when he can’t get his way, but seriously Addy, this is last stop to crazy town for him. I hope you told him to sod off and slammed the door in his face!”

“Yep, I also told him if he has anything more to say to me, then go through my lawyer, or his cell mate will be calling him Nancy.”

Jess smiled big. “That’s my Addy, I knew you had it in you!”

“I just want to keep Michael and Clarissa out of this, they don’t deserve his wrath.”

I look over at Jess and she nods her head in agreement and adds, “Michael will, how would he say it, put a boot up his arse, whilst sipping a cup of tea.” She says as she takes a fake drink of tea with a pinkie out.

“Funny, Michael drinks coffee not tea, and it’s Starbucks, three times a week.” I say matter of factly

“And how do you know this? Seems a bit personal for someone who
isn’t interested
in someone.” She playfully scoffs.

“Clarissa told me one day, a while back, when I took her and Autum to Starbucks. She gives him crap all the time about being British and drinking coffee.” I smile at the memory of Autum and Clarissa poking fun of Michael,
using a British accent, while going to get coffee that morning.

BOOK: Autum's Lost (A letting go series)
4.11Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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