Page 47 of Anyone But Her

I fling open the front door and run into the ambulance guys taking Albert out on a stretcher.

"You'll call his family?" the one guy says to me.

"Yes," I say, confirming it. We already discussed that I'd be the one to call Albert's son and daughter. I dread making the calls but I felt it was my duty to do so. It's what Albert would have wanted.

As the ambulance leaves I call Sandra, Albert's daughter. When she answers, I tell her what happened as gently as possible. I've never had to do this before so I don't know the right words to use or the right way to say it but I do the best I can.

"Thank you for calling," she says with not even a hint of emotion. It doesn't surprise me. I've never met his daughter but I've never liked her. She doesn't even call her dad on his birthday or Christmas. Albert's son, Jacob, calls now and then but he has some executive job that has him traveling overseas all the time so he's never around.

"I'll let Jacob know," Sandra says. "He's in Japan this month so I'll be the one taking care of the arrangements."

"When can you be here?" I ask.

"I'll have to check my schedule. I don't need to be there in person to make the arrangements. A few phone calls should be all that's needed."

She doesn't sound the least bit sad. In fact, she almost sounds relieved, like she's been waiting for him to die.

"You'll need to vacate the house so I can get it professionally cleaned and have a handyman fix whatever damage there is."

"Um, okay. How long will that take?"

"A week. Maybe two."

"I could help with whatever work needs to be done."

"I'd prefer if a professional did it."

"Okay, well, I could supervise them if you want."

"You don't seem to understand. You need to vacate the house."

"Yeah, I'll just go to a hotel. You'll call me when it's done?"

She sighs. "How much clearer do I need to be?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're not staying there, Luke. You need to pack your things and get out of there. The house is mine now and I plan to rent it out until I can sell it."

She's kicking me out? I'm so freaking mad but what can I do? If the house is really hers and she wants me gone, I can't stay. But I'm not ready to go. Leaving here means leaving Albert and I'm not ready to say goodbye.

"Let me rent it," I say, "until it sells."

"Do you have references? A good credit score? A history of renting for at least five years?"

"No, but I don't need those things. I've lived here for two years. I've known your dad since I was a kid. You can trust me to take care of the house and pay the rent."

"I don't trust anyone, especially someone as young as you. And given the degenerates next door who raised you I have reason to believe you only befriended my father so you could steal from him. Live off his income. Get him to buy you things."

Now I'm fuming mad and can't hide it. "I never once stole from your dad. If anything, you're the—"

I was about to say 'thief' because I'm almost positive she stole my money back when I was fifteen and hiding my money in Albert's guest room closet. When I was at golf camp that summer Sandra stayed with Albert on her way to Arizona and when I got back from camp the money was gone. I knew it was her who did it. Who else would? Albert wouldn't steal from me and she was the only other person in the house that week.

"I'm the what?" she asks in a snide tone.

"Nothing. Just forget it. When do I need to be out?"

"You can have until the end of Sunday. Leave your key under the mat so it's there for the handyman."

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