Page 33 of Wishing for Love

“She was spending it all on her daughter,” Crystal said softly. “What most parents do.”

“She was a good mother,” he whispered and then choked back a few tears.

“If there isn’t anything else, I think we can go back downstairs. You need a break. We can leave. Take your time or I’ll take care of everything in here. I can do it if you tell me what to do. I mean it. You’re not ready.”

“Phoenix?” a voice called from the first floor. “I’m Vana. I worked with Maryn. Not sure if you remember me from the funeral.”

He was happy for the interruption. He was better when he had a plan and a purpose. “Sorry,” he said, coming down the stairs and meeting the older woman who had just walked in the door. “That day was kind of a blur.”

“I completely understand,” Vana said. “And I’m sorry for reaching out on the house.”

“No,” he said. “It’s fine. I need to move on with it. I’ve got everything that Elsie would want. I have to figure out what to do with all this stuff.”

“Well,” Vana said. “We can make the listing all inclusive. Maryn had beautiful taste. It’s almost staged as it is, other than cleaning some things out, like clothing and more personal effects. Even food.”

“I guess I can figure that out,” he said. “If you can include it in the sale, that makes it easier on me. The other thing is doing a house sale, but I don’t have the time and can’t be bothered.”

“Nonsense,” Vana said. “We can jump up the asking price, but I do have someone in mind that might be interested. I’d like to show them the house this weekend if that is possible.”

“You can get it listed by then?” he asked.

“I was hoping to go under contract with you today and get them here first before I tried to list it. It’d be easier and faster to sell as a pocket listing. Do you know what Maryn owed on the house?”

He wasn’t going to say that the house was half paid for. No reason for anyone to know those details. “Why don’t we just focus on what you think we can get for it and we’ll go from there?”

Vana grinned and knew enough to not play salesperson with him.

“We can do that,” Vana said. “Do you mind if I just do a walk through?”

“Sure,” he said. “I’ll be in the kitchen.”

He didn’t introduce Crystal. There was no reason to. He was sure Vana didn’t care either, as she only wanted to get her commission out of this.

“This is very pretty too,” Crystal said. “Everything is huge in this house. I can’t imagine being a child here. I’d be afraid of breaking something.”

“I felt that way at times too. Maryn just liked fancy and shiny things. But none of this has any meaning. I’ll probably have to figure out what to do with her clothing.”

“There are a lot of consignment shops,” Crystal said. “Or you could donate them to not-for-profits that help women going into the workforce.”

“I think I like that better. Maryn would like it too.”

“I can take care of that for you if you want,” she said, reaching for his hand and rubbing it for a second. “I don’t mind.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“Phoenix. Once I drop Elsie off I’ve got hours to myself.”

“You don’t need to be cleaning either and I know you are.”

“Because I’m bored,” she said. “Really, I am. Let me do this for you. One less thing you need to think about.”

“If you don’t mind,” he said, conceding. He wasn’t sure he could come in here again. “It’d be great. You can have anything you want too. Seriously. Maryn was bigger than you. I mean taller and curvier.”

There he went talking like he’d been looking at her body.

“You know, I find it adorable when you get all embarrassed and blush. It’s fine. I could tell by the clothes hanging she was taller than me and a size or so bigger. I wouldn’t take anything. Good lord, could you imagine if Elsie realized I had it? I don’t want to upset her.”

He hadn’t thought of that and didn’t know why he hadn’t.

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