Page 21 of Falkner
He’d told her before he left for work this morning that Drake had passed away in his sleep.It broke her heart to hear that, as he’d become a good friend over the last few days.He’d told her stories about each and every doctor in the hospital and how some of the nurses had been caught by him making love to some of the doctors when he’d been making his rounds.He found it funny now that he was better and she would find herself in his room when she was on break or had a few minutes to enjoy his company.He turned out to be a great listener, too.
She’d told him about her mom and dad.How her dad was thinking of staying around here to be close to her again.How her mom was in jail for lying to the government about the amount of money that she actually had, over what was in the paperwork that she’d filed.
“You should go and see her again before she’s sent off to prison.You might want to say a few things to her that you won’t get to later on.Tell her how she made you feel.”She asked him about his own family and how he’d cut his sister out.“We were never close to begin with.She’s sixteen years younger than I am and was treated like an only child after I left home.”
“That’s sad.Very much so.”He said it was nobody’s fault but their own.Once he’d left home, he’d never looked back until his parents were both gone, and it was too late to build any kind of relationship with his sister.“You did at least try to get in touch with her, didn’t you?I mean, I’d hate to think that she’s going to miss you if anything were to ever happen to you.”
“I’ve lived a good long life.I’ll be eighty on my next birthday.”He laughed when she looked at him, shocked.“I should have retired or been retired a long time ago.At least by the time I was at a good age to retire.I missed out on a lot of things working the way that I did.”
“I want to live my life to the fullest.I’m going to, too, when I get out of my contract with the hospital.”He asked her how much longer she had.“I signed a five-year contract with them when I got out of college, and they paid off my loans.That will be up in February.Then I’m free to go where I please to work.But to be honest, I really like it here now.”
“Because of Falkner.”She’d never told him that they were married.He guessed it on the second day when they were in the room together with him.“He’s a good man.Other doctors would have given up on this old man when I started not feeling like my usual self.I’m glad he didn’t.I got to know the two of you very well in the last few days.”
He told her that the evening before he died.She wondered if anyone had ever taken the time to talk to the old man and realized that he more than likely died happier with them in his life than if he’d died at the hospital doing a job that he loved.She knew that she felt better for having him in her life.He might have been a prick before, but he certainly changed for the better after falling with his dog.She wondered what would happen to his dog now that the man had died.
Her front door was ringing just as she was coming down the stairs.Knowing it was going to be someone that she didn’t want to talk to, she was surprised to find Loren on her front steps.Inviting him in, they sat in the living room until he was ready to talk to her.He was the oddest person she knew, but she really did love him.
“I have a problem.And I think that you and Falkner can help me with it.I have a set of twin girls that need a place to stay until they’re old enough to be out on their own.”She asked him about Booth and Dee, and he said that they’d just taken on three small children and wouldn’t have time for the twins.“I have no problem with that if that’s all you need.But I do have to talk to Falkner about it.This was his house before I moved in with him.”
“I’ve already spoken to him and he said that it would be up to you.”She asked him about the girls, and he told her everything that he knew.Which seemed to her to be an awful lot of information.“They’ll be eighteen in a few months.They both have their driver’s licenses and a car that they share.They’re good girls and have a job too, but they can’t live on their own until they turn eighteen.They just need temporary housing until then.”
“Sounds too easy.”He told her that it was actually, but she could handle it.“I’m sure that I can, and they’re welcome to stay.Do I help them get a place to stay?Or do they have that already, too?”
“No, if you’d like to help them, that would be wonderful.They’ve never been apart from each other, and they might need a little bit of help understanding all the ins and outs of having a place on their own.As I said, they’re good girls, just a bit underage right now.”She said that she’d had an apartment once and could certainly help them with that.“Good.I knew you’d be the one who could take care of them.”When he stood up, so did she.
“When will I have them here?I’m assuming since you talked with Falkner first that it would be soon.”He told her that they were in the car right now.“Bring them in then.I can’t believe you made them wait outside.I’ll get them set up as soon as I know if they want to share a room here or not.”
“They would like to be apart in their staying here.To get used to having a place of their own with two bedrooms.”She said she understood that and was excited to meet them.As soon as they were in the house, she felt a connection to them like she’d known them all her life.
Alex and Abby weren’t identical twins, but they did look a great deal alike.While Alex was built bigger, she was the athletic one of the two of them; Abby was softer and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders.She couldn’t wait for them to get out on their own soon and start living the life that they wanted to live.
After Loren left her and the girls, she set them up in two of the rooms on the second floor and showed them around.Once they were back in the kitchen, she helped them get some lunch and let them get their gear, what they called their things, put away in the bedrooms that she’d given them each.They seemed to be very shy at first, but she’d bet that in no time they’d be their usual outgoing selves and enjoy being around them.She couldn’t wait for Falkner to meet them tonight when he got home from work.
“I’m picking up dinner.”Falkner had called her when he went on break to ask about the girls.“That way we can figure out what they like to eat and not mess up on our first dinner with them.Everyone likes pizza.”
“If you think that will be good for them.I mean, I could ask what they like.”He thought that might be a better way to go and she yelled up the stairs to ask them what they wanted to eat.Both of them said pizza and she almost didn’t want to tell him he’d been right.Laughing she told him what they said and he was all right with that.Pizza sounded good to her too.
“I was called to make arrangements for Drake.His attorney caught me this morning.I forgot to tell you.”She said that she knew that he’d been talking to his attorney after his operation and hoped that there would be someone to take over the arrangements for him.“He said that he came into see him about some changes to his will.I hope that he didn’t cut his sister out just because she wouldn’t come and see him when he had his surgery.That would be a shame.”
“I didn’t ask, and he didn’t comment on it.”Falkner said that sounded like something he’d do.“Yes.But he was in good spirits when I saw him yesterday afternoon.He was telling me that he was looking forward to summer now that spring was over with.I’m going to miss my daily talks with him.He was a good man once you got past the meanness of him.”
“That’s a good way to put it.Getting past the meanness of him.”She wanted to ask him about his conversations with the other man but didn’t.He told her that he had to go.“I’m not busy but I don’t want to be on the phone when someone comes to find me.You understand.”
“I do.And I love that you called me.”After closing her cell phone she went about finishing up the projects that Betty, Falkner’s mom had her doing for her.It was a seating chart for the upcoming May tea that she was going to help with.
Women would bring their own teacup, and there would be pots of tea and cookies, as well as little sandwiches on the table for them to eat.She was looking forward to trying her first cucumber sandwich with mayo.Also, well-brewed tea, as Betty said, there was nothing like it when it was doneright.
Once she had the chart filled out, she put it away so that they could eat in the dining room.She put all her things away in the room that she was going to use as an office when her desk arrived.She’d been about as excited about that as she was having the room to do things like the seating chart in the dining room.
By the time Falkner was on his way home, she’d spoken to the girls several times.She’d shown them how to look for an apartment in the newspaper and what they would need in the way of money to get started.
“We have about five grand between us.We both had a job up until a week ago.Now we’re looking for something in town where we hope we’ll be able to stay.”Abby looked at her sister as she continued.“We know that it’s going to be hard for us to find something we can live in, being that we’re only eighteen, but we’re going to have a lot of references before we can move in.We still have about eight months to go, and we’ll be set up.We hope.”
“It sounds like you have enough to get you started.But there will be other things that you’ll need to put a deposit on just starting out.My friend from work said that they demanded a two hundred dollar deposit on their electric bill for first-time renters.I’d keep that in mind while you’re looking.”
“Mr.Loren told us that we’d have to be careful about people wanting to take advantage of us because we’re so young.I want to say that we’re pretty savvy, but I don’t think we are.We’re kind of too trusting of people.”She said that she had the same problem when she had first started out.“I hope that no one takes advantage of us, but I have a feeling that we’re going to have to be on our toes about it not happening.I don’t want to lose out on things even before we can get them.Understand?”
“I do.I really do.”After they went back up to their bedrooms, she had a thought.Just as she was writing things down that they’d have to look into, things were popping into her head even before she got any paper out to write on.Things like furnished vs unfurnished.
