Things are finally looking up
Shelly Cope was the reason we had been summoned here to law offices of Wickham & Wickham in downtown Cary, North Carolina, that Friday morning in May. She passed away a couple of weeks prior and apparently, she had written me into her will.
Her two daughters sat beside each other on one side of the oval table while I sat across from them Worried what they must be thinking of me made me too nervous to look at them so I looked down at my hands that lay upturned in my lap instead. I could tell that they were staring at me though, because I could feel the weight of their eyes on me. My whole body filled with dread, and I began quivering uncontrollably. I felt as if I were a sheep being led to slaughter and they were waiting to inflict the deadly blow. I shouldn't be here. I thought. Shelly had already given me everything she had promised to give me in her will. Maybe it was just a formality? Proof that what she had given me was meant to be mine.
A man cleared his throat as he entered the room, and my head jerked up at the sound of his gruff voice when he spoke. "Good Morning," he said as he offered his hand, first to Melissa, the eldest of Shelly's two daughters, and then to Gina, before shaking my hand as he introduced himself. "I'm Thomas Wickham, your mother's attorney, and the executor of her will." Mr. Wickham placed his briefcase on the table in front of him before taking his seat at the head of the table.
"Excuse me, Mr. Wickham," I said in a small, timid voice, hoping that I wouldn't draw Shelly's two daughters' attention to our conversation.
Yeah, good luck with that.
Melissa's and Gina's attention was off the lawyer and on me quicker than you could swat a fly, and when I turned to look at them, I saw nothing but loathing in their eyes. They had never even met me before that day, but I could tell by their mirrored expressions that they truly hated me. But why did they hate me? That's what I couldn't comprehend. Sure, I'd done something awful in the past, but I never did anything bad to them. I took care of the mother they both had abandoned after she married a man that they didn't approve of. He did nothing to deserve their hate. His only crime was falling in love with and marrying their mother. He provided for her while she was able bodied, and he took care of her when she was no longer able to care for herself. When he could no longer care for her himself, he hired me to take care of both of them. Mr. Cope was a man that any daughter could be proud to call their step-father, but sadly, he was a man whose skin color was not of their liking. You see, Mr. Cope was African American.
Shelly's daughters should have been grateful that she left them in her will at all, because every penny of that money was earned by Mr. Cope. When he was still alive they wanted nothing to do with him or their mother. Hell, they didn't even resume seeing their mother once he had passed away. Had they been my children, I doubt that I would have been so generous. I would have cut them out of my will the way they cut me out of their lives, and given all of my money to charity.
"I don't really need to be here, do I?" I asked. "Shelly has already given me everything that she said she was going to leave me in her will." I didn't want to be there because I had more important things to attend to. Priority number one was to finish packing, moving mine and my sons' things into the apartment that I had rented the week before, since I was sure that the moment Shelly's daughters got possession of the house they would be sure to evict us. I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction. More importantly, having remembered the choice phrases that Shelly had told me they had bestowed upon her when she started dating her husband, I didn't want my son to witness the racist rhetoric I was sure to hear once they realized that my son was bi-racial. I knew that there was no way I could shield my son from racist remarks everyday of his life, but when it was within my power to do so, I would.
Mr. Wickham averted his gaze from me to look at the papers he held in his hand. He skimmed through the first few pages before stopping on one in particular. After reading the next few pages he smiled. "Bella Swan is it?" he said as he returned his attention to me.
"Yes sir."
"I believe it would be in your best interest to stay."
Melissa and Gina were none to happy about the outcome, each having received only one hundred thousand dollars. They threatened to contest the will, but Mr. Wickham assured them that it was iron-clad, all loopholes had been closed. They turned to look at me; eyes narrow in anger as if they thought all of this was somehow my fault. I, on the other hand, was astounded when Mr. Wickham told me that Shelly had left the majority of her estate to me. At first I thought there had been some kind of mistake and I said as much. But then he handed me one of the letters that Shelly had written to each of us- her beneficiaries. I began reading mine and I soon felt a lump in my throat, and tears welled up in my eyes when I got to the last part of her correspondence.
"When you love someone, you want nothing more than for them to be happy. That's all I wanted for my daughters. My love for them was unconditional, but they set conditions on returning that love. Don't get me wrong, Bella. I love my children, but I can't reward their despicable behavior by leaving them everything my husband worked so hard for. It would be as if I condoned it. They disowned me simply because I fell in love with a man whose color they didn't approve of, and I will be damned if I let them get their hands on everything he worked so hard for. You, on the other hand, even though we share no blood ties, have given me your love freely, and expected nothing of me in return. You have been more of a daughter to me than my own, and there isn't anyone else I'd rather leave my belongings to. Please accept them with my blessing. I wouldn't have left them to you if I didn't think you deserved it. If you feel that the house is too big for you and little Seth, feel free to sell it, it's yours to do with as you wish.
"All my love, Shelly."
I pulled a tissue from my purse, and wiped away the tears that were now streaming down my face, and then folded the letter neatly, and slid it back into my pocketbook.
Melissa huffed, causing me to look up across the table at her, and I saw Gina roll her eyes.
"This isn't over!" Melissa stood up from the table, grabbing her sister by the hand, and then they stormed out of the room.
Mr. Wickham walked over to me, and put his hand on my shoulder. "Bella," he said, handing me a tissue. I took it from him and wiped the tears from my eyes, and blew my nose. "They can contest the will if they like, but I'm positive it will be up-held it court," he said handing me an envelope.
"What's this?" I asked. My eyes narrowed in curiosity as I took it from him.
"It's the deed to the house," he began. "Shelly transferred the property to your name over a year ago when her doctor told her the cancer was terminal." He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "She really loved you and your son, Bella, and she was worried that her daughters might try to contest the will. This was her way of making sure that if nothing else you and your son would be able to keep the house."
~*~*~*~
My mother, Renee was out on the front porch of her house playing cars with Seth when I pulled into her driveway. I almost strangled myself getting out of my car, because I was in such a hurry to tell my mother what happened at the reading of the will that I forgot to unfasten my seatbelt.
Great.
My mom let out a roaring laugh. "Are you alright?" she asked through broken laughter. Leave it to my mother to find humor in my pain.
"I'm fine. I just bruised my ego a little is all. I was in a hurry to talk to you," I said, rubbing my neck, hoping the belt hadn't left a mark.
"What's so important that you'd risk strangulation to tell me?" she said with a chuckle.
Seth ran up to me, and wrapped his little arms around my legs, squeezing tight.
"Momma, can I sleep at Bama's house tonight?" he asked in his sweet little voice as he tilted his head up to look at me. When Seth first began speaking he couldn't pronounce grandma, instead, it came out as Bama. Mom thought it was precious, so we never encouraged him to call her anything but that. My son was the cutest child in the world as far as I was concerned. His eyes a bright, beautiful shade of brown, almost the color of warm caramel, and his hair was so black it was almost blue. I had to admit that I was a little jealous of his skin color, because he would never have to worry about a tan, his tone being just a few shades lighter than his father, Jacob's.
I gently pulled his arms from around my legs, and knelt down in front of him. "I don't know, little man, Bama might have other plans for tonight," I said as I looked up at my mother.
"I told him he could if it was alright with you."
Returning my gaze to Seth, I smiled. "I guess its okay then, but why don't you go play in the toy room for a while, because I need to speak to your grandma for a few minutes." He gave me a quick hug, and then he trotted along to the other room to play with his toys.
"I think you need to be sitting down when you hear this," I said, taking her hand and leading her into the living room.
After going over everything that had happened at the law firm with my Mom, I kissed her and Seth good-bye and left to go home.
~*~*~*~
An annoying buzz of silence rang in my ears as I sat down on one of the plush chairs in Shelly's (now my) family room. She had been gone for a little over two weeks already, yet I hadn't realized how empty the house felt until I was here alone without Seth running around making noise. Shelly had never been one to talk a lot, but she always had the television tuned into one of her favorite soap operas. God, I hated soap operas, but during the day when Seth was in school they kept her company while I did the housework.
Recalling the letter Shelly had left for me, I grabbed my purse from the floor beside me. When I pulled it out I unfolded it, and began reading it again, stopping at the last line. "If you feel that the house is too big for you and little Seth, feel free to sell it, it's yours to do with as you wish."
The house had been her home for more than twenty-five years, and it had been mine and Seth's for the past five and a half. Seth was only six months old when we moved in, and started taking care of Shelly. This was the only home he had ever known. Sure, the house needed a new roof, and it could use a good remodeling, but there was no way I would even consider selling her house.
Instead, I decided to have the house remodeled.
I knew nothing about contractors, or construction for that matter, but I was sure if I did my research, I could find a reputable company online.
Folding the letter, I slid it back in my purse before getting up from my chair, and walked upstairs to my room to turn on my computer. Once it was up and running, I sat down, and typed 'contractors specializing in remodeling' into the search engine. There were only a handful of contractors listed for Forks, but there was one by the name of 'Cullen construction, and remodeling' that was a member of the Forks Chamber of Commerce. Wondering if it was too late to call, I glanced at the clock on my computer screen. Four-sixteen, they don't close their office until five. I picked up the phone and placed the call. After the third ring I heard a mans voice say, "Twilight construction, this is Edward Cullen speaking."
After introducing myself, we discussed in great detail the repairs that needed to be done to the rooms I wanted remodeled.
"Ms. Swan," he said. "I'd love to take on the job, but I need to see the house before I can give you an estimate and my schedule for the remainder of the week is filled during business hours. I could come by after work today--"
"Oh, that would be great!" I said with enthusiasm, cutting him off.
Mr. Cullen laughed. "You might not feel that way once I finish what I was trying to say."
I could feel the blush flood to my cheeks at my embarrassment, happy that he wasn't there to witness it. "I'm sorry. Please, continue."
"I could come by after work today, if you don't mind my son coming along with me. I have to pick him up from daycare no later than six, and it would save time if I didn't have to run him by my brother's house before I go over to yours."
I wondered why his wife couldn't pick up their son from the sitters' while he came to look at the house, but then considered that she more than likely had a job too, and was unable to get off from work in time.
"Sure, that won't be a problem, bring him with you." Remembering the late hour, and knowing how cranky children could get when they were hungry, I went on to ask, "I was getting ready to make something to eat. If you and your son don't mind, I'd love to have you both join me for dinner. Nothing fancy, just Sloppy Joes and potatoes chips." I felt it was the least I could do since he was willing to come and give me an estimate after office hours.
"If you're sure it's no trouble."
I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my lips. "Please, how much trouble can Sloppy Joes be?"
Ending the call, I hurried into the kitchen, pulling the hamburger, ketchup, and mustard out of the fridge before making my way to the pantry to get an onion, sugar and the bottle of vinegar out of the pantry. No canned Sloppy Joe mix for this girl, I always made mine from scratch.
I had just placed the lid on the frying pan, and set the stove to simmer when I heard a vehicle coming up the driveway. The sound of gravel crunching under tires as they rolled across it was always a dead giveaway that someone was coming. I wiped my hands on my apron before taking it off. I hadn't even placed it on the counter when I heard the door bell ring.
What awaited me on the other side of the door when I opened was not what I had been expecting. From our conversation over the phone, I assumed he would be much older, but the man who stood before me couldn't have been any more than twenty-eight years old. His eyes were a beautiful, sea glass green; his disheveled hair was brown with bronze streaks running through it. I had to refrain from reaching out to touch it, denying myself the pleasure of seeing if it was as soft as it looked.
Allowing them entrance into the foyer, I pushed open the glass door saying, "Please, won't you both come in?"
"Thank you," He smiled. Placing his hand on his sons shoulder, he ushered the child inside, and followed closely behind him.
"Thanks for coming, Mr. Cullen." I offered my hand in greeting.
"My pleasure," he said as he shook my hand. "And please, call me Edward."
And what's this; did he just squeeze my hand? I thought as I raised my head to look at him. When our eyes met, he smiled. He was definitely flirting with me. I found myself instantly attracted to him. And it appeared that he felt it too, but it had been so long since a man had shown any interest in me that I didn't know how to respond to it. In fact, the 'only' man I had ever been with was Jake, and had he not made the first move, we more than likely would have never gotten together in the first place, because I was to shy to ask anyone out.
Not knowing how to respond, I just stood there, completely and utterly lost in his eyes. My heart rate accelerated, my breathing hitched, and my face grew warm as blood rushed to my cheeks.
Upon seeing me blush, his smile grew wider, and I chewed on my bottom lip to hide my own. But, then I shook myself out of my trance when I suddenly remembered that his son was in the room with us. Pulling my hand free from Edwards grasp, I knelt down before him. "What's your name, little man?"
"Ben," he said in a small, shy voice as he slid the toe of his shoe back and forth across the carpet.
"It's nice to meet you, Ben. I have a little boy too, he's six years old. How old are you?" I asked, reaching out to shake his hand.
"I'm seven," he said matter-of-factly as he placed his little hand in mine.
"Are you hungry? I made Sloppy Joes." I smiled, hoping he would feel more at ease.
He nodded, shyly.
Looking up at Edward, I asked, "And how about you?"
"Actually, I'm starving, I worked straight through lunch today." I was sure the smile he offered had nothing to do with the mediocre meal I had prepared.
As we ate dinner, Edward and I discussed the renovations for the house. Ben was paying little, if any, attention to our conversation as he ate his sandwich, and potato chips.
Edward asked if I had the floor plans to the house. When I told him that I didn't know where Shelly had kept them, he assured me that it wasn't a problem. He could pick up a copy down at the Department of Building Inspections, and from there he would draw up a design for the remodeling work I wanted done to the kitchen, living room, and three bathrooms.
After promising that he would be back early Monday morning to begin replacing the roof, Edward stood up from the table. "Thanks for dinner, Bella," he said, before turning to look at his son, "Ben." He nudged his son's shoulder, prompting him to respond.
"Thank you, Miss Bella," Ben said, looking down at his shoes as he stood by his father.
"You're welcome, sweetheart," I said, and then I looked back at Edward. "I'll walk you two out."
As we made our way to the door, Edward said that he would have a few different plans drawn up for the renovations and back to me no later than Friday afternoon.
"Thanks again for coming by on such short notice," I said, before turning my attention to Ben, who was looking bored as he stood beside his father. "It was nice meeting you, Ben, and if it's okay with your Dad, I'd love to have you come to work with him sometime. My son, Seth would really enjoy having someone to play with."
When I returned my gaze to Edward, he smiled as he nodded his consent. "See you Monday morning."
"Bye." I smiled as I waved, and then slowly, closed the door behind them.
~*~*~*~
Yawning, I opened the fridge and pulled out the milk for mine and Seth's breakfast, setting it on the table.
"Mom," Seth called out from the living room in an aggravated tone, "I can't find my book-bag."
"It's here in the kitchen on the back of the chair, where you left it." I shook my head, and smiled. Seth was forever leaving his things lying around the house, only to forget and ask me later where they were.
"Oh," he said slapping the palm of his hand against his forehead in mock frustration for having forgotten where he'd left it.
"Would you like a piece of toast with your breakfast this morning, little-man?" I asked as I placed two bowls of cereal on the table, and then poured a little milk in to each of them.
He nodded as he sat down at the table, and then scooped up a spoonful of cheerios, shoving it into his mouth.
After we finished eating, I cleared the table, and placed the dishes into the sink. As I rinsed the bowls to place them in the dishwasher, I heard a vehicle coming up the driveway. I looked out the window, and then up at the clock on the stove. Seven o'clock. True to his word, Edward arrived early with his crew, ready to start work on the roof.
"Hurry up, Seth. Grab your book bag, and let's go. The bus will be here soon," I said as I fished my car keys out of my purse, before ushering Seth out of the house and into the yard.
"Good morning, Bella," Edward said with a smile as he stood in front of his truck. He was dressed totally different than he was Friday when he came over to look at the house. That night, he was wearing a nice pair of dress pants, and button down, cotton shirt, but today, he was dressed he had on a faded pair of form fitting jeans and a t-shirt, just like the three men he brought with him.
Maybe he had other things to attend to besides actual labor on Friday, I thought, quickly dismissing the change of attire.
"Good morning to you, too, Edward," I said, returning a smile.
"Good morning," Seth blurted out cheerfully, waving at Edward as if he was an old friend that he hadn't seen in ages.
"And you must be Seth," Edward said, smiling down at my son as we walked over to where he stood.
Flabbergasted at Edwards's revelation, his big brown eyes grew huge, and his mouth drew open in an O. "How do you know my name?" he asked, and then he turned to look at me, his eyes narrowed in confusion. "Mom, how does he know my name?"
Edward and I both laughed, amused at Seth's reaction. I was about to tease him that Edward had mind reading abilities, but Edward spoke up before I had the chance.
"I was here with my son the other day, and your mom mentioned your name, and she told my son, Ben that you might like to have him come over sometime to play. Would you like that?"
"Mm hmm," Seth said as he nodded.
Seth had never shown much interest in anyone before, and because of this, I was enjoying the friendly banter between the two of them, but a quick glance at my watch made me aware that we were running late. I placed my hand on Seth's shoulder, and said, "We'd better get a move on, or you're going to miss the bus."
"Okay, bye Edward," Seth said.
"Bye, Seth. Have fun at school."
"I'll be back just as soon as I get this little one on the bus," I said as took hold of Seth's hand. As we started walking back to my car, I called over my shoulder. "There's a fresh pot of coffee in the kitchen. The mugs are in the cupboard above the coffee-maker. Help yourselves."
When I got back to the house, Edward and his helpers were busy ripping the old shingles off the roof. Having not seen his employees when they got out of the truck, I hadn't noticed that they were Hispanic. That is, until I heard them speaking to Edward in Spanish.
Oh, yes, this was going to be fun, because what none of them knew was that I also spoke their language. Growing up in Fuquay Varina, I had come to know quite a few of the migrant workers who came each year to work for one of our neighbors in his Tobacco fields. I worked with them one summer when I was sixteen, and I learned most of the Spanish I knew, listening to them talk while they worked. Once I memorized a word, I would ask them what it meant in English. It wasn't long before I was speaking full sentences, and what I didn't learn from them, I learned at school when I signed up for Spanish as one of my elective courses. It's true what they say that it's beneficial to learn a second language because I never would have known what was being said about me if I hadn't. And if what I heard them say was true, I now knew why he wore his work-clothes to the house.
"Jefe, por qué no la invita a salir? Todos sabemos que usted la quiere, porque la única vez que usted trabaja con nosotros es cuando nos estamos quedando atrás en un trabajo. Y acabamos de comenzar este trabajo, así que ...The tallest of the three men said to Edward as he pointed his thumb to the man standing beside him. Translated this meant, "Boss, why don't you ask her out? We know you like her, because the only time you work with us is when we're falling behind on a job. And we just started this job, so..."
This seemed to make the third, older man angry. He shot Edward a look that I couldn't decipher, and then turned to face the taller guy. His eyes narrowed in anger, he shouted, "Bastantes, vuelven trabajar." (That's enough, get back to work.)
Eavesdropping was wrong, but I'm glad that I listened in on their conversation. From what the man had said, there was a good possibility that Edward wasn't married. I chanced a quick glace up at Edward, and noticed that his face was flushed from what I assumed was embarrassment. He turned his head my way, and our eyes met. Shit! My blush now matching his, I waved at him shyly, and then headed back into the house, praying with each step I took that he hadn't figured out that I understood everything they had said.
I didn't know what that older man's problem was, but I didn't like it one bit. The guys hadn't even been talking to or about him that day, but because of his outburst, Edward barely said more than a 'good morning' or 'goodbye' to me for the next three days.
I awoke Friday morning, to a beautiful, sunny day, not a cloud in the sky. After getting Seth off to school, a morning such as this would have normally spent out on the deck, drinking a cup of coffee and reading the daily paper, but not today. I didn't want to be the cause of anymore strife between Edward and his employees. Instead, I spent the better part of the day packing Shelly's belongings into boxes and storing them in the attic.
As I set the last one of the boxes on the floor, I heard the loud clanking of hammers beating against nails as they were driven through the shingles on the roof over my head, signaling that Edward's crew was hard at work.
Relieved at finally having finished my task, I let out a sigh as wiped the sweat from my forehead. "Phew" My whole body was sweating. I really needed a shower, so I ran down the stairs to my bedroom on the second floor, grabbed a fresh change of clothes from my dresser, and headed into my bathroom to take a shower.
Stepping out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my torsos I walked out of the bathroom, and over to the bed in my room where I had left my clothes. Letting the towel drop to the floor, I grabbed my bra from the bed. When I slid my arm through the strap, my eyes grew wide with shock. Standing on the ladder outside my window was Edward, the look on his face mirroring my own. Letting out a gasp, I quickly spun around, away from the window.
No sooner had I turned around I heard what sounded like a thump. I looked back over my shoulder to see if Edward was still watching me. When I saw he wasn't there, realization hit me. I put on my shirt and shorts as fast as I could, and then ran to the window. Opening it, I stuck my head out and looked down to see Edward sprawled across the grass. "Oh, my god! Don't move. I'll be right down!"
I was down the stairs and around to the front of the house to where Edward was laying in a matter of seconds, worrying the whole time that he had been seriously hurt. "Hey, I'm supposed to be the clumsy one around here," I giggled. He seemed to be alright, but I needed reassurance from him. Kneeling down before him, I asked, "Are you alright? You don't think anything's broken do you?"
'I'm fine. I lost my footing on the ladder, and fell, but other than bruising my pride, I think everything is fine." Edward laughed, and then looked up at me, meeting my gaze. "You know, the peep-show was nice, but if you wanted me to ask you out, all you had to do was ask."
My cheeks burned red. "Is that what you thought, that I planned for you to catch me like that? Oh god, Edward, I'm so sorry," I said as I tried to stand up.
Edward reached out, and grasped my wrist. When I turned to look at him, he gave me a look that conveyed all the tenderness he felt for me in that moment. "Bella, I'm sorry, that was a stupid thing to say. I was only hoping that maybe, it would lighten the mood a little. I know how embarrassing that must have been for you. But, since I brought it up, would you like to go out with me tomorrow night, for dinner?"
"Tomorrow night?" I asked, and Edward nodded. "We hardly even know each other and you want to take me out on a date?"
Edward laughed, finding humor in what I'd said. "How else would you propose I get to know you better?" he asked, raising a brow.
He was right; it had just been so long since anyone had asked me out, so I didn't know the protocol. But then I thought about my son. "What about Seth? I don't think I can get a sitter on such short notice."
"Bring him with you, and I'll bring Ben too. They can chaperone to make sure you keep your hands to yourself," he said with a wink.
My life had been so full of sorrow for such a long time, but if today was a sign of times to come, things were finally looking up. Unable to contain my smile, I said, "No, promises, but I'll do my best."
His answering smile lit a ray of hope and I couldn't wait until tomorrow tonight. I would get to know Edward better.