Chapter 2.
"It's all right, Martha," Marla cooed as she rocked her baby gently in her arms. She was sitting in the living room and joining in with the wake of Jack's mother Beverly. Marla had never met Jack's mother, and whenever she asked Jack about her he would be extremely vague and withdrawn, not wanting to talk about her.
Someone came up to Marla, a young man in his twenties, and made a polite comment about Martha. Marla smiled back awkwardly. Of course she was around death a lot with her support groups, but since she had Martha, she went to them less and less. Now she didn't know what to say when dealing with death.
After the wake, Marla met with Jack's solicitor. She was Jack's representative as she needed to know how to provide for his child. Mr Daol, Jack's solicitor, rummaged through some paper on his desk as they sat in his office. Marla fidgeted nervously in her seat, not knowing what Beverley had left her son. Mr Daol coughed before starting to read through Beverley's will.
"And I leave to my son Jack, my flat in LA. In the event that my son Jack has fathered a child or children, he will be able to live there with his partner. The rent is paid weekly but at a reasonable price. To Jack's partner I leave a trust fund, consisting of 10,000 dollars, to be distributed to Jack and Jack's family. These are my wishes, please abide by them and honor them."
At the end of that, Marla's jaw had dropped to the floor. "10,000 dollars!" she had never seen that much money. She had no idea that Jack's mother was so rich. No wonder he meant it when he promised her everything will be okay. Martha began to cry in her arms, so she managed to coo gently to Martha and rocked her gently again in her arms as the solicitor passed her the keys to the flat. "So that's it?" Martha asked in surprise. "I can move in there right away?" Mr Daol nodded with a smile. "That's right, Ms Singer. You're free to move in anytime you like. The money Beverley had left will be in Jack's bank account, so just let him know when you need more each month," he said pleasantly.
Marla took the keys eagerly. "Thank you. Is that all?" she asked. Mr Daol began to arrange his papers and place them back in the briefcase. "Yes, that's all, Ms Singer. Thank you very much for coming down. I'm sorry Jack isn't here with you, " he said. Marla nodded as she put Martha gently back down in her pram. "It's okay," she said. "I'll tell Jack all about it."
Half an hour later, Marla was practically running back to the prison, with Martha safely in her pram. "It's all right, Martha," Marla cooed again to her. "Everything's going to be okay." She carried on going down the busy streets and arrived at the prison which was a few blocks from the solicitor's office. Once she got there she asked the guard if she could visit Jack again, but he said no. She was only allowed to visit him three times a week. That was all.
Feeling deflated, Marla carried on back to their home. Home was the now abandoned house on Paper Street, where Jack started his own soap making company. Now the soap makes had abandoned the house, she was left to live there by herself with Martha. Not the safest environment for a baby, but no matter. As soon as she could tell Jack the news, she'd ask him if it was okay for her to move in and she'd do so if he said yes. Somehow it was right to do things that way.
Marla switched on the light to the living room and straight away Martha began to cry. "All right, sweetie, all right," Marla said softly as she picked Martha up and placed her in the high chair. She then got a bottle of milk from the fridge and warmed that up for a little bit, before feeding Martha.
She was glad the house was empty now that Jack's company had left. There were still some fights going on though, in back street alleys and in front of bars around LA, carrying on in Tyler's honor. She liked living there, even though it was old and about to collapse. As she sat feeding Martha, she thought about how things could be when Jack makes parole soon. What school to send Martha to? Will they home school her and get her her own personal tutor? Marla grinned as Martha finished her feed.
"That's a good girl. Get some sleep now. Tomorrow, we're going to see Daddy and tell him our news," she said softly, before carrying Martha into her room and settled her down in the cot to sleep. Marla then went to sleep herself, with a grin on her face. Things were looking up.