11
By mid afternoon, they had made major progress. All of Anna's clothes were bagged and ready to be taken to the local donation center, the bed was stripped of sheets and the mattresses ready to be picked up on the next garbage collection day, stacks of old newspapers and magazines were tied into bundles and ready to go with the recycling and all of her various toiletries had gone into the trash. With all the bills having been finalized, they'd emptied out the file cabinet and desk drawers and packed everything in a box to be stored in the garage for a while in case something came up or easily burned when the time came.
The knock on the door came as suspected, having called Anna's friends over to collect whatever memory they wished. The four older women, all with gray and silver hair pulled back into a proper bun, shuffled into the house when he opened the door as if playing 'follow the leader.' Looking as though they prepared their outfits together, each wore a calf-length skirt and short-sleeved blouse in various shades of grays and black.
Somehow as he looked at the aged picture before him, he did not see his mother fitting in with the severely wrinkled clan. Even moments before her death she had only a few more wrinkles than he and could easily have passed as his older sister rather than his mother. Her silver hair, always bouncing with curls, was cut shorter than most women in her generation and was generally only pulled back from her face with clips. Her wardrobe had adapted with time as she had, giving way to the decade of clothing that stood before him.
Once they were all inside, he was immediately rendered speechless when they all broke into tears in almost the same instant. Handkerchiefs were removed from large purses and dabbed along eyes and cheeks and he did the only thing he knew to do; he yelled, "Sara! Could you come in here please?"
She came in an instant, Kimmy at her heels. "What's wrong?"
He gestured toward the women, "Uh…"
"What did you say?"
"Nothing. They just…"
One woman finally spoke, wiping her tears away with one last swish, "We're very sorry, Dear. It's just that we were very close to Anna and being here brings back so many memories."
Kimmy tugged at his shirt and he obediently lifted her into his arms. To the women, "Uh…Mother left specific instructions with me to make sure the four of you were given something to remember her by. I have to admit that I don't know the nature of any of your relationships, so I wouldn't even know where to begin to select something for you. If you have something you'd specifically like, I will do my best to help you find it, or if you prefer, you can look around and then let me know."
The women all exchanged looks before the same woman finally spoke up, "I'm Agatha."
"I'm sorry. Mother would scold me for not making proper introductions." Taking Sara's hand, "This is Sara Sidle and her daughter, Kimmy."
Nodding her head, "We met Sara at the funeral." Then to Sara, "You have a very beautiful daughter. And we're very glad Gil has finally found someone to share his life with, especially someone as successful and well mannered as you. Anna would have loved you, I'm sure."
A blush rose to Sara's cheeks, "Thank you very much. Anna and I did meet a couple times, though it was before Gil moved back to the area. She was very kind." He was both thankful that she didn't deny a relationship between them and shocked at hearing his first name roll from her tongue. Later, he decided, he would tell her how nice it sounded.
Agatha continued, "I'm not sure about the rest of the girls, but there is a quilt Anna and I made together and I would love to have it, if that's all right."
He reassured her, "Anything you'd like."
"It's the one over the green chair in her bedroom."
Sara squeezed his hand, "I'll get it."
She left before the next woman spoke, "I'm Elizabeth and it would mean a lot to me if I could have the hummingbird wind chime that is hung on the back porch. We sat out there a lot and talked."
"Of course. I'll get it for you in just a moment."
The next woman stepped forward tentatively, "My name is Jessica." She sniffled just a bit before continuing, "Anna had a lovely broach that I would…" Her voice trailed and tears started to fall again.
He spoke softly, "I understand. Her jewelry box is in her room. Would you like to go pick it out?"
Kimmy squirmed in his arms, "I remember where it is."
He set her down, "Good. Will you take Jessica upstairs and help her look?"
She nodded her head and headed for the stairs, looking behind her once to make sure she was being followed. Sara passed them on the bottom step and gave him a quizzical look that he waved away. Without question, she handed the blanket to Agatha and stepped back to stand beside him.
The final lady finally stepped forward and began to sign, "Hello. I'm Marie."
He signed back as Sara watched in amazement, "Hello, Marie. Very nice to meet you."
"Anna and I were in the same book club. I know this may sound silly, but I would love to have her copy of the last book we read. It was her favorite and she was the one who suggested we read it."
"The library is the third door on the left once you get upstairs, but I'm sure you know that. Please take your time."
The woman walked upstairs, and without a moment's hesitation, he turned to another in the group, waving toward the kitchen, "Elizabeth, if you'll follow me, we'll go get your wind chime."
It wasn't long before all of the women were leaving, shuffling out the same way they'd come, only with their hands full this time.
Once he shut the door, "Will you teach me?"
He turned to her with a raised eyebrow, "Teach you what?"
"To sign."
With a quirky smile and a tilt of his head, "You want to learn?"
"I was watching you and I remembered that case we had a few years back when I saw you sign for the first time. It's beautiful."
He cleared his throat and made an attempt to bring back very old memories, "Since when are you interested in beauty?"
The smile that spread across her face and the sparkle in her eyes showed his attempt had been successful even before her response, "Since I met you."
She stepped into his open arms, "I'd love to teach you to sign. Of course, it may take me ten or maybe fifteen…years or so to teach you everything I know."
She giggled into his chest, "That would be okay."
"It would?"
"Sure."
"Good to know."
Their attention was drawn to the top of the staircase where Kimmy yelled, "Mommy, Daddy, look at me!"
Sara looked up and immediately burst into laughter as Kimmy did a little sashay, showing off her many jewels, large hat and fancy purse. But he stood frozen, his world having stopped when he heard the word, 'daddy.' His brain barely registered a conversation going on around him, but what it was about, he couldn't say. Had Sara not heard what Kimmy had said? Did she totally miss the pronoun that had been used in place of his name? Surely she hadn't missed something as huge as that.
He was shaken from his thoughts by Sara's hand on his arm, "Grissom? You okay? Did you hear Kimmy?"
Shocked, "Did you?"
She chuckled, "Yes. That's why I was laughing. What's wrong?"
Her eyes widened when Kimmy asked, "What's wrong, Daddy?" Sara flew up the stairs faster than she knew she could, scooped her daughter up and carried her into the bedroom.
For a few moments he just stood there, unsure of what his next move should be. His mind raced, wondering which emotion was the correct one to react upon. Was it right for his heart to skip a beat with the thought of being Kimmy's daddy? Should he go to her and gather her in his arms on the verge of tears and tell her just how much he loved her or should he go to her and make it clear that he was not her daddy and make her explain why she had called him that? He had spent his life solving puzzles and coming to the most practical decisions, but when it came to this one little girl, his rationalization skills seemed to disappear.
After a frustrated deep breath, he slowly climbed the stairs. He stopped at the doorway and watched as Sara removed all of the jewelry and at the same time demanded answers from her daughter, "Kimmy, why did you call Mr. Grissom 'daddy'?"
Her little lip quivered and tears loomed on her lower lids. "Are you mad at me, Mommy?"
"No, Honey, I'm not. I just need to know why you said that."
Her tears fell, slowly gliding down her red cheeks leaving salty trails behind them. "Why can't he be my daddy, Mommy?"
Never stopping the endless removal of jewelry, "It's not that easy, Honey. You don't just get to pick your daddy."
"But I love my daddy."
The sniffle that followed stole his heart and he barely held back the tears he felt rising in his throat, "I love you too." Sara's head whipped around to see him leaning against the doorframe. "Don't cry, Pumpkin." He watched as she wiped away the tears with the back of her little hands.
She sniffled a few times before asking in a shaky voice, "Why did you call me Pumpkin?"
Smiling, "If you can call me daddy, can't I call you Pumpkin?" Her bottom lip poked out and her shoulders shook as her tears started to fall again. He closed the distance between them, with Sara still shocked, kneeling on the floor and picked up the little crying bundle, "Stop crying. It's okay. Shh." He smoothed her hair and hugged her close until her last tear fell.
When she pushed away from him, she asked, "Will you be my daddy?"
"I would love to be your daddy. But I need to ask two questions first, okay?" She nodded her head. "Okay. Number one is why did you decide to call me daddy?"
"The lady that was here asked when you were going to marry my mommy. I told her you said someday and the she told me you were my daddy now. I always wanted a daddy."
"Okay. Now, my second question is for your mommy." He looked to Sara who had tears in her eyes. One word was all he gave her, "Yes?"
She whispered her response, "Yes."
He turned his attention back to Kimmy who had gone from the little girl he loved to his daughter in a matter of precious moments, "I will be your daddy, Pumpkin."
"I love you, Daddy."
"I love you too."
This morning when he woke up, he was a man who dreamed of having a family.
Tonight, he'd go to bed a daddy.