The second night after the funeral, Elizabeth had a visitor about midnight. Kendra wandered into the room and crawled into bed with her.
"Kendra, honey?"
"Can I sleep with you?" she sniffed.
"Why, sweetheart?"
"Mama always let me sleep with her when I was scared."
"Okay. Just tonight though." Kendra wiped her eyes and sighed.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"I'm sad."
"Me too."
"I don't want to cry anymore but every time I think about her I can't help it."
Elizabeth wondered if all three of the kids would benefit from a counselor. They all seemed to be struggling with their emotions, which of course made sense but maybe talking about it with someone other than her might help. She'd talk to their pediatrician to see what she thought.
In the meantime, Kendra was now snuggled up to her and she was okay with that if it helped her feel safe.
Dr. Henderson suggested a grief counselor for children at Grand Haven General so she made an appointment for all three of them and while her own parents watched JJ, she took them to see a Dr. Grant.
What Elizabeth didn't expect was that she would be the first one he would want to speak with.
She sat uncomfortably on the chair in his office while the kids stayed in the waiting room.
"So, Mrs. Thornton? What brings you in today?"
"My nieces and nephew. They are struggling with losing their mother."
"And it says here that you are their guardian?"
"Yes."
"Tell me about your sister."
She didn't understand why she was the one meeting with him instead of them, but she went ahead.
"She was my best friend. She was strong and kind and a wonderful mother."
"What happened?"
"A drunk driver hit her car head on. She died instantly," she said, her voice cracking. "I'm sorry. Aren't we here for the kids?"
"I always talk to the parent or guardian first. To get a sense of the situation."
She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. He patiently waited as she regained her composure. "I'm okay now."
"So you said you and your sister were close. Best friends. May I ask where their father is?"
"He left when Kendra was one, so about seven years ago. He gave up his parental rights."
"I see."
"Do you? Do you see that my poor nieces and nephews have no one now?! They are struggling. They don't know what to do with their emotions and neither do I."
"I do see, Mrs. Thornton. I also see that they have you and you love them."
"Elizabeth and I really just think you need to talk to them."
"I'm here if you need to talk, Elizabeth. I am also a family counselor so I don't just help children."
"I'll be fine."
He handed her his card and then they walked out together to bring in the kids.
"I don't understand why he sat there and said "I see" when he was just digging for information," she said, venting to Faith.
"Do you know him, Beth?"
"No."
"How do you know that he hasn't gone through the same thing himself? Or someone close to him?"
"I don't." Elizabeth closed her eyes and sighed. "I know I lost my temper with him, but it just came out. I guess the kids aren't the only ones that have trouble with their emotions."
"Maybe you should talk to someone."
"I'm talking to you."
"You know what I mean."
"I don't want to." She didn't know how comfortable she was telling her business to a stranger.
"Fair enough."
After another pause, Elizabeth asked, "Are you sure you don't mind watching the kids while I work this week?"
"Of course not. I'm here for you."
"Next week, my parents said they would help out and I know that Evie is old enough to watch them once in a while."
"It's fine, Beth."
"Okay."
After dinner, Elizabeth heard a knock on the sliding glass door. She walked over to find a young girl, maybe twelve standing there. "Hi. Can I help you?"
"I'm Allie from next door. I just wondered if Julian and the other kids might want to come out to play?"
"I do!" Julian said, rushing past.
Elizabeth hadn't seen him that animated in a while, unless it included anger. "Have fun."
Evie, Kendra and JJ came downstairs a few moments later. "Do you guys want to go out and play? Allie from next door came to ask."
"Will you come too, Momma?" JJ asked, taking her hand.
"I'll come sit on the deck while you all have fun. How's that?"
"Okay."
Elizabeth watched them all leave so she grabbed her laptop so she could work on her article and a bottle of water and sat at the covered table.
"Hi, Momma!" JJ said from the sand, giving her a wave and his father's grin.
"Hi, baby," she waved back.
Elizabeth was the manager of the library downtown. Thankfully, it was open just five days a week so on the weekends, she always spent time with JJ and now the other kids too.
The library didn't pay enough to keep her afloat but she also received widow's benefits from Jack's pension with the police. In addition, she wrote online articles for a local company that brought in the little spending money she needed for extras.
"Uncle Nathan! Come play Frisbee!" Allie yelled, waving at a tall, dark haired….
"Holy moly," Elizabeth said, recognizing Dr. Grant. "What are the chances?" she muttered.
She watched as the good doctor tossed the Frisbee back and forth between the kids and then gave in to Allie when she asked him to help them build a sand castle.
He seemed nice enough but why was she so uncomfortable? He turned and looked at her and then she saw the moment he recognized her too. He got up and walked over.
"Evening, Mrs. Thornton."
"Dr. Grant."
"Nathan."
She nodded and shut her laptop. "So it seems you are my neighbor."
"Yeah. It seems so."
"Momma!" JJ said, running over to her.
"Yeah, buddy?"
"Come play. Please?"
She couldn't say no to his pleadings. "Sure, bud. Let's go."
So they played. Doctor Nathan went back to the sand castle building and JJ and Elizabeth and Kendra just tossed the Frisbee back and forth until they got tired.
Julian seemed at ease with Allie and him so she took the two youngest inside to get them ready for bed while Evie read a novel on the deck.
"Momma?"
"Yeah, JJ."
"I like Dr. Nate."
"I'm glad. You get your pajamas on, bud and pick out a book. I'm going to check on Kendra."
"Kay."
She found her on her bed in the girl's room. "Hon, are you ready for a story soon?"
She shrugged.
"You can tell me if something is bothering you."
"I'm okay."
She gave her a kiss to the top of her head. "Alright. Time to get ready for bed then. Come join me in JJ's room when you are ready for the story."
"Okay."
Later, after all the kids were in bed, she took her laptop and a cup of tea to the deck, prepared to get a bit of work done while the sun set on the water.
"Elizabeth?"
She turned and looked. "Doctor."
"Nathan, please. I think your son left his shoe out in the sand," he said, holding it up for her.
"Yes. He's always leaving his shoes somewhere. Thank you." She took it from him.
He noticed her laptop and tea. "Sorry to bother you."
"It's fine. I can't concentrate anyway."
He stood there for another moment and then nodded. "Well, have a good night."
As he started walking she blurted, "I'm sorry about this morning. I guess I'm not so good with my emotions either."
"No need to apologize. Grief takes many forms."
"Yeah."
"May I ask a question? If it's too personal, just tell me."
"JJ's father?" she guessed.
He nodded.
"He passed two months before JJ was born."
"I'm sorry."
"It's been a long time. It was really hard but after a while, things got easier."
"Time heals but our hearts take time."
"Speaking from experience, doc?"
"Yeah. Something like that."
When he didn't offer anything else, she took a stab. "Allie's mom?"
"Yeah. My sister, Deb. She was great," he said with a sad smile.
"How long ago?"
"Last year."
"I'm sorry for your loss too."
He stood silently and watched the sunset and then looked at her. "Well, goodnight, Elizabeth."
"Goodnight."
Nathan walked back in his house, sliding the door closed behind him. Something told him that Elizabeth would benefit from some counseling too but in the meantime, until she figured that out, he would just talk to her as a friend.
He could use a friend. He had a few good ones back in Hope Valley and they still talked but a friend who lived next door would be good. A beautiful friend with a good heart who was a good mom and aunt.
For the next few nights, they chatted on her deck. He came over around the same time and she was out there with her laptop.
"I can't help but feel like I am keeping you from your work."
"There's no deadline, really."
"May I ask what it is?"
"I write articles for Tabletop magazine. "How to" articles mostly."
"Interesting."
"It helps pay the bills," she said with a shrug.
"I bet with three extra mouths to feed it's not easy."
"No, it's not. But we are getting by." She looked in her tea cup and frowned. "This tea is not cutting it. Would you like a glass of wine?" she asked, surprising both of them.
"Um, sure. That would be nice."
"Be right back," she told him, stepping into the house.
As they sipped their wine on the step of the deck, they talked. "Is that what you always wanted to do? Write?"
"Yeah. Since I was a kid."
"So you work in a library and you write articles."
"I'm kind of a word nerd," she teased.
"So you like Scrabble and Boggle and crossword puzzles?"
"All of the above."
"I have Scrabble. We should play sometime."
She looked into his eyes. They were nice eyes. Blue and nicely shaped. His dark hair was nice too and he had kind of a crooked grin… "Um, sure. That would be good."
"Okay. Tomorrow night?"
"Yeah. Tomorrow night."
The next morning she had to work but just until 1pm. Evie promised she would look after the kids and call with any issues.
"No going in the lake. Promise," she told all of them.
"No lake," they repeated.
JJ called her on her way, asking if they could watch a movie. Then Kendra called a half hour later telling her that Julian went outside. Then Evie called and apologized for both of them. By the time the library closed, they had all called her.
She called Evie this time. "I am going to the grocery store and then I will be home."
"Can you get me some cake mix?"
"Sure. Making a cake?"
"Cupcakes. For Kendra."
"Her birthday! Oh my goodness. I forgot."
"That's okay. She doesn't want a big deal made out of it. She says she misses Mom too much but I thought cupcakes would be good."
"You are a sweetheart, Evelyn. Of course I will get cake mix."
Kendra also loved mac and cheese, the gooey kind, she called it, so Elizabeth grabbed two boxes of Velveeta and some snacks for Nathan and her Scrabble game too.
She put the groceries in her car and headed to the Hallmark store and grabbed a bunch of balloons, a card and a large, stuffed bear.
When she walked in the house, it was quiet. She looked out the sliding door and saw them all playing in the sand with Allie. "Evie!"
"Coming!" she said, jumping up and running in the house. "Did you get it?"
"Yeah and Velveeta mac and cheese."
"Great!"
They got to work making everything. While the food was cooking, she attached all five balloons to the back of Kendra's chair, wrote out her card and placed that by her spot, the teddy sitting in her chair.
About twenty minutes later, she called them in for lunch. Kendra stopped and stared at her spot.
"What?"
"Happy Birthday!" Elizabeth and Evie shouted and clapped.
"But…I don't want a party."
"It's not, honey. Its just us making sure you know we love you. That's all."
"But Mommy isn't here. I don't want to be happy if she isn't here!" she sobbed, running toward the stairs.
Later Elizabeth walked out onto the deck with a bowl of chips and another of salsa. "You're here," she said with a soft smile.
"Yeah." Nathan got up and took the bowls from her. "I set up the game."
"Okay. I'll be right back." She headed inside and grabbed two glasses of wine and joined him again.
He noticed she was a bit quiet, so the counselor in him asked. "What's on your mind, Elizabeth?"
She looked up at him, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh, not much."
"Something is. I'm a good listener."
"If you weren't, you probably should be in a different line of work."
"True, yeah."
He waited patiently, which she had learned to appreciate about him.
"Today Kendra is nine years old."
"Ah. First birthday without Mom."
"Yeah. And maybe I need to learn how to listen better from you because apparently, I failed in that department today."
"What do you mean?"
"Evie asked me to get her cake mix for cupcakes and I heard her say that Kendra didn't want a big deal made because Vi isn't here but I made a big deal anyway."
"I'm guessing it didn't go well."
"Nope. She burst into tears and said she didn't want to be happy if Vi wasn't here and ran to her room."
"You were just trying to help. She will realize that eventually, if she hasn't already."
"I just think I'm in over my head here."
He slipped his hand over hers and squeezed, just for a moment. Her eyes met his. "You are the best person for these kids. You have to know that deep down and Vi knew it or she wouldn't have chosen you."
She ate a chip and thought about that. Maybe he was right. Maybe not. Either way, she just wanted to think about something else.
"Let's play, Doc. You're toast," she told him, a gleam in her eye.