by Taryn Eason
There was a pause. “Oh, Miss Lewis! My apologies, give me just a second.”
She put me on hold and a male picked up. “Miss Lewis, I'm so glad you got in touch with me. Your sister had some final things she put in place for you that we need to go over soon. Are you free tomorrow at 10?”
I smiled, knowing my schedule was more free than he could imagine. “That sounds great.”
I packed my bags back into the car and set off for Indiana, thankful for an actual destination. Plus the excitement of knowing that there was anything that Delilah had left for me that I hadn't heard yet motivated me immensely. It was the first time in two weeks I had felt any real emotion, so I eagerly drove through the night, thankful for caffeine for keeping me awake.
Any good feelings that I had felt faded when I made it into town the next morning and had to pull over to calm myself. All of the familiar sights reminded me of times I spent with Delilah and Lye. Nearly every memory I had here included at least one of them. I stepped out of the car and breathed slowly to calm myself. I remembered how Lye always kept a pack of cigarettes for when he got stressed. I halfway considered trying his method before remembering that it would just make me cough my lungs up and be generally counter-productive to my cause.
There was snow on the ground and steam rolled from my car’s idling muffler by the time I had cooled enough to reenter it. I was still in the t-shirt I had been in in Miami, so I decided to sit in the back seat and change into something more appropriate for a meeting with a lawyer. I put on a black pencil skirt with a red blouse and high heels and did my makeup in my rear view mirror before pulling through a drive thru to grab breakfast.
I stared down at the unappealing sausage and egg sandwich. It had been almost a day since I had eaten, so I knew it was time again to force something down. I inhaled and began eating, praying that my appetite would return sooner instead of later. I had hoped that not going to the funerals would keep me away from the reality of the situation, but it had not helped at all. Seeing both of them die with my own eyes had made it all too real for me to escape.
The lawyer’s office was one I had seen several times in passing, but had never been inside. I stepped in and the secretary immediately stood and led me back to meet with the lawyer.
He stood when I entered and extended his hand. He had dark skin and his hair and beard were perfectly kept. He seemed like the type to not leave his house with a single thread out of place. “Oliver Jones, it is so nice to finally meet you, Miss Lewis.”
“Likewise,” I said as I forced a smile while I shook his hand. I wasn't used to physical contact anymore and it made me uncomfortable.
He sat down and pulled a file out of his desk. “Alright, now it's time to get this estate settled. The matter of Delilah’s money has been at the top of my to-do list for a while.”
I stiffened. “So it's just about her money? She didn't have any last requests or anything?”
He squinted his eyebrows. “Well um, the only request she had that she kept insinuating was that I not tell your parents anything about this, but that's already standard procedure with this sort of thing.” He thought for a moment before continuing, “Maybe her exact request would hold more significant meaning to you than me. She actually had us tell the public and your parents that she donated all her money to charity. She wanted to make sure I get in contact with you to let you know the truth though.”
“Oh,” I replied.
“But I figured you'd be excited to hear that she left everything she had to you. Her total net worth is somewhere in the range of 35 million.”
“Okay.”
He seemed disappointed that I didn't scream with excitement or anything, but money didn't make me happy. I wasn't sure what I wanted or expected from this meeting, but it wasn't this. It was just like her to keep up appearances with our parents until the very end, though.
As I signed the paperwork, I remembered how we had been raised and the values our parents had unknowingly instilled into us. Giving gifts and money was how our parents showed affection. Delilah had most definitely picked that up from them. Along with her final words to me, I began to piece together what this gift meant to her. To her, Delilah’s last act was giving me all she had to try and show that she was actually sorry for everything.
I set the pen down and breathed deeply, tears forming at my thoughts. The lawyer handed me a box of tissues to console me, but picked up on my body language that he shouldn't attempt to touch me. After a few seconds of composing myself, I continued, hurrying through the paperwork.
We made arrangements for the money to flow into my bank account in the next few days, after which I would meet with an investment advisor and all I could think about was how much I wished Lye was here to talk me through this process. He was amazing with money and he would know exactly what I should do. But I reminded myself somberly that those days were over and I still needed to figure out how to pick up the pieces of my life and move on.
I left the lawyer’s office and before I could stop myself, I realized I was driving to the town’s cemetery where my father’s entire family was buried. Almost robotically, against my will, I parked my car and began to walk to the newest, biggest headstone in the graveyard.
It was solid white marble and a photo of her face was enclosed in a glass case inside. The grave was surrounded by flowers. “Delilah Renee Lewis, Our Angel On Earth” was on the inscription. There was a white marble bench beside the plot, but I ignored it and fell to my knees on the snow covered loose dirt of her grave and sobbed.
I had been running from reality so long that this was the first time I stopped to grieve since the first night. I steadied myself to avoid burning my clothes. The snow around me had melted and there was the steady sound of the trickle of water flowing away from me. My clothes were ruined, but for some reason, I wanted to take care not to destroy them completely.
After a while, I couldn't cry anymore. It was a feeling I was all too accustomed to. I sat up and wiped my eyes, staring again at the extravagant headstone that my parents had undoubtedly chose. I turned to leave and was startled by a figure that had been standing behind me.
“I'm so sorry,” he said.
I stared in shock for a few seconds, unable to form a reply. “How- how are you-?” Was all I managed.
“Delilah was able to bring me back to life. That night, she told me to give her a few minutes alone to talk to you before I could see you, but I had no idea she would do this. I'm so sorry for everything.”
I stood, the dirt falling off of my knees and my heels sinking into the dirt as I ran to him. New tears formed when he embraced me back. “I tried to find you right after everything happened, but there were so many people and you were just gone. Nobody knew where you went. I've been hoping you'd come home, but Oliver let me know you were coming here today, so I came straight here. I love you.” He held me tight. “I love you so much.”
I looked up at his dark face, unscarred from the wreck and whole again. His eyes were red, tearing up from seeing me. “I love you too Lye.” I replied and kissed him deeply, relishing this simple thing that I thought I'd never get the chance to do again.
After a few minutes of catching up, he pulled away and held my hand as he stared at the headstone. “I hate that you have to go through this.”
My smile faded as I stared back into reality again. “She was only mean to me because of Dad. She was so afraid he would treat her like me if she didn't act perfect. We were finally on the same page. We had just made up and we were finally going to be friends for a change. Then it just… Ended.”
He wiped my eyes. “That shouldn't have happened. None of this. It might take some time, but you'll get through this, I promise.”
I looked back at the grave, with the melted snow and the imprints of my knees still in the dirt. She was going to be my best friend. She was more like me than anyone else in the world, and now she was gone. If she couldn't handle these powers, how long until I couldn't either?
“How could you possibly know that though?” I asked. He knew better than anyone how volatile I was. I had just been gone for two weeks straight. I had barely eaten and I had circles under my eyes too deep for any makeup to fix. I was so awful at handling things, so how was he so sure that I was going to be okay?
“Because you're the strongest person in the world, Maybelle. You're fire. You can adapt and change to take advantage of any situation. I've seen it, you can get through anything.”
For the first time, I reflected on everything I've been through and come out unscathed. I had been thrown to Hell so many times and had always come out on top. I took a long pause as I finally realized that I was always going to be okay, because it was just in my nature to keep going and survive. For the first time, I was proud of myself and all I had accomplished, despite everyone who has tried to hold me back. I squeezed his hand as a sign of assurance and I smiled confidently. “I know.”