by SUE FINEMAN
He hoped he’d given his own son the same gifts.
He walked outside and emptied the car, piling the boxes in Mom’s garage. One day he’d go through the family pictures with the kids, but it would have to wait until they didn’t hurt so much. Then he’d give each of them a picture of their mother, something to keep her memory alive in their hearts.
Before he went inside, he used his cell phone to call Baylee. He’d forgotten to get her cell phone number, so he called the house.
Mary answered the phone, and then another woman came on the line. “Is it for me, Mary?”
“No, it’s for Baylee,” said Chance.
“Who are you?”
“Chance Gregory. Who are you?”
“Olivia Wheeler, of course. This is my house.”
Ignoring the comment, he asked to speak with Baylee.
“No, I don’t think so.” Olivia hung up, and Chance felt like hitting something. He should have stayed with Baylee. The kids could have waited a few more days.
Chapter Eight
Baylee spent most of the evening and half the night reading Bay’s letters. It was almost like reading a private journal. Bay had written about her life in Africa, about her illness, and about her anguish over the decision to give her baby girl to her grandparents.
The letters talked about recurring episodes of the sickness, a visit to Tacoma, and an upsetting argument with Baylee’s grandfather. She talked about the decision not to return to Africa, about putting money aside for Baylee’s college education, and the hope that her daughter would want to come and live with her when she was sixteen.
It didn’t happen, of course, because Grandma never told Baylee she had a mother. By then, Baylee was working after school, staying away from home as much as possible, and saving for college. She didn’t know her mother was sending money for her support. According to Grandpa, Baylee was costing them money. Was that monthly payment the reason no one told her about Bay?
Baylee’s sixteenth birthday came and went without any fanfare. They had birthday cake for dinner that night, and Grandma gave her fifty dollars. No gift, just a little money. But according to Bay’s letters, she sent enough money to buy a car. Baylee remembered the car, but it wasn’t hers. Grandpa had bought it for himself.
In one letter, Bay said she understood Baylee’s decision not to have anything to do with her, but Baylee read hurt in her mother’s words. She lay on Bay’s bed, clutching the letter, and cried for her mother and for herself. They could have had a real mother-daughter relationship, but her grandparents had made sure it wouldn’t happen.
With a heavy heart, Baylee dried her tears, put the letters back in the safe, and went up to bed. Alone.
She thought she’d hear from Chance that night, but he didn’t call.
Had he forgotten her already?
<>
Chance drove to Houston with Greg and Neen Thursday afternoon. On the long drive, they talked about Jack Blackburn. Chance said, “He hasn’t called in the past couple of days.”
“And that worries you?” said Greg.
“Hell, yes, it worries me. The guy is not your typical wife beater. He’s nuts! He bought the whole stupid witch thing Baylee threw at him, and if he ever figures out we pulled a scam on him, he’ll be more dangerous than ever.”
“I thought it was inspired,” said Neen. “Baylee is a gutsy woman to keep her cool and talk to a killer like that. I like her already and I haven’t even met her yet.”
Chance did more than like her. He was falling in love again, but the thought of springing another woman on the kids so soon after they lost their mother worried him. Could they accept Baylee into their lives?
As they pulled up to the house, Greg said, “Holy shit, this place is a freaking mansion.”
Neen sighed. “It’s absolutely beautiful.”
Baylee walked out to meet them, and Chance made the introductions.
“Thank you so much for coming,” she said. “This place is a little crazy with Olivia and her…friend here. Mary is trying to move their things out of one of the suites upstairs, so you’ll have a place to stay, and Olivia is whining again.”
“No problem,” said Chance. “Greg and I can handle it.”
They carried their bags upstairs, and the minute Olivia saw Greg, her eyes lit up. Greg was a body builder, and with his curly dark blond hair and dimple in his chin, he was also a babe magnet. Neen stood by and watched, amusement in her green eyes, while Olivia hit on her husband.
Greg asked, “Which room did you say was mine, Baylee?”
Baylee pointed, and Olivia said, “Oh dear. I put some of my luggage in that room.”
“I’ll take care of it for you,” said Chance. He opened the balcony doors in the sitting room, picked up one bag, and dropped it over the balcony.
Olivia screeched like a wounded cat. “Mary, do something.”
Chance picked up another bag, but before he could toss it over, Olivia grabbed it.
Mary and Sal rushed in to help Olivia move the other bags out of the suite.
Chance glanced at the others. “Problem solved.”
Baylee muttered, “I guess it’s a little late for introductions.”
But Olivia was back in the hallway, her face a little flushed from rushing around with her bags. “You’ve been holding out on me, Baylee. Who are these darling men?”
“Olivia, this is Greg and his wife Neen, and Greg’s brother, Chance. He’s with me, so keep your whiny paws off. And this is Olivia’s friend, Sal.”
Chance followed Baylee into their suite. “The woman is hitting on Greg right in front of Sal? Trouble in paradise?”
“Olivia and Sal have been fighting constantly, and Sal hit on me this morning while Olivia had her nails done. The guy gives me the creeps.”
Since Mary was still upstairs waiting on Olivia, Baylee went downstairs to see about dinner. Neen came along. “That woman is a real piece of work. How can you stand living in the same house?”
“I can’t, and she’ll be gone tomorrow.” As soon as Mr. Glaser finished reading the will, Baylee intended to throw Olivia out of the house. “My mother’s assistant and I have already made the arrangements. If that witch thinks she’s getting this house, she’d better think again. She’s not going back to my mother’s apartment in New York, either.” The locks had all been changed, the alarms reprogrammed, and Olivia’s personal things moved out.
Edwin had bought salmon steaks, so Baylee started dinner. Neen made the salad. Edwin set the table in the dining room for two and the glass table on the sun porch for four. Baylee refused to eat with the whiny bitch.
“Edwin, where’s that little bell Olivia uses?”
His eyes sparkled. “Hidden where I hope no one will ever find it.”
Baylee chuckled softly. No wonder Bay kept him around so long. “Set another place at the table, Edwin. Tonight, you’re eating with us.”
“Oh, I—”
“No arguments. Think of it as another way to needle Olivia the Whiner. Besides, if you’re eating with us, she can’t yell at you to wait on her.”
His mustache twitched. “Well, in that case I’d be happy to join you.”
Using the intercom, Neen said, “Dinner in two minutes.”
The salmon was perfectly done, but Olivia complained anyway. There was a little piece of skin left on her piece and the bones hadn’t been removed. And then, “It’s cold. Mary, you know I don’t like my fish cold.”
“Kinda makes you want to dump her dinner down the garbage disposal, doesn’t it?” Greg said in a quiet moment. “Tastes pretty damn good to me.”
“Mary,” Olivia screeched.
Baylee stood and threw down her napkin. “Enough already.” She marched into the dining room, took Olivia’s plate from the table and said, “I’m sure Joe’s cat will enjoy the fish.”
She took the plate to the kitchen and then walked back to the sun porch, where Chance asked, “Does Joe have a cat?”
She sh
rugged. “I don’t know.”
“Mary,” Olivia yelled. “Make me an omelet. Whites only, with…”
Baylee sighed and chanted, “One more day. One more day. One more day.”
<>
Friday morning, Chance and Baylee dressed for the funeral. Baylee had tried to cover the dark circles under her eyes, but she still looked tired. Nobody in this house had gotten much sleep last night. Olivia and Sal had stayed up late, drinking and fighting. Olivia’s whining drove Chance up the wall, and the tension between Baylee and Olivia was so thick he could smell it. Bad enough Baylee had to get through her mother’s funeral without putting up with Olivia the Whiner. She was like an overgrown spoiled brat.
Why would a young, nice looking guy hang around with a harridan like Olivia Wheeler? If not for Baylee, Chance wouldn’t stay in the house. She was afraid to leave, afraid Olivia would lock her out.
Greg stayed at the house to do a little poking around into Sal’s background while the others went to the church. Nobody could sniff out trouble better than Greg.
Baylee planned to speak at the service, and Chance knew she was a little nervous about it. She was a journalist, not a public speaker, and the woman they were eulogizing today had been her mother. Reading the letters Bay had written her daughter over the years had brought the woman to life for Baylee, and she’d finally begun to grieve.
Olivia claimed the family pew in front and Baylee slid into the pew across from her. Chance, Edwin, Anne, and Neen joined her. No one but Sal would sit with Olivia, and no one sat directly behind her. She wore a big black hat with a veil and dabbed at her eyes with a lace hanky. Every few minutes, she sobbed audibly. Chance wanted to stuff that hanky in her mouth to shut her up. She hadn’t shown one sign of grief at the house. This was all for show.
Everyone took their seats and the minister began the service. Chance held Baylee’s hand. He’d brought two extra handkerchiefs in case she started crying, but she didn’t cry. At least not yet.
The hospital chaplain played a video of Bay and Cody visiting sick children in the cancer wing of the hospital, the wing Cody had helped fund. While the video played, the chaplain talked about Bay’s many contributions over the years. “She didn’t advertise her gifts, but when she saw a need, she helped in one way or another. Sometimes it was with money. Often it was simply holding a child’s hand when they went through a scary procedure and giving them words of encouragement and hope. Children looked forward to her visits, because she brought toys and games and books. And love. Surely there’s a special place in heaven for such a fine, compassionate woman.”
Dr. Ross, Chief of Staff of the hospital, spoke, and then the pastor of the church talked about Bay’s gifts to the needy families in the city. “Sometimes welfare isn’t enough. Sometimes people need a step up to a better life, and she provided that for so many.”
Chance exchanged a long look with Baylee. She seemed a little surprised, but he wasn’t. Cody had left Bay a rich woman, and she used her wealth to help others. Baylee did the same thing at the shelter in Tacoma, only she didn’t have a lot of extra money to share with the women there. Now she did, and he had no doubt she’d give much of it away, as her mother had.
Anne spoke about working for Cody and Bay. “They became more than employers to me. They turned into real friends. Losing Cody nearly destroyed Bay. She was alone and lonesome, yet she didn’t sit at home feeling sorry for herself. Bay spent most of her time helping others. She didn’t just give money, she encouraged people to strive for a better life for themselves and their families. Scholarship funds didn’t just mean money. To her a scholarship meant encouragement, personal involvement. Caring.”
Baylee was already fighting tears when it was her turn to speak. Chance stood and helped her up.
She walked to the front and looked out at the expensively dressed people in the church. Apparently none of the people Bay had helped had been invited. Too bad, because they were the ones her mother would have wanted here.
Baylee had written it all out, but she hadn’t brought her notes. She knew what she wanted to say. Her first sentence was meant to shock and it did. “Until Tuesday, the day Lila Bay Patterson died, I didn’t know she was my mother.” A collective gasp filled the church.
“I’ve spent most of the past two days reading the letters she wrote to me, the ones my grandparents wouldn’t let me read when I was a child, and getting to know the mother I wish I’d grown up with. Listening to others speak about her life today, I realize there were many facets to my mother’s life, so many things I didn’t know about her.”
She paused and swallowed. “When I was a baby, Bay was very sick, too sick to care for me. I was barely walking when she sent me to live with my grandparents.” Baylee spoke about her life with her grandparents, about asking who her mother was, about not getting answers that made sense. “Until the day my mother died, I thought Bay Patterson was my aunt, the woman I was named after.” Soft murmuring filled the church.
“I was with my mother when she died, and I felt cheated, because I didn’t have a chance to get to know her.” Tears filled Baylee’s eyes and spilled over. She lifted her chin and let them fall. “I’m sure Bay felt cheated, too, but it was too late to undo the past. Reading the letters she wrote to me over the years, the letters my grandparents didn’t allow me to read, Bay came alive to me as a person, as a mother who regretted being separated from the daughter she loved.
“Bay’s last words were, ‘I love you Baylee. I’ve always loved you.’” Baylee stared at the beautiful oak coffin. “I love you, too, Bay. Mother. Mom. And I intend to spend the rest of my life proving I am worthy of being Bay Patterson’s daughter.”
As Baylee took her seat, Neen Gregory’s glorious voice soared to the rafters and seeped inside Baylee’s soul. Chance handed her a handkerchief and put his arm around her.
She felt Bay’s presence in the church and felt a mixture of regret, love, peace, and intense grief. This had been the hardest week of her life. She’d discovered who her mother was and what she stood for and regretted not knowing her. The day Bay died, Baylee didn’t think it possible to forgive her for abandoning her, but reading the letters, knowing how sick Bay was back then, she realized Bay had done what she thought best. Baylee could live with that.
She’d have to live with that.
The minister finished the service and minutes later, Chance held Baylee’s hand as they stood at the gravesite. Neen sang Amazing Grace and the minister gave the final prayer.
Baylee stood with Chance while the others moved away from the gravesite. Olivia’s chatter intruded into the silence. She was talking to Sal about redecorating Bay’s house, buying new furniture, and hiring more servants.
When everyone else was gone, Baylee touched the coffin and said her final goodbye. And then Chance drove her back to the house. Bay’s house.
Olivia stood at the door, shaking hands and welcoming people to her home. As Baylee approached, Olivia said, “Pack your things and get out of my house.”
“After the reading of the will,” said Chance. “If Bay left you the house, we’ll leave then.”
“Fine!” Her nearly black eyes flashed, but the end was in sight. Another two or three hours, and it would be over. This woman would be gone for good.
The caterers had done a beautiful job on the buffet lunch they’d laid out in the dining room. Mary had changed into a black uniform with a crisp white apron.
Baylee made it a point to speak with everyone, although she wished they’d all leave. Olivia’s gay laughter drifted through the house and she made a pass at Chance. Baylee shook her head. If Chance was dumb enough to fall for Olivia, she could have him. But he had more sense than that. She was an older woman pretending to be an empty-headed young bimbo. The bimbo part was right on the money, but she wasn’t young, and every move she made was calculated to make someone else miserable, so she wasn’t empty-headed either.
Just mean and selfish.
There were over
a hundred people in the house, but it didn’t seem crowded. Small groups stood around in the house and out by the pool. Olivia skipped from one group to another, talking about herself and what she intended to do with the house Bay had left her. Mr. Glaser caught Baylee’s eye and shook his head slightly, as if he couldn’t believe the audacity of the woman. Baylee believed it. She’d put up with it for the last two days.
After talking with the hospital chaplain and thanking him for helping Bay through a difficult time, Baylee walked into the dining room to get something to drink. She didn’t see Olivia until the wine splashed on the front of Baylee’s expensive suit.
“Oops,” said Olivia. “I didn’t realize you were so clumsy, Bay Lee Bitch.”
The wine left a red stain on the suit and on the white silk camisole under it, but Baylee couldn’t change. She didn’t have anything else appropriate to wear, so she left it on and dabbed at the stain with a napkin.
Neen leaned close to Olivia. “Don’t look now, but your gray roots are showing.” Then she pulled Baylee aside. “Forget her. She’ll be gone soon.”
“Not soon enough, but I don’t want to get into a cat fight in front of all these people.”
Neen cocked her head and watched Olivia run into the powder room. “I wonder how much she paid her stud muffin to come here with her.”
“Nothing. He thinks she’ll inherit Bay’s estate, and I’m sure he has plans to spend his share.”
“Dream on,” Neen muttered. “She doesn’t deserve spit, and neither does he.”
Neen poured Baylee a glass of wine. “Eat something.”
Baylee sipped her wine. “I’ll eat after all these people leave.”
<>
Two hours later, after most of the guests had left the house, Mr. Glaser invited those people who were mentioned in the will to come into the study for the reading of the will. Anne, Edwin, Mary, and Joe were there, and so were Cody Wheeler’s three children and their spouses. And Sal. Chance sat at Baylee’s side.