Page 72 of The Deadbeat Next Door

“Good thing I brought pizza.” I pressed a kiss to her temple. She smiled and put the pasta in the kitchen. I put the pizza in its place and we all sat down to eat. All of us except for Kayla and Simon, who just picked at their food. I couldn’t blame them. I wasn’t going to push them to eat the day after they’d lost their father. Carrie didn’t say anything either.

After dinner, they all squeezed into Carrie’s car and I followed in my truck. We grabbed enough clothes from their house for a couple of days, as well as their favorite toys, stuffies, and books.

After they were in bed, Carrie and I sat down at the dining room table. “I’ve taken the next three days off from work,” Carrie said. “The kids should take at least that much off, but I’m not sure they should take more. The sooner they get back to their normal lives, the easier it will be for them, right?”

“Sure,” I said, even though I had no idea.

“I’m going to need to talk to someone at the funeral home and talk to a lawyer or…Who do I talk to about their dad’s finances?” She looked out the window at her house. “I doubt he had any money. Kayla said he’s been out of work a lot. Their house will need to go on the market. I guess I can talk to Mary Ellen about that.”

I placed my hand over hers. “We can figure this out. I’m here. You don’t have to do this alone.”

She shook her head. “You’re here for eight more days and then you’ll have your vineyard and I’ll be on my own.”

I opened my mouth to tell her it didn’t have to be that way, that our relationship didn’t have to end, but a loud knock at the door stopped me.

Carrie got up and hurried to the door like she was grateful for the interruption. I stood and followed her more slowly. This was what I wanted, so why did I feel like I was losing the best thing that had ever happened to me?

Norma Jane stood at the door, a covered dish in her hand. “I just heard, dear. I’m so sorry for those poor children.”

Carrie took the dish and stood aside. “Come on in, Miss Norma Jane.” Carrie handed me the dish and I took it to the kitchen. I lifted the lid to see what looked like lasagna. I stuck it in the fridge and went back to the living room just in time to see Norma Jane hand Carrie an envelope. “This is a collection I took up from the neighborhood. That poor man didn’t have a cent far as anyone can tell.”

I sat down next to Carrie. Her posture was rigid and fairly vibrating with some emotion. “How could you know that?”

Norma Jane gave her a gentle smile, having no idea she was in dangerous territory. “People talk, sweetie. He hadn’t held down a job for any length of time and he’d taken out a second mortgage on his house so he could replace his car when it broke down.”

“What else did people say?” Carrie’s teeth were gritted tight.

Norma Jane flinched, like she was starting to figure out something was off. “Nothing, sugar. Nothing that you need concern yourself with.”

“What did people say, Norma Jane?”

The older woman steeled her own spine, her frown fierce. “Only that the man had a bad habit. He was fired from one of his jobs for using drugs at work.”

Carrie grabbed my hand and gripped it hard. I knew this was going to be bad, I could see the light of the oncoming train and I wasn’t going to do anything but back Carrie up on this one and hold her when she cried. “People suspected he had a drug problem? They knew he wasn’t holding a job? And they also knew he had three kids to support on his own? Is that what you’re telling me, Norma Jane?”

Norma Jane huffed. “We don’t get involved in domestic matters, Carrie Harrison. You know that. And no one can save a drug addict but himself.”

Carrie’s grip on my hand tightened until it hurt. “So, what you’re saying, Norma Jane, is that if I had children and you knew I was in a bad way, you’d do nothing? You’d let me waste away while my children starved?”

“Well of course not, you’re one of ours.”

Carrie shuddered and shoved the envelope back at Norma Jane. “I appreciate you stopping by, but I don’t want your money.”

If it had been Betty sitting across from Carrie, she would have taken the money and stormed out, but Norma Jane was one of the sweetest people I’d ever met. She didn’t take the money and she didn’t get angry. Her expression softened. “It’s not right, child. It’s not okay that none of us stepped in and stood up for those children and that man. I accept that. I could have done something, we all could have done something. You have every right to be angry about that. But keep the money. Let us do something now.”

Tears slipped down Carrie’s cheeks. “At the very least,” she said. “You could have told me. I would have tried to do something.”

“You asked me years ago to stop sharing gossip with you, child. And you were right. It’s better not to know people’s secrets until they’re ready to share them with you.”

Carrie shook her head. “I could have done something. I could have helped him.”

“How, sugar? Would you have dragged him into a rehab center? Moved in with them to make sure he never used again? And what about your other students? Sometimes you have to let people make their own choices and just be there to catch them when they fall.”

“No,” Carrie said. “You don’t really believe that. If you did, you would have stopped meddling in my life years ago.”

Norma Jane stood. “Like I said, sugar, you’re ours.”

“Wait,” Carrie said. “Do you know if the kids have any other family? Any relatives who can take them in?”

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