Page 33 of Always Be My Baby

From there, we finally started for the house, stopping off to grab takeout from my favorite Chinese restaurant for our dinner this time. And while we sat on the sofa in front of the TV, watching a thriller on Netflix, a fire going in the fireplace warming our bones, there I lost track of all that was around me. That was until I felt the tug on the sleeve of my sweater.

“Where are you?” Girard asked. “You’re obviously somewhere far away because you’re not even touching your dinner. It’s going to get cold.”

“I was just thinking… That banknote, it wasn’t worth millions or anything, and it’s probably worth more now than it was when I was a kid. I mean, more time has passed…” I sighed, reliving every second of that meeting with Mr. Merritt in that moment. “But if I’d have known that we were sitting on that kind of cake…” This time I swallowed roughly, anything to keep my emotions from getting the best of me. “It would’ve changed everything for my family, Girard.Everything.”

I didn’t notice that I’d started shivering until he pulled my plate from my lap, setting both of our plates down on the coffee table in front of us. Gently then, he reached over to drag me up onto his lap, where he held me. I nuzzled my cheek down in the crook of his neck and felt his steady heartbeat calming me.

“I know, sweetheart. I know how much this would’ve helped you.”

“But I’mserious.” My voice cracked and I hated it. Hated sounding so weak. “Do you realize the kind of windfall that would’ve been for eighteen-year-old me not only trying to make ends meet, but trying to afford to pay for a prom dress for a sixteen-year-old Tessa? We got her prom dress at the Goodwill. It was beautiful. In perfect condition. Golden, sparkly sequins. We told her to tell everyone it was vintage, that she’d gotten it from a vintage store. And it worked. But imagine if I could’ve actually gone to a vintage store instead.”

“You did everything you could for them, Lee. You were smart, but, sweetheart, we don’t even know if you would’ve gotten swindled. Because you were smart, but you were also young.”

“I know… We can’t change the past. But it makes me sick to think that those things were in there all that time we were struggling and my dad didn’t even care enough to let me know.”

“What do you want to do now then?”

“I think I need to call Tess and Jimmy. I need to fill them in, let them know about the money.”

“You don’t have to share it with them. Technically, they left that Bible for you to deal with. It went into your custody. It’s yours.”

“I know…” It took me a second to get control of my thoughts again. “But I wouldn’t feel right keeping it all to myself. Tess and Jimmy deserve their share of it, too, because they struggled like I did.”

I pushed up from my comfortable spot sitting on Girard and walked over to grab my slick, new laptop. The old one had been ruined when Lachlan ransacked the house. That had to be the only boon, or the onlyotherboon considering the bill in the lock box at the bank. This new laptop loaded pages in less time than it took to blink. I sat back down to set it on the table next to my plate, opened it, then picked up my plate and set about starting my research as Girard and I finished our dinner.

After the plates were cleared, I sat back down on the sofa and proceeded to do a conference call with my brother and sister.

“Wait, wait, wait…” Jimmy said. “You’re saying that asshole father of ours left behind something worth fortythousandto sixty-fivethousanddollars... and never bothered to say a damn word about it?” His voice rose at the end in a way I wasn’t used to hearing. I totally understood.

“That’s what I’m saying. I’ve done the math, and I’ve talked to a dealer. He told me that we’re not going to find a dealer who will pay full price because they still have to make a profit on the sale.”

“Makes sense,” Tessa said.

“Now, we could try an online auction. But since we’re dealing with faceless people, there’s always risk involved with that.”

“What are you thinking?” Jimmy asked.

“If I told the dealer that I wouldn’t take any less than $55,000—after taxes, that would still leave us like twelve grand apiece, maybe a little more.”

“Good lord…” Tessa sighed. “Twelve grand would certainly do a lot.”

“I didn’t want to do anything without talking to you guys first,” I said. “But I think it’s a fair deal. Because he still has the potential to make his ten grand off of that sale. What do you guys think?”

“I say you’ve been taking care of us your entire life,” Tess said. “And I’m glad to have you still looking out for us now. LA’s expensive and twelve grand would certainly help things along. My vote is: Go for it.”

“I’m with Tess,” Jimmy said. “Thank you. I mean that. Tess and I won the sibling jackpot with you. I will forever feel bad that it took me so long to let you know that.”

“Water under the bridge, Jim,” I said. The three of us talked a little longer with Girard popping in here and there when one of them brought him into the conversation, and then I went to bed, feeling better than I had since the home invasion.

Girard

Finding that bank note in the envelope seemed to be the key to help Marilee get past the break-in. She was happy again. The day after we’d talked with Jimmy and Tess, she got back a hold of Mr. Merritt and told him her asking price. He again tried to lowball, as negotiations were typically a thing. But she let him know that the money had to be split between three people and that she would not take anything less than the $55,000. If he wanted to do business with her, that was the price; if not, she’d find someone else.

Well, apparently the draw of an 1875 $50 bill in mint condition far outweighed a larger profit margin because he accepted on the spot and after work, Lee and I brought the note back to him. We also sold off the silver certificates, which in total garnered us another $150 thereabouts. Since it wasn’t that much, I told her to keep that portion for herself since she’d done all the work. She laughed, of course she laughed. She seemed to always be laughing again. Then she put the check in the bank so we could wait for it to clear and send Tess and Jimmy their portions.

Despite not having any major holidays in the near future save for maybe Harrison’s upcoming wedding. Lee offered up The Bell Jar for his reception but he’d chosen to go with a vineyard he’d purchased. Lee and I offered to cater the affair, but he still hadn’t gotten back to us yet. I’d have to get with him on that, but seeing as business at the bistro didn’t really slow down, after Valentine’s Day, it came down to finding the time. So yeah, despite not having any major holidays, and that it was cold, and we still had snow on the ground, people had begun to venture from their houses to walk the high-end touristy side of Lake Shores again. There was a huge difference between a 35° day with the sun shining through and a bitterly cold 22° day, sunny or not. And for Michiganders, a 35° day for us was akin to a 55° day in other states. We needed to venture out.

Then, at the beginning of March, Becks, Polk’s wife, went into labor.

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