Page 15 of Like A Daydream
“Not in real estate,” Andrew replies, “It’s four point three bathrooms.”
“If you have seven toilets, you have seven bathrooms,” JT says, rolling his eyes. Andrew cuffs him on the back of the head as he walks by. “You’re just mad because I’m right!”
Andrew spends the rest of the day with Roscoe and Sokka, playing fetch in the basement and contemplating every single decision he’d made that brought him to this point.
Danielle
Burying her best friend was not something that Danielle had ever thought she was going to have to endure. Sure, logically, one of them had to die first, she had just never thought it would have been Emerson.
Emerson, who was so careful. Who made sure her whole family had all their servings of fruit and vegetables, and never went more than two miles over the speed limit. Emerson who had so much life and burned brighter than the sun even on her worst days. It just didn’t make any sense that it was her, first.
Danielle couldn’t comprehend it.
And yet, here she was.
Standing beside two newly dug graves, coffins lowering as muffled sobs echo around her. She’s in the front beside Erick, Harper beside her and holding her hand.
Harper didn’t even own a black dress. Danielle had had to go buy one for her the day before.
They had been staying at Jack and Emerson’s house between finding out and today, to keep Harper as normal as possible until it’s over. They had told her, and tried their best to explain what death actually means, but Danielle knew that she couldn’t fully understand what had happened to her mom and dad.
She’s not sure when it will sink in for Harper, just that she’ll be there when it does. And maybe, just maybe, when it happens she’ll be back to the surface after drowning in grief herself.
As soon as they’re finished with the funeral, they’re going to the lawyer’s office to divide the assets that both of them left behind. Like her father had said, they hadn’t left a formal will. Only the one that Danielle had, so that she could take custody of Harper, and a handwritten letter that said what their final wishes were, should something happen to them.
She isn’t sure how a handwritten will is going to hold up in court. Especially when both sets of their parents were back in town and they were nothing if not greedy, demanding, and loud. They’ll find out in a few hours, she supposes, and is thankful that she decided that they need a lawyer present, should things go awry.
Danielle is dreading this meeting almost as much as the burial.
She just hopes that neither set of parents would contest custody. Not that she wouldn’t have an easy time winning since Jack’s parents lived in Montana and Emerson’s parents had moved to Europe before Danielle had even graduated college. Said they were fulfilling a life-long dream and left Erick alone to fend for himself while Emerson was also gone.
Emerson had always told Danielle that her parents had never wanted them, just had them because it was what was expected by everyone else.
Erick is Harper’s only blood relative that lives close by, and they wouldn’t want to take her away from family. Harper would officially come and move in with Danielle as soon as they had finalized everything at the end of the day.
“I want mama,” Harper says softly.
She looks up at Danielle, and Danielle wants to cry. She looks so much like Emerson with her light brown hair and wide green eyes, it sends a knife of pain through Danielle’s stomach.
“I know, Sparrow,” Danielle says, the nickname slipping before she can stop it. She’d given it to Harper when she was three, and her laugh was clear and bright and full of joy at the smallest things. “I know, I want her too.”
“You said she can’t come back.”
“I did,” Danielle replies, fighting the burn in her eyes. “But it’s going to be okay. You’re going to be able to come live with me. We’re going to bring all of your stuff to my house when you get back from ice cream later.”
“You promise?”
Danielle crouches so she’s level with Harper and smooths a lock of hair that had fallen out of place behind her ear.
“I promise.”
“I don’t want to live with anyone else, Aunt D,” Harper says, flinging her arms round Danielle’s neck and holding tight.
Danielle hugs her and stands to her full height.
“I don’t want you to go anywhere else,” she says, pressing a kiss to Harper’s temple. “You already have a Harper room at my house.”
“I like the Harper room,” Harper says, yawning. She nestles her face into Danielle’s neck and closes her eyes.
