George - Chapter Eleven: An Amazing Woman

A little note before getting into the chapter; this chapter and the next were originally written as one. Once I saw how long it was, I decided to split it into two chapters but they really go together. So I'm releasing this chapter and the next together. They're long and very picture heavy and at the end of this chapter there's some unclothed sims. Thanks for reading!

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I felt George grab my arm and I immediately stopped. I wasn’t sure why he had done it and when I turned around to look at him, I was even more confused by the expression on his face. He looked almost determined and it didn’t make any sense to me. Before I had time to think about what was happening he was standing inches from me and I was looking into his light blue eyes, wishing that we would kiss. I could feel my heart start to beat faster and faster as I noticed that he was starting to lean forward and I came to the realization that my wish seemed to be coming true. I started to lean forward and we were a second away from kissing when I heard Charlotte’s voice.

“Dammit, George! Have you not been checking your phone?!”

We both quickly pulled away and I wanted to complain to Charlotte for her incredibly bad timing. George immediately looked angrily at Charlotte who was joined by Ethan and Trev. “Since when do you care if I’ve been checking my phone?”

“Since Mom has been trying to reach you. Didn’t you get her last text message that she just sent to all of us?”

I noticed George quickly reach into his pocket and look at his phone. “Oh my God.” He whispered as he read the text message. 

He looked back up at Charlotte and Trev and that’s when I noticed the pained expression on both their faces.

“What is it?” I asked and George handed me his phone before walking over to Charlotte and Trev. I looked down and read the text message.

I tried to call George several times but only got his voice mail. Grandma Hobble was rushed to the hospital this evening complaining of having chest pains. After arriving at the hospital she had a massive heart attack and passed away. Please call when you receive this message.  Mom.

It was sent to all three of them which I figured was how Charlotte knew that George hadn’t been checking his phone. I stood there shocked, still holding George’s phone as Ethan walked over to me. 

“I don’t know what they’re planning to do, but I know one thing; I’m going to go to Appaloosa for at least the service.” I looked at him and nodded. “I’ll make sure yours and Charlotte’s shifts are covered for the next several days. You and I could ride together up and back, if you want.” I again nodded and looked back over at George, Charlotte and Trev. Charlotte was crying, Trev had his arm around her, and George was whispering to both of them. After a minute he came back over and Ethan walked back to where Charlotte and Trev were standing.

“I should have checked my phone. I felt it buzz a little bit ago and I ignored it. I even ignored Mom’s call earlier. I figured she was just calling to make sure I made it here okay.” I handed him his phone back and then placed one of my hands on his arm.

“You couldn’t have known. You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Why? I let Mom down. I wasn’t there when she needed me.” I had never seen this side of him; had never seen him be so hard on himself.

“George. . .”

“I need to call home.” He interrupted me and then selected his mom’s number. After talking with her for a minute he put her on speaker phone so the three of them could talk to her at the same time.

“What happened, Mom?” Trev asked and I walked a little closer so I could hear.

“I had just checked on George’s cats and decided to stop by the ranch to see Grandma, Grandpa and everyone else. Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Charlie and I were standing in the kitchen when Grandma put one of her hands up to her chest and complained that her chest hurt. She started to sweat and that’s when we called for an ambulance. They arrived quickly and then took her to the hospital. Dad went with the ambulance and Charlie and I followed, with Jeff meeting us at the hospital. We sat with Dad in the waiting room for a while before a doctor came out and told us that she had suffered a massive heart attack and they couldn’t do anything for her. They tried but they weren’t able to revive her.” I heard their mom’s voice crack at the end and Charlotte started to cry even harder. I noticed that Trev also had tears in his eyes. 

“Mom, I’m so sorry I didn’t answer when you called or respond to your texts.” George said. Even though his back was to me I could tell that he was as upset as Charlotte and Trev.

“You’ve all been busy, and really, there’s nothing that you could have done. . .” She started to say before George cut her off.

“Yeah, but I’m sure that probably added to the stress you were already feeling. Have you called Will?”

“I did and Emily is pushing him to come but with the baby due in the next week, I just don’t see him coming. He needs to stay with her and be there in case the baby’s born.”

“We’re going to pack up and head there as soon as all three of us are ready.” Charlotte said.

“The three of you should get some sleep. There’s plenty of time for you to make the trip home. We won’t be able to make arrangements until businesses open anyways.” She tried to reason with them.

“No, Mom, we’re coming as soon as we get ready.” George told her.

“Well, whatever you do, please be careful driving.”

They said goodbye and as soon as George hung up the phone they were planning their next move. Ethan offered to give me and Charlotte a ride back to our apartment building. George and Trev decided to meet us there after Trev had gotten his stuff together. After Ethan, Charlotte and I arrived at her apartment, he and I spent the whole time trying to comfort her as she started packing her things.

“I can’t believe this is happening! Not Grandma! Poor Mom! The whole family is going to be devastated.” I watched as Ethan walked over to her and hugged her. I wanted to help her in some way so I started to pack what she had gotten out to put in her suitcase. I had just finished when I heard George enter the apartment.

“Are you ready?”

Charlotte nodded and looked up at Ethan. I watched as he whispered something to her and she nodded. I didn’t even notice George walk over to me.

“Sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

I was stunned. His grandmother had just passed away and he was apologizing to me about acting upset. “It’s completely understandable. You’re upset, you shouldn’t apologize for that.”

“I shouldn’t have taken it out on you though.”

I stood there for a moment wondering if he was serious. I finally came to the conclusion that he was.  “I understand, George.”

He nodded and we stood there for a moment looking at each other, neither one of us seeming to know what to say. I was finally able to think of something.  “Will one of you call either Ethan or me when you get there?”

“I’ll call you. I wouldn’t be surprised if Charlotte calls Ethan, but I’ll call you.” He gently grabbed my hand and I felt butterflies start to dance around in my stomach.

“Guys! Come on!” Trev rushed Charlotte and Geroge as he entered the doorway. “We need to get on the road!” 

George looked back at me. “I’ll call you later. . .”he said as he continued to hold my hand. I nodded and smiled sadly at him. He attempted to smile back and then turned to walk out the door. Ethan and I followed after them and I locked Charlotte’s door. As they pulled away, Ethan and I stood outside watching them leave.

“I’m going to go back to my place and pack a couple of things, hopefully get some sleep. I was going to go to the club around eight to see about covering yours and Charlotte’s shifts. How about I pick you up around seven thirty?”

I looked at my phone and saw that it was two thirty by that point. I might get five hours of sleep if I was lucky. “That’s fine.” I walked back up to my apartment and packed several things and then lay down on my bed, hoping to get some sleep. My mind wouldn’t turn off though. I kept thinking about their grandmother and how sorry I was that they were all having to go through that. Then I would start thinking about how George had apologized for getting upset. I wasn’t even quite sure what he had apologized for. It was normal for someone to get upset after finding out something like that, to even shut down a little; he acted like it was wrong of him to do. Then I would start thinking about how he had held my hand before they left which led to thinking about how we almost kissed. When I did fall asleep I would startle awake and look at the clock, wondering what time it was, realizing that it was just usually 20 minutes later than when I had last looked at the clock. 

Eventually I fell asleep but a little after seven I was woken up by my phone ringing from George calling me.

“Did you all make it okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. I let Trev drive so we made it here in record time.”

“How’s everyone doing?”

“I think with the suddenness of it, people are still in shock.”

“How are you doing?”  There was silence and I wondered what he was doing or thinking.

Finally he said something. “I’m fine. I’m more worried about everyone else right now.”

He seemed to want to get off the phone and I needed to get ready for when Ethan came later.“I’ll let you go so you can get settled and be with your family.”

“Thanks, Steph.”

“Talk to you later.” I hung up and was even more concerned about him after talking with him since he seemed to avoid the question of how he was doing. I got up and took a quick shower to make myself somewhat presentable. A little before seven thirty I walked down to the front lobby to wait for Ethan. I stood there for about a minute before he walked up.

“Did you get any sleep?” He asked as he grabbed my bag.

“Not really.” I admitted.

“Me either. I do think I figured out how to change the work schedule but you’ll have to work extra next week to cover the shifts of people covering for you.”

“That’s okay with me. I don’t even mind covering some of Charlotte’s shifts. I’m sure they’ll stay there longer then we will. If there’s a day that she and I don’t work together than I can cover for her.”

He drove us to the club and started to call people to see if they were willing to cover mine and Charlotte’s shifts. Once he had done all of that, he called the other owner and let him know what was happening. Thankfully he was in town and able to be at the club the next several days. After everything was in order we got into Ethan’s car and made our way to Appaloosa.

****George****

I walked into the family room after talking to Steph and noticed how tired both Charlotte and Mom looked. None of us had gotten any sleep, and even though I knew that they would argue with me, I decided to push them to get a little sleep.

“Why don’t the both of you try to get some rest?” I cringed waiting for their response.

“You can’t be serious.. .I need to go back across the street to the ranch and see what arrangements are being made, check on Dad, Charlie, Jeff; and Scarlett’s supposed to show up later. I couldn’t sleep even if I wanted to.” Mom responded how I expected her to.

“I’m fine and I don’t think I could sleep either.” Charlotte said.

I nodded. Mom eventually made her way back over to the ranch and after getting somewhat settled at my house, the three of us went over to the ranch. We walked in and it was eerily quiet. We found Mom, Uncle Charlie, Uncle Jeff and Aunt Scarlett in the kitchen and the four of them were comforting each other. I didn’t see Grandpa anywhere and figured he must have been upstairs.

The next several hours were filled with family gathering at the ranch and soon the paparazzi showed up to the house as the news of Grandma’s passing became known. I hadn’t had to deal with them much but I couldn’t stand it the few times I had. Eventually Grandpa made his way downstairs and I noticed how much older; almost frailer he looked. He made several calls and then he and Mom, our uncles, and aunt went to the funeral home to make arrangements. During all of that, Trev chatted with Will online and tried to convince him that he needed to stay with Emily. He eventually agreed but it took about a half an hour of Trev, Charlotte and me convincing him.

We were just finishing up lunch when I felt my phone buzz. I looked at it and noticed that I had a text message from Steph.

Where are you?

I was completely confused by what she asked. Why did it matter where we were?

We’re at my grandparent’s ranch. Why?

I didn’t know what response I was going to get but I wasn’t prepared for what she texted back.

Ethan and I are getting ready to enter Appaloosa and we were wondering where you all were.

“Seriously?” I said outloud and Trev and Charlotte looked at me.

“What?” Trev asked.

“Steph just texted me and said that she and Ethan are about to be in Appaloosa.”

“What?! Ethan never mentioned to me that they were coming. . .” Charlotte admitted.

“Steph didn’t mention it to me either. Should I tell them we’ll meet them at my place?” They agreed with me, and I texted Steph back. I told Charles where we were going and asked him to tell Mom if she came back. The second we walked out of the house, I regretted doing it. The paparazzi were standing outside of the gate and acted almost like vultures when we stepped out.

“How’s the family doing?” I heard one yell.

“What was the cause of death?” Another demanded to know.

“What’s the mood inside the house?” I thought that one was by far the stupidest question. We tried to ignore them as we walked over to my house but when needed Trev, who had the most experience with paparazzi, handled them. Right as we were walking up to my driveway, I noticed a car coming down the street and as it got closer I noticed that it was Ethan and Steph. Ethan was somehow able to pull his car into the driveway while Trev reminded the paparazzi that they could be arrested if they came onto private property. Ethan and Steph got out of the car and we all rushed into the house.

“What the hell was that?!” Ethan asked once we entered the house.

“Did any of us ever tell you the name of our Grandmother?” Charlotte asked him.

“No.”

“Amanda Hobble, the movie composer. . .”

“Oh, wow! So that’s what, paparazzi?”

“Yup.”

I looked over at Steph and caught her looking at me. “What are you all doing here?”

 

“We wanted to be here for all of you”  Steph said.

“Really? You drove all this way for us?” Trev asked.

Both Steph and Ethan nodded. “I hope we didn’t cause too much of a problem for you. It looked like you had to deal with a lot trying to get into your house.” Ethan said to me. “We’re planning on staying at a hotel in the middle of town. . .”

I interrupted him. “No, both of you are staying here.”

“We don’t want to get in the way though. . .”Steph tried to convince me otherwise.

“You might as well give up. George’s made up his mind and he won’t listen to any arguments.” 

I smiled slightly and nodded. Steph and Ethan agreed and Trev, Ethan and I went out to the car to get their things. We were immediately met with the sound of cameras clicking; trying to capture our every move.

“How do you all deal with that?” Ethan asked as we got the bags.

“I haven’t had to deal with it very often. For the most part, they leave the family alone since we live in Appaloosa. With Grandma’s passing though, they’ve come here trying to get some story; sometimes it’s easy to forget that she was a well-known composer.” I explained to him.

“Unfortunately, I’ve had to deal with them more because of my career. I haven’t had too many problems with them but they can be very annoying. It’s one reason that I live in such a secure building.” Trev elaborated a little more.

We went back in the house and figured out where everyone was sleeping. Charlotte moved out of the downstairs guest room to an upstairs room. I guessed her reasoning had to do with the fact that Ethan had chosen to sleep in one of the upstairs rooms but I decided that now was not the right time to joke with her about it. Once it was settled who was sleeping where and the correct luggage was placed in each room, we spent the remainder of the day at my house waiting to hear word from Mom. During the late afternoon I heard the door open.

“God! I hate paparazzi!” I heard Mom complain as she closed the front door. “All of them are ass. . .” She stopped abruptly when she saw Steph and Ethan. “Oh! You have guests. . .” She looked over at Steph, smiled and I was surprised that she walked over and they hugged each other. “I didn’t think I’d see you here, but I’m glad you are.” 

I looked over at Charlotte and Trev and they were as confused as I was. They had only seen each other at Christmastime but both were acting like they knew each other better. Maybe we had all missed something that happened that weekend. I then watched as Mom turned around and looked at Ethan.

“I haven’t met this friend, have I?” She wondered.

“No, Mom; this is Ethan. Steph and I. . .” Charlotte was interrupted.

“Oh! You’re Ethan!” Mom said with a wide smile. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mrs. Davlia.”

“Oh please, call me Bridge.” She turned to look at Trev, Charlotte and me. “You didn’t tell me they were coming. I would have tried to be here when they arrived.”

“You needed to do other things, plus, we didn’t even know they were coming.” Trev admitted.

Mom turned back around to look at Ethan and Steph. “You came here to be there for them. . .” She pointed at the three of us and both of them nodded. See looked back at us. “I’m so thankful that you have such caring, wonderful friends. They can help get you through a lot of things. . .” She advised us. I looked at Ethan and then at Steph. I was also thankful that we had friends like Steph and Ethan, and I was sure Trev and Charlotte were too.

“What’s happening with the arrangements?” Charlotte asked.

“Tomorrow evening will be the visitation. That will be at a funeral home and they’ve assured us that it will be secure from all the paparazzi which I’m sure it will be with Jeff’s help. The next morning will be the graveside service. . .” She trailed off and I looked back over at Charlotte and Trev. We hadn’t been in the family cemetery together since Dad’s funeral.

“Where in the cemetery is Grandma going to be buried?” Charlotte quietly asked.

“In the section that is closest to the house. The section next to where your Dad’s buried.” The room got quiet and we stood there for several minutes that way before I noticed Mom start to cry. I walked over to her and started hugging her. She collected herself after a moment and I let her go. “After that, they’ll be a big gathering at the ranch. Speaking of which, I need to get back over there.”

“Before you go, how’s Grandpa doing?” I asked.

She shook her head. “He’s heartbroken.” She said quietly and turned once again to Ethan and Steph. “Thank you both so much for coming. I wish it were under different circumstances.” I walked her out and when I came back in I noticed that Trev was gone and Ethan was comforting Charlotte who was crying. Steph  was watching Ethan and Charlotte until I walked into the room.

“Did she make it back through the paparazzi?” She asked me as I walked up to her.

“She did. There’s now police outside so they helped keep them away from her. It’s sad that they have to do that though.” I looked up the stairs. “Let me guess, Trev went upstairs.”

She nodded. “He said he wanted to be alone for awhile.”

“That’s about normal.” I admitted.

****Steph****

As we stood there talking about paparazzi and Trev I wished that I knew how to help ease his pain, or any of their pain. I was sure Ethan felt the same way; at least with him, though, he felt he could show Charlotte that he cared. And that’s something that Charlotte was okay with; I didn’t want to impose. I knew that Charlotte was going to seek comfort from Ethan more than me and I was fine with that. I had just figured that I might be more of a support for George or Trev. That wasn’t looking likely with Trev though since he had a habit of disappearing. And even though George had held my hand once and we had almost kissed once, I wasn’t completely sure what was going on between us. I had an idea how he felt about me but that’s all it was; an idea, a guess. And right now, he was acting similar to how he acted when we had gone for a run together on Christmas Eve morning. He was answering questions but he had shut off a part of himself to me and from getting to know him a little better, I knew that he would open up when he was ready. Until that time I was at a loss about what to do.

The next day went by slowly. By late morning we were over at the ranch and I was once again overwhelmed by the paparazzi presence. Through the rest of the morning and afternoon I didn’t see Trev very much, Charlotte and Ethan were in their own world, and George was wandering around comforting different people. I watched as he went from cousin to cousin checking on them but not once did any of them check on him or ask him how he was doing. It didn’t make any sense to me. I wanted so badly to go up to him and ask him how he was since no one else was, but he never slowed down. 

At one point I wandered into the family room and someone had turned a tv on. I stopped when I heard the announcer.

“We were saddened on Saturday to hear of the passing of famous composer, Amanda Hobble who was best known for the scores she wrote for the “Where the Heart Leads”  movie trilogy. Tonight, friends and family will gather to pay their respects and tomorrow the family will have a private graveside service. For more on this story we go to Francine Towers, who’s live outside the Hobble Ranch. Francine?”

I watched the screen as the picture changed from the news announcer to a woman standing outside the gates, just feet away from where we all were. I had always wondered what it was like to be a celebrity; to have people follow you around, wonder about what you were doing. I looked around at the Hobble and Davila families. They were already having to deal with so much with losing the matriarch of their family, but since she was famous, they were having to do it while outsiders were trying to see in. After witnessing what it was like to be on the other side, I was happy that I had a normal life.

Their Uncle Charlie turned off the tv at that point and several minutes later their grandfather was coming downstairs. I had heard several family members mention that he was looking frailer and after seeing him, I had to agree. It was heartbreaking and inspirational to me to see how much he had loved his wife. I thought back to what she had said to me in the kitchen during Christmas about making something positive out of something that wasn’t and as I looked around at the family gathered in the house, there was no denying that he had done just that. The family grew quiet and we all made our way outside to pile into the cars. I rode in George’s car with him and Trev while Charlotte rode with Ethan. If there had been any question about what was going on between them, it was quickly being answered. They were constantly together and I had noticed them holding hands several times.

We got to the funeral home and as the night continued I was shocked by how many people showed up. I couldn’t keep up with all their names but I could vaguely remember that one of them was a movie director and several of them had been in the music business. Throughout the evening I occasionally saw Trev and talked to Charlotte and Ethan, but I didn’t have any chance to check on George. He was once again making the rounds, checking on people. I sat down in a chair thinking about how much I was worried about him and didn’t even notice that someone had sat down next to me.

“It’s a little overwhelming, isn’t it?” I turned to see their mom sitting next to me.

I nodded. “It is. How did you all handle all of this growing up?”

“Well, that’s one reason that Mom and Dad stayed here, they didn’t want us to grow up with all of this. They wanted us to have normal childhoods and normal lives. And we somewhat did. We still kind of grew up in a bubble but that changed for us as we got older. Our children haven’t had to deal with it as much.”

I looked up at where George was standing and nodded. “The three of them handle things so differently. Well, all four of them. Trev tries to numb his pain instead of dealing with it, Will isolates himself, Charlotte used to try to run away from it but seems to get very emotional now, and George. . .George deals with grief and pain by helping others.” I was stunned. It was as if she was reading my mind, as if she knew what was bothering me.

“I’ve watched all three of them the last two days and the one thing I’ve noticed about George is that no one asks him if he’s okay. He’s making sure everyone else is, but not one person has made sure he is.”

She nodded. “That’s because we all know that this is his way of dealing with it and when he’s ready, he’ll open up about it.” She sighed. “I know for me, this is bringing back feelings that I felt when Carson passed away. I assume that’s happening with them too.” 
 

“So when is it his turn, when do people start making sure he’s okay.”

“It’s reverse with George. Most people want someone to make them feel better and then they are able to help others to feel better. He wants to make sure that everyone else is okay and then he feels that he’s able to share how he feels. That’s why no one is asking him how he is right now. We know it won’t do any good.”

She shifted in her seat. “Did George ever tell you about what happened with him and Christine?” I wasn’t sure why she was asking about that at that moment but I answered her.

“Yes.”

“George used to be a very open person. Out of the four of them, he was always the one that had no trouble sharing how he felt. He was very much an open book. Then Carson passed away, and then Charlotte left. . .little by little, he started to close himself off to people. Not to us, his family, but he’s very slow to open up to people when he first meets them. I’m afraid Christine didn’t help with that either; and I really can’t blame him. He lost three people he loved or thought he loved and with all three, there wasn’t anything he could do about it.”

If there had been a lightbulb above my head it would have lit up. Many of his actions the last several months made perfect sense to me now.

“How are you doing?” I heard her ask me.

“I should be the one asking you that. . .”

“Have you told any of them about the letters and emails?” I shook my head. “Why not?”

I didn’t know how to explain to her why I had kept not only the letters and emails that she and I had exchanged since Christmas a secret, but also the letters that I had sent and received from their grandmother. “They’re just. . .a very private thing for me. I haven’t intentionally not told them but I haven’t felt the time was right to share them with others.”

She nodded. “You’ll share when the time is right.” She said matter of factly and then looked at George. We sat in silence for a moment before she asked me about her dad. “Have you gone up to talk to him yet?” I shook my head. “You should.”

“There are so many people here, I don’t want to bother him.”

“He’d be very happy to see you. Mom talked to him about you often.”

I looked over at him and saw that he was standing alone. “You should go now while he has a moment alone.” She prodded me and I found myself getting up to go talk to him.

****George****

I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I hadn’t felt this drained since Dad passed away, but his death had only affected a fraction of the family and I hadn’t worried about so many family members. I had thought that the visitation had gone well, and it seemed that the family thought so as well. In between talking with each family member, I would glance around to see how Charlotte, Trev and Mom were. 

Trev was the hardest to spot, most of the time but I had been able to talk to him once and he seemed to be dealing with things the way he normally did. Charlotte spent most of the evening with Ethan which I was thankful for. I had even found myself smiling a couple of times; thinking about how Ethan’s patience seemed to have paid off. I had been really curious about two instances I had witnessed that both involved Steph. I had caught a glimpse of her and Mom talking at one point while sitting on some of the chairs. It had lasted a little while and I wondered what they had talked about. The other had occurred right after that and it was an interaction between her and Grandpa. After talking for a moment he had grabbed both of her hands and held them as he had talked to her. I hadn’t had time to ask her, Mom, or Grandpa about it though and with it being so late, I didn’t want to bother Steph.

I was thinking about the night’s events while standing in front of the fireplace; watching the flames when I was somewhat surprised to hear a voice.

“Are you wanting to be alone?” Steph asked.

I turned around and noticed that she was holding what looked like papers that were tied with a ribbon. “No, I had actually been wondering something that had to do with you but had figured you had gone to sleep.”

“Something to do with me?” She looked confused.

I nodded. “It’s something I’ve noticed the last couple of times I’ve seen you and Mom talk and then with Grandpa this evening. It’s almost like you all know each other better. . .It’s hard to explain.”

“Well, I can actually explain that.” I watched as she looked down at the ribbon tied papers. “This was actually one of the things that your mom and I were talking about. She asked me if I had told any of you and up until now, I haven’t. Not because I was trying to keep it from any of you but because it was something that I wanted to keep for myself for a little while before sharing it.”

She took a big breath and continued. “A week after I returned to Bridgeport from spending Christmas here, I sent both your mom and your grandmother letters thanking them for making me feel so welcomed, the presents they gave me, and for allowing me to spend Christmas with your family. I was very surprised that about a week later, I got not only a letter back from your mom, but also from your grandmother.”

I smiled. “That sounds like something that they would do.”

“That may seem normal to you, but to me, I had never experienced anything like that. To me, they had already done enough by welcoming here and allowing me to be a part of your family, even for just a weekend. When I received their letters, I didn’t even open them for a couple of days. I wasn’t sure what they would say so I just stared at them while they sat on my kitchen counter. I finally gave in and first read the letter from your mom.” I noticed that tears were starting to form in her eyes and she took a moment to collect herself. “This is one reason I haven’t shared this with any of you.” She sighed and then continued.

“I was so. . .moved by what she said that it took me another day before I read your grandmother’s letter. I never would have imagined their responses, and I honestly didn’t believe what they had written. I did however write a response to both of them and was surprised once again to find a letter from each of them about a week later. With your mom, we eventually started to email instead of send letters and I’ve talked to her once, recently on the phone. With your grandmother, we exchanged letters back and forth ever since Christmas. I would send her a letter one week and then I’d receive one from her the next.”

I quickly did the math in my head. “That’s been ten weeks.”

She nodded. “I wrote her five and I received the fifth one from her the day before yours and Charlotte’s party.”

“Are those them?” I pointed to the papers she was holding.

“Yes, I’ve kept the letters that both of them sent me but tonight, while I was talking with your grandfather, he told me that your grandmother had kept the letters I sent her and after I talked to him, your mom gave them to me.” She moved the stacked papers and what I had originally thought was one stack became two. She held them out to me and I looked up from them to her. “I want you to read them.”

“What? Why? They’re between you and Grandma. Why would you want me to read them?”

“I’ve watched this family these last few days trying to come to terms with what has happened. I’ve listened to stories about your grandmother, looked at older photos of her and all of you. . .I’ve gotten to see her through all of your eyes. I’ve also watched as the three of you have dealt with what has happened in your own ways. I came here for two reasons, one was for myself which after reading these, you might have a better understanding of why; the other was to be here for the three of you. I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out how I can help any of you; but honestly, Charlotte’s got Ethan, Trev’s in his own world. . .Anyway, I want you to read them because I want to share with you how I saw your grandmother. To share a side of her that maybe you had already seen but not in this way.”

She held them out for me to take again and I didn’t know what to do. I had to admit that I was curious about what they said but I couldn’t believe that she wanted to share something that was so private. “You don’t have to read them now, just whenever. . .” She continued to hold them out and I eventually took them from her. She slightly smiled at me and walked back to the guest room.

 I looked back down at the ribbon tied letters and stood in the family room for what felt like a lifetime trying to figure out what I should do. There was no way I was going to sleep, not with me wondering about what they said, so I walked upstairs and went into my office. I closed the door and walked over to the desk where I carefully opened each stack of letters and placed the letters that were from Steph on one side and the letters from Grandma on the other. I still couldn’t believe she had asked me to read them and I really couldn’t believe that I was actually sitting there getting ready to read them. I opened up the first letter from Steph, took a deep breath, and started reading.

I gently put the letter down on the desk and sat back in my chair for a moment. I had remembered seeing the two of them talking in the kitchen but had no idea their conversation had been so serious. Nor would I have guessed that Grandma or Grandpa would have been so open about their pasts with Steph; only because it had been their first meeting. I picked up the first letter from Grandma’s pile.

As I read the last part where Grandma shared with Steph about hers and Grandpa’s pasts, I felt tears in my eyes. I had heard bits and pieces about their pasts but I didn’t know that it had been that hard for them. By the time I reached where Grandma offered to give Steph “grandmotherly advice.” I felt the tears sliding down my cheek. That was such a typical thing for her to do; she had always been a warm, loving, caring person. I placed the letter face down next to the letters from Grandma and continued to read the next several letters that Steph and her wrote to each other.  They mostly included Grandma asking how and what Steph was doing, encouraging her, and reiterating that Steph was always welcome at the ranch. Steph’s letters told Grandma how and what she was doing, thanking her for her encouragement and for her repeated invitations to come to the ranch.

I got to the last letter that Grandma had sent to Steph, the one that Steph had mentioned she had gotten the day before the birthday party, and started reading it.

I put the letter down on my desk and was floored. All these weeks and both Mom and Grandma had both adopted Steph into the family and not one of us had known.  I understood them looking out for her, but what I didn’t understand was why no one had mentioned it. I looked at the clock and saw that it was just after 10:30. I got my cell phone out and dialed Mom’s number, hoping that she was still awake.

“Are you okay?” Was the first thing she said.

“I’m fine. . .I didn’t wake you up, did I?”

“No, we’ve been sitting here looking at pictures and talking.”

I wasn’t sure how to ask Mom about the letters and I was starting to second guess myself about calling her.

“Do you want to tell me why you called?”

“Well. . .Steph told me about how you, Grandma and her wrote letters to each other.”

“Hmm. . .I see. . .”

“She also asked me to read the ones that Grandma had written.”

“Interesting. . .” I could tell she was smiling. “So why are you talking to me about it; why not her?”

“I’m just curious why you or Grandma didn’t mention it. Did she ask you not to?”

“No, she never asked us not to. . .After I received a letter from her I talked to Grandma and she and Grandpa suggested that we not tell you kids. Not because we were afraid that you all would be upset; but because we didn’t want to take the chance of any of you putting what she might perceive as pressure on her. That if you knew that we were trying to convince her that we sincerely meant that we wanted to be her “adoptive family,” if she so chose, that all of you would try to talk to her about it and it might scare her off. We may have been way off about that, but we didn’t want to take a chance. So that left the revealing of our communications to her and if you want to know why she didn’t tell any of you, you’re going to have to ask her.”

“Thanks, Mom. Sorry I interrupted you.”

“You didn’t interrupt me, and you’re welcome.”

I hung up and put the letters back in order and placed the ribbons back around them.  I walked quietly downstairs and noticed that the doors to the guest bedroom were open. I peeked around the corner and saw Steph sitting on the couch, staring off into space. She jumped up when I knocked on the door.

“Can I come in?”

“Sure.” She stood up.

I walked over to her and handed the letters to her. “Did you read them already?”

“I did.” I confessed.  She slowly reached to grab the letters and gently took them and I watched as she walked over to her bag and carefully placed them in it. She turned back around but didn’t look at me.

“Steph, why didn’t you tell anyone about them? I understand about people reading them or even telling people what was in them, but why didn’t you tell any of us?”

She kept looking at the floor as she talked. “It was like I said earlier, I didn’t believe what they had written at first. It didn’t make sense to me why they were so ready to accept me. They didn’t know me, at least very well.”

“That’s just the way this family has always been, which all started with Grandma and Grandpa.”

“After the first couple of letters I started to realize that, I also wondered if that was why you’re always stepping in to help people, that whole superhero complex thing. . .” She joked and I chuckled. After a moment’s pause she continued. “To me, what they were offering was so hard for me to grasp, that I needed time to process it. I mean, why would a family who doesn’t even really know me offer to be there for me when my own family tossed me aside in a split second? I’ve never seen anything like this, experienced anything like this, I’m still kind of waiting for someone to jump out and say “just kidding!”. But I didn’t ask you to read the letters so you would ask me about not telling you about them, although I should have known you would.” She slightly smiled. “I shared them with you because even though I’m sure you’re aware that your grandmother was an amazing woman, I was hoping that it would give you a glimpse of how people outside of your family viewed or felt about her. That she just wasn’t an amazing, wonderful, caring, thoughtful person to family or close friends, but also to people, or a person that she had only known for a few months. That she made a difference in peoples’ lives, mine included.”

I felt a lump form in my throat and I walked over to where she was standing. I threw my arms around her and hugged her. “Thank you.” I said as I continued to hug her. 

She hugged me back. “You don’t have to thank me. All I did was share with you what she said and did.”  We hugged for a minute before pulling apart and just like the previous night, I thought about kissing her. But as much as I wanted to, now didn't seem like the moment to act on what I was feeling.

“I’ll let you go to bed. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.” I said quickly.

She nodded and we said goodnight. I walked back into my room and changed my clothes before lying on my bed. I couldn’t believe that Steph had asked me to read the letters between her and Grandma. I had always known that Grandma had been an amazing woman but what kept running through my mind was how I couldn’t help thinking that Steph was also an amazing woman. I had never seen her in the months that we had known each other be anything but selfless when it came to putting other people’s feelings before her own. She was caring, thoughtful; all the things that she had said that Grandma was. 

My mind wondered to the moment when we had almost kissed and I started to daydream about what it would be like to actually kiss her. If any of the moments our hands had touched were any indication, I could only imagine what it would be like since I had never experienced feelings that intense. I had never felt anything close to this with Christine and before her I had only been in several relationships that hadn’t been very serious. The image of seeing Christine cheating on me popped into my head and I got up from my bed and started pacing.

Every time I thought about Steph, I would think about Christine. Every time I thought about how intriguing she was, how beautiful she was, that I wanted to kiss her; any thought was soon followed by remembering what had happened between Christine and me. I had been so stupid, so scared of losing something that I had thought was love that I made a hasty decision.  I had vowed since then to never make that mistake again, that if I ever started to feel something for someone again I would take things slow and make sure of what I was feeling. For months I had been having an internal battle with my feelings. I didn’t know if I could trust them after the mistakes I had made with Christine; but then I would look at Steph, into her intense eyes and I would start to feel a glimmer of hope that maybe I was reading my feelings right this time.  Then I would get scared and I’d start to put the wall back up that I knew shouldn’t be there but was.  

I fell into a chair and let out a heavy sigh. It seemed like after Christine I had given up on any hope of ever being in love. I would see Grandma and Grandpa together and remember Mom and Dad together and thought that somewhere along the way I must have missed out on finding someone. I had thought I was perfectly happy without someone and had poured myself into my work.  Then there was the night that I walked past an alleyway in the city. . .Ever since that night my world had been turned upside down. Everything I thought I knew was tossed out the window when it came to Steph. She helped me to see things differently, to not judge a book by its cover; even helped me believe that maybe it was possible to trust again.

 I looked over at a dresser that had family pictures on it and noticed the pictures of Grandma and Grandpa and Mom and Dad. I stood up and walked over to the dresser. I looked at the picture of Mom and Dad and tears immediately filled my eyes. They had been so in love and then suddenly he wasn’t there anymore. I knew him not being here still hurt her, hell, it still hurt me. But one thing that Mom had always said was that her only regret that she had in their relationship was how long it took her to give into her feelings for Dad. I glanced over to the door that connected the bedrooms and felt something in the pit of my stomach. It was the feeling I got whenever I started to worry. But this time I wasn’t worried about what would happen if I gave into what I was feeling for Steph, it was worry over what would happen if I didn’t. I didn’t want to have the same regret that Mom did. I didn’t know what could happen between Steph and me, but I didn’t want to have the regret of never finding out. 

I looked over at the door one more time. I was done; I wasn’t going to let what happened with Christine and me hold me back any longer. I was tired of letting it control my emotions and me. I might fail miserably, but I was ready to finally listen to what my heart had been telling me for the last several months. I just prayed that Steph was willing to give me a chance. . .