broke into laughter one more time and the tension of the evening seemed to dissipate. I quickly changed in my pj’s and crawled into bed, motioning for Lanie and Stella to join me. They both sat on either side of me, quietly talking. I curled up in between the two of them and drifted off to sleep to the slow and constant hum of their voices, knowing that tomorrow was going to be a better day. Each day was going to get a little better.
CHAPTER 11
----
I t was around 10 in the morning when I finally stretched out, rolling to Jay’s side of the bed. With all that had happened in the previous 10 days it was still hard to process that he wasn’t coming back. Sighing, I got up, dressed and headed downstairs where I could hear Lanie and Stella moving about. As I passed by the front door, I saw two suitcases sitting there.
“Someone going somewhere?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen. To my surprise Harry was sitting at the table with a plate of eggs and toast in front of him.
“I have to head back to New York today,” Stella said as she leaned against the counter, holding a cup of coffee.
“Jill, we all need to talk to you,” Lanie said from her place by the stove where she was finishing up making what looked like a breakfast omelet.
“Alright,” I said, cautiously sitting down at the table.
“We are really worried about you,” Stella said and Harry nodded in agreement.
“What do you know?” I snapped at him.
“We told him … everything,” Lanie said, sitting down at the table with her breakfast.
“What!” I couldn’t believe what was going on. I started to stand. “Sit back down,” Stella demanded and I instantly complied.
“We don’t think you should be alone for awhile. The three of us have arranged it so that someone will always be with you. I am going to stay through the end of this week while Stella goes back to New York,” Lanie said.
“My shift changes to day shift next week, so I’m gonna move into the guest room and stay for a couple weeks,” Harry mumbled through a mouthful of eggs.
“Then, at Thanksgiving, we are going to see how things are going,” Stella commented.
“This is really unnecessary,” I said looking at each of them. In reality my mind was reeling. I didn’t need babysitters. I needed time to be left alone.
“We all agree, that at least for now this is what is best for you,” Lanie said and Stella nodded.
With that, my fate was decided. Lanie and Harry finished eating breakfast and Stella jabbered about a big case she was working on and how time consuming the trial was and now she was behind in work and needed to catch up.
“Sorry to disrupt your life,” I commented at one point.
“Jill, I didn’t mean it that way,” she said defensively.
“It wasn’t really a convenient time for Jay to die, was it? I’ll try and remember that for next time,” I said as I stood.
I headed back upstairs. I could hear Stella calling after me and someone telling her to forget it. Upstairs, I searched in the closet for one of Jay’s T-shirts. I pulled it out and buried my nose in it, grateful that it still smelled like him. Shirt in hand, I crawled into bed and dozed off.
----
My life fell into a simple routine during the next week on what I dubbed “Lanie watch.” During the day, I would sleep and ignore whatever Lanie had to say. At night after Lanie went to bed, I would get up and wander through the house, often sitting in Jay’s office and staring into space. Then, as the sun would start to rise, I would bring myself back to bed. Some mornings I would be pulling the covers back over myself as Lanie’s alarm clock in the other room would start to sound. After several days, Lanie came into my room and sat down on the bed.
“Jill, today’s my last day,” she said tentatively.
“What day is it?” I asked through the covers.
“Sunday.”
“Jay’s been gone two weeks,” I commented and rolled away from
CHAPTER 11
----
I t was around 10 in the morning when I finally stretched out, rolling to Jay’s side of the bed. With all that had happened in the previous 10 days it was still hard to process that he wasn’t coming back. Sighing, I got up, dressed and headed downstairs where I could hear Lanie and Stella moving about. As I passed by the front door, I saw two suitcases sitting there.
“Someone going somewhere?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen. To my surprise Harry was sitting at the table with a plate of eggs and toast in front of him.
“I have to head back to New York today,” Stella said as she leaned against the counter, holding a cup of coffee.
“Jill, we all need to talk to you,” Lanie said from her place by the stove where she was finishing up making what looked like a breakfast omelet.
“Alright,” I said, cautiously sitting down at the table.
“We are really worried about you,” Stella said and Harry nodded in agreement.
“What do you know?” I snapped at him.
“We told him … everything,” Lanie said, sitting down at the table with her breakfast.
“What!” I couldn’t believe what was going on. I started to stand. “Sit back down,” Stella demanded and I instantly complied.
“We don’t think you should be alone for awhile. The three of us have arranged it so that someone will always be with you. I am going to stay through the end of this week while Stella goes back to New York,” Lanie said.
“My shift changes to day shift next week, so I’m gonna move into the guest room and stay for a couple weeks,” Harry mumbled through a mouthful of eggs.
“Then, at Thanksgiving, we are going to see how things are going,” Stella commented.
“This is really unnecessary,” I said looking at each of them. In reality my mind was reeling. I didn’t need babysitters. I needed time to be left alone.
“We all agree, that at least for now this is what is best for you,” Lanie said and Stella nodded.
With that, my fate was decided. Lanie and Harry finished eating breakfast and Stella jabbered about a big case she was working on and how time consuming the trial was and now she was behind in work and needed to catch up.
“Sorry to disrupt your life,” I commented at one point.
“Jill, I didn’t mean it that way,” she said defensively.
“It wasn’t really a convenient time for Jay to die, was it? I’ll try and remember that for next time,” I said as I stood.
I headed back upstairs. I could hear Stella calling after me and someone telling her to forget it. Upstairs, I searched in the closet for one of Jay’s T-shirts. I pulled it out and buried my nose in it, grateful that it still smelled like him. Shirt in hand, I crawled into bed and dozed off.
----
My life fell into a simple routine during the next week on what I dubbed “Lanie watch.” During the day, I would sleep and ignore whatever Lanie had to say. At night after Lanie went to bed, I would get up and wander through the house, often sitting in Jay’s office and staring into space. Then, as the sun would start to rise, I would bring myself back to bed. Some mornings I would be pulling the covers back over myself as Lanie’s alarm clock in the other room would start to sound. After several days, Lanie came into my room and sat down on the bed.
“Jill, today’s my last day,” she said tentatively.
“What day is it?” I asked through the covers.
“Sunday.”
“Jay’s been gone two weeks,” I commented and rolled away from
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